Comparing RMM Tools

Kaseya vs GFI-Max vs Centrastage

I've been comparing Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) tools for the past 6 months after having used Kaseya for 3 years.  The reason for comparing is I'm leaving my present company and going solo.

Kaseya is very powerful and can do almost anything.  The scripting engine is very easy to get to grips with. The auditing is the most comprehensive I've seen.  The monitoring is also the most comprehensive I've seen.  The reporting I've never used and looks like it takes a bit to set up.  The remote control is ok, VNC has been a bit unreliable, although generally you can get it working. Remote desktop actually uses the full rdp client and gives a great connection experience. Also LiveConnect has some useful features such as the command shell which I use regularly.  If I was to use Kaseya for starting out I would go with http://virtualadministrator.com/ as they don't have a minimum purchase quantity and they have a useful script library.  The downside for me being US billing - I think.

GFI-Max I evaluated for about a week but couldn't get on with it.  There are a few things that I'd like to do but can't.  File distribution is very useful if you're wanting to automate some tasks, such as update Adobe reader, or any other commonly used programs, but GFI-Max doesn't allow this, you can move a file to a computer using TeamViewer but for that you have to initiate a remote session.  Also when it comes to running a script on a single computer I found that I have to remove a computer from a profile, run the script and then put the computer back into the profile.  And once I'd done that I didn't know whether the script had actually run.  I think GFI perhaps has it's strengths in noticing a problem and then using TeamViewer to solve the problem.  And therefore maybe better for the less proactive support companies.

Centrastage I found could do almost everything I needed it to do, was dead simple to set up, had some great reports built in and some useful monitors available.  The remote control isn't as good as Kaseya, although I've not had any reliability problems so far, it just doesn't use the full VNC or RDP client so things like shortcut keys, or full screen don't work properly (I use Win+R all the time but I can't with CS).  Be aware that if you've used Kaseya then you'll need to uninstall Liveconnect and possibly the agent as well before being able to use CS remote control.  For the price and the functionality I believe it is the best for me.

I know GFI-Max has a large following so I'm sure if I invite feedback they'll be a lot of GFI Max followers saying how good it is, but I think once you've tried the alternatives above then you'll see what you're missing.