Our Commentary on Datto’s #6 KPI: Newly Discovered Devices
In the week’s article we are discussing the topic of managing newly discovered devices. Read on to learn Datto’s take on the topic, as well as ours.
For the record, RMM and billing processes do not play to SDB-C’s strength. Datto’s #6 KPI: Newly Discovered Devices is all about Consumption Billing and depends on the RMM tool to identify devices under management. As Autotask Service Delivery experts, we are called on to assist with Consumption Billing configurations which are not quite yet automated. We do have a Cascading Contract Automation implementation project that reduces the burden on the Service Delivery Team down to answering one question: 'What Type of Work did you do?'. The rest of the invoicing process is automated from the Time Entry and is working very well. But Consumption Billing still depends on manually updating the User/Device counts for billing purposes.
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Here is what Datto has to say on the subject:
Takeaways from Datto’s KPI #6: Newly Discovered Devices sub-article
Newly discovered devices need to be reviewed to understand which devices should be covered under contract.
Having an accurate view of all the devices in a customer’s network allows the MSP to ensure that the environment is secure.
Use a widget such as “missing patches” to see which devices are at a higher risk for a security vulnerability.
Newly discovered devices also help to plan and predict future levels of service.
Our Commentary on Datto’s Sub-Article
Datto: Updating contracts monthly with accurate device counts can be very time consuming, and oftentimes device counts are only updated once per year. With the unification of Autotask PSA and DattoRMM, newly discovered devices are automatically brought over to the PSA to be reviewed and assigned to that client’s contract.
SDB-C: The reviewed and assigned process still sounds like a very time-consuming, manual process to me. The biggest benefit is that there is a better chance to identify new devices, and the Configuration portion of the Contract to Configuration Item linkages is known.
For me, figuring out the Configuration Item ID is the most difficult part, as it is in RMM’ease. My guess is that once the linkage is in place, the Rule-Based Billing will automatically update the device counts in the Contracts and adjust the billing accordingly. We do not know anyone that has this working yet, but we are on the lookout.
Datto:There is also a widgetthat can display new devices awaiting contract review to notify the accountingdepartment and service technicians of the change. This will ensure there isno missed billable revenue for each contract, and that revenue can be recognized immediately.
SDB-C: From our experience, the Accounting Department and Service Coordinators willmostlikely be the ones using the information and manually applying the Newly Discovered Devices to Contracts or not. I am not sure Service Technicians care or are even aware of these changes.
To get the eBook from Datto, download it here.
Other thoughts from SDB-C:
How does Mobile Device Management (MDM) play into this? For example, how does it work for someone carrying a tablet? The device doesn’t belong to the employer, so how would the RMM system know who the device belongs to? Everyone has a cell phone - are they expected to keep up with them all? Do these devices also show up on the device discovery?
This just points out that the network is not secured by how many devices are on it, but by how well it is maintained. When a new device is detected, it is already on the network. More importantly, we would like to see how many logins have been blocked and how many users have tried to get on the network.
By now, you can probably tell that RMM is not our strength, as we raise more questions than answers. While we never profess to be RMM experts, we do claim to be PSA experts.We’re especially excited for next week when we take on Contract Renewals and after that, my favorite subject: Project Status. Stay tuned!
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