The Best RMM Tools of 2024

What is RMM software?

The term RMM means remote monitoring and management – that expansion of the abbreviation is very explanatory. The purpose of an RMM package is to enable a central team to look after a site’s IT assets from afar. Nowadays, most RMM packages are hosted on the cloud, although there are still some that are provided as software packages that you host yourself. Either way, the RMM is designed to operate across a network and the internet. This means that the same team can manage multiple sites from a single location.

Remote monitoring uses a system of performance expectation thresholds and will raise an alert if system performance drops. This means that technicians don’t have to watch the monitoring screen because they can assume that everything is working well unless they are notified otherwise. Remote management tools implement maintenance tasks and security scanning without the need for human involvement. Thus, day-to-day tasks are taken care of without taxing the time of support technicians.

Why is RMM important?

RMM has become central to the IT industry. The idea that technicians had to visit each endpoint to install software, troubleshoot problems, or update systems is laughable today. There are so many RMM systems available today – some of the are free – that any IT department or MSP will be able to find the exact package to suit it. Managed service providers would not be able to function without RMM systems. In order to be accepted by clients, an RMM also has to be verifiably secure, otherwise it would represent a security risk.

Technicians are paid a lot and some areas of the world just don’t have any. Thus, the RMM concept enables the rare and valuable resource of technical knowledge to be shared among multiple businesses and across countries. The automation features in RMM systems can operate disruptive procedures, such as patching out of hours when endpoints are not in use. This improves efficiency across the entire enterprise. 

How is RMM implemented?

A cloud-based RMM gives a subscriber access to a menu of software. These utilities are collected in consoles that are designed to be specific to particular roles, such as technician or team leader. The tools in the technician console include systems, such as a remote access service, which will connect to a remote system and provide an endpoint scan for troubleshooting on demand. Other tools include patch management, monitoring feedback screens, log explorers, and task scheduling. 

The central support office news to connect to remote sites for regular data collection. This is difficult in the age of firewalls that block incoming connection requests, so the RMM installs an agent on each managed endpoint. This unit works continuously, collecting activity data and sending it out to the RMM server for analysis. These outbound connections get around the restrictions of firewalls. 

The central server processes data so that it is meaningful for technicians. It packages monitoring data into graphs and summarizes problems. The team leader console looks at technician productivity, team throughput, and SLA requirements. 

FAQs

RMM meaning?

RMM stands for Remote Monitoring and Management. This is a package of tools for IT asset management and includes a high degree of automation to improve the productivity of support technicians. These packages are particularly useful for managed service providers. MSPs need to be very competitive on price and so must choose RMM packages that drive down costs as much as possible.

What are RMM tools?

A remote monitoring and management package (RMM) includes many tools. These are particularly designed for use by IT support technicians when managing remote sites and even multiple sites simultaneously. The typical package will include automated monitoring for networks, servers, and applications. They also have a remote access utility, a patch manager, and a scheduler for routine maintenance tasks as standards. Some RMMs will include mobile device management, backup systems, and security scanning.

What do you mean by remote monitoring?

A remote monitoring system is able to reach across a network to scan all devices so it can gather performance statistics for devices other than the one at which the technician is sitting. So, a remote monitoring system can track the performance of a local area network but it really comes into its own when that network is connected to the internet and the remote monitoring package can access the network of another site. Usually, that configuration requires an agent to be installed on the remote network.