IT Nation Connect: CEO Says ‘Asio Ready for Prime Time’

ORLANDO, FLORIDA  - ConnectWise executives announced general availability of the company’s cloud-based MSP tools platform Asio at their IT Nation Connect keynotes, saying it is ready for broad adoption. The company’s new CEO Manny Rivelo told the audience of 4,500 MSPs that the platform is already seeing some momentum.

“I’m here to tell you that we are at this tipping point,” Rivelo said. “I’m here to tell you that it is ready for prime time.”

A total of 3200 MSPs are now using the cloud-based MSP tools platform RMM and there are over 5,000 partners on the platform overall, he said. But for the most part, partners have not yet gotten fully onboard with Asio. ChannelE2E spoke to one partner who was using Asio RMM, but had not yet moved to the PSA because they were waiting for the platform to be ready.

In a press statement ConnectWise said that PSA in Asio is now in preview in North America, EMEA, and APAC regions, providing partners with the opportunity to utilize their live PSA data within Asio, ensuring seamless integration and visibility of any changes made during the preview experience.

For ongoing engagement and support related to PSA in Asio, ConnectWise said partners can use the dedicated PSA in Asio section in the ConnectWise Virtual Community. This platform serves as a hub for partners to connect, share insights, and collaborate on optimizing their experience with PSA in Asio.

Rivelo said that Asio is now managing 2.2 million endpoints and 2.8 million automatic patches have been deployed. What’s more, 1,049 MSPs are now using Asio PSA, a more recent addition.

Asio is the next evolution of ConnectWise’s tools platform, moving the company’s legacy on-premises suite to the cloud. It’s been a project spread over the last few years to bring the functional MSP toolset into the cloud era. It incorporates technology from a number of acquisitions, most recently Axcient and SkyKick for backup and data recovery.

ConnectWise’s strategy is to offer a platform of essential tools for MSPs that includes RMM, PSA, cybersecurity, and other key functions. In addition, the strategy keeps the platform open enough for other vendors to integrate their offerings.

For instance, one of the announcements at IT Nation Connect this week is Pax8’s integration of its online marketplace with ConnectWise’s platform. The integration allows partners to consume technologies both ways. For instance, MSPs can buy Microsoft 365licenses from Pax8 from within Asio and Pax8 partners to can buy ConnectWise’s MDR from the Pax8 marketplace, Pax8’s corporate vice president of community and ecosystems Rob Rae told ChannelE2E.

This strategy of an open platform differs from rival Kaseya which says it offers a complete platform of tools for MSPs. Kaseya had announced a low-priced essential MSP bundle in May. When ChannelE2E spoke with outgoing ConnectWise CEO Jason Magee and incoming CEO Manny Rivelo in September, asking if ConnectWise would have an answer to Kaseya 365 Magee had said, “Let’s just say good things happen at IT Nation.”  But so far no announcement around pricing or bundles has materialized.

ConnectWise Asio PSA: the Details

ConnectWise said Asio PSA is a reimagined, modern experience for MSPs that offers a unified user interface, reducing the time spent moving between solutions and making issue resolution faster and easier. By leveraging shared platform services, ConnectWise PSA now provides increased efficiencies, ultimately decreasing costs for MSPs.

ConnectWise said Asio is the only platform purpose-built for MSPs. It offers common services and centralized data for all ConnectWise applications with generative AI and robotic process automation (RPA) built-in, driving additional productivity and scale, according to the company.

Asio currently includes PSA, RMM, ConnectWise Security360, ConnectWise Backup360, and ConnectWise PSA. Sidekick is the company’s AI solution that works across the unified product set and dashboard and offers predictive insights and proactively suggests solutions and auto remediations ConnectWise said.

"We are excited to introduce PSA in Asio, a game-changing initiative that enhances the partner experience with our PSA solution," said Jake Varghese, EVP & GM, business management at ConnectWise. "By offering a modern PSA experience along with RMM within the Asio platform, we are providing partners with a powerful tool to streamline their operations and drive efficiency. We encourage partners to take advantage of early access to familiarize themselves with the new interface and efficiencies, get their organization ready to make the transition, and provide valuable feedback."