Level Platforms Adds Print, Cloud, Power Management To Managed Workplace 2011

Level Platforms released Managed Workplace 2011 R3 Wednesday, an updated version of its RMM software that includes new print managed services functionality, power management and monitoring for Office 365 and Google Docs.

The new features of Managed Workplace 2011 R3 have been heavily requested by managed service providers and are necessary for Level Platforms to help its MSP customers remain on top, said CEO Peter Sandiford.

"One of our stakes in the ground is in our tag line: 'See all, manage all.' We really believe that for MSPs to be successful in the future, they need to think about all the technologies that include a customer's' user experience," Sandiford said.

The managed print services functionality should draw big interest, Sandiford said. To date, the IT managed services and print managed services industries have grown parallel to each other, but lines are beginning to converge as service providers from both segments look to expand their businesses, he added.

"The biggest [new feature] to me is managed print. Look at printers, they've always been sitting there. It's typically been hard for MSPs to do [managed print]," Sandiford said. "For MSPs, this sets the stage for them realize revenue on printers. That comes from deep management of printers, monitoring, having errors remotely remediated, pushing out firmware updates using our automation and developing comprehensive reporting."

In addition, Managed Workplace captures the data to plug into managed print consumables programs, which automatically orders new supplies when they fall below a certain point.

Level Platforms plans to partner with print vendors and other-third party developers of managed print applications to integrate those tools into Managed Workplace 2011 R3. Sandiford wouldn't detail deals in the works but he said the first announcements should come in the next couple of months.

"It's the cost-per-copy, total cost of ownership programs, the gathering of meter readings and consumambles. That's a very large parallel business," Sandiford said. "We collect all that information already. We worked with some vendors and print MSPs to help us understand the nuances of this and make sure we collect and deliver [information] across the print devices."

Meanwhile, new cloud management framework extensions provide MSPs with the ability to easily manage services with JavaScript or session credential requirements including Microsoft Office 365, Google Docs and others permitting end-to-end management of these popular cloud services, according to Level Platforms.

"The next gen cloud services like Google Docs and Office 365 have more complex security in terms of how to access them. Implementing that now and extending monitoring of those apps produces reports and alerts," Sandiford said. "The idea behind this is if an MSP recommends Office 365, the customer expects them to hold some level of accountability in shifting from onsite to Office 365. We help monitor that. If there's a problem with e-mail, the MSP can determine if it's an Office 365 issue or a local issue and they can be in touch with Microsoft or Google. As well, it shows customers this a good decision or maybe they should go back to something else"

Next: Power Management Tools

Finally, new power management tools can leverage automation features within Managed Workplace 2011 to help customers reduce energy costs by up to 50 percent through improved power management policies, according to Level Platforms.

"It allows the MSP to implement power managed across all or certain customers. PCs can be scheduled to power down or hibernate at certain times and thereby make significant improvement in power utilization," Sandiford said. "For publicly-funded organizations and non-profits, these things are very important for them."