On Nov. 9 at IT Nation Connect, ConnectWise shared insights on the unique challenges IT service providers (TSPs) face in today's ever-changing technology environment. The company, poised to help bolster managed service providers (MSPs) and small businesses through uncertainty, announced a series of business improvements that reinforce ConnectWise as a consistent center of gravity for the TSP ecosystem.

Managing Through the Chaos

A new reality, brought on by the rapid progression of the cloud, the pressures of the pandemic, and the explosive increase in devices and access points, is one where TSPs need support in managing the chaos — of what ConnectWise leaders described as the "infinite edge." ConnectWise, with its suite of solutions, integrated services and business transformation offerings, is best positioned to help TSPs manage the infinite edge and build profitable businesses.

"While TSPs used to know where the computing edge they managed started and stopped, today our partners are encountering a rapidly changing, boundaryless and increasingly competitive environment to support their customers," said Jason Magee, CEO, ConnectWise. "TSPs can't control that pace of change, but they can manage the chaos of the infinite edge with the right partners, the right solutions, and organizational preparedness. ConnectWise is the partner most invested in helping MSPs efficiently secure, automate and scale their business from a posture of efficiency and profitability."

Preparing for the Future: Four Keys to MSP/TSP Success

The pace and rise of innovation on the infinite edge of computing can envelop an organization that is unprepared. ConnectWise challenged TSPs to prepare to manage and lead through this change by prioritizing: (1) relentless automation; (2) putting data to work for them and their customers; and (3) delivering exceptional customer experience — all undergirded by (4) a deep focus on cybersecurity, which ConnectWise executives referred to as "table stakes" for thriving TSPs.

"Looking ahead, TSPs will need to be both solution providers and futurists," said Amy Lucia, chief marketing officer, ConnectWise. "Those who lead the way will architect their business to operate as agile, resilient and forward-looking systems. Fortunately, ConnectWise is uniquely qualified to help TSPs activate this mindset and move with practical precision."

ConnectWise innovation at MSPs/TSPs Sides

Building on these steps, ConnectWise noted how some of its own key partnerships and enhancements are driving towards these changes as well. Key announcements include:

ConnectWise Access Management, a product of the newly announced ConnectWise Labs, is a privileged access management solution that provides credential-less, temporary administrative logon accounts and credential-less approval and denial of end-user elevation requests. Through Dec. 16, 2022, a free trial of ConnectWise Access Management is available to existing ConnectWise Control, Automate, Command and RMM partners with benefits including reducing ticket volumes, enhancing security, improved customer experience and the chance to redeploy resources to generate additional revenue.

In a new alliance with Arrow, a premier partner to ConnectWise, the two companies have locked arms to drive ongoing innovation to address how TSPs procure software and services. For the first initiative of this alliance, ConnectWise partners will have access to an integrated experience within the platform that allows TSPs to simplify searching and quoting, procurement, subscription management and client billing with Arrow. As a one-stop integration, this will eliminate several manual, time-consuming tasks while giving TSPs access to a deeper array of products and vendors.

Investing more in partners, ConnectWise introduced a few new tools and programs. ConnectWise's Partner Program, geared to help TSPs build, launch and grow a successful cyberpractice, is expanding to include an offering for business continuity and disaster recovery (BCDR). More than 2,000 enrolled members of the free Partner Program are growing their cyberbusiness four times faster than other ConnectWise partners.

Two new teams across ConnectWise will serve partners with a combination of deep strategy and rapid innovation. The Product Security Response Team will bring a security mindset to all phases of product and engineering development, ensuring cybersecurity is baked into products from planning to design to execution. ConnectWise Labs, a new special operations unit, was designed to analyze data, anticipate what's coming and build solutions that help TSPs solve problems they aren't even facing yet —  with ConnectWise Access Management, referenced above, as the first innovation of that team. This team focuses on incubating and testing new ideas alongside existing innovation road maps.

ConnectWise and CompTIA are excited to announce the next phase of the preapprenticeship partnership, sparked in July by the White House's Cybersecurity Apprenticeship Sprint. Today they shared the launch of the Ticket to Tech program — a new career training initiative. Ticket to Tech will link ConnectWise partners with a talented new crop of job-ready tech learners seeking employment.

Lastly, the company discussed recent philanthropic efforts to ensure success of TSPs via the ConnectWise Foundation, which was started during the COVID-19 pandemic to help partners suffering business hardship. Most recent focus efforts include relief and recovery work for partners and their families who were impacted by Hurricane Ian. ConnectWise encouraged any partner experiencing a challenging time to apply to be considered for a grant through the foundation.

During the Nov. 9 keynote, ConnectWise announced the strategic alliance with Arrow Electronics' enterprise computing solutions business to drive ongoing innovation that addresses and simplifies how technology solutions providers (TSPs) procure and manage software and services.  

For the first initiative of this alliance, ConnectWise partners will have access to a seamless experience within the platform that allows TSPs to simplify searching and quoting, procurement, subscription management and client billing with Arrow, all within a single interface. This will eliminate several manual, time-consuming tasks while giving TSPs access to a deeper array of products and vendors.

"Over the last 40 years, ConnectWise has been easing the silos of chaos for TSPs through integrations on our Asio platform, but we've never partnered at this level before," Magee said. "Through our strategic alliance with Arrow, we are jointly focused on innovation that simplifies business operations for organizations and helps them scale faster."

"This is the first time ConnectWise has teamed up with a distributor beyond standard integrations," said Mark Taylor, president of Arrow's enterprise computing solutions business in North America. "We are pleased to share a collective focus with them that drives business innovation and creates enhanced solutions that help our combined channel partners continually optimize their business operations and reduce redundancies."

Notably, Arrow now has built-in integrations with ConnectWise PSA (Manage) and ConnectWise CPQ (Sell) to immediately source available products from Arrow, while passing all procurement and billing details into PSA. This functionality reduces potential for billing disputes, saving partners time and money.

ConnectWise partners can register with Arrow directly in ConnectWise Home. This simplified onboarding process also includes access to Arrow's line card and additional credit facilities.

As technology partners in the TSP space capable of delivering a world-class partner experience through this kind of unique integration, ConnectWise and Arrow will help demonstrate increased efficiencies for their partners. The alliance will expand over time to other areas.

On Nov. 9, ConnectWise also held the 2022 PitchIT Accelerator Program competition, where AlertOps won first place, with Vonahi Security finishing second and Humanize IT finishing third. All three finalists presented their solutions on stage in front of judges and attendees at IT Nation Connect.

Winner AlertOps presented its Alert Management and Response Orchestration tool that ingests signals across users' tech stacks, facilitates alerting based on scheduling and escalation, as well as automates downstream administrative activities. AlertOps will receive a $70,000 grant to help propel their business to the next level. Runner-up Vonahi Security solution featured vPenTest, their SaaS platform that fully automates network penetration testing. It will receive a $30,000 grant to support their business. Third-place finalist Humanize IT presented its framework, which delivers both a community and tools employees need to upgrade all their engagements and track projects in their strategic engagements such as QBRs.

"Today's PitchIT Accelerator Program competition was truly a showcase of innovative solutions that will solve challenges and needs for the TSP community across practice areas like cybersecurity, finance, billing, data, marketing, sales, productivity, automation and more," said Chris Timms, executive vice president of growth, ConnectWise. "ConnectWise congratulates AlertOps on their winning pitch. We look forward to seeing more of these solutions from AlertOps, Vonahi Security and Humanize IT in the future."

"We are thrilled to be named winners of ConnectWise's 2022 PitchIT Accelerator Program," said Kam Srikanth of AlertOps. "Our Alert Management and Response Orchestration tool will enable MSPs to maximize the efficiency of their service desk by automating prioritization."

AlertOps, Vonahi Security and Humanize IT were selected as PitchIT competition finalists from a pool of 18 contenders who competed in a two-part live streamed pitch competition earlier this year. In addition to showcasing their solutions on stage, the three PitchIT finalists received free booths in the IT Nation Connect expo hall, plus one-on-one coaching from former PitchIT champions Gene Reich of 2021 grand prize winner Traceless.io; Callen Sapien of 2018 grand prize honoree Refactr (which was acquired by security vendor Sophos last year); and Jamison West of TimeZest, 2019's top finisher.

Created by ConnectWise in 2018, PitchIT is a competition and incubator specifically for innovators to showcase a potential offering that could be built or integrated into the ConnectWise platform. With a digital and cloud transformation unfolding before our eyes, PitchIT illustrates the immense amount of talent the IT Nation community has to offer and helps deliver on ConnectWise's promises to deliver more innovation, faster, and to invest in partners' growth.

ConnectWise also announced the winners of the inaugural WISE Awards during a special recognition luncheon on Nov. 9. The WISE Awards program was launched this year to recognize solutions partners who are achieving their most ambitious vision of success through ConnectWise software, services and community, while also striving to make a difference and empower others in the broader industry.

This year's winners were recognized across eight categories:

All-In Partner of the Year

• Winner: CMIT Solutions (North America)
• Winner: Resolution IT (UK)
• Winner: First Focus IT (Australia)

Business Management Partner of the Year

• Winner: Integris IT
• Winner: ited

Unified Monitoring and Management Partner of the Year

• Winner: Ntiva
• Winner: Frontline Managed Services

Cybersecurity Partner of the Year

• Winner: VC3
• Winner: TechGuides

Ecosystem Partner of the Year

• Winner: Beyond IT Support

Partner Referral Award

• Winner: Decision Digital

IT Nation Partner of the Year

• Winner: ADNET Technologies

Community Giveback Award

• Winner: RCS Professional Services

"We are thrilled to announce our inaugural WISE Award winners right here at IT Nation Connect 2022," Magee said. "These outstanding partners have inspired us by using technology and innovation to deliver extraordinary service to their customers and communities. We congratulate all our winners on their success and industry impact and look forward to highlighting more partners in our WISE Awards program in the years to come."

On Nov. 10, ConnectWise announced multiple product news milestones and innovation-accelerating partnerships spanning its product and service portfolios. From innovation in business management, to remote monitoring and management to cybersecurity, these offerings, powered by ConnectWise's modern Asio platform, are designed to help partners save time, reduce costs, secure their environments, strengthen customer experience and improve profitability.

ConnectWise anchored its innovation story around the Asio platform, which launched last year, with many new products and services now benefiting from this modern engineering approach. With this modern, unified, open and extensible platform, partners can expect infinite scalability, intelligent automation, value-added reporting and insights, and a common user interface. The company also showcased its ability to move from ideation to implementation at a more rapid speed than before — even daily at times — to deliver updates and enhancements across the portfolio.

"In order to futureproof the TSP channel as they navigate the infinite edge of computing, ConnectWise is moving towards more rapid innovation with the Asio platform as our centralized data layer that can scale with predictive and consultative AI," Magee said. "The partnerships and improvements we've announced today are examples of the breadth of services we can bring together in a way that is meaningful for partners, powerful in its extensibility and rooted in secure development principles."

A variety of new offerings were announced during the product keynote of IT Nation Connect demonstrating these priorities. Just a handful of examples include:

Supporting TSPs With Relentless Automation & Streamlined Business Management

Navigating through multiple platforms may take only a "few clicks" but when done hundreds of times a day, that work adds up. Integrations spanning various ConnectWise products brings these functions into a single pane of glass. ConnectWise PSA (Manage) now has an ITBoost overlay where partners can link-to and access ITBoost data within tickets and the broader system without leaving the PSA. Similarly, an integration with SmileBack, a ConnectWise solution, merges customer feedback directly into the Service Desk module. The company also showed off the Microsoft Intune integration with ConnectWise RMM, which allows partners to see compliance status of all devices without needing to click into each Intune tenant.

Attendees got an up-close view of a refreshed ITBoost, a ConnectWise solution. ConnectWise has invested significantly in ensuring the knowledge ITBoost provides to partners is readily available. Scalable business management tools, like being able to perform bulk actions and mass updates on core assets, custom templates within ITBoost, are critical to MSPs' success.

The company also touched on its intentions with Wise-Sync, a ConnectWise solution, a payments automation company recently acquired by ConnectWise. Partners are already benefitting from the Wise-Sync integration with ConnectWise PSA and Wise-Pay for ConnectWise CPQTM, and the company pointed toward an intent to expand Wise-Pay to PSA. Mobilizing the importance of payments is another component ConnectWise is solving for MSPs.

Managing a variety of similar solutions across a breadth of products puts further burden on TSPs cash flow. Long-term, ConnectWise expects Asio to be the go-to hub to present the right solution at the right time at the right price from the right vendor through the right supplier with a clean experience weaving it all together. The strategic alliance ConnectWise announced with distributor Arrow is just one example of this. The company also announced key integrations with ConnectWise CPQ (Sell) to enhance the quoting process, streamline quote creation and billing reconciliation, and reduce the need to chase clients for payments. These include a Wise-Pay integration that eliminates accounts receivables burdens, ensuring timely payments; and new integrations with Amazon Business and Anixter.

Putting Data to Work for TSPs

The industry-leading dashboards from BrightGauge, a ConnectWise solution, are now available across other products in the ConnectWise family of solutions. BrightGauge and Sentinel One enable partners to raise visibility of when threat actors may be at work. BrightGauge with ConnectWise RMM allow partners to visualize health scores, status and summary of clients' devices. And BrightGauge paired with ITBoost demonstrate ways to stay on top of asset expirations, how your documentation is getting used and more. Bringing data from multiple sources into a single dashboard has a powerful impact with many partners already benefiting from these powerful insights.

Provide an Outstanding Experience

ConnectWise is striving to be easier to do business with and ensure its partners are able to take similar ideologies forward to their clients. SIEM Executive Reports are designed for MSPs to pass pertinent details and insights on to their clients outlining the number of potential attacks that were blocked, demonstrate the effectiveness of the tools, and help MSPs communicate the value and effectiveness of their security services to their customers.

With talent shortages as an international challenge, and recognizing employees are often the drivers of a business's reputation, ensuring employee satisfaction is more important than ever. ConnectWise introduced a new policies and packages feature within ConnectWise RMM that can push necessary software to various libraries of technology types based on preconfigured settings. Features like this simplify the manual tasks for technology employees, freeing up time for them to focus on strategic priorities.

Helping TSPs Secure Themselves & Their Customers

ConnectWise announced that it has expanded its cybersecurity portfolio to offer increased capabilities, in some cases by teaming up with other providers to architect best-in-class solutions.

ConnectWise Vulnerability Management automates routine scanning of an environment for exposures and vulnerabilities, giving end-users visibility toward potential cyberrisk and areas where incremental security investments could deliver the best protection.

SASE by ConnectWise and Exium offers endpoint protection from malware and data leaks with a suite of technologies partners typically have to purchase individually. This unique partnership provides secure internet access for users and zero-trust access to cloud and on-premise resources through a cost-effective and modern cloud-based SASE platform.

IAM by ConnectWise and Evo extends protection for MSP-centric multifactor authentication, single sign-on and elevated access for MSP administration to defend against the most exploited attack vector, partners' employees themselves.

Whether starting from scratch or expanding services to an existing cybersecurity practice, ConnectWise solutions are purpose-built to launch quickly and deliver outstanding client security outcomes. For partners who want assistance building their cybersecurity practices, the ConnectWise Partner Program offers enablement, marketing support, sales support, investment funds and more — those in the program have grown their cybersecurity practices four times faster than others.