IT NATION CONNECT — ConnectWise IT Nation Connect 2022 kicked off Wednesday with a rousing welcome session and keynote featuring top executives. The company shared key insights on the pressing challenges that providers face today. ConnectWise, of course, announced a series of business improvements and updates, positioning them as a “consistent center of gravity for the TSP ecosystem.”

Managing Through the Chaos

This is indeed one of the most challenging times in history, especially considering the snags that come with attracting and retaining good employees. Add to that the crazy-fast adoption and progression of the cloud, the pressures of the pandemic, and the massive increase in devices and access points … this new reality is, in a word, chaotic. Now more than ever, providers need support in managing the chaos. The management of what ConnectWise leaders described as the “infinite edge” during the keynote.

ConnectWise, claimed leadership, 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. 

“Invest in your community,” said Jason Magee, ConnectWise CEO (shown above during his welcome keynote). “ConnectWise is trying to do its part.”

Magee said that while TSPs used to know where the computing edge they managed started and stopped, today, it’s far more complicated. 

“Our partners are encountering a rapidly changing, boundary-less, and increasingly competitive environment to support their customers,” said Magee. “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.”

Prepping for the Apocal— … Future

Being unprepared is an easy pit to fall into given the extreme pace of innovation on the infinite edge of computing. Organizations both great and small have been felled due to lack of preparation. ConnectWise challenged TSPs to prepare to manage and lead through this change by prioritizing:

Amy Lucia explained to attendees why an exceptional customer experience is vital for future success.

“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.”

Cybersecurity, and its importance, was also hammered upon during the presentation.

“Cybersecurity is table stakes now,” said Lucia. “Control as we know it, is an illusion in the future. The lines aren’t just being redrawn, they are being removed. You, [the MSP], can’t control it, but you can manage it. Customers are already more demanding, so MSPs need to be more proactive. TSPs of the future need to be more consultative. If you don’t innovate, someone else will for your customers. You need to know where you’re headed, and have a clear road map to get there.”

Other Key Announcements and Updates

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

Patrick Beggs, ConnectWise’s CISO, laid out the scope of cybersecurity threats.

ConnectWise Access Management, a product of the newly announced ConnectWise Labs, is a privileged access management solution. The solution provides credential-less, temporary administrative logon accounts and credential-less approval and denial of end user elevation requests. Through December 16, 2022, a free trial of ConnectWise Access Management is available to existing ConnectWise Control, Automate, Command and RMM partners. 

A new alliance with Arrow, a premier partner to ConnectWise, was also announced. The two companies have partnered to address how TSPs procure software and services. For the first initiative, ConnectWise partners will have access to an integrated experience within the platform. This means that TSPs will be able to simplify searching and quoting, procurement, subscription management and client billing with Arrow. This will save time, as it gets rid of several manual, time-consuming tasks. 

New Tools and Programs

ConnectWise also introduced ConnectWise’s Partner Program, geared to help TSPs build, launch, and grow a successful cyber practice, is expanding to include an offering for business continuity and BCDR. 

Two new teams across ConnectWise will serve partners with a combination of deep strategy and rapid innovation. Product Security Response Team will bring a security mindset to all phases of product and engineering development. Cybersecurity will be baked into products from planning to design, to execution. 

ConnectWise and CompTIA also announced the next phase of the pre-apprenticeship partnership. At the show, they shared the launch of the Ticket to Tech program – a new career training initiative.

Come back tomorrow for more exciting coverage of the 2022 IT Nation conference!