15 Hot Products And Services For MSPs

DattoCon 2018 saw a wide range of IT services-oriented vendors expand their MSP-focused offerings. Here are 15 that stood out from the crowd.

MSP-Centric Vendors Rally Around Expanded Datto/Autotask Platform

Last week's DattoCon 2018 conference was not only a chance for Datto to make significant upgrades to its storage, networking, and business management platforms, but also an opportunity to show how its acquisition last year of Autotask created an expanded platform for MSP-focused vendors to bring their products and services to MSPs.

Austin McChord, Norwalk, Conn.-based Datto’s CEO and founder, told MSPs at the conference that the expansion of Datto from a company focused on storage and security to one that encompasses a wide range of MSP technologies comes at a time of significant growth in the MSP market.

Datto estimates the SMB IT business to currently be worth about $40 billion, of which half is provided via MSPs. That opportunity is expected to grow to $72 billion by 2022, McChord said.

DattoCon 2018 also provided a way for vendors across the full spectrum of IT services to reach out to the huge base of MSPs who work with Datto and Autotask. For a look at what 15 of those vendors are providing, turn the page.

Aspire Technologies' QuoteWerks Web

QuoteWerks Web, which Orlando, Fla.-based Aspire Technologies introduced earlier this year, promise users the power of its QuoteWerks Desktop software for creating sales quotes and proposals, but with the portability of the web. MSPs can use a browser to create quotes, access existing documents, add products and services to the Etilize catalog, deliver web-based quotes via QuoteValet, and more. Full PSA integrations with ConnectWise Manage and Autotask are now available, with additional CRM integrations planned.

The latest release also includes ACH/eCheck payment options, along with the ability to add a credit card convenience fee or a discount for ACH (Automated Clearing House).

Bitdefender Cloud Security for MSP

Bitdefender Cloud Security for MSP, introduced this spring by Bucharest, Romania-based Bitdefender, is a state of the art endpoint security suite providing protection against ransomware and other zero-day threats. The MSP suite includes anti-virus and anti-malware protection, content control, device control, two-factor authentication, encryption, and more. The suite is simple to deploy and simple to manage, Bitdefender said. Bitdefender’s Next Gen layered security is powered by advanced heuristics, machine learning, and what Bitdefender calls the largest security cloud in the world.

BitTitan MigrationWiz

Bellevue, Wash.-based BitTitan in May added significant capabilities for document migrations using Microsoft's OneDrive For Business as both a source and a destination. These updates included lifting restrictions such as the 250-MB-per-item size limitation and the 5,000-item count limitation for a single folder while simultaneously increasing overall throughput to boost migration speeds.

In addition, BitTitan introduced new reporting capabilities to MigrationWiz’s automated Outlook configuration tool, DeploymentPro, to enable more effective tracking and management of the download and installation process. Users can now see when DeploymentPro will be installed and its status, including scheduled, running, completed, or if an error occurred during the process.

Continuum Detect & Respond–Endpoint, Detect & Respond–Network & Compliance

Boston-based Continuum used DattoCon 2018 to introduce its new Continuum Security offering powered by technology from endpoint protection technology developer SentinelOne.

Continuum Security includes Detect & Respond–Endpoint, powered by Mountain View, Calif.-based SentinelOne's endpoint protection technology to provide SMBs with enterprise-grade monitoring and analysis of endpoints to identify and remediate active security threats. It also includes Detect & Respond–Network & Compliance which leverages Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.-based Netsurion's EventTracker SIEM technology to identify and remediate attacks within networks and endpoints, and to meet the requirements for common regulations. Both offerings are powered by the Continuum Security Operations Center and work with Profile & Protect, which allows providers to define security services and determine how those services are protecting clients against common attacks.

Duo Security Unified Endpoint Visibility for Duo Beyond

Duo Security's Unified Endpoint Visibility, the latest feature for the Ann Arbor, Mich.-based company's flagship zero-trust product, Duo Beyond, lets employers provide their increasingly mobile workforce with increased flexibility while ensuring data remains secure and accessible to only trusted devices.

Unified Endpoint Visibility lets administrators view and monitor all devices--both personal and corporate-owned--via a single dashboard, allowing for easier tracking and enforcement of security policies when users access applications. Users can use any device as long as it meets corporate security policies, and administrators have a modern, agent-less alternative to traditional mobile device management (MDM) solutions.

ESET Direct Endpoint Management for Autotask

ESET's Autotask Endpoint Management (AEM) console, which the San Diego-based company introduced in April to deploy and manage ESET security solutions, provides MSPs with significantly increased convenience by helping eliminate the need for additional ESET management software. MSPs can also use AEM to improve ticketing automation for security-related events and automate billing for less administrative work as a way to better maximize profit.

GreatAmerica Financial Services Datto as a Service

Datto as a Service from Cedar Rapids, Iowa-based GreatAmerica Financial Services is aimed at helping MSPs build a low-risk and cash-flow-positive as-a-service offering. The program, introduced in February, lets MSPs purchase Datto devices and cloud storage on a three-year monthly payment plan. The MSP pays GreatAmerica monthly for the devices and cloud storage. The MSP then marks up the monthly cost, deploys the devices into their customers’ locations, and collects a monthly fee as part of their managed services.

GreatAmerica also has options to finance as-a-service programs via a hardware-as-a-rental program.

ID Agent's SpotLight ID

SpotLight ID from Bowie, Md.-based ID Agent is a comprehensive, affordable identity and credit monitoring offering developed for MSPs to generate fixed, recurring commissions when individuals use their co-branded landing page to enroll. SpotLight ID not only notifies individuals if it detects cyber criminals trying to exploit and profit from possibly compromised identity, it also works on their behalf to completely restore their identity with a $1,000,000 identity insurance coverage. SpotLight ID can be provided as a cybersecurity add-on, an employee benefit, or as a response to a data breach. This program is free to ID Agent's Dark Web ID partners.

ITBoost IT Documentation Platform

Dallas-based ITBoost provides a SaaS platform that offers MSPs customer documentation, password management, customer feedback, and business intelligence capabilities in a single platform. ITBoost, introduced late last year, gives MSPs an in-depth look at their business by utilizing tickets, assets, and customer feedback all in one place without the need for switching between multiple tabs and screens. The company says ITBoost provides a way to manage documentation to help MSPs and IT departments maximize productivity and increase efficiency.

ITBoost offers out-of-the-box integrations for ConnectWise Manage, ConnectWise Automate, ConnectWise ScreenConnect, Autotask PSA, MXToolBox, LucidCharts, and CrashplanProE.

Pax8 + Autotask Integration

Denver-based Pax8 wants to offer MSPs top-notch experience with a wide range of vendors with seamless delivery of services from those vendors via the company's cloud-based distribution systems, and is doing so via industry-wide PSA integrations. The Pax8 + Autotask integration, introduced in June, offers MSPs the ability to seamlessly import company data, export products and services, and update contracts with accurate billing information from Autotask into the Pax8 Command Console. Through the Autotask integration, Pax8 is helping simplify cloud buying for MSPs.

Sophos Intercept X Anti-Malware Technology

Research from Abingdon, U.K.-based Sophos shows that IT managers cannot identify 45 percent of their organization’s network traffic, potentially leaving them blind to ransomware, malicious applications, rogue users, and other threats. Intercept X, introduced early this year, provides malware detection powered by deep learning neural networks, and combines new active-hacker mitigation, advanced application lockdown, and enhanced ransomware protection to increase the levels of detection and prevention. Deployed through the Sophos Central cloud-based management platform, Intercept X can be installed alongside existing endpoint security software from any vendor. When used with Sophos XG Firewall, Intercept X can introduce synchronized security capabilities to help further enhance protection.

Splashtop SOS

Splashtop On-demand Support, or SOS, was introduced in December by San Jose, Calif.-based Splashtop to help simplify remote support. SOS lets MSPs remotely access users’ Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android devices with a simple session code, helping decrease the time and cost of traveling to a user’s device. With SOS, a technician can just remotely connect into the device and take control as needed. It provides quick diagnosing and fixing of issues. SOS allows remote viewing of iOS and Android screens. Splashtop SOS also integrates with Datto Autotask PSA. Splashtop claims SOS offers MSPs and IT professionals 50 percent or more savings compared to competitors' offerings.

StorageCraft Integration for Autotask PSA

StorageCraft, a Draper, Utah-based provider of data protection services, used DattoCon 2018 to introduce its StorageCraft Autotask PSA (professional services automation) integration service with enhanced automation capabilities to help MSPs simplify often cumbersome back-end operations processes and more easily scale those operations.

Available immediately via the StorageCraft partner portal, the StorageCraft Integration for Autotask (PSA) integration service maps StorageCraft MSP license quantities and cloud storage usage to the PSA customer accounts and contracts for automated billing. It lets MSPs push changes in license quantities or cloud usage, either on-demand or on a schedule, and generates a mapping report to summarize which StorageCraft accounts have been mapped.

Webroot SecureAnywhere DNS Protection For Guest Wi-Fi

Broomfield, Colo.-based Webroot in February expanded its SecureAnywhere DNS Protection offering to include guest Wi-Fi protection to help ensure that Wi-Fi connections at locations such as hotels, airports, coffee shops, or shopping centers are always managed and secured. This service uses Webroot's current DNS Protection components to enforce domain layer security and content filtering to protect browsing over Wi-Fi from malware, data theft, redirection, and other common DNS-based attacks. Webroot’s DNS Protection automatically applies defenses at the domain layer to help reduce the risk of online threats and stop malware and phishing attempts before they reach an organization’s network.

Wise-Sync Integrated Accounting and Payment automation for Autotask

Melbourne, Australia-based Wise-Sync used DattoCon 2018 to launch a new accounting sync and payment automation system for Autotask. Delivering a comprehensive integration for QuickBooks Online and Xero, Wise-Sync allow MSPs to achieve better positive cashflow through acceptance of both credit card and ACH payments through Wise-Sync's partnership with payments technology from Eight Mile Plains, Queensland, Australia. The offering is expected to be released in July of 2018.