As a team of prior IT business owners, former technicians, and current RMM Systems Administrators and PowerShell experts -- we know firsthand the importance of optimizing remote monitoring and management (RMM) tools for managed service providers (MSPs).
The fact is that growing IT businesses need an RMM Systems Administration resource, as the responsibilities of this role directly impact client satisfaction, operational efficiency, and security and compliance.
Streamlining operations through automation and resource optimization enables MSPs to scale their services effectively, while safeguarding client data and maintaining compliance helps instill client confidence and protect the MSP's industry standing.
In essence, RMM Systems Administration is crucial to the overall success and growth of an MSP's business, as it serves as a foundation for delivering exceptional service and driving continued expansion.
But - the question is..."What does that look like for my IT business?"
What tasks should an RMM Admin be doing daily, weekly, monthly?
Daily RMM Administration Best Practices:
Monitoring:
An RMM Systems Admin should begin their day by thoroughly examining RMM alerts and notifications to promptly identify and tackle any critical issues that may have arisen.
This process involves analyzing system performance metrics, verifying device connectivity, and diagnosing potential hardware or software malfunctions. By consistently monitoring the status of all devices under management, an RMM Systems Admin can proactively detect and resolve problems before they escalate, thereby ensuring optimal performance and minimizing disruptions for your clients.
Regular monitoring also allows the business to spot trends or patterns that may indicate underlying issues, enabling you to address them before they become more significant problems.
Patch Management:
An RMM Systems Admin should evaluate and implement any required patches for devices, giving priority to crucial updates to uphold a secure environment for clients.
This process involves staying up-to-date with the latest security advisories and software releases from vendors, assessing their relevance and urgency for the managed systems, and then scheduling and deploying the patches as needed.
By carefully managing and prioritizing updates, An RMM Systems Admin can minimize system vulnerabilities, reduce the risk of security breaches, and ensure your clients' IT infrastructure remains stable and protected.
Weekly RMM Administration Best Practices:
Reports:
An RMM Systems Admin should produce and assess weekly performance reports, focusing on various aspects such as system uptime, resource utilization, and incident response times, to recognize patterns and possible improvement opportunities.
By closely monitoring these metrics, you can proactively address any inefficiencies and ensure the continuous improvement of services. An RMM Systems Admin should be communicating these findings with executives through transparent reporting and regular meetings, fostering a strong partnership based on trust and accountability.
Keeping owners and executives updated on the health of their systems demonstrates commitment to success and can help uncover new opportunities for collaboration.
Maintenance:
An RMM Systems Admin should organize regular maintenance activities to sustain optimal performance for the systems.
These activities include disk cleanups to free up storage space, defragmentation to improve data access speeds, and optimization measures such as updating drivers and fine-tuning system settings.
By performing these routine tasks, you help prevent potential bottlenecks and system degradation, ensuring the IT infrastructure remains efficient and reliable. Additionally, scheduling maintenance during off-peak hours or periods of low system usage can minimize any disruptions to operations.
Monthly RMM Administration Best Practices:
Infrastructure:
An RMM Systems Admin should conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the business' infrastructure, scrutinizing any obsolete or unsupported hardware and software components.
This assessment involves examining the lifecycle status of devices, checking for hardware performance bottlenecks, and identifying software that may no longer receive updates or support from vendors. Analyze the potential risks and impacts associated with maintaining outdated components, and consider factors such as system compatibility, performance, and security when making recommendations for upgrades or replacements. Present your findings in a clear and actionable manner, highlighting the benefits of upgrading or replacing outdated components, such as improved performance, enhanced security, and reduced maintenance costs.
By proactively addressing infrastructure weaknesses, you can ensure the business' environments remain robust, secure, and capable of supporting their evolving business needs.
Documentation:
An RMM Systems Admin should regularly update and maintain system documentation to guarantee the availability of accurate and current information for troubleshooting and planning purposes.
This process involves creating and revising documents such as network diagrams, asset inventories, software licenses, configuration files, and standard operating procedures. Establish a systematic approach to documentation management, including version control and periodic reviews, to ensure that all team members have access to the most recent and relevant information.
By maintaining comprehensive and up-to-date documentation, an RMM Systems Admin can streamline problem resolution, facilitate effective communication among team members, and simplify future planning and decision-making processes, ultimately contributing to the overall efficiency and success of the business.
Proactive Meetings:
An RMM Systems Admin should schedule regular meetings with executives of the business to discuss internal efficiency needs, review performance metrics, and outline plans for future improvements.
These meetings provide an opportunity for the RMM administrator to address concerns about optimizing internal processes, automating manual tasks, and enhancing overall operational efficiency. Engaging in open dialogue with the leadership team helps align objectives and fosters a collaborative approach towards achieving shared goals.
By actively participating in these discussions and demonstrating a commitment to the success of the business, RMM administrators can contribute to continuous growth and innovation, ultimately leading to more effective service delivery and greater client satisfaction.
Should I Outsource, or Hire Internally?
In our opinion, the answer is not that cut and dry.
Many of the IT businesses we speak to regularly consider hiring an internal resource to manage their ConnectWise Automate RMM tool. This option involves employing a dedicated RMM Systems Administrator to oversee tasks with a specific knowledge set and expertise in configuring ConnectWise Automate, as well as a deep understanding for driving efficiency through tool optimization. However, this tends to be difficult (or ridiculously expensive) to hire for.
Some suggest...it may even be impossible to do.
Hiring an internal RMM Systems Administrator also means you are relying on a single individual to manage your RMM tool effectively. This person may have limited experience or expertise in certain areas, which could lead to less optimized performance and a slower response to complex issues. It's a gamble most businesses don't want to take.
In addition, the on-boarding process for an internal RMM "Systems Specific" Administrator can be time-consuming and resource-intensive. You will need to invest in training and support to ensure the employee is familiar with your specific RMM tool and its best practices. Not to mention...keeping up with those best practices by sending them off to conferences, shows, and training seminars regularly.
Maybe the answer isn't exactly - 100% internal or 100% outsourced, but more of a combination of the two for the duties that make sense. Let's look at some stats.
Stats on Hiring Internal RMM Systems Admins:
While exact figures can vary depending on the organization and the specific RMM tool in question, there are some general statistics and trends regarding the on-boarding process for RMM specific system admins:
- According to a study by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), the average time to fill a position for IT professionals is 50 days, which can be significantly longer for specialized roles like an RMM administrator (and even more so for a ConnectWise Automate RMM expert with PowerShell experience). This duration encompasses the time from job posting to the new hire's first day, including screening, interviewing, and on-boarding.
- A study by Training Magazine revealed that, on average, companies spent $1,286 per employee on training in 2019. For IT professionals, this cost can be higher due to the complexity of the technology and tools involved, such as RMM tools. Furthermore, the time required for training can range from a few weeks to several months, depending on the employee's prior experience and the specific RMM tool being used.
- The SHRM estimates that the average cost-per-hire is $4,129, which includes recruitment, background checks, and on-boarding expenses. This figure can increase for IT professionals, as they often require specialized equipment, software licenses, and additional resources.
- The tech industry is known for its high employee turnover rates, with a 2020 report by LinkedIn finding that the technology sector has a 13.2% annual turnover rate. This means that businesses may face additional costs and resource allocation in replacing and training new RMM administrators over time.
While hiring an internal resource with PowerShell expertise may seem like a viable solution, it's important to consider the bigger picture.
An internal resource, so matter how intelligent, may lack the broader perspective and experience necessary to truly optimize your RMM tool and drive your business towards its growth and efficiency goals.
However, outsourcing 100% of this work may never be realistic, or truly effective - as you would still need someone internally to perform day-to-day tasks that often overlap with client facing work.
Exploring Advantages of Outsourcing Key Elements of RMM Systems Administration:
When you bring in a team, and one that has a specific expertise in optimizing the RMM system you are currently using (ConnectWise Automate, CW RMM, N-Able N-Central), you instantly add capacity, reduce risk, and save money.
There is so much value in gaining access to a team of experts with extensive knowledge and experience in RMM tools and best practices. These experts can help you navigate complex issues and make informed decisions that align with your business objectives.
They can also take some of the "grunt work" off of your "internal resource", who may very well be a tier 3 tech who is wearing an extra RMM Systems Admin hat. And, honestly...we don't hate this approach at all.
Let's face it, unless you have a full time RMM Systems Administrator performing all of the duties listed above, who also has the ability to develop custom scripting (Chat GPT still needs an intelligent person to provide commands), and helping the organization reach a specific financial or efficiency outcome - you need a supplement.
By leveraging a dedicated team of RMM professionals, you can avoid the overhead costs associated with hiring, training, and managing a single, fully dedicated, in-house employee.
For the hell of it, let's say you DO want to hire that full time resource. What would that look like? Let's consider the following cost factors for hiring a single, fully dedicated, internal RMM Systems Admin resource:
Recruitment:
Average cost per hire is $4,129 (source: SHRM Human Capital Benchmarking Report).
Training:
Average training cost per employee is $1,286 (source: Training Magazine's Training Industry Report, 2019).
Salary:
The average salary for an RMM Systems Administrator ranges from $60,000 to $80,000 per year, depending on experience and location. For this example, let's assume an average salary of $70,000.
Benefits: Benefits typically add an additional 30-40% to the base salary. Assuming 35%, benefits would amount to $24,500.
Equipment and software:
Providing the necessary hardware and software tools for the RMM administrator may cost around $3,000 to $5,000.
Total cost for the first year for an internal RMM administrator: $4,129 (recruitment) + $1,286 (training) + $70,000 (salary) + $24,500 (benefits) + $4,000 (equipment and software) = $103,915
Now, let's consider tasking one of your most senior techs with some daily administrative tasks, giving this resource a $10,000 raise for the additional workload, and outsourcing the reactive RMM admin tasks to a company like Sierra Pacific Group.
The cost of outsourcing these functions can vary significantly depending on the provider, their pricing model, and the specific services included (SPG has pricing starting at $20K annually). For this example, let's assume that the annual cost of outsourcing the reactive tasks of RMM administration to a dedicated team is $50,000 per year.
Comparing The Costs:
Fully Dedicated Internal RMM Administrator (first year): $103,915
Pay Raise to Tier 3 Tech ($10k) + Outsourced RMM administration ($50k): $60,000
In this example, outsourcing RMM administration would result in a cost savings of $43,915 in the first year.
While the exact figures will vary based on specific circumstances, this example demonstrates the potential cost-effectiveness of outsourcing compared to hiring an 100% internal resource.
Mastering RMM systems administration is crucial for MSPs looking to optimize their RMM tools and provide proactive services to their clients, but by no means is it a simple "hire or outsource" solution.
Ultimately, delegating proactive work to an internal resource, and delegating reactive work to an outsourced RMM Systems Administrator may be the most efficient and cost-effective solution, as it allows you to focus on higher-level business goals in-house, while leaving the technical aspects to outsourced systems experts.
