Interconnected Technologies RMM Frequently Asked Questions

We're excited to announce a major leap forward in our ability to support you and your computers. We are rolling out the Interconnected Technologies Remote Management and Monitoring system (RMM), a service that will allow us to keep your computers running more smoothly through automation, often without needing to interrupt your work. RMM will let us provide better service, faster, and at a lower cost.

As we get feedback on this offering, we will update this FAQ.

Is this required for each computer?

As our primary remote support tool, in order for us to be able to provide high-quality support for our clients, it’s important that we have RMM on each machine.

What will it do?

RMM will replace our current remote access tools (LogMeIn and Splashtop), will give us a complete hardware and software inventory of your computer to aid in support. It will also alert us to issues in key areas of computer health so that we can take action to address problems in these areas.

Is this new service secure?

RMM allows us access to your computer remotely in the same way our current remote access solutions - LogMeIn and Splashtop - do. This means that before we can access your computer we must enter our login user name and password. In addition, RMM requires us to enter a two-factor authentication code each time we log in to the system. 

In addition to remote access, RMM provides monitoring of your computer for key functions that we define. Datto provides the following security:

• AES-256, 256 Bit Key Encryption, with TLS Encryption for the Agent software
• Strong passwords required for all functions
• Session activity logged to system level log files and audit trail database
• Two-Factor Authentication mechanism based around the use of Time-Based One-Time Passwords
• RMM platform undergoes periodic Penetration Testing via external approved companies.
• AWS datacenter hosting for all critical infrastructure, compliant with SAS70 Type II, PCI DSS Level 1, ISO 27001, and FISMA.

For all the gory details, see

 https://help.aem.autotask.net/en/Content/1INTRODUCTION/Infrastructure/InfrastructureSecurity.htm

What will I see on my computer?

Once RMM is installed you will see a small Interconnected Technologies logo in the System Tray (the area in Windows down by the clock) or Menu Bar (the collection of icons in the top right in MacOS). Generally speaking, you won't need to do anything with this icon. 

On Windows computers, when RMM allows Microsoft to install updates that require a reboot, you will see a small popup in the lower right corner that looks like this:

You can choose when to allow the computer to restart, at a time convenient for you.

I use your LogMeIn or Splashtop account to remotely access my own computer. What happens when those go away?

Historically we have allowed clients to use LogMeIn user accounts to access their own computers, and more recently we have provided Splashtop user accounts at a small charge per month for non-Managed Service clients. We are evaluating possible alternatives to continue to provide clients with the ability to remotely access their own computers, and will roll out the preferred alternative prior to the end of LogMeIn and Splashtop service.

This sounds like our company is not big enough to need this. Is it really needed?

While the capabilities of this are those that only big companies could afford just a few years ago, this new system continues our long-standing approach of bringing big-company capabilities to small business without the big company pricing. It joins hosted Microsoft Exchange, file sharing services, encrypted off-site backup and our other best practices in providing to small business the capabilities once reserved solely for big businesses. This service is included in our Managed Service offering, and provided to non-Managed computers at a small monthly cost.  

How will I know when I’ll be charged, and for how much?

We have been installing RMM on new machines for several months at no cost, in preparation for discontinuing LogMeIn and Splashtop. Beginning in December, we will bill for non-Managed machines that have RMM installed.  

Why are you switching from the old way of just billing me for time, to this new way of charging a fixed amount per month?

We’re not, really. The small monthly charge for non-Managed computers in RMM reflects its cost (to us) and value (to clients) in keeping computers running well without paying for billable time. There will still be plenty of work to do outside of what RMM can handle – getting and setting up new computers, exploring and setting up new software and services, digging into and solving problems, and the like. RMM will save you the cost of detecting and fixing things that previously could have caused problems over time, impacted your productivity, and then required billable time to correct.

Is this just to make Interconnected Technologies more efficient?

Since our time is billable, anything that saves us time in delivering support to you will save you money. In fact, we have spent quite a lot of money and time acquiring and implementing RMM. To the extent it makes us more efficient and effective, it benefits you directly in terms of responsiveness, timeliness and cost each time you need our support.

I don’t use your services very often, and I’m not sure I need this.

RMM needs to be on computers that we support, since it our key way of delivering that support.

We notice that unsupported machines can introduce productivity problems, security and privacy issues, and the very real possibility of data loss. RMM allows us to help avoid these kinds of problems at cost equivalent to around three billable minutes per computer per month for non-Managed computers. For Managed Service computers, RMM is included in the already-established monthly cost. For non-Managed or Managed computers, RMM increases our ability to deliver the type of service we strive for, and our clients expect. 

An example to illustrate the value for a non-Managed computer: the annual cost of RMM on one computer is the equivalent of a around 30 minutes of billable time. If an update to our best practice backup service was required, just doing that update could take 30 minutes. In addition, we would have to schedule the update with you, potentially inconveniencing you by having to access your computer for that half hour. With RMM, it's possible to install the update without requiring access to your computer, and without any billable time involved at all. This is just a small example of a single support request that could equal or exceed the yearly cost of RMM. 

Is this Managed Service, or something different?

We began our Managed Service offering about 6 years ago, and we notice that computers on Managed service perform longer, more reliably, and with fewer issues over time. For computers on Managed Service, RMM will be included at no additional cost. For these computers, RMM adds continuous monitoring and will alert us to problems immediately 24x7x365 so we can address them quickly. For non-Managed computers, the small monthly cost of RMM will allow us to provide a base level of automated support that can notify us of issues and allow us to fix them promptly. We still encourage you to become a part of Managed Service if you’re not already.

Many clients also take advantage of our Spring Cleaning and Fall Cleanup offerings. These offer an opportunity twice yearly to do deeper analysis, cleanup and maintenance of computers, usually corresponding to the timing of twice-yearly updates from Microsoft (for Windows 10). These offerings are billed on an hourly basis due to the variability in time required. In general, computers in Managed Service require less time than the average because they are already in better shape.

If I can’t afford the cost of RMM, and need to find a new service provider, what happens?

We’ll be sad to see you go, but we understand everyone has to determine the value equation for services they receive. As part of our service, for most clients we maintain one or more of our best practice solutions – exchange email, antivirus/firewall, encrypted off-site backup, secure networking and others. Part of what you pay us for is our expertise and facility in selecting, implementing and maintaining these for you. While you pay some of the cost of selecting, implementing and maintaining these solutions, a significant part of that cost is something we absorb into our cost structure. It's "included", if you will, in the pricing for everything we do for you.

Part of that is now the small monthly cost of RMM. If you decide that this small cost is not something you’re comfortable with, you will need to migrate off of these best practices to those that you choose, implement and maintain. In some cases you can maintain the same service with the current provider. In some cases you will need to switch to another provider. We will facilitate you switching to different service providers, and we'll bill for that service at our normal hourly rate. This isn’t our preference, of course, and we priced the RMM service at a very low rate to be able to continue to provide all our clients with the best possible service.