ConnectWise Automate vs. Digital Defense, by HelpSystems (Frontline.Cloud Platform)

Overview
ProductRatingMost Used ByProduct SummaryStarting Price
ConnectWise Automate
Score 8.3 out of 10
N/A
ConnectWise Automate, formerly LabTech, is a remote monitoring and management (RMM) platform. It provides powerful automation to discover and manage devices, monitor for problems, and scripts repetitive action.
$700
Digital Defense, by HelpSystems (Frontline.Cloud Platform)
Score 8.0 out of 10
N/A
Frontline.Cloud is a cloud-native SaaS vulnerability management and threat assessment platform from Digital Defense, now from HelpSystems since the February 2021 acquisition.N/A
Pricing
ConnectWise AutomateDigital Defense, by HelpSystems (Frontline.Cloud Platform)
Editions & Modules
Agents
$1.00-$6.00
per month/per agent
Implementation Fee
$700
No answers on this topic
Offerings
Pricing Offerings
ConnectWise AutomateDigital Defense, by HelpSystems (Frontline.Cloud Platform)
Free Trial
YesNo
Free/Freemium Version
NoNo
Premium Consulting/Integration Services
NoNo
Entry-level Setup FeeNo setup feeNo setup fee
Additional Details
More Pricing Information
Community Pulse
ConnectWise AutomateDigital Defense, by HelpSystems (Frontline.Cloud Platform)
Considered Both Products
ConnectWise Automate
Chose ConnectWise Automate
Enable has a clunky interface more suited for management reporting versus technician toolbox and Ninja is very basic and lacks any significant bells and whistles behind basic remote command interface. Very poor in features to the point if being quite disappointing during a …
Chose ConnectWise Automate
If we have to do it again, we would not choose to Automate due to the number of efforts and monetary investment (3rd party consultants) to implement it as well on going managing it. But, in comparison to the other RMM products we used in the past, Automate offers more …
Chose ConnectWise Automate
I regret using ConnectWise Automate since we can't effectively add and remove clients and I feel like we're locked into a multi-year contract where only ConnectWise seems to be happy.
Chose ConnectWise Automate
I have evaluated NinjaRMM, but it was after I was already familiar with ConnectWise Automate. While it seems like a good product, I found that ConnectWise Automate was more flexible in allowing me to make custom configurations to meet various business needs across different …
Chose ConnectWise Automate
Formerly used Lansweeper, Solarwinds Orion, BMC track-it, which were all replaced with Connectwise offerings.
Chose ConnectWise Automate
I believe the monitoring and alerts in Continuum command is better, but [ConnectWise Automate (formerly LabTech)] does have stronger scripting, and perhaps a better interface. N-Central is inferior on all fronts to both. I did not make the purchasing decision. I would myself …
Chose ConnectWise Automate
It just seems like Automate is a tool for professionals who want to be the best proactive solution for their customers. There are so many different things built into Connectwise Automate which makes it a superior tool compared to anything else on the market currently. Once …
Chose ConnectWise Automate
So as you can see from this review my experience is mostly with its desktop sharing aspect; however the IT support team use this more comprehensively as a monitoring, inventory, reporting, even application deployment tool that the above-mentioned apps don't have.
Chose ConnectWise Automate
Automate is by far the best of all RMM solutions we have tried. The overall ease of use and support is much better than we have experienced with other RMM vendors.
Chose ConnectWise Automate
I touched on this in the previous section some. Kaseya's choice of managed antivirus was very poor (KAV, a tweaked version of Kaspersky) when it first started. It took them a long time to fix anything, and the fixes usually produced new and different issues. Kaseya kept …
Chose ConnectWise Automate
We have used Kaseya. It is not nearly as functional or reliable as ConnectWise Automate.
Chose ConnectWise Automate
It is, by far, the best solution we have ever used. The others are not even close.
Chose ConnectWise Automate
We ended up choosing ConnectWise because LogMeIn which is part of Continuum is slow and requires a lot of system resources and the patching is all that great within Continuum.
Chose ConnectWise Automate
ConnectWise Automate helps you do more with less by leveraging ConnectWise Control® to remotely manage multiple machines simultaneously.

Eliminate blind spots in your supported environments before they become a problem.
Chose ConnectWise Automate
Automate is one of the best when it comes to RMM-applications in terms of features and ability to execute, however, where it is weak is in the necessity for an SME to run and maintain it and while it is quick and gets the job done, it is difficult to stack it up to a full …
Chose ConnectWise Automate
Automate is the most well-established platform among its peers. Because it is part of a native ecosystem, you know that everything from remote management to ticketing to quoting an invoicing will work together. I have used other platforms, and many of them share core …
Chose ConnectWise Automate
We switched from Kaseya to Automate 7-8 years ago - it was no contest at the time and Kaseya wasn't cutting it in a number of areas at that time that was really hurting us. I'm sure it's improved since then.
Chose ConnectWise Automate
We have only previously deployed HoundDog/GFI and Autotask but evaluated all that we found. In the long run, none of the others compare with the features of ConnectWise Automate. Many others are less expensive but simply do not do all that ConnectWise Automate can do. We …
Chose ConnectWise Automate
ConnectWise Automate (formerly LabTech) took us a while to implement and adopt, but it was worth the time, cost, and effort.
Chose ConnectWise Automate
The Continuum RMM is very simplistic in comparison to Automate. The scripting engine in Continuum doesn't compare at all with the scripting in Automate. Continuum has a single level of agent grouping (all agents for a client are in a single group). For clients that have …
Chose ConnectWise Automate
Automate is the most flexible and customizable tool on the market - but it's also the most complex and requires the most care and feeding to run smoothly...
Chose ConnectWise Automate
We selected ConnectWise Automate over Kaseya as it provided many of the same features but less of the headache. Often times, scripts would not work in Kaseya or updates would not push. We have not had this experience with Automate, scripts and such just run when scheduled. …
Chose ConnectWise Automate
ConnectWise has a wider scale and more functionality than LogMeIn. ConnectWise is better suited to large organizations. Training using the software is fairly simple getting techs off the ground.
Digital Defense, by HelpSystems (Frontline.Cloud Platform)

No answer on this topic

Features
ConnectWise AutomateDigital Defense, by HelpSystems (Frontline.Cloud Platform)
Application Performance Management
Comparison of Application Performance Management features of Product A and Product B
ConnectWise Automate
8.5
Ratings
15% above category average
Digital Defense, by HelpSystems (Frontline.Cloud Platform)
-
Ratings
Virtualization monitoring8.00 Ratings00 Ratings
IT Asset Discovery9.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Monitoring Tasks
Comparison of Monitoring Tasks features of Product A and Product B
ConnectWise Automate
7.4
Ratings
0% below category average
Digital Defense, by HelpSystems (Frontline.Cloud Platform)
-
Ratings
Remote monitoring10.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Network device monitoring8.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Activity Monitoring8.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Management Tasks
Comparison of Management Tasks features of Product A and Product B
ConnectWise Automate
7.8
Ratings
4% above category average
Digital Defense, by HelpSystems (Frontline.Cloud Platform)
-
Ratings
Patch Management10.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Policy-based automation9.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Remote Access
Comparison of Remote Access features of Product A and Product B
ConnectWise Automate
8.0
Ratings
16% above category average
Digital Defense, by HelpSystems (Frontline.Cloud Platform)
-
Ratings
Attended device access10.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Unattended device access8.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Mobile device access5.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Virtual device access8.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Multiple-display support9.00 Ratings00 Ratings
Multiple concurrent sessions8.00 Ratings00 Ratings
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User Ratings
ConnectWise AutomateDigital Defense, by HelpSystems (Frontline.Cloud Platform)
Likelihood to Recommend
10.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Likelihood to Renew
10.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Usability
9.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Performance
3.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Support Rating
7.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Online Training
9.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Implementation Rating
5.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Configurability
10.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
Ease of integration
7.0
(0 ratings)
-
(0 ratings)
User Testimonials
ConnectWise AutomateDigital Defense, by HelpSystems (Frontline.Cloud Platform)
Likelihood to Recommend
I recommend it to all IT colleagues; regardless of the size of the PCs with which you work most of the time, the application allows connection stability between computers that make it possible to continue working or taking care of the infrastructure from afar.
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Pros
  • Automated patching. The patch management is very robust and doesn't let us down. We can rely on it to do its job.
  • Scripting. The scripting engine and layout is excellent. It's very easy to work with and adapt Powershell scripts and other script to the native format with its functions. It also gives detailed logs to help determine why something went wrong if there's issues.
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Cons
  • You can track all your clients information and every single job you do for them. You can do quotes, send them, add providers to compare prices, manage the calendar of the employees, assign tickets to the correct person, there is nothing you can't do with this tool.
  • Inside all the greatness, there are some works around that you have to do for specific duties that could be automated.
  • Make sure you keep notes on each client profile, you can use the private note section, it is secure and it works as a reminder of everything you need to do about that specific client, only you and your employees will see those.
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No answers on this topic
Likelihood to Renew
Support and the Speed of supporting the latest technology is the main reason for not giving this a 10. But the product is powerful and flexible. The best way that I can sum it up is "You can get out of it what you put in to it"
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No answers on this topic
Usability
Basic use of the product is fairly easy. Information about the machines you manage can be found in customizable dashboards, which can be unique for each user, and, therefore, properly suited to the users' needs/job function. This is not a 10 because some of the interfaces are very clunky (Patch Management), and some features are not intuitive and not well documented (reporting). Scripting and Patch Management have a fairly steep learning curve (For structure in patch management and syntax in scripting), but once learned, they work well.
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Performance
It used to be great, but then they broke reporting, speed and responsiveness with version 11 and the new Patch Manager. It's really bad and their support people are way behind on fixing so many bugs. They have really gone downhill. If they don't get it together soon, we'll start looking around.
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No answers on this topic
Support Rating
Far too many issues that take ages to get resolved. Even their chat support takes a long time to get in contact with someone. When you do chat with a support rep they generally can't help you and just escalate the ticket. At least everything you've chatted about is now in the ticket.
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Online Training
LabTech online training is very very thorough in training and helping individuals understand the theory and practical side of using a Remote Monitoring & Management. The training has multiple methods of explaining each section which helps to re-enforce everything about the Training Modules. I have had some Engineers lose their interest after a number of modules because they said that it was too much, that was too similar. I've found that the training is tailored towards a technical background but the Sales training does help NON technical individuals familiarize themselves with the Remote Monitoring and Management components and how it relates to Managed Services.
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No answers on this topic
Implementation Rating
ConnectWise Automate was already implemented at all organizations I have used it at when I started at those MSPs. At my current MSP, we used professional services for a period after I took over management of it, and they assisted with changes that I saw needed to be made. While not specifically implemented, those services were well organized and well scheduled, and all things we discussed were tracked and recorded, allowing for good change management/tracking.
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Alternatives Considered
I have evaluated NinjaRMM, but it was after I was already familiar with ConnectWise Automate. While it seems like a good product, I found that ConnectWise Automate was more flexible in allowing me to make custom configurations to meet various business needs across different clients. I have also evaluated Addigy. While I think Addigy does a better job of managing apple devices, it is clunkier, and customization is harder in Addigy than in ConnectWise Automate.
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No answers on this topic
Return on Investment
  • As mentioned briefly previous there have been a couple of times where accessing servers at different sites due to point to point connectivity going down where this has been a big life saver
  • Ease of management of servers
  • Made deployment of applications rule based easier
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ScreenShots

ConnectWise Automate Screenshots

Screenshot of Monitor: Find problemsScreenshot of Screenshot of Screenshot of Screenshot of Screenshot of