MSP best practice. Content includes the following: Why it’s important to analyze the configuration of your RMM solution against industry best practices (and where to get those practices and how do to the analysis); How to check thresholds and alerts against user roles and policy settings for maximum effectiveness; How to audit the integration of your RMM solution with your PSA tool, including a review of dashboards and reports – and learn why this is often overlooked; How to implement these changes to increase your profitability by 10% to 20%. Presented by Kaseya with SPC International (fka MSP University). October 2013

1. MSP Best Practices
Optimizing Your RMM Solution
And Increasing Your Profits
October 16, 2013

2. Agenda
• Introductions
• Our MSP Expert – Erick Simpson, VP and CIO of SPC
International
– Why it’s important to analyze the configuration of your
RMM solution against industry best practices (and
where to get those practices and how do to the analysis)
– How to check thresholds and alerts against user roles
and policy settings for maximum effectiveness
– How to audit the integration of your RMM solution with
your PSA tool, including a review of dashboards and
reports – and learn why this is often overlooked
– How to implement these changes to increase your
profitability by 10% to 20% - or MORE
• Q&A
2

3. Stay with us until
the end and you
may win!

4. About Kaseya
• Enterprise-class IT systems
management for everybody
• Key Facts
– Founded 2000
– STILL privately held
• Multi-million dollar R&D
• Bench strength via Insight Partners
– Offices worldwide in 20+ countries
with 450+ employees
• 12,000+ customers
• Millions of assets managed
– 6 patents issued for IT service
delivery processes & remote IT
management processes
• 37 patents pending
4
– Common Criteria (EAL2+) certified
and FIPS 140-2 security compliant
– ITIL v2 and v3 compatible (Pink
Elephant cert in progress)

5. Kaseya Essentials for Solution Providers
http://goo.gl/rskLUU
All in one functionality for
MSPs with a Standard
Solution Package (v6.3)
•
•
•
•
•
Templates
Views & groupings
Sets – monitors & events
Scripts
Policies

6. Why MSPs Choose Kaseya Essentials
A single Kaseya user can proactively manage 1,000s of automated
IT systems and network tasks in the same amount of time
required by a team of technicians using other techniques
It’s the industry’s only patented single-server-single-agent
architecture; MSPs get enterprise-class capability that is easy to
use and easy to afford
With 60+% of top MSPs worldwide using Kaseya, they get access
to the most robust community available
And with so many ISVs plugging in to Kaseya via a seamless
integration process, they get an easy way to leverage their
existing strategic technology partnerships

7. Industry Expert
Erick Simpson
Vice President & CIO, SPC International
Mr. Simpson is a recognized IT and Managed
Services Author, Speaker and Trainer, and
contributor to numerous industry publications and
events. Author of "The Guide to a Successful
Managed Services Practice", the definitive book on
Managed Services, and “The Best I.T. Sales &
Marketing BOOK EVER!”, “The Best I.T. Service
Delivery BOOK EVER!”, as well as “The Best NOC and
Service Desk Operations BOOK EVER!”. Erick has also
co-authored the HTG publication “Peer Power –
Powerful Ideas for Partners from Peers”. Erick's prior
experience includes overseeing the design,
development and implementation of Enterpriselevel Help Desks and Call Centers for Fortune 1000
organizations.
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•
•
•
•
Over 20 years experience in the IT
industry
Microsoft MCP, SBSC
Author, Speaker and Trainer
Built Call Centers and Service Desks for
Fortune 1000 Organizations

8. About SPC International
• Solution Provider Community International
- The IT Business Builder
– Provides IT Business Operations, Sales & Marketing
and Technical Service Delivery Improvement
Education & Training Internationally
– Hosts the largest library of IT and Managed Services
business improvement and transformation resources
in the channel
• IT Business Builder Learning Management System
• Consulting Engagements
• Fulfillment Services
– 20,000 Members
• Kaseya Industry Expert since 2012
8

9. How Optimize Your RMM Solution
And Increase Your Profits
000000_9

10. Are you fully leveraging your RMM’s
capabilities to maximize profits?
• Is your RMM solution properly configured
to maximize your efficiencies in Service
Delivery and Eliminate the Noise of
Unnecessary Alerts?
• Are your RMM’s Thresholds and Alerts
customized to ensure adherence to your
published SLAs?
• Is your RMM Solution properly integrated
into your PSA Solution to maximize
automation, improve incident
management, resolution and closure?
10

11. Common RMM Challenges
• Lack of time or expertise in initial
RMM configuration and optimization
• Lack of a standardized Agent
deployment process
• Integration between RMM and PSA
Solution not optimized
• Too many alerts flooding RMM and
PSA service boards and queues
• Failure to utilize patch management
and update function properly
• Default device polling, threshold and
alerting settings not optimized
• Failure to optimize reporting to help
strengthen service value and improve
QBRs
• Failure to deploy all of your agents
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12. Biggest Challenge

13. Prioritize your top 3 pains and
challenges
1. Too many alerts flooding RMM and
PSA service boards and queues
2. Failure to utilize patch management
and update functions properly
3. Integration between RMM and PSA
Solution not optimized, creating
additional labor

14. Audit your RMM!
• Business Setup
– Customers/ Machine
Groups /
Departments/
Contacts
– User Accounts and
Roles
– Scopes
• Daily Basic
Monitoring
– Servers, Workstations
– Monitor Sets and
Policies

15. RMM Audit Checklist
• Business Setup – eases management!
– Customer organization information
complete
– Customer Machine Groups set up
– Customer Departments set up
– Customer Staff contact information
complete
– User Roles set up
– Scopes set up and in use

16. RMM Audit Checklist
• Daily Basic Monitoring – eases service!
– Servers actively monitored
– Workstations actively monitored
– Monitor sets assigned to machines
– Policies set up and in use
• Patch Management – eases headaches!
– Patch policies enabled and assigned
– Patch alerts are being managed

17. RMM Audit Checklist
• Alarms and Tickets – eases service!
– Alarms are current
– Dashboards are customized and in use
– Tickets managed
– Policies set up and in use
• PSA Integration – eases labor!
– PSA is integrated with RMM correctly

18. Control the Alerts!
• Monitor Sets are
key
– Monitor > Edit >
Monitor Sets
• Select the Shared
folder
• Create a New
folder

19. Control the Alerts!
• Select the Shared
folder if you wish to
share
• Create a New folder
• Copy an existing
Monitor Set or
create a new one
• Add only the alarms
you need and
optimize to reduce
unnecessary noise
by editing Counter
Thresholds

20. Control the Alerts!

21. Control the Alerts!
• Make sure to set the alarm thresholds
accurately to eliminate unnecessary
alerting.

22. Control the Alerts!
• The Collection Threshold defines the log data
that will be collected on that counter over a
specified period such as every 20, 30 or 90
minutes. You can minimize unwanted log data
by setting a collection operator just over or
just under the collection threshold.

23. Optimize Patch Management!
• Determine what patches are missing
using Scan Machine
• Patch Management > Manage
Machines >Scan Machine – Run Now

24. Optimize Patch Management!
• Determine what patches are missing
using Scan Machine
• Patch Management > Manage Machines
>Scan Machine – Run Now or Schedule
recurring scans

25. Optimize Patch Management!
• Get a detailed view of the update status
on a per-machine basis via the Machine
History link.

26. Optimize Patch Management!
• View detailed information about the installed
and missing patches on each machine with
hyperlinks to Microsoft's security bulletin and
knowledgebase articles for that specific patch.

27. Optimize Patch Management!
• Select your reboot action

28. 3 ways to deploy updates
• Machine Update
– Select target machines and
schedule updates once
• Patch Update
– Select individual updates
and schedule updates once
• Automatic Update
– Automatically deploy
updates to target machines
as they are released
*Disable Windows Auto
Updates by going to Patch
Mgmt >Configure >Windows
Auto Update

29. Integrate With Your PSA!
•
•
•
•
Reduces complexity
Increases efficiencies
Grows margins
How?
– Your PSA’s
configuration Plug-in
– Kaseya VSA API Web
Service

30. Kaseya VSA API Web Service
1.
2.
3.
4.
Enable VSA API Web Service: System tab >Server
Management >Configure, and select the check box next to
Enable VSA API Web Service.
Enable SQL database views: System tab >Database Access
>Database Views and enter a new password for this
account.
Configure Email: Ticketing tab > Configure ticketing, and
either configure the Notify policy or Email reader and
Email mapping functions appropriately to integrate with
your PSA.
Configure agent menu redirection: Agent tab >Configure
Agents >Agent menu and specify the URL and text you
wish to use in the 2nd row of text boxes
– http://help.kaseya.com/WebHelp/en-US/5000000/3916.htm
– http://help.kaseya.com/WebHelp/en-US/5000000/3480.htm

31. SPC RMM Audit and Optimization
Service!
Phase 1: Complete RMM Audit and Report
• Business Setup
• Patch Management
• Customer organization
• Patch policies enabled and
information complete
assigned
• Customer Machine Groups set up
• Patch alerts are being
• Customer Departments set up
managed
• Customer Staff contact
• Alarms and Tickets
information complete
• Alarms are current
• User Roles set up
• Dashboards are customized
• Scopes set up and in use
and in use
• Daily Basic Monitoring
• Tickets managed
• Servers actively monitored
• Policies set up and in use
• Workstations actively monitored
• Monitor sets assigned to
machines
• Policies set up and in use
• PSA Integration
• PSA is integrated with RMM
correctly

32. SPC RMM Audit and Optimization
Service!
Phase 2: Import Custom Monitor Sets and Dashboards
• Import Five Service Monitor Sets • Import Six Performance Monitor
Sets
• Basic Server Service Monitor
• SQL Server 2005 Service Monitor
• SQL Server 2008 Service Monitor
• Exchange Server 2003 Service
Monitor
• Exchange Server 2007/2010
Service Monitor
• Set Up 2 Custom Dashboards
• Monitor Dashboard
• Alarm Dashboard
•
•
•
•
•
•
Basic Server
Basic Workstation
SQL Server 2005
SQL Server 2008
Exchange Server 2003
Exchange Server 2007/2010
• Includes 12 Month IT Business
Improvement LMS Subscription!

33. SPC RMM Audit and Optimization
Service!
Phase 2: Import Custom Monitor Sets and Dashboards
• Import Five Service Monitor Sets • Import Six Performance Monitor
Sets
• Basic Server Service Monitor
• SQL Server 2005 Service Monitor
• SQL Server 2008 Service Monitor
• Exchange Server 2003 Service
Monitor
• Exchange Server 2007/2010
Service Monitor
• Set Up 2 Custom Dashboards
• Monitor Dashboard
• Alarm Dashboard
•
•
•
•
•
•
Basic Server
Basic Workstation
SQL Server 2005
SQL Server 2008
Exchange Server 2003
Exchange Server 2007/2010
• Includes 12 Month IT Business
Improvement LMS Subscription!
30% off – only $485!
http://s.spc-intl.com/kaseyarmm

34. Next Steps
• More on SPC International’s Kaseya Optimization Services
http://s.spc-intl.com/kaseyarmm
• Learn more about Kaseya for MSPs
www.kaseya.com/msp
• For a free live product demo
www.kaseya.com/mspdemo
• For a free trial
www.kaseya.com/trynow
Kaseya Industry Expert Webinars
www.kaseya.com/resources/webinars
• To speak with us
www.kaseya.com/contactme
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