What is Remote Mon­i­tor­ing and Man­age­ment (RMM)?

Remote Mon­i­tor­ing and Man­age­ment (RMM) sim­pli­fies the mon­i­tor­ing and main­te­nance of IT systems, computers, cell phones and other end devices. Par­tic­u­lar­ly important is the fact that regular remote checks not only enable faults to be detected more quickly and reliably, but can also be rectified im­me­di­ate­ly. For small and medium-sized companies in par­tic­u­lar, remote mon­i­tor­ing is therefore a cost-effective and practical al­ter­na­tive to con­ven­tion­al IT support.

In simple terms, remote mon­i­tor­ing is mon­i­tor­ing and main­te­nance from a distance. A company’s IT systems, computers, cell phones or other devices are monitored by a service provider without the service provider having to be present on site. Depending on the provider, both the hardware and the software are monitored. This is made possible by the Internet, to which the two required com­po­nents must be connected. For the customer, this concerns their end device. On the service provider's side, a dashboard com­mu­ni­cates with software agents installed on the re­spec­tive customer device.

In most cases, a managed service provider (MSP) is re­spon­si­ble for this service. This provider accesses the customer’s system or device via the dashboard and checks its functions. They can then make remote changes if necessary. Depending on the settings, remote mon­i­tor­ing allows the MSP to, among other things:

• Install new programs
• Perform important updates
• Monitor the per­for­mance of a device
• Perform con­tin­u­ous mon­i­tor­ing for control, doc­u­men­ta­tion, or early error detection
• Remotely control the cor­re­spond­ing systems
• Set up automated execution of various tasks
• Back up and restore data
• Manage different security measures, such as antivirus pro­tec­tion or firewall

Es­pe­cial­ly for small and medium-sized companies, remote mon­i­tor­ing and man­age­ment is a good option to save costs and manage their own systems in the best possible way. A managed service provider ensures that all processes run smoothly and that any errors are detected and corrected at an early stage. The customer company thus has the option of relying on its own lean IT or forgoing this de­part­ment entirely. In addition to personnel costs, this also saves space and possibly expensive tech­nol­o­gy.

Working with a pro­fes­sion­al managed services provider is the easiest and best choice. On the one hand, this provider has the necessary software and hardware and is therefore able to offer ideal remote mon­i­tor­ing and man­age­ment. On the other hand, the customer gets a service here that can usually be tailored to their in­di­vid­ual needs and system. Exactly which tasks are carried out remotely is examined together in advance and then con­trac­tu­al­ly regulated.

The first major advantage of remote mon­i­tor­ing is clearly seen when it comes to the cost. Es­pe­cial­ly for smaller companies, it is often not worth­while having a complete IT de­part­ment. Out­sourc­ing to an external service provider therefore ef­fec­tive­ly saves them money. However, this would be in­signif­i­cant if support were to suffer as a result of this out­sourc­ing. With a good managed services provider, the opposite is true. This provider per­ma­nent­ly monitors the relevant system or the selected devices and thus not only prevents or corrects errors, but can also ensure more efficient use. This both improves per­for­mance and reduces costs.

In addition, the necessary as­sis­tance is provided without loss of time. Remote mon­i­tor­ing elim­i­nates the need to find an ap­point­ment, elim­i­nates costs and time spent traveling to the site, and means that es­pe­cial­ly minor problems can be fixed im­me­di­ate­ly. The burden of checking the company’s own hardware and software is also shared among several shoulders, and the external service provider acts as a control authority. Es­pe­cial­ly when the internal technical know-how is rather limited, remote mon­i­tor­ing from a qualified partner helps.

Switching to remote mon­i­tor­ing and man­age­ment is also a good decision for the service provider. By elim­i­nat­ing the need for numerous on-site ap­point­ments, more customers can be served without ad­di­tion­al personnel costs. At the same time, clear and well-struc­tured mon­i­tor­ing ensures that the sus­cep­ti­bil­i­ty to errors is reduced and impending problems can be elim­i­nat­ed before they arise. Con­tin­u­ous remote mon­i­tor­ing allows numerous processes to be optimized on the basis of extensive data. In addition, the possible au­toma­tion of various tasks creates ad­di­tion­al resources without any loss of quality.

Remote mon­i­tor­ing and man­age­ment does not nec­es­sar­i­ly have to replace existing IT struc­tures, but can also act as a welcome addition. The seamless mon­i­tor­ing of workflows and devices makes the work of the in-house tech­ni­cians easier as well. The data collected enables optimal main­te­nance of the in­di­vid­ual devices. For this reason, it is advisable to precisely define which tasks you want to outsource and which work steps will remain the re­spon­si­bil­i­ty of your in-house IT. A com­pre­hen­sive service level agreement (SLA) with the provider secures you and defines exactly in which areas remote mon­i­tor­ing is used. This provides you with ad­di­tion­al control over your data and tech­nol­o­gy.