CRN Exclusive: Atera Takes A Bite Out Of Apple With New Remote Management, Monitoring Tools

IT service management vendor Atera has extended its full monitoring, management and automation capabilities to Apple client devices to help MSPs better serve different vertical industries.

The fast-growing company, based in Bnei Brak, Israel, said the enhancement will open the door for solution providers to support Mac-heavy occupations such as artists, architects and designers. It will also make it possible for MSPs to serve all users in heterogeneous environments where certain employees have MacBooks, according to Atera CEO Gil Pekelman.

"We're now covering everything," Pekelman told CRN exclusively. "It's a new business opportunity, and allows MSPs to better serve their customers."

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Adding RMM capabilities around Mac had been Atera customers' most commonly requested feature upgrade for many months, Pekelman said. It had previously been very complicated for Atera customers to manage Apple devices in heterogeneous environments, Pekelman said, and required the use of a separate, Mac-centric tool.

"It was a nightmare of integration," Pekelman said.

Atera customers can remotely manage and monitor Apple client devices for as little as $119 per technician per month, Pekelman said, while the package providing RSA and RMM capabilities for Windows-based devices goes for as little as $79 per technician per month. Atera's Apple-based RMM capabilities only extend to the Mac level today, Pekelman said, but will probably include iPhones and iPads down the road.

Although other RMM providers also support Apple devices, Pekelman said Atera brings a unique set of features and capabilities to the table.

Atera is the only company operating its RMM and Professional Service Automation (PSA) tools from a single code base, which Pekelman said makes it much faster and easier to onboard users and have them get the most out of the system. Additionally, Atera is the only vendor in the market with a pure Software-as-a-Service product, which Pekelman said provides a modern and simple user experience.

Pekelman said Atera's pricing model is also disruptive since the company bills based on the number of technicians in the environment rather than the number of devices enabled with IT service management software. Atera wants to encourage customers to install its tool on as many devices as possible so that users can have more predictable pricing and a better understanding of their network, Pekelman said.

"You're not limited," Pekelman said. "You can put it [IT service management software] on as many devices as you want."

All told, Pekelman said Atera costs just a third of the other IT service management solutions available on the market today. Plus the legacy players typically sign MSPs to a three-year contract, Pekelman said, while Atera offers its users far more flexible terms.

"If you're not happy after a month, you can leave," Pekelman said.

Atera launched in the United States in January 2016 and has enjoyed triple-digit growth in both top-line revenue and its total number of customers over the past 12 months, Pekelman said.

Stan's Tech Garage said Atera has continued to add new features and innovative techniques to its technology while continuously improving quality, according to Stan Kats, CEO of the West Hollywood, Calif.-based MSP.

"Atera has become our one-stop shop for managing all of our customers' needs," Kats said in a statement. "Now we have the option to expand our services with their Apple Mac monitoring and support."