I tried a couple of solutions before deciding to work with Datto Remote Monitoring and Management.

We used N-able during my first year at the company, but then we switched to Datto. That was good for me because I never really got used to N-able. If it were the other way around— if I were more accustomed to ConnectWise — it would probably be the same conversation. I'd be like, "Oh yeah, ConnectWise this, ConnectWise is that." You have the automation, and then you have the Manage tool portion, which is like Autotask. It's like a ticketing system, except it's very different, and it's a little bit more robust. That makes it a little more challenging to understand. You can add this, or you can do that. I'm learning new stuff every day. They were like, "Well, Jamalle, you know you can do this." I'm like, "Oh no, I didn't know that."

But once I got it down, I'm sure I could utilize ConnectWise like I'm supposed to. But I will say Datto was a lot simpler. I think ConnectWise might have them beat in terms of automation, except their scripting system is funny. They have their own scripting engine within ConnectWise Automate. With Datto, you could decide what script you wanted to put in, like PowerShell, Command Line, Python, and Ruby. You could even use JavaScript, which we didn't use because we mainly were providing a lot of Microsoft solutions, so we tried to stick to the Microsoft platform. We have Mac customers here, but they still had to adhere to Microsoft policies when connecting to the networks, accessing Windows servers, and different things like that. 

Datto made it easier to utilize different things where sometimes you didn't even have to get on the computer. It's the same with ConnectWise. You can just run a script and call the customer back to tell them everything is fine. You didn't have to get on the computer, and the whole thing took like two minutes. It probably takes you longer to fill out the ticket than it does to help the customer.

We used N-able prior to AEM. We switched because we bought several products from them that we were not satisfied with, but were unable to cancel. Also, their sales team was very high pressure. 

Finally, the cost for onboarding new licenses was expensive and we needed loans to cover new professional licenses. AEM is a lot more scalable as you just pay per agent instead of having to purchase expensive licenses.

We didn't use any other solution previously. We've grown to the point where we need to have an RMM solution.

We were using ConnectWise Automate. The decision to switch wasn't really on me. This company used to be managed by a different MSP, and that was the product that they used. When we switched to a different MSP, Datto was what they used. So, that's why we switched.