ConnectWise Automate
TL;DR
ConnectWise Automate (formerly LabTech) is the MSP workhorse RMM: monitor thousands of endpoints, patch everything on policy, script away repetitive fixes, and pipe alerts straight into ConnectWise Manage ticketing.
Key Facts
Pricing
Starting at ~$1–$4/endpoint/month (custom quotes typical)
Automate (per endpoint)
- Remote monitoring and alerting at scale
- Patch management across thousands of endpoints
- Scripting automation engine included
On-Premise License
- Self-hosted control for compliance-bound MSPs
- ~$700 implementation fee typical
- Negotiable upfront purchase terms
Unified Platform Bundle
- Native ConnectWise Manage (PSA) integration
- ScreenConnect remote access bundled options
- Average contracts ~$9K/yr; enterprises up to $85K
Additional Pricing Information
ConnectWise quotes everything custom — public figures put cloud licensing around $1–$4 per endpoint/month, with average annual costs near $9,000 and enterprise deals reaching $85,000. On-premise deployments run roughly $1–$6 per agent plus a ~$700 implementation fee. Reviewers report pricing as competitive for the depth, but note that maintaining the platform demands technician hours that cheaper rivals don't require.
Details
What is ConnectWise Automate?
ConnectWise Automate — the product formerly known as LabTech — is one of the founding platforms of the managed-services industry: a remote monitoring and management (RMM) system built to watch thousands of endpoints, patch them on policy, remediate problems through an unusually deep scripting engine, and feed every alert into ConnectWise's PSA suite for ticketing and billing. Reviewers score it 8.4 out of 10 across roughly 219 TrustRadius reviews, with near-perfect feature ratings where it counts: remote monitoring earned 10/10 across 22 ratings and patch management 10/10 across 21, while likelihood-to-recommend sits at a striking 10/10 among its base. The praise is consistent — scripting versatility that automates away repetitive work, alerting that cleanly separates critical from noise, a lightweight agent, and tight Manage integration that makes tickets flow themselves. The complaints are equally specific: the scripting language and patch-management structure carry a genuine learning curve, scheduling logic conflicts between modules ("first Friday" means different things in different screens), the version 11 Patch Manager rewrite broke performance and reporting for many shops with slow fixes, and ongoing tuning consumes technician hours that lighter rivals like NinjaOne don't demand. Automate fits established MSPs and internal IT teams with large Windows estates and the appetite to master a powerful but demanding tool; smaller shops wanting fast time-to-value should demo NinjaOne and Atera first.
Key Features
- Remote Monitoring — Threshold-based alerts across all endpoints
- Patch Management — Policy-driven OS/app patching at scale
- Scripting Engine — Deep automation for remediation workflows
- Endpoint Discovery — Network-wide device and software inventory
- ConnectWise Manage Integration — Alerts become tickets automatically
- ScreenConnect Remote Access — Integrated remote control sessions
- Policy-Based Automation — Self-healing without technician touch
- Reporting Suite — Hardware, software, and health documentation
Who is it for?
- Established MSPs managing hundreds to thousands of endpoints
- Internal IT teams running large Windows-heavy estates
- Shops already using ConnectWise Manage or ScreenConnect
- Teams with scripting skills who want deep automation
- Compliance-bound orgs needing on-premise deployment options
Who is it NOT for?
- Small MSPs wanting day-one simplicity (Atera/NinjaOne fit)
- Teams without spare technician hours for platform upkeep
- Mac/Linux-first environments (Windows-centric tooling)
- Buyers burned by mid-release regressions who need stability
- Anyone unwilling to invest weeks in training and tuning
The Bottom Line
ConnectWise Automate is the RMM equivalent of a professional race car: nothing in its class matches its scripting depth, patch automation, and Manage integration when it's dialed in — reviewers rate core monitoring and patching a perfect 10. But it demands a skilled driver and constant pit stops: the learning curve is steep, maintenance never truly ends, the v11 Patch Manager rollout broke things real businesses depend on, and the roadmap increasingly points toward ConnectWise's newer platform. Big MSPs with dedicated automation engineers will keep getting their money's worth. Everyone else should price NinjaOne and Atera against the true cost of the technician hours Automate consumes.
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