Item: ConnectWise ScreenConnect
Rating: 7
Author: Kevin Ritchey

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

We support over a hundred PCs and Macs with a two-man help desk using ConnectWise Control. There are solutions with many more features, but ConnectWise Control has the features we need without encumbering our staff with dozens of features we'd never need or use. The program is lightweight, and there are agents for Windows and Mac as well as a control program for Windows and Mac.

Pros and Cons

Has great ease of connection.
Provides CLI access with routines.
You can leave notes for other support staff.
Organization by the client.

There are times when the Mac Agent doesn't allow the use of the keyboard and mouse. Once the user allows ConnectWise Control to control the computer, this is not an issue.
You have to connect to use routines.
There's no easy ability to run a reverse tunnel ssh to Mac and Linux agents.

Return on Investment

A few MSP RMMS raise their prices annually, a few are laden with decades-old technology, a few are just too expensive. ConnectWise Control offers an inexpensive solution with just the right features to allow smaller MSPs to be profitable right away, with one client or a dozen.
The ability to raise or lower the number of concurrent sessions to account for the number of technicians means a more agile growth pattern. It makes the increases in cost more granular and less stepped.
The simplicity of the interface means for a very quick on-ramping of new technicians.

Alternatives Considered

LogMeIn Pro and TeamViewer

ConnectWise Control's features are better than LogMeIn, and the price is competitive and doesn't go up 100% every other year. It's simpler to use than TeamViewer and is more affordable when supporting laptops you may connect to once a month. The cross-platform abilities are better than either LogMeIn or TeamViewer, and the necessity of spending hours training technicians (as compared to TeamViewer) saves us time and money.

Other Software Used

JIRA Software, Gitlab, Zabbix, Terraform, Ansible

Likelihood to Recommend

ConnectWise Control is particularly suited for supporting a distributed workforce. When the user connects to a support session, the technician can install a permanent agent on the laptop if appropriate. This saves the end user from having to open a browser and enter a code every time support is needed. When multiple technicians are supporting a distributed workforce, it's convenient to have notes tied to the laptop instead of the ticket. E.g. in an office there may be one printer, one IP address configuration, and one scanner. But with remote workers, there may be several different peripherals and configurations and notes tied to the laptop. Notes tied to the asset with dates is helpful and doesn't require too much overhead.

Connect Wisely with ConnectWise Control

Overall Satisfaction with ConnectWise Control (formerly ScreenConnect)