ConnectWise isn't just for SMB
September 13, 2016
ConnectWise isn't just for SMB
Score 10 out of 10
Vetted Review
Verified User
Overall Satisfaction with ConnectWise
ConnectWise is a full business management system beginning with CRM and leads/opportunities into sales orders and procurement into billing. (you will still need a full accounting package but it will likely speak with it out of the box). It provides time tracking, expense tracking, service desk management, project management, configuration management, and on-going marketing. Different departments within our company leverage different aspects of these systems.
Pros
- The ticketing module is one of the best on the market.
- There is a good amount of customization that can be done out of the box with no programming experience or staff needed.
- ConnectWise is one of the best vendors I have ever worked with. Their staff truly cares and works to integrate with their partners at all levels.
- The database is very "clean" and well organized allowing one to do extensive reporting without extensive research or knowledge.
Cons
- While ConnectWise offers solutions to manage all aspects of your business, they aren't all best in class. (it's a best in suite solution). The marketing module is a good example of where time could be spent to provide addl. functionality, although that is something they're actively doing.
- Because ConnectWise offers SO much - I would strongly recommend a SME on-staff to make the most of the program. Changes in one "area" may inadvertently affect another.
- Their "email connector" for the ticketing does leave a bit to be desired. While the ticketing module itself is leading, their peers seem to have built out or expanded on the email intelligence.
- The best in suite approach has led to significantly improved operational efficiency.
- The simple database has allowed us to build policies and manage by exception - alerting managers when departments fail to follow best practices - rather than forcing them to micromanage.
- The out-of-the-box with-some-customizability approach to ConnectWise significantly reduces the overhead required to implement versus competing solutions. The suite approach means we don't have to maintain as much middleware.
In 2016 - I'd consider ConnectWise's two primary competitors to be Microsoft Dynamics CRM and Salesforce. (their competitors used to be smaller, industry focused). Although neither, alone, do what ConnectWise does, both have a large market of add-ons which allow similar (if not better) functionality. The burden of having multiple vendors, in-house development, etc. to attain said functionality is not appealing to us at this point.
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