Kaseya Provides IT Services Automation For Smaller VARs

With Kaseya's new MSE G1, VAR SMBs can now provide even 10-seat-and-under companies with automated IT Services including audit, inventory, patch management, ticketing and other IT services.One big challenge with owning anything, whether it's a car, cat, or computer, is keeping track of the recurring and ad hoc to-do's. For cars, it's change the oil, renew inspection sticker, check the tires, winterize/summarize, et cetera. For cats, feed, pill, groom, vet, et cet. (Fortunately, cats don't need security updates or service packs :-) ... yet.) Computers, of course, need all sorts of IT-ish care and feeding, and when there's a problem or request, some way to log and track them.

Enterprises, and larger VARs and other channel partners, have a variety of IT task-tracking tools available to them, such as Kaseya K2, an IT automation software package for enterprises and for VARs with 500 or more machines that need to be managed, from Kaseya International Limited, a provider of IT Systems Management software.

On June 8, 2010, Kaseya introduced its Managed Service Edition - G1 IT management solution aimed at small-through-medium size VARs and other IT Services providers who in turn serve small-through-medium businesses.

MSE G1 VARs typically have five to 25 customers, supporting a total of up to around 500 users, according to Jim Alves, Executive VP, Product Marketing and Strategy. For example, says Alves, "a customer for Kaseya MSE G1 could be a one-to-ten person VAR, which provides services to small businesses, like computer and application support to keep their systems running." As a VAR gets over the 500-seat mark, they may want to migrate to Kaseya 2 for the scalability and other features. "A lot of providers want to start with managing just a few systems, they don't need a lot of seats but need something economical and powerful," says Alves.

Functions in Kaseya MSE G1 include Audit & Inventory, Monitoring, Patch Management, Remote Control, Ticketing, Reports, and an IT Service Delivery Kit that includes predefined views, reports, scripts and monitor sets "for the most common IT scenarios and repetitive tasks."

"Small businesses want and expect their computers to work, like any utility," says Alves. Kaseya MSE G1 handles "what an IT person typically need to do daily, weekly, and monthly to make sure that systems are secure, users are being productive instead of their systems running slow, that users have network, printer and server access, and more."

One notable features of the new product, according to Alves, is that no VPN is needed. Once a small agent program is installed on the systems to be managed, the agent establishes secure Internet connections to the VAR's server. Also, says Alves, "All our functions are integrated, they share a common interface and database.

Kaseya MSE G1 supports Windows and MacOS X systems. (Kaseya 2 also supports Linux.) The Kaseya MS G1 server requires Microsoft IIS, and can run on either Windows 2008 Server or even a Windows 7 machine.

For VARs and other IT services providers, Kaseya MSE G1 can be a way improve handling of routine IT tasks, and expand what they offer to their customers; for customers, using MSE G1 can mean greater availability of their machines.

Kaseya MSE G1 is available now, with pricing starting at $1,000 for a 25-seat starter system.

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