Item: N-able N-central
Rating: 1
Author: Verified User

Use Cases and Deployment Scope

Ideally, we wanted to utilize N-able N-central's tools to provide RMM and remote access for client systems. We sought out an application that had privileged access available (PassPortal) that also let us script solutions. The $99 price was enticing, so we gave it a shot.

Pros and Cons

A tad easier to setup than DIY solutions
Easier to manage many customers than a few other options out there
Relatively inexpensive if options are disabled

Customer support just points to online guides and I feel they aren't helpful.
During the trial they turn on a lot of features. In my experience, if you play around with the features, they charge you for them. Keep this in mind if you move forward with N-Able - they will charge for "trialed" services.
In my experience, some services that you're being charged for can't be disabled or monitored by you or your team. You only see them on the monthly invoice.
In my opinion, the "Scripting Automation" doesn't provide value. You're either going to be writing your own batch or Powershell to make scripting work.
In my opinion, monitoring software deployments is painful.
The default monitoring template can't be duplicated, edited, or referenced. You'll find that the default monitors in an unusual way and will throw needless recurring alerts into your ticketing system. To avoid this, you need to create a template from scratch which takes many hours to set up.
In my opinion, they're more concerned about a quick buck than customer service. "Buyer beware" company.

Most Important Features

I don't think they follow through on the features that my team was looking for
We sought out good software deployment management, patch management, and easy to understand billing
The patch management isn't bad but they don't hit the mark on the other two

Return on Investment

Negative ROI
Limited RMM functionality and time consuming to dial-in
In my experience, we were overcharged by N-Able with no useful mechanism to resolve

Alternatives Considered

NinjaOne, BeyondTrust Remote Support, GoTo Resolve, TeamViewer, ManageEngine Endpoint Central, Datto RMM, Dragon RMM (ITarian / Comodo ONE), Microsoft Intune and Microsoft System Center Operations Manager (SCOM)

I selected N-able N-central as I liked the idea of easy-to-work with pricing that integrates with other PSAs (specifically ConnectWise PSA aka Connectwise Manage). I did not succeed with that. I'd use any of the other tools instead. The integration is problematic as the default checks will automatically turn on alerts that you may not want. If you delete them, it will recreate them (adding chatter into your PSA ticketing system). Software deployments are harder for this system than any other one I've ever worked with.

Key Insights

Do you think N-able N-central delivers good value for the price?

Are you happy with N-able N-central's feature set?

Did N-able N-central live up to sales and marketing promises?

Did implementation of N-able N-central go as expected?

Would you buy N-able N-central again?

Other Software Used

ConnectWise PSA, Pax8, Arrow Services, Microsoft 365, Microsoft Azure

Likelihood to Recommend

In my opinion, N-able N-central is a good "learn your lesson and move onto something better" tool. I've used many RMM tools over the years and I feel that this one is slow, does a terrible job with reporting, alerting, monitoring, software deployments, etc. The ability to turn on services like AV, backup, etc easily is cute, but you're not going to be able to use your own tools with this easily. In my experience, if you do turn those tools on for testing during the trial, you'll be charged later (despite it being a trial). They also turn off your ability to monitor these increased costs or to turn them off yourself. As a company, I found that they were impossible to work with. The sales team is right there if you want to buy something - but if you need anything other than to buy something, in my experience, they take days or weeks to navigate. I found that they are not a terribly ethical company and are more concerned with making a few dollars than creating a partnerships with MSPs. I can see value is in the advertised price of $99 for a hundred endpoints. However, you need to remember to not trial any other tools (like AV, backup, etc).

Support Rating

I contacted them for a billing dispute. I was charged for a service I didn't use, didn't want, didn't need, didn't ask for. I wasn't aware I was being charged for it. When I reached out to them they sent along a guide to remove the feature... which I didn't have access to. They removed it from their back-end but still charged me. I don't work with, in my opinion, unethical companies so I asked for the account to be cancelled. That takes 6 weeks, per them. Avoid this company.

N-able N-central Customer Support Pros and Cons

Pros	Cons
None	Slow Resolution Poor followup Less knowledgeable Not kept informed Escalation required Difficult to get immediate help Need to explain problems multiple times Support doesn't seem to care

Premium Support

I did not purchase premium support. I generally don't need help with tools like this. Billing issues shouldn't require premium support though and I don't believe my issues would have been resolved by using a premium channel.

Bug Resolution

Usability

The initial setup for a server or network object is about 60% setup using their templates without a lot of effort. However, the last 40% is difficult to dial in. The default template is "intelligent" in that different sized servers can be monitored with that template. However, I found that the manual templates didn't have this intelligence so you'll need a template for every use-case and size. For some clients, we would need a custom template for every server. Once one template is created they can be cloned and edited but it's still problematic to have so many templates. Software deployments can be pushed immediately. The alerting for deployment issues is largely non-existent. You'll need to script in your own verbose logging and repository for those logs.

Usability Pros and Cons

Pros	Cons
Technical support not required	Do not like to use Unnecessarily complex Difficult to use Not well integrated Inconsistent Slow to learn Cumbersome Feel nervous using

Easy Tasks

Default template works for some servers without too much effort
If you sell a client AV, backup, etc and want to use the N-Able tools then it's not hard to add those tools

Difficult Tasks

Monitoring software deployments or receiving info about deployment issues
In my opinion, the built-in scripts are useless. You'll need to build them yourselves in PS and batch. Remember to setup verbose logging and repository to review the logs.
You'll need to create a lot of your own templates based on use-case, sizing, etc
If you use something other than N-Ables tools for AV, backup, etc then you'll have a hard time with monitoring, alerting through N-Able

Mobile Interface Availability and Impressions

Yes - The interface for mobile is very limited, basic "green light, red light" status. You don't have the ability to do anything useful via mobile besides restarting a server (which I would not recommend doing as the first troubleshooting step).

N-Able? More like Dis-Able

Overall Satisfaction with N-able N-central