In the past, in order to build a website, you had to hire a designer, a content writer, a programmer etc., and the outcome was that small businesses could not afford to maintain their own websites. Wix changed all that by making it easy to build a website with a click of a button. Dapulse did the same for project management and changed the lives of teams worldwide. Our aim at Atera is to do the same for MSPs and IT management. Looking at the SMB market, it is very complex to maintain your networks and databases, and it can get quite expensive. But the real problem lies here: With no remote management in place, SMBs treat their IT professional like they treat a plumber. When a problem occurs, they call the IT professional to rush over and fix the problem. They then run off again until the next crisis occurs. That is no way to do business in 2018.
How does Atera Work?
Using a combination of IoT, big data, and cloud technology, we are able to implement and predict problems before they occur. The platform manages the SMB networks in a predictive manner, and will alert the MSP before the client even knows there was a problem. The MSP can then fix the problem calmly and in a planned manner. In many cases, they wouldn’t even need to come over, as many of the actions can be done remotely. That’s how simple and powerful our solution is. The system is highly sophisticated. It can identify the temperature of the connector, security issues that are zero day attacks, networking issues, application issues, and user issues. The entire system is combined with an elaborate business logic, so on top of the technical capability, we have a fully-fledged system that can generate contracts, payment requests, alerts, and reports that assist IT professionals in doing their work. We have thousands of customers in 44 countries and keep data centers across all seven continents. Our large IoT data base allows our system to send predictions on IT issues. Our marketing strategy is to communicate and engage with MSPs in a transparent and automated way, without them needing to engage with sophisticated sales reps. Our 30 days free trial is so simple that MSPs can quickly make a decision and purchase it without commitment whatsoever. In that sense, we’re creating a new industry standard.
What are the advantages of a remote IT solution as opposed to a dedicated team member?
Our system is not meant to replace the IT person, but to help them do their work better. Our typical client is either an MSP that works for SMBs, or internal IT departments of SMBs in the financial, manufacturing, and healthcare industries. In one case study, we had a healthcare practice in the US that deals with anorexia. They had lots of computers and staff members who used them regularly, and often, the entire system would crash. Although they had an MSP, they were not able to manage everything smoothly, 24/7. Atera’s IT management platform enabled the MSP to eliminate their problem by allowing advanced automation tools and alerts to manage situations without causing an emergency.
How can an MSP use your system to secure customers’ private information?
We have a few layers of cooperation with Webroot, our security partner within the US who helps us protect user information. Technologically speaking, we have endpoint security and alerts integrated into our platform that provide solutions to protect the perimeter and the endpoints. We also use two factor authentication, IP restrictions, and secure protocols to ensure maximum security and privacy.
How do you see the future of IT in 5 years from now?
As experts in Software as a Service (SaaS) and the SMB market, we see two trends: Firstly, everyone is moving to the cloud, which is why we also provide solutions to maintaining the cloud environment efficiently and securely. Secondly, security issues are getting more and more serious, so we’re investing a lot of efforts into further improving our defenses. Try out Atera for 30 days with no strings attached, or connect with Atera on Linkedin for more information.
