MSP And PSA Tools: Who Plays Well Together?
It's the MSP version of a Grand Unified Theory -- a single, elegant platform that combines professional services automation (PSA) with a network management solution.
Of course, physicists have been chasing their GUT since the days of Nikola Tesla, but hopefully the channel won't have to wait that long. Some enterprising player in the nascent MSP space could come up with a killer, all-in-one solution at any time.
Yet for now, MSP platform vendors and their PSA counterparts are scrambling to meet the needs of their MSP clientele by formalizing partnerships and working overtime to ensure the integration of their products.
For example, MSP platform vendor N-able Technologies and PSA software developer Tigerpaw formed a strategic alliance to integrate N-able's N-central platform with Tigerpaw's CRM+ business management software. Late last year, N-able launched a similar partnership with Tigerpaw rival Autotask. Tigerpaw now supports integration between CRM+ and MSP platforms from N-able rivals LPI Level Platforms and SilverBack Technologies.
A well-integrated set of PSA and MSP tools is critical because it allows a business to "manage its managed services," said Michael Drake, founder and CEO of masterIT, a pure-play MSP in Bartlett, Tenn. MasterIT uses N-able's N-central platform in tandem with Autotask's PSA software to generate service tickets in Autotask from N-central alerts. But beyond that basic functionality of the integration, Drake also milks the tools for all they're worth for CRM, account reports and business analytics.
"The advantage for us is that this integration makes everything client-centric," Drake said. "For example, when we start prospecting a client, Autotask's front-end feature serves as our CRM system, and we can create a workflow sales funnel, where I'm able to direct the sales force to conduct certain activities with prospective clients."
MasterIT uses the tools to help track the health of its customers' networks, Drake said.
"With Autotask and N-able, we can show ourselves to be almost like a doctor in front of the client. We tell them we want to do a 'full physical' -- a network assessment -- and all of the notes [on the account] leading up to that assessment reside in the Autotask CRM."
Not all MSPs see the value in trying to integrate vendors' products, however.
Powersolution.com, based in Ho-Ho-Kus, N.J., uses LPI's MSP platform but relies on a homegrown, Web-based PSA. Taking the opposite approach, New England Data Services in Waltham, Mass., uses Salesforce.com software-as-a-service tools for CRM and other PSA tasks but has in-house network management solutions.
Building your own IT management or PSA solution -- or both -- has obvious attractions, even beyond full ownership of the tool. PSA vendor ConnectWise grew directly out of ConnectWise, a Tampa, Fla.-based MSP.
Still, for the many MSPs that haven't yet built that competency, or don't want to, figuring out which vendor platforms play well together is an urgent task -- and a difficult one. There are nuances to sift through (N-able doesn't have "integration" with the various PSA tools; it has "interoperability"). There are prices to compare. There are current partnerships to consider, customer needs to measure and demos to run.
And with all the new alliances between MSP and PSA vendors, it's getting difficult to remember who's working with whom. Here's an overview of some of the bigger PSA vendors' integration schemes and what MSPs are saying about them.
NEXT: Autotask
AUTOTASK
THE PRODUCT:
Autotask's Web-based PSA software includes service desk, project management, CRM, contract administration, time tracking, billing, reporting, business analytics, tech scheduling and integration with Microsoft Outlook, Word and Excel. Options include Autotask LiveMobile.
PRICE:
$55 per user per month, $10 per user per month for LiveMobile, $100 per month for client access to the client portal within Autotask, a one-time setup fee of $99 per user and $495 per organization for data build and training
INTEGRATES WITH:
• Kaseya Managed Solution Provider Edition
What it's supposed to do: E-mail alerts from the Kaseya platform are handled by Autotask and automatically converted into service tickets.
What MSPs say: "It works out pretty well. It starts a real, solid chain of reporting. One of the ways we've got them talking to each other, for example, is if there's a backup failure at a client site, Kaseya will capture the data and send it to Autotask to generate a ticket in Autotask for one of my remote engineers to take action. Since Autotask has integration into QuickBooks, our customer can see what we've done [on their account] on the invoice at end of the month." -- Tom Beckman, client network operations manager, Infinity Business Systems, Tampa, Fla.
• LPI Level Platforms Managed Workplace
What it's supposed to do: Autotask automatically generates service tickets from Managed Workplace alerts and imports device and asset information from Managed Workplace. Multiple views automatically open in Managed Workplace from Autotask.
What MSPs say: "We signed up with Autotask after struggling with Microsoft CRM. The live links are great. It's definitely a two-way flow of info. ... When LPI's Managed Workplace alerts us of a problem, we can log into the client's server from the field using Autotask, and it appears to the customer that the log-in is coming from our shop." -- Andy Harper, CIO, Gaeltek, Manassas Park, Va.
"It beats the heck out of having to do it manually. There's always room for improvement, but we couldn't live without it. I tell people going into the MSP business, don't buy one without the other." -- Mark Crall, systems administrator, Charlotte Tech Care Team, Charlotte, N.C., and founder, Charlotte SBS Group
• N-able N-central
What it's supposed to do: Autotask automatically generates service tickets from N-central alerts and imports device and asset information from N-central. Multiple views automatically open in N-central from Autotask. N-central's remote access feature can be invoked from within Autotask.
What MSPs say: "It has been very good. We're a pure-play MSP, so I had the luxury to choose the [MSP and PSA] tools all at one time. For us, standardization and integration was key. We put in the system last May, and it took us about six months to figure out what we wanted to know and didn't want to know [in terms of alert generation]. Now it's all very smooth." -- Mike Drake, founderCEO, masterIT, Bartlett, Tenn.
• SilverBack
What it's supposed to do: E-mail alerts from SilverBack are handled by Autotask and are automatically converted into service tickets.
What MSPs say: "[The integration] is evolving, and it's going to get better. How long did it take us to integrate the tools? Let's put it this way: It took 15 minutes to get them to talk together. SilverBack generates an Autotask ticket. Coming soon is the capability to close a ticket. We generally report all the tickets to our customers, all in one bunch." -- Russ Bryant, vice president of managed services, Datotel, St. Louis
OTHER MSP PLATFORMSTOOLS THAT INTEGRATE WITH AUTOTASK:
Breakout Software Monitor IT, HandsFree Networks Automated Support Infrastructure, Hound Dog, HyBlue PatchSecure
NEXT: ConnectWise PSA
CONNECTWISE PSA
THE PRODUCT:
The ConnectWise PSA suite of modules can be hosted or housed on-premise and include CRM, sales order tracking, service ticketing, project management, time tracking, service delivery management, invoicing, business analytics and integration with a variety of software tools. Published APIs are available using industry-standard architecture. Add-on modules include ConnectWise Mobile, Email Connector and Managed Service Platform.
PRICE:
Hosted solution starts at $50 per user per month and scales as modules are added. The on-premise package is $330 per month for a five-user agreement on a 36-month payment plan.
INTEGRATES WITH:
• Kaseya Managed Solution Provider Edition
What it's supposed to do: Asset discovery synchronized between Kaseya and ConnectWise. Kaseya is integrated with ConnectWise managed service invoicing, and there's an automatic invoice update of workstation and server quantities. E-mail alerts convert to service tickets using the Email Connector add-on. There's also Executive Reporting integration.
What MSPs say:
"It has integrated quite nicely. You can bring the asset information up on a tab. In addition, Kaseya issues an alert that automatically raises with ConnectWise. And Kaseya works with ConnectWise to create monthly reports for customers." -- Bruce Campbell, vice president of marketing and sales, Clare Computer Solutions, San Ramon, Calif.
"The integration is working out great. We could not deliver the level of service we're able to if those two products didn't integrate at the level they do." -- Brad Schow, general manager, Compudyne, Duluth, Minn.
• LPI Level Platforms Managed Workplace
What it's supposed to do: Asset discovery synchronized between Managed Workplace and ConnectWise. Managed Workplace is integrated with ConnectWise managed service invoicing. There are automatic invoice updates of workstation and server quantitie, and e-mail alerts are converted to service tickets using the Email Connector add-on. Closed tickets in ConnectWise close alerts in Managed Workplace. There's also Executive Reporting integration.
What MSPs say: "In the interface, there's a monthly management summary that we can give to our clients. It's a one-page document that shows the 'health' of their network, if you will. And it's all fed automatically from Level Platforms into this summary. It gets down very deep for the client to give them those 'warm fuzzies.' It breaks it down to such things as, 'What amount of time was your server available?' ... If the client adds a workstation or adds a server, I can have my ConnectWise system automatically start charging the customer. So something doesn't ever fall through the cracks." -- Steve Harper, president, Network Management Group, Hutchinson, Kan.
• N-able N-central
What it's supposed to do: Asset discovery is synchronized between N-central and ConnectWise. N-central integrates with ConnectWise managed service invoicing. There are automatic invoice updates of workstation and server quantities, and e-mail alerts are converted to service tickets using the Email Connector add-on. There's also Executive Reporting integration.
What MSPs say: "It's not so good. The two of them point fingers at each other and say the other one's holding up the integration." -- Joe Popper, owner, Computer Gallery, Palm Desert, Calif.
"We're just beginning the integration, for staffing reasons. Right now, the way we're using the two tools, N-able doesn't send alerts to ConnectWise. But that's not because of either of those products. Actually, we're bringing on a guy next week, a proactive service engineer, just to do that integration. You've got to have your system locked down tight to get the most out of those tools." -- Marty Kaufmann, president, Accent Computer Solutions, Rancho Cucamonga, Calif.
• Zenith Infotech SAAZ
What it's supposed to do: Asset discovery is synchronized between SAAZ and ConnectWise. SAAZ integrates with ConnectWise managed service invoicing. There are automatic invoice updates of workstation and server quantities, and e-mail alerts converted to service tickets using the Email Connector add-on, as well as NOC Help Desk ticket integration and Executive Reporting integration.
What MSPs say: "The ZI integration [with ConnectWise] just came out, sometime in the last week of February. But it already gives us all the same abilities as the Kaseya integration. We get all the metrics. ... It's one click to manage, and it launches us into the Zenith portal. Functionality-wise, Kaseya was hands-down the best product for managing our managed services when we got it a couple of years ago. But the Zenith tool is 98 percent there. Our only complaint about ZI is their agent is a little heavy on the antispyware, so we deploy Kaseya when we need a lighter solution." -- Rory Sanchez, president, SL Powers, West Palm Beach, Fla.
OTHER MSP PLATFORMSTOOLS THAT INTEGRATE WITH CONNECTWISE:
HyBlue PatchSecure, SilverBack
NEXT: Tigerpaw CRM+
TIGERPAW CRM+
THE PRODUCT:
Tigerpaw CRM+, a business software system built for SMBs, includes contact management, sales and marketing management, service management and inventory control. The end-to-end solution was designed to better track customers, streamline sales, improve marketing, optimize service and better control inventory. Tigerpaw's Managed Services Integrator connects managed services functionality with service order and workflow capabilities.
PRICE:
$249 to $2,000 per concurrent user. Customers can purchase a one-time license for CRM+ alone or a Managed Services Integrator package that includes all features of CRM+). It costs $300 per user for Tigerpaw University training for the life of the version, with unlimited support.
INTEGRATES WITH:
• Kaseya Managed Solution Provider Edition
What it's supposed to do: No official integration partnership between Tigerpaw and Kaseya.
What MSPs say: "What we're doing from an integration standpoint is customizing our interface with Tigerpaw and Kaseya to mine the data we need for customer reports. In Tigerpaw, you can track inventory and warranties, so one of the ways we use it is to track, for example, expiring antivirus licenses. Then we can query Kaseya and find out what the client is actually running and if they did the update through the antivirus vendor and installed it or not. ... We're not doing automatic integrations like clients submitting tickets through Kaseya, and that would automatically open tickets in Tigerpaw. But we are doing tremendous integration between the two. It's just that it's us customizing that integration." -- Barry Monies, president, Computronix, Stamford, Conn.
• LPI Level Platforms Managed Workplace
What it's supposed to do: Automatic conversion of Managed Workplace alerts to Tigerpaw trouble tickets.
What MSPs say: "The integration has just started with Tigerpaw and Level Platforms. There's always been a lot of talk about this, but it hasn't happened until recently. Because of the casinos [we work with], we still have a large break-fix portion of our business. ... So we need an inventory module. Tigerpaw has it, but ConnectWise doesn't have it. We may eventually migrate to ConnectWise, though, because they're supposed to be putting in that capability." -- Lester Keizer, president, Connecting Point of Las Vegas
• N-able N-central
What it's supposed to do: Service tickets in CRM+ are created from N-central notifications.
What MSPs say: "It's a rudimentary connection, but in time it could be really cool. We know we could make it better. If we had the data dictionaries for both companies, we could really make it work together." -- Dave Winkel, president, Ellegent Systems, O'Fallon, Ill.
OTHER MSP PLATFORMS THAT INTEGRATE WITH TIGERPAW CRM+:
SilverBack