At an IT Nation event, ConnectWise announced today the acquisition of both Continuum, a provider of a remote monitoring and management (RMM) tool delivered via a software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform, and ITBoost, a provider of IT documentation software.
In addition, ConnectWise also revealed it has formed a strategic alliance with Webinfinity through which it will make available a partner relationship management (PRM) application, dubbed ConnectWise Engage powered by Webinfinity, that MSPs will employ to manage vendor relationships and formally launched a cybersecurity initiative to through which ConnectWise and other IT vendors will share cybersecurity intelligence with MSPs.
The acquisition of Continuum will complement an existing RMM offering from ConnectWise that managed services providers can roll out on their own versus relying on a SaaS platform from Continuum to provide similar RMM capabilities, says ConnectWise CEO Jason Magee. That SaaS approach also reduces the total cost of launching a managed service portfolio by among other things reducing the amount of infrastructure needs to be provisioned and access to capabilities such as login and Office 365 monitoring, dark web scanning, and a built set of security operations center (SOC) tools.
“We’re seeing al lot of office equipment dealers and resellers that want to become MSPs,” says Magee.
The Continuum platform also provides MSPs with access to artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities that Continuum has been infusing into its RMM platform, which is a capability that most MSPs that have rolled out their own RMM platform are not going to have enough access to data to replicate on their own.
Longer term, Magee said ConnectWise is also seeing MSPs that are opting to both roll their own RMM platform alongside a SaaS implementation to address different customer requirements.
In addition, the acquisition of Continuum expands the number of MSPs that will be exposed to the professional services automation (PSA) platform that ConnectWise also provides, notes Magee.
ConnectWise also expects the IT documentation tool for documenting workflows and process will complement both RMM offerings, adds Magee.
It’s too early to say with any certainty how many MSPs might transition to a SaaS-based RMM platform. The one thing that is clear RMM platforms have never been more accessible to channel partners looking to expand their portfolios into the realm of managed services.
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