ConnectWise Automate Erfahrungen

Vorteile

The feature set has been astounding from day one.
With the big rebrand and integration with ConnectWise Manage the duo are now all that much better, complementing each others previous, non-focused features.

Nachteile

Truly forward progress was the main issue. During the time we actively used LabTech/Automate was during the transition years of the name and aesthetic. Things are definitely driving into the right, unified direction for all of their tools and that is exciting to see!
Learning the tool, like most ConnectWise products, can be daunting but there are lots of resources to pull from and well worth the investment.

Again, I suspect due to the years of bringing the tools together, Automate seemed to somewhat stall/lag on added features for awhile. They certainly had the most initially so it wasn't a drastic fall-behind, but new tools were taking the slow moving to catch up and the market is certainly competitive again.

Vorteile

Before Automate/Labtech 12 the best thing about this software was being able to see, at a glance, all the information you needed about a particular managed computer. They are moving back in this direction it appears. The scripting and monitoring systems are robust and allow you to do pretty much anything you can think of.

Nachteile

The GUI update that came with version 12 is not good. It uses a bunch of giant squares to present information and you have to drill into each one to find the specific info you are looking for rather than the at-a-glance experience I had before. Support leaves something to be desired. Just starting to chat with someone there can take 45+ minutes, then the person you are chatting with does not have the knowledge to fix the problem so you have to open a ticket anyway. Lots of time wasted there. Furthermore sometimes the inexperienced technician will offer suggestions to resolve the problem that have nothing to do with the problem which underlines the fact that they do not understand the problem.

Vorteile

The inclusion of ConnectWise Control is the single greatest part of using ConnectWise Automate. It is amazing.
The scripting features are very good. The ability to create custom processes is exceptional.

Nachteile

The ability to monitor and manage network devices is not good at all. Automate struggles to manage devices across subnets that other platforms seem to be able to do with ease. So bad that we had to bring in Auvik to do this task. It was money we would have rather just spent with ConnectWise.

Reporting is also a disappointment. The included reports are very simple and not geared toward a C level. They are also not easy to build or manipulate.

Vorteile

If you can imagine it, you can do it. It really does have all the tools to do whatever you desire remotely. You can access almost any aspect of a managed machine without even interrupting the end user. The built-in ignite monitors are pretty amazing on their own.

Nachteile

It can be incredibly slow at times, you have to have a lot of patience. The script editor being object and mouse based is very clunky, I'd prefer to learn the syntax and just type it all out, but that option isn't readily available in the GUI you have to dig into the guts to do that. If you use ignite monitors you'll need to parse out the noise they create for items you don't want to be notified about. Integration with Connectwise Manage is still a bit quirky but it works.

Vorteile

Pushing out the remote agent is very simple and you have an executable for machines that are not connecting under group policy. Monitor your clients whole network from one location.

Nachteile

Every now and then you may come across an issue, calling into support you need to get past the level 1 tech and go right to the level 2 tech.

Vorteile

This product has a uniquely limitless capacity for growing the operational process of managing computer systems. Great out of the box monitors and functionality. Unparalleled remote control. Large user community and expansive plugin ecosystem.

Nachteile

QA is is lacking on new releases. Support takes a long time, with the exception of down situations. Slow release cycles. Lots of legacy functionality that is deprecated litters the product. Exceptionally slow at times.

Vorteile

Once setup it does what it does well.
Very few issue after setup and config.
Gives a wealth of information on devices managed.

Nachteile

Can be a burden to setup and config
Takes a good amount of training to really use it well
Being good a scripting is a must

Vorteile

It does a lot of things and helps us keep tabs on hundreds of clients. Remote access, patch management, remote diagnostics, integration with ConnectWise PSA and a host of other third party products.

Nachteile

Setup time can be cumbersome and some of the advanced features you really need to work with a lot in order to become a master at it.

Vorteile

It packs a bunch of features and it's integration with ConnectWise manage is nice. The scripting is powerful.

Nachteile

Tool is very complex and even simple tasks can be tricky. Support for Automate is not nearly as good as with Manage. The product is expensive.

Vorteile

One of the best features of the software is the ability to create and quickly deploy custom scripts and receive accurate reporting.

Nachteile

Navigation in the console could be improved. There is a slight learning curve, but once you discover where all of the features are it becomes easy to use.

Vorteile

Automate allows you to pretty much do anything you need for an RMM. It allows tons of customization and enhancement to increase its power. There are also tons of free and paid integrations that even make it work better. You can also script pretty much anything throughout the product.

Nachteile

In order to get the full power you really need to dedicate the time and resources to add what you want to it. Reporting is abhorant and got even worse with the new reporting engine. There seems to be more increasing bugs in later releases and all new patches focus on bug fixes rather than any enhancements so the functionality of the product really isn't improving.

The quality of first level support has also slipped. They used to be able to address most issues, now it tends to be limited what they can help with.

Vorteile

I like that when it works, some of its features like remote connectivity, accessing cmd without controlling the user's screen, and scripts make my job easier.

Nachteile

Once every other week I have to uninstall and reinstall the control center app to get it to load on my screen. I can log in, it will hang on "Building Searches" and disappear. The only fix I've been able to find is uninstall and reinstall, and I have to do that at least twice a month. The rest happen often despite multiple uninstall and reinstalls: Locks up in the middle of a job. Crashes in the middle of a job. Sometimes hitting control does nothing and I have to reboot to get it to work. Scripts also will work when they feel like working. 75% of my time, I have to use the online version because the desktop version is just way too buggy.

Vorteile

Set up monitoring alerts, script automated processes, control end user and servers remotely with a couple clicks. Ad-hoc sessions allow admin access remotely, even if the user does not have rights. Fantastic experience overall and only have minor pieces I wish I could see

Nachteile

Wish there was some more customization is some of the views. Would like to see some more basic information on the main screens, as opposed to having to dive into the properties to find. Seems that it can get a bit slow and unresponsive with certain actions. Not sure if this is our server or the software though.

Vorteile

Intergration with so many services, multiple service boards, permissions and project management. BILLING and managing agreements? I've yet to find a replacement for the sheer amount of features Automate brings to our business. There is even a web interface that can be dispatched to users!

Nachteile

It can be a little fiddly when it comes to custom applications and processes - there are often changes that completely change the way the software looks and feels.

Vorteile

Community (LabTechGeek) assistance,
The ability to do anything you want with powershell, internal scripting and plugin access

Nachteile

Horrible support. Bad UI Design, Bad Releases, horrible support staff willing to assist with issues, constant support problems as they always send a KB article that has nothing to do with your issue

Vorteile

I really like the remote control portion of the program. The ability to remotely patch servers and client devices is excellent.

Nachteile

The customer support for connectwise is their largest downfall. The software is excellent but the support is not always what it should be.

Vorteile

The format of the software and also how it keeps you updated to current events going on. The layout of the product is great and easy to understand.

Nachteile

Some of the reporting is off but mostly it pretty accurate. Also noticed when a user is inside a ticket and they change it the notes disappear.

Vorteile

After using a lot management tooling, I'm now using ConnectWise Automate (former Labtech). Monitoring, manage, implement manually or thru scripts, almost everything is possible with this software.

Nachteile

Setup is easy with their support, but getting completely up and running is a differnt story. Especially in small IT companies where maintaining this software is just very small part of your job it sometimes getting complicated. Adjusting reports can be improved. A simple report where you select the begin and end date in the past is not possible.

Vorteile

The UI isn't the worst. The pricing isn't terrible

Nachteile

This software is terrible, we have it running in a DC on high end hardware, and we constantly have issues with the software crashing. Additionally, the alerts will kick off randomly, claiming a server is offline, when it's not.

The software is extremely slow and rather clunky. I would highly recommend avoiding it.

Vorteile

I love the reports and information it gives me about each PC. It is also much faster to install SOME programs though LabTech because it will push it to every PC.

Nachteile

The lack of things actually working. Many items are setup and do not work or do not work the way that Labtech says they will. The software doesn't really work on Mac's even though they say it does.

Vorteile

It has SO MANY options and can do pretty much everything that you would need maintenance-wise. Powerful scripts, lots of dashboards. You can see everything that's going on with that device and avoid costly on-site visits. The automatic remediation is great once you get it set up.

Nachteile

It has SO MANY options (yes, I know I also listed it as a pro), therefore it's not very user-friendly and easy to lose yourself among the plethora of tabs and buttons and doo-dads. It HAS come a long way from when it was still LabTech, but still. User interface needs a facelift.

Vorteile

The top-down overall management give one pane of glass to all the client's machines.

Nachteile

Since ConnectWise was recently sold the support service has gone downhill.
The overall program is outdated compared to other alternatives.

Vorteile

Feature set is large and allows a lot of system administration tasks to be done without needing to remotely control the computer.

Nachteile

Inferface can be clunky
Updates often break more things than they fix
Support can take days to resolve issues when the issue is a work stopage

Vorteile

I am not sure I can identify any Pros with ConnectWise. It may be because of my limited use with this product. It does what I need to do, but I feel like I doing too many clicks and going through too many windows/tabs to get to where I want to go.

Nachteile

As previously said, to me it's not very user-friendly. I feel like I am having to go to different tab in the navigation bar to get to certain information.

Vorteile

This program tells me everything I need to know about a client computer at a glance! Very easy to use and has a simple user interface!

Nachteile

Occasionally the software locks up and I need to close out of it and reopen to get it working properly again.