In two of the first tangible examples of integration between formerly separate managed services software platforms, SolarWinds MSP has integrated its MSP N-central RMM solution with its MSP Backup & Recovery tool, and also linked its MSP Remote Monitoring & Management (MSP RMM) system with its MSP Anywhere remote control application.
Both announcements come a little over six months after SolarWinds Worldwide LLC purchased RMM, BDR, and security software vendor LOGICnow, merged it with its SolarWinds N-able unit, and dubbed the combined company SolarWinds MSP. Leaders of that business have been promising to forge connections across the on-premises N-able product line and cloud-based LOGICnow software portfolio ever since.
“Getting N-central and the backup [solution] integrated is a big first step,” says SolarWinds MSP general manager John Pagliuca.
MSP N-central is the new name SolarWinds MSP assigned to its SolarWinds N-able N-central RMM product in October on the same day it rebranded LOGICnow’s MAX Backup & Disaster Recovery solution as MSP Backup & Recovery. According to Pagliuca, integrating the two systems makes protecting end user data significantly easier for N-central users.
“From the RMM platform they can with one click start the backup process and monitor the backup process right there,” he says. They can complete that process sooner as well, he continues, because the company’s BDR solution only replicates data that has changed since the last backup.
“Where some folks might take days or hours to backup their environment we’re taking a fraction of the time,” Pagliuca asserts.
BDR integration is but one new feature of MSP N-central 11, a new release that became generally available today. Other changes include the addition of role-based permissions that allow users to enhance security by limiting access rights for core system functions to individual technicians or custom-defined groups of them, and a new set of APIs for connecting N-central with third-party PSA offerings.
That latter feature is aimed at customers who partner with a PSA vendor other than the three that MSP N-central already supported: Tampa, Fla.-based ConnectWise, East Greenbush, N.Y.-based Autotask Corp., and SolarWinds MSP itself, which introduced a PSA solution in January.
“They will no longer need to wait for our development team to create something and can get their custom integrations done much sooner,” observes SolarWinds MSP senior product marketing manager Scott Parker.
According to Pagliuca, the connection between MSP RMM and MSP Anywhere, which was officially introduced today as well, similarly gives customers whose sole remote control option before was TeamViewer, from U.K.-based Permira Holdings Ltd., a second alternative. Those who choose MSP Anywhere, he asserts, will enjoy a simpler operating experience.
“It’s a little bit more straightforward to use, a little bit easier to use,” he says of that system, adding that it’s a faster solution as well.
Pagliuca described today’s dual product launches as evidence of SolarWinds MSP’s ongoing commitment to both the N-able and LOGICnow product lines. That was a theme he emphasized during November’s MAX 2016 partner event in Edinburgh, Scotland, as well.
“We continue to keep improving both platforms and keep investing heavily in both platforms,” he says.
Pagliuca also reaffirmed upcoming product roadmap landmarks disclosed at last month’s conference. Those include the introduction of new anti-ransomware capabilities that will combine endpoint security and BDR functionality to shield end users from attacks and help them recover maliciously encrypted data, as well as new management support for printers and network devices such as routers and firewalls. Both enhancements are due to arrive in the first half of 2017.
