What is Remote Monitoring and Management?

The concept of Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) has become a part of the Internet of Things, enabling organizations to monitor and manage every aspect of their own network, including all the endpoints in the field.

August 27, 2019 - Just a couple of decades ago, the technology ecosystem was a radically different place.

For better or worse, the break-fix model ruled in every business from the smallest office to the largest enterprise – often because there was simply no alternative.

This meant, of course, that IT would get a call to service computers and other hardware only after something had failed.

There was little concept of predictive or preventative maintenance, as there was no meaningful data to suggest how or when components would fail.

The software arrives

Then Remote Monitoring and Management software arrived, and made it possible for managed IT service providers to remotely monitor the entire tech ecosystem in an organization, proactively providing preventative maintenance and system updates.

When failures do occur, help can be provided remotely or dispatched on site quickly to avoid extended downtimes.

The concept of Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) – once exclusively the domain of managed IT service providers – has become a part of the Internet of Things as well, enabling organizations to monitor and manage every aspect of their own network, including all the endpoints in the field.

Agents installed on devices

This is made possible by installing “agents” on computers, mobile devices, sensors, actuators, and other various endpoints across the IoT.

These agents communicate with the RMM, keeping it appraised about the health and status of the network components.

When issues are detected, the RMM can flag the problem on a dashboard display and automatically issue service tickets as needed, even without human intervention.

In other words, RMM can help organizations stay ahead of problems and keep the network running smoothly.

Key benefits

RMM offers a number of key benefits, often amplifying the key advantages of the IoT that it’s monitoring.

First and foremost, it aggregates information about the network nodes for dashboard-style snapshots and can supply information for more in-depth reports and analytics.

Managing the health of the network and network devices is also a critical responsibility of RMM.

Keeping endpoints up-to-date

It can keep endpoints current by performing software updates and administering patches from a single dashboard, for example, as well as monitoring battery levels on mobile devices.

The system can also automatically request maintenance and support when needed.

In addition, the system can automate routine maintenance tasks, freeing up IT staff from mundane scheduling tasks.

All that means that RMM delivers reduced downtime to the network because the organization has moved from a reactive posture to one that employs predictive maintenance and responsive, remote support.

Substantial cost savings

And with a greatly reduced need to send technicians onsite for every incidental diagnostic and analysis, there’s substantial cost savings by managing the entire network remotely from a unified dashboard.

RMM detects issues before they have a chance to become a crisis, and keep the overall network stable and productive.

Remote Monitoring and Management software is the lifeblood of an IoT, helping IT execs and decision-makers keep their finger on the pulse of the network with as unified, clear, and easy to understand dashboard, plus a lot of automation behind the scenes to help the network reach its full potential.