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ConnectWise Automate

ConnectWise Automate
Formerly LabTech

Overview

What is ConnectWise Automate?

ConnectWise Automate, formerly LabTech, is a remote monitoring and management (RMM) platform. It provides powerful automation to discover and manage devices, monitor for problems, and scripts repetitive action.

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Recent Reviews

TrustRadius Insights

ConnectWise Automate is a powerful tool that is actively used by customers to support and monitor their networks and servers. With this …
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Not For Small MSP

6 out of 10
October 06, 2022
Incentivized
We use ConnectWise Automate for both Microsoft and 3rd party software patching management for our customers. We also utilize its …
Continue reading

Automate Me, Baby!

9 out of 10
January 02, 2020
Incentivized
We use ConnectWise Automate as our RMM platform. We are happy with the product as a whole. We are using the on-premise version of the …
Continue reading
Read all reviews

Awards

Products that are considered exceptional by their customers based on a variety of criteria win TrustRadius awards. Learn more about the types of TrustRadius awards to make the best purchase decision. More about TrustRadius Awards

Popular Features

View all 4 features
  • Remote monitoring (21)
    7.2
    72%
  • Policy-based automation (21)
    6.9
    69%
  • Patch Management (20)
    5.9
    59%
  • Network device monitoring (20)
    5.1
    51%
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Pricing

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Agents

$1.00-$6.00

On Premise
per month/per agent

Implementation Fee

$700

On Premise

Entry-level set up fee?

  • No setup fee
For the latest information on pricing, visithttps://info.connectwise.com/automate/b…

Offerings

  • Free Trial
  • Free/Freemium Version
  • Premium Consulting/Integration Services
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Product Demos

ConnectWise Automate Demo

YouTube

Office365 For ConnectWise Automate - [Shell Console]

YouTube

Active Directory UC for ConnectWise Automate

YouTube

Office365 for ConnectWise Automate

YouTube
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Features

Monitoring Tasks

Various types of monitoring

6.1
Avg 7.3

Management Tasks

Various tasks required to keep systems running smoothly

6.3
Avg 7.2
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Product Details

What is ConnectWise Automate?

ConnectWise Automate enables users to proactively monitor, manage, and support client networks. Key features of ConnectWise Automate include:
  1. Discovery – Automatically deploy and detect the status of devices, creating accountability and access to all managed devices.
  2. Management – Providing access to each endpoint managed makes it easier to resolve issues fast and keep downtime to a minimum.
  3. Patching – Configures Windows patch management with out-of-the-box policies for Microsoft and third-party software.
  4. Automation – Automates repeatable tasks to decrease costs and also keeps techs happy by automating the tasks they hate doing.

ConnectWise Automate Screenshots

Screenshot of Monitor: Find problemsScreenshot of Screenshot of Screenshot of Screenshot of Screenshot of

ConnectWise Automate Video

ConnectWise Automate overview

ConnectWise Automate Integrations

ConnectWise Automate Competitors

ConnectWise Automate Technical Details

Deployment TypesOn-premise, Software as a Service (SaaS), Cloud, or Web-Based
Operating SystemsWindows
Mobile ApplicationNo
Supported LanguagesAutomate's Control Center is in English, Agents are compatible with all Windows supported Languages

Frequently Asked Questions

ConnectWise Automate, formerly LabTech, is a remote monitoring and management (RMM) platform. It provides powerful automation to discover and manage devices, monitor for problems, and scripts repetitive action.

Kaseya VSA, Datto RMM, and N-able N-sight RMM are common alternatives for ConnectWise Automate.

Reviewers rate Remote monitoring highest, with a score of 7.2.

The most common users of ConnectWise Automate are from Small Businesses (1-50 employees).
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Comparisons

View all alternatives
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Reviews and Ratings

(205)

Community Insights

TrustRadius Insights are summaries of user sentiment data from TrustRadius reviews and, when necessary, 3rd-party data sources. Have feedback on this content? Let us know!

ConnectWise Automate is a powerful tool that is actively used by customers to support and monitor their networks and servers. With this platform, users are able to provide fast and efficient service by remotely managing all clients' computer systems and maintaining software. This includes managing endpoints, providing patch management, and remote monitoring/maintenance for clients. Users also leverage ConnectWise Automate as a comprehensive asset inventory, support ticketing, monitoring, and alerting tool. It allows for screen sharing access to assist end-users and manage servers remotely.

LabTech, another name for ConnectWise Automate, plays a crucial role in managing technology assets for multiple clients. The service department of organizations uses it to handle Windows patching, alerting, and remote access for clients' servers and workstations. LabTech ensures that client networks are efficiently managed by independently scanning and deploying agents, installing patches, and monitoring critical machines. Additionally, LabTech serves as an RMM platform for managing, automating, and maintaining customers' networks. It enables remote support, patch management, and remote monitoring while providing flexibility and multitenant architecture.

ConnectWise Automate has gained recognition for its ability to serve as a central point for end-user support and automation management. Its flexibility and multitenant architecture make it a valuable tool for managing, automating, and maintaining customers' networks. By offering features such as remote support, patch management, and remote monitoring, ConnectWise Automate empowers organizations to provide top-notch services to their clients while increasing efficiency in IT operations.

Tight Integration with Connectwise: Users have consistently praised the seamless ticket management and resolution that comes from LabTech's integration with Connectwise. Several reviewers found this aspect to be very tight, allowing for a smooth workflow between the two platforms.

Powerful Scripting Capabilities: Many users have highlighted LabTech's scripting capabilities as a standout feature. They appreciate its versatility and ability to automate mundane tasks. This has made their work more efficient and streamlined.

Effective Alerting System: Reviewers have mentioned that LabTech's alerting system is highly effective in notifying the on-call team of critical events while separating non-critical issues. This feature has been particularly valuable in ensuring timely responses to important incidents.

Confusing and Outdated User Interface: Many users have found Labtech's management system user interface to be confusing, outdated, and in need of updating. Some users have described it as unintuitive and difficult to navigate, making tasks more challenging to perform.

Steep Learning Curve for New Users: A significant amount of configuration is required out of the box for Labtech's software, which has led to a steep learning curve for new users. Some reviewers have mentioned that it can be intimidating and complex, requiring dedicated resources to fully leverage its capabilities.

Issues with Stability and Functionality: Users have experienced issues with the stability and reliability of Labtech's infrastructure when using cloud partners. Several built-in scripts, screens, and modules were reported not to work completely, indicating some problems with functionality.

Users recommend using the self-hosted version of ConnectWise Automate instead of the cloud version, particularly for companies with more than 500 employees. It is suggested to evaluate other products if support is a priority and to dedicate sufficient time to planning before implementing ConnectWise Automate. Users advise familiarizing oneself with all the software's capabilities and taking advantage of online courses to gain a deeper understanding. ConnectWise Automate is regarded as reliable with regular updates and excellent support, although there is room for improvement in its reliability. To ensure long-term success, it is recommended to set up ConnectWise Automate correctly from the start and to establish the appropriate configuration. Additionally, when comparing to other free RMMs, users suggest considering the cost and setup required for ConnectWise Automate.

Attribute Ratings

Reviews

(1-25 of 58)
Companies can't remove reviews or game the system. Here's why
Mike Boteler | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Being a highly automated MSP, Connectwise Automate is the backbone of our company. Coupled with Connectwise Manage, ConnectWise Automate creates the alerts and tickets and autoremediates. With the robust scripting engine (yes it's a bit old and clunky but there is no other RMM tool out there with as much control as ConnectWise Automate) there is no limit, we can make scripts to resolve or partially resolve any issue that comes up.
  • Automation
  • Customized Alerting
  • Connectwise Manage integration
  • The fat client is not stable but they are working on a web client
  • The web client doesn't have all the features as the fat client
  • ConnectWise Automate Support not always the fastest at resolving known issues
If you are an MSP that wants to save engineer and customer time there is no other RMM out there that can compete with ConnectWise Automate. If you are an MSP that doesn't have alot of scripting/coding experience and just want surface level ticketing, you should look for another platform as this is best suited for full throttle automation.
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
All of our project team and support desk use ConnectSise Automate (formerly LabTech) to remotely manage all of our clients' computer systems (both workstations and servers).
  • ConnectWise Automate helps us manage Microsoft updates for our client base.
  • ConnectWise Automate makes it easy to remotely troubleshoot issues for our client.
  • ConnectWise Automate works well when we need to push a script out to one or multiple computers.
  • Sometimes computers show as offline when they are really online.
  • We find that sometimes a computer will show in the program multiple times.
  • It often will not update the current username so makes it harder to find computers sometimes.
ConnectWise Automate is a great tool to remotely manage your client base. It helps manage Windows updates across your clients and allows you to remotely install/uninstall software sometimes. It can give you details about what is installed on a system, you can see printers and storage space. It gives you so much information.
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We have various computers that manage the state of the oil, and we cannot always or personally monitor them in real-time, in addition to machinery and android devices that depend on our supervision. When we go out to the field, thanks to the program, we can see what is happening in the office, and with its formats and blocking tools, we can safeguard data from any intruder who approaches us at the site or on networks.
  • Good system agility and compatibility with latest generation processors.
  • Fast implementation with agile support ready to face critical problems and help us generate possible solutions.
  • Information and display of errors in real-time make communication very easy for later repair.
  • Fast blocking of networks and access to devices remotely.
  • There are times when it takes time to connect and control, but specifically, one could not say that this is random.
  • Device expansion is complex and expensive, which I imagine is not suitable for small businesses.
  • The initial panel for both PC and droid devices is a bit complex to learn at the beginning of the implementation, but after that, it is quite understandable.
  • Support help is needed initially as I had already commented.
I recommend it to all IT colleagues; regardless of the size of the PCs with which you work most of the time, the application allows connection stability between computers that make it possible to continue working or taking care of the infrastructure from afar.
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
As an MSP, our RMM is one of our most used tools in our toolbox. ConnectWise Automate has been our best resource for remote support of our clients. We use it for our day-to-day monitoring, management, and script engine resources. It's integration with other ConnectWise products we use give us seamless management and analysis of our managed environments.
  • Silent tools and command access that works behind the scenes so clients aren't disturbed.
  • Easily assembled scripts from a robust scripting engine.
  • Event monitoring and alerting.
  • Integration with some SIEM products is lacking.
  • True event monitoring to support NOC activities isn't as robust as some competitor's.
  • UI is a little clunky and has not been updated in years.
For remote management, reporting, and alerting across multiple environments, Automate handles these tasks like a champ. Clients and sites are neatly arranged and easily accessible in a drill down tree. Dataviews can be ran to glean reports on various data relating to devices. One often used is Software Listing. You can pull a complete, searchable list of software on devices by company, site, and individual machines. This is great for planning and completing software deployments. Many other dataviews are available, including complete chassis details of devices.
October 06, 2022

Not For Small MSP

Score 6 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We use ConnectWise Automate for both Microsoft and 3rd party software patching management for our customers. We also utilize its monitoring capabilities in addition to integrated Auvik. Its remote management (Control) is much better than previous RMM we used in the past.
  • Remote Control Support (Connectwise Control)
  • Customize Report
  • Vendors integration
  • Dashboard
  • Technical support
  • Patching is hit and missed
Connectwise Automate is pretty much a jack-of-all-trade RMM. It requires full-time management. It's not designed for small MSP. From the time of onboarding to fully implementing its functionalities, our hosted Automate took us roughly about 8 months to smooth things out. Even that, we still work on improving from scripting to policy management.
Score 1 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
We use it with clients on their computers. ConnectWise Automate is supposed to do a lot of things, but it's still called Labtech within the program, which you'd think after all of these years, they would have fixed since it was purchased and renamed years ago. ConnectWise Automate requires a client license for each computer that it is installed on, but you can only add licenses and never remove them. If you don't have enough licenses, you can't use it properly. If you have too many licenses that you aren't using, you have to pay for them no matter what happens. Imagine if Microsoft did the same thing with Office and made you pay for the licenses that you don't use. In my opinion, this isn't a company that wants partners, this is a vendor only interested in making money without regard to their clients. As an MSP, my client count fluctuates, and ConnectWise Automate removes the ability to allow my client count to fluctuate as needed, which to me, that just isn't acceptable.
  • Ironclad contract
  • Inflexible terms
  • Requires licenses to use
  • I would appreciate it if you could please value your clients.
  • Also, please allow us to add and remove clients as needed so the product scales with our needs.
  • I believe you should rename the product from LabTech.
  • I would like it if you could make it easier to use.
In my opinion, it is extremely difficult to use and set up. I find the interface tough with multiple nests and folders to access different things. I also do not like the inability to add or remove clients easily when your computer count changes.
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
I am the RMM Manager for ConnectWise Automate. We use ConnectWise Automate for: Patch Management, Process Automation, Software Version Control, Monitoring, Remote Remediation, PC inventory/specification checks, Warranty Management, and Security Features.

Every computer that we manage gets ConnectWise Automate installed on it, and it handles installing the rest of our tools stack and gets those machines assigned to the proper client with the proper settings for that client
  • Alerting / Monitoring
  • Process Automation
  • Software Version Control
  • Selective Targeting of Automations
  • Patch Management - kind of clunky, but works well
  • Reporting
  • Endpoint user management
I use Connectwise Automate for most of my normal Job functions. We use ESET endpoint protection, and ConnectWise Automate handles the version updates for us. When a new version comes out, I just have to modify my custom settings to include the current version number, and it updates the entire fleet of machines. Additionally, I have used ConnectWise Automate for: Setting up Security evaluations, Setting unique local administrator accounts for 2,000 machines, removing unwanted software from all machines in the fleet, and others.

Patch Management works well, but the interface and deployment are clunky and have a steep learning curve. Once mastered, it handles patching very well, but navigation is not the easiest. Further, it comes with some decent canned reports, but generating custom reports is not well documented and very difficult. It used to be done using Crystal reports, and if you knew the database, you could generate very nice reports, but it has since moved to a custom report builder, and the nesting/grouping does not work well
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
ConnectWise Automate is used by our organization to allow our engineers to do 99% or their job remotely. We use it to monitor the status of computers, maintain software, and maintain a clean patching environment. It does its name justice as it allows us to automate a good portion of our environment.
  • The way we can automate tasks to run keeps our client's system as up to date as possible.
  • It allows our engineers to work silently on a customers machine without interrupting their productivity.
  • The vast array of plugins, allows for great customization to fit your needs.
  • Patch Manager could use improvement. At times, it will crash in the middle of patching, or switching between configurations. Setting the patch priorities seems a little convoluted.
  • The ability to copy over a file using the silent File Explorer would be nice. Rather than having to interrupt the user to replace a file or execute a download.
  • I would like to see more details in script logs. I want to see why a script failed, what step it was executing.
ConnectWise Automate is well suited for a large scale environment with multiple clients. A Managed Service Provider would benefit greatly from software like this. Your clients can have access to their computers as well which can help them manage their machines as well. ConnectWise Automate would not be ideal for a small company as it primarily caters to the management of a large scale organization.
Score 7 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
The IT team that I am involved with mainly use this product mainly for screen sharing access to either assist end-users or to manage servers remotely (more so nowadays). It has been invaluable with helping members of the team demonstrate issues with our back-office application so we can speed up support for those users, but equally its been a great help in remote managing servers when other means have been unable to work. We use this in an almost exclusively Windows PC environment so I cannot say how this performs no other platforms and the use is pretty well limited to the aforementioned desktop sharing aspect.

From a regular, IT support aspect, though this is quite a comprehensive asset inventory, support ticketing, monitoring, altering tool.
  • Desktop sharing / view with chat to the operator, file sharing and pass-through for keyboard strokes
  • Computer/server monitoring with thresholds and warning
  • Search - tracking down computers when you have many by name, logged in user, IP
  • End user ticket raising is built into the tray icon which make access really easy
  • Really minor niggle but login to the management website can be a pain at times
  • Would like to be able to access the remote desktop session as an option to manage rather than always accessing the console session on windows. There is command prompt option to manage computers without interrupting the user but sometimes its just easier to use a GUI.
  • The management website has come on leaps and bounds but occasionally we still have the odd issue, but nothing that really stops us achieving what we need to do.
Absolutely great alternative to RDP, and a lifesaver when operating across physically separate sites when point to point connectivity went down as its access to servers are routed through the internet.

For us it can be a bit intrusive at times when you're trying to grab logs off a computer running one of our bespoke apps when someone is using actually using it, hence it would be nice to be able to access a different session on windows, but there are ways around it.
March 04, 2021

Automate Attraction

Luke Kuhlow | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We currently utilize Automate for RMM as internal IT and have deployed it across the whole organization, it is key for our daily asset management.
  • Performs maintenance and daily routines.
  • Performs security and patching solutions.
  • Allows for ease of support of end users.
  • Comes with lots of tools, but most of which you must assemble yourself.
  • Great for the tinkerer who likes to try and troubleshoot, but support is lacking.
  • Requires lots of configuration out of the box.
Obviously Automate is designed for MSP, but I have found that some internal IT forces could benefit from this software as it helps organize, manage, and protect your physical inventory fleet. Its integration with other products allows for ease of end-user support, and accurate reporting for auditors and compliance regulators. This software has allowed us to consolidate 5 disparate applications into this one and it has helped our helpdesk staff increase productivity and resolution of issues.
Score 7 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We use [ConnectWise Automate (formerly LabTech)] to manage and monitor client end points, as well to provide automation. We integrate it with ScreenConnect, ConnectWise Manage, and ITGlue. Automation is one of the major functions it performs for us. With it we can push other tools like Logic Monitor, ScreenConnect, AutoElevate and DeskDirector. We also have it send alerts to our ticketing system for reactive support.
  • Automation
  • Monitoring
  • Configuration reference
  • Automation can be difficult to implement
  • Discrepancy between web and installed client.
We heavily rely on it's automation and ability to run script for pushing additional tools and fixes to client end points. However, creating scripts is not particularly intuitive. We have only 1 person on staff that can setup scripts, and we have to use an outside vendor for more advanced work. We recently started using AutoElevate to handle UAC, and we have a script that allows us to push it to new client end points easily.
January 28, 2021

Automate Review

Daren Anderson, MSIS | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
ResellerIncentivized
We are a managed service provider so we use Automate for all our MSP clients; it helps us to monitor updates for our customers and, if needed, uninstall updates if something went wrong.
  • Takes care of updates
  • Support
  • Technical documentation
  • Has a big learning curve just starting out.
  • Needs mores simplified directions.
  • Better support.
If you have a managed service provider business, you definitely need to look at Automate and its accompanying program Manage and ConnectWise Control. Automate will do just that—automate your MSP business as it takes away the normal day to day updates, and in case there is an issue with a Windows update, you can just as easily uninstall all those updates with a few keystrokes rather than going from machine to machine and doing that task. You can also bring up all your systems in the dashboard and check for issues before they happen.
March 14, 2020

ConnectWise Automate

Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We are an MSP who uses Automate to manage 3000+ endpoints. Automate handles Windows patching, alerting, remote access, among many other things for our business. It is our primary source of management for our users workstations and servers.

  • Manages Windows updates.
  • Alerting for offline servers.
  • Antivirus management.
  • Backup management.
  • Due to its many features, it seems some areas are a bit difficult to configure.
Automate is useful for managing a large number of endpoints. It is a bit overkill if you have a smaller number of users. Automate can be used for a variety of things from managing your internal IT assets to managing thousands of customer endpoints.
Adam Friedli | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Automate is being used by the support services department of the company. We are a managed services provider, so we manage all of our clients from within ConnectWise Automate. It allows us to easily connect to client machines and servers, run scripts against the machines to install applications, and assist with installing patches without manual intervention. It definitely helped cut back a lot on manual tasks, which saves the team a lot of time on more menial tasks. It allows us to devote more time to other issues instead of the various management tasks for machines we support.
  • Automated patching. The patch management is very robust and doesn't let us down. We can rely on it to do its job.
  • Scripting. The scripting engine and layout is excellent. It's very easy to work with and adapt Powershell scripts and other script to the native format with its functions. It also gives detailed logs to help determine why something went wrong if there's issues.
  • They have conflicting scheduling paradigms. When scheduling patching for clients, the 1st Friday is interpreted as the very first Friday of the month, even if this is the 1st of the month. For scripting, the 1st Friday of the month is interpreted as the 1st Friday of the 1st FULL WEEK of the month. This makes no sense to have two different interpretations, and makes it unreliable to schedule recurring scripts to fall when recurring maintenance does. The scripts need to be done manually because of this.
  • There is no way to dictate reboot orders for patch policies. This tied directly in with my first point. We have some clients that require reboot orders. This is not possible without having different patch policies for each server and specifying a time this way. But, there aren't small enough increments of time to make this reliable, plus patching duration might vary. Excluding reboots with patching and scheduling reboot scripts fixes this. However, this can't be done once on a recurring schedule due to the different scheduling paradigms already discussed. We have to schedule these manually each month.
ConnectWise Automate is a fantastic platform for managing multiple clients, and I feel this is why it was created in the first place. I have ready complaints about certain components and behaviors in the past online. However, it appears they have fixed these issues in later versions as we have not experienced them. It also has competitive pricing for RMM's for MSP's to use. It could also be used for a single company to manage their environment, but I don't think it was meant for this. There might be other options that are more cost effective, especially if a single company doesn't have hundreds of machines to manage or more.
January 02, 2020

Automate Me, Baby!

Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We use ConnectWise Automate as our RMM platform. We are happy with the product as a whole. We are using the on-premise version of the software. One complaint we do have is the slowness of the application. However, they are moving more and more functions over to the web URL. At one point, we switched from Labtech over to Kaseya. Kaseya was substantially less expensive, however, we ended up switching back to Labtech within 8 months due to the technical support and lack of features within Kaseya.
  • Computer Management
  • Remote Control
  • Performance
  • Integration
Well suited for managed service providers as well as larger companies with over 200 computer assets. Less appropriate for smaller companies or managed service providers that are doing more break-fix services and not real management. The software would work well in government or municipal entities in addition to MSPs.
William Pote | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
  • Automation of mundane and repetitive tasks.
  • Management of our clients
  • It can be painfully slow.
  • It's quite complex and needs a lot of training.
If you are an MSP looking to scale and are willing to put in the time and effort it will take you a long way.
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
I use it daily in my technical support role. It is used across my organization.
  • Seamless integration with other ConnectWise products.
  • Works well and is feature rich.
  • Allows me to access servers at anytime for patching and maintenance.
  • Honestly, there is not much I would change.
  • As far as I am concerned; it is the best by far.
  • Might be a little expensive for small MSP's...But worth the investment.
Medium MSP's who need a solution to manage multiple clients and access their machines for maintenance and help desk support.
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
ResellerIncentivized
We use ConnectWise within our managed services department and also for our internal IT operations. We use ConnectWise to provide remote support for end users' computers. In additional to remote control capabilities we use ConnectWise for patch management and remote monitoring. ConnectWIse is great since it provides a CRM platform and you don't have to purchase a separate CRM platform.
  • The reporting is great and it shows clients and staff how many issues have been resolved and how to decrease trouble areas.
  • Great at patch management.
  • Scripting is one of the thing we use extensively and ConnectWise has great scripts to use and also it's very easy to create your own.
  • The remote control capabilities are fast and responsive and the bandwidth overhead is minimal.
  • New features are constantly being added.
  • Wish is was cheaper. This is a competitive market and they should lower the price to be more competitive.
  • The GUI needs to be cleaned up and more streamlined. Currently it's a mess.
  • Tech support could be better.
ConnectWise is great for MSPs and internal IT departments. It provides great reporting to see where the problem areas are and how to resolve them. It's great for those companies that have nationwide deployments and help IT departments to resolve end users' issues remotely.
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We use Automate every day to provide our customers with support. We use it to remote control, automate maintenance tasks, monitor our clients' systems. It is an essential part of how we do business. Our business would not be successful without this application and the rest of the ConnectWise suite of products.
  • Remote control.
  • Patching.
  • Monitoring.
  • It is a little slow some times.
  • It can be difficult to set-up and maintain.
  • The interface is not very intuitive for new users.
It is well suited for a managed services environment. It provides an effective way for us to manage thousands of systems at the same time.
Asfer Bin Saleh | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
ConnectWise has a CRM, ticketing system, help desk, and tools for project management, billing, and procurement. The business tool also has reporting and dashboards and uses over 300 third-party integrations.

ConnectWise gives businesses a complete business management and process automation platform for technology companies including IT service companies, professional services, software developers, security, and telecom. The workflow rules that are defined in ConnectWise cover various areas of the business, ranging from conducting targeted marketing campaigns to monitoring service delivery using service level agreements.


You can create work plans and project timelines and get detailed reporting on progress of projects. It’s also possible to use the workflow engine to manage deadlines and get notifications of overdue tasks.

  • It includes a ticketing system using workflow automation, SLA, as well as performance monitoring and access tickets from mobile devices.
  • Dashboards of the tool show overviews and detailed explanations of KPIs. Your business can also use the custom report writer to generate reports on whatever issue you want.
  • You can use ConnectWise to automate the range of ITIL process, such as: incident management, availability management, change management, service reporting, service-level management, service asset and configuration management, request management, and knowledge management.
  • You can track all your clients information and every single job you do for them. You can do quotes, send them, add providers to compare prices, manage the calendar of the employees, assign tickets to the correct person, there is nothing you can't do with this tool.
  • Inside all the greatness, there are some works around that you have to do for specific duties that could be automated.
  • Make sure you keep notes on each client profile, you can use the private note section, it is secure and it works as a reminder of everything you need to do about that specific client, only you and your employees will see those.
It allows your team to receive, process and respond to service requests quickly and efficiently thanks to the ticket system that comes with ConnectWise Manage and this application does not have a multi-channel communication, adding that you have to have a level of training for that application because if you do not have it, handling it will be quite difficult.
Score 7 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
Our organization uses ConnectWise Automate as a central point for end-user support and automation management. We leverage Automate as a scripting repository which provides us with the flexibility to apply configurations based on machine information such as installed applications, site where the machines are located at, and other parameters such as resources available. Automate allows us to 'script it once' and deliver many times, as a managed services provider, this is of crucial importance as it is a multitenant architecture which we can apply to all of our customers based on service tiers that they have signed up for.
  • Scripting.
  • Centralized configuration management.
  • Healthchecks.
  • The GUI interface is archaic.
  • Scripting engines could use work to be more PowerShell native.
  • Ability to work in VDI environments.
ConnectWise Automate is well suited for physical PCs, laptops and virtual environments where VDI is not in the mix. It is well suited for HyperV environments but is lacking a bit in ESX and XenServer.
October 04, 2019

One piece of the puzzle

Garry Adams | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 9 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
ConnectWise Automate is used in managing client systems as well as our own internal systems. Users in our support teams use it daily for access to and management of systems, alerting, and updates and users in an account management role also access it regularly for asset reporting and management.
  • Scripting
  • Remote asset control
  • Asset reporting an inventory
  • The local client is very robust, but it can be a resource hog.
  • The web client is not as full-featured as the local client but runs much faster.
  • Updates on the local client are installed automatically when you launch the application, but they can take some time to run. Since there is no option for a window to install them, this can cause delays when launching the software for the first time after a period of inactivity.
Automate integrates natively with the rest of the ConnectWise suite. If you are looking for a one-stop-shop, then Automate, Control and Sell are a great way to go. There are regular updates to the toolset, but because it has been around for so long certain aspects of it still seem quite dated. For example, the local client is not well optimized. The web version is making progress, but still lacking the ability to export asset reports called data views. Once all of the functionality from the local client is available on the web client that will make a significant difference.
Score 8 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
RealTime, LLC uses ConnectWise Automate in our managed services department. Automate provides rich data, simple endpoint management, and allows RealTime to automate tasks that were out of reach prior to changing to Automate about 7 years ago.
The primary uses are patch management, VMware management, automation, client onboarding, cybersecurity solutions deployment, reporting data, and tight integration with our PSA, ConnectWise Manage. Remote control via ScreenConnect, or Connect I think it's called now, is pretty seamless and we even have one-click access to backstage when using the web version of Automate. Security-wise, we use AD integration and Two-factor authentication to secure our connections to the tool in and out of the office.
  • It feeds tons of data to our reporting solution.
  • A good overview of client endpoints, online status, av status and access to many tools to keep from disturbing end-users while troubleshooting their computers.
  • Synchronizes with our PSA to automate billing changes.
  • Tightly integrated with the remote control tools so we don't have to jump into a different console to make that connection.
  • Alerting on multiple items (got one just a little while ago from the VMware plugin about a failed drive on a VM Host) and automatic ticket creation, and in many cases, automated remediation.
  • Patch management is always a little finicky. Gets better every time.
  • If you decide to hitch your MSP to ConnectWise Automate, make sure you have a clear plan of what you want to accomplish and please, save your self a ton of hassle and use ConnectWise consulting to get things going initially.
  • Conflicting answers from support on more complicated items.
  • Not sure if this applies, but you need to have someone at your MSP whose job is the care and feeding of Automate, as well as that script and automation creation. Not really a complaint, more along the lines of "you are buying a business automation platform, you need to dedicate people to get the most out of it."
Mature MSP's can't go wrong selecting Automate as their RMM tool, as long as you dedicate qualified personnel to get the most out of the product. It is well suited for in house, or co-managed IT. We let some in house IT staff use Automate for their internal use and if they invest the time in learning the basics, it is a good value add. It often just ends up being the way they remote into their computers.

Startup MSP's, or those who just don't understand the value of automation - Automate isn't for you. You can get some good value out of it, but the complexity and cost may outweigh the benefits if you just don't have the scale or dedicated, skilled resources to really get the most out of the product.
Score 2 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Incentivized
We are an MSP using ConnectWise Automate to manage about 1100 endpoints for our clients. We use this product for patch management and remote monitoring/maintenance.
  • Integration to ScreenConnect and ConnectWise are fairly tight at this point.
  • Powerful tool for automation and custom scripting - if you have the technical capabilities and time, you can do more with Automate than any RMM on the market...
  • New UI is built to be pretty, but it's bloated, slow, and lacks the information that used to live on the main screen. You now have to dig to get information that was once easily at hand...
  • Too Noisy - it alerts on EVERYTHING, and it's very difficult to tone it down without missing things that are important. This puts a drain on staff time... We can't respond to every ticket, and then important details get lost in the noise...
  • No Mac/Linux client - my admins need access to a Windows PC to function...
If you're very technical and have advanced scripting skillsets, this is a great tool.

If you're short staffed, this tool will create so much work that you can't get it all done.
Jonathan Hozeska | TrustRadius Reviewer
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
ConnectWise Automate solves our ability to provided scripted resolution to repetitive tasks for all of our clients. Regardless of the client or physical location ConnectWise Automate is the tool that allows us to perform a consistent task, document the work, and send the necessary details of it to billing. Network Services Group deploys it to every client. It is part of our comprehensive support stack.
  • Automatically perform and records billable work time.
  • Consistently perform representative tasks.
  • Schedule tasks for off-hours to minimize disrupting our clients.
  • Excellent source for details in developing new sales.
  • Having to pay for licensing in advance. If you need additional licenses you need to plan ahead to have them available.
  • Some ConnectWise Automate options such as third-party patching could offer patching for more software.
  • ConnectWise Automate can be very complex so it can take time to understand all it can do. The more time you invest in ConnectWise Automate the easier and more powerful it becomes.
ConnectWise Automate solves all of our inventory and network health issues. We have deployed it in multi-site, wide area networks to provide common critical desktop support and automation tasks. Integrations available for ConnectWise Automate further extend its abilities into areas outside of common desktop management. Its powerful scripting capabilities with back-end data aggregations provide the core of its features.
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