Action1 RMM: Remote monitoring and management in a single platform

Managing and monitoring remote endpoints can be challenging. Learn how Action1 RMM provides patching and updates, remote access, and other features for remote endpoints.

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Brandon Lee

Brandon Lee has been in the IT industry 15+ years and focuses on networking and virtualization. He contributes to the community through various blog posts and technical documentation primarily at Virtualizationhowto.com.

An overview of Action1 RMM core functionality

Action1 is a remote monitoring and management solution that is cloud-centric. Cloud-based management is crucial when managing and monitoring remote endpoints that are not connected to the corporate network. Locating management and monitoring in the cloud allows remote endpoints to connect to the solution from any network connection over a secure SSL connection.

Action1 RMM provides critical features and capabilities for modern IT management scenarios, including:

Patching and updates
Built-in remote access
Application deployment and management
Unattended access
Endpoint management
IT asset inventory and reporting
RESTful API

Patching and updates

Patching can be one of the most challenging tasks for organizations with a distributed, remote workforce, since the traditional tools generally used require corporate network connectivity. Traditional solutions, such as Windows Server Update Services (WSUS), work well when clients are connected on the same LAN. However, WSUS doesn't scale or work well with Internet-connected clients.

Maintaining updates, no matter where endpoints are located, is crucial to your organization's overall cybersecurity posture. Attackers often look for vulnerabilities due to a missing patch or an out-of-date third-party application that they can compromise. The Action1 patching and updates functionality takes the heavy lifting out of this process.

It provides a platform that allows organizations to easily manage, approve, configure, and install Windows and third-party application updates on in-house, hybrid, or remote workstations. In addition, with the cloud-based architecture of Action1 RMM, organizations can seamlessly manage the patching of endpoints across their on-premises and hybrid architectures.

What's more, businesses don't have to log into different solutions to manage updates on-premises vs. remote endpoints. This single-pane-of-glass management experience for updates helps streamline the process and makes it more efficient.

Viewing Windows Updates, including missing and critical updates

Built-in remote access

With the remote workforce used by many businesses worldwide, providing remote support for end users is necessary for troubleshooting and general helpdesk issues. Instead of requiring a separate remote desktop solution, businesses can use the built-in remote desktop functionality of Action1, which is already built into the agent, along with the other features and capabilities it contains.

Action1 RMM provides built in remote access

Application deployment and management

Managing applications for remote users is extremely important for businesses today. IT admins need the ability to install or remove software regardless of where the endpoint is located. Using Action1 RMM, IT admins only need to have the Action1 agent installed to manage software installations on endpoints. In addition, the platform allows the creation of customized software packages for installation.

Deploy marketplace or custom applications using Action1 RMM

Inventory and reporting features

Internal IT teams and MSPs can maintain an accurate inventory of IT assets, regardless of location. It includes the ability to inventory software and hardware assets.

Action1 provides cloud based asset inventory and reporting

In addition, the reporting capabilities of Action1 allow IT teams to receive alertes in the event of unsecured file shares, USB and other peripheral events, and many other events.

Unattended access

Action1 allows IT support staff to have unattended access, a feature that is extremely valuable to businesses supporting many types of endpoints worldwide. It enables performing maintenance and managing applications without requiring the end user to be available.

Endpoint management

Action1 can run custom commands, scripts, and PowerShell cmdlets and perform other tasks, such as rebooting and service management.

RESTful API

Modern workflows can utilize Action1 RMM via the RESTful API, allowing IT teams to integrate Action1 RMM with custom applications and other third-party solutions. The Action1 RESTful API allows them building integrations with ease.

Recent new features

Action1 has been investing heavily in the platform and has aggressively introduced new capabilities in the product to help meet modern IT management and monitoring challenges that businesses are facing. Recent new features include:

Management of applications installed by non-administrative users in their own user profiles—This is a common challenge preventing IT admins from effectively controlling software installation on their endpoints. With the new feature update, you can remove all unsupported user applications and switch to machine-wide installs supported and updated via Action1.
Update remote drivers and firmware—Action1 has extended the features and capabilities of updates to include drivers and firmware. This feature helps ensure that security vulnerabilities that may result from out-of-date firmware or drivers are remediated.
Postpone required reboots after updates—You can postpone reboots after updates to ensure business continuity for end users. This feature helps ensure that remote workers are not interrupted in the middle of the day due to a forced reboot.
Deploy Windows feature updates—Action1 now allows organizations to apply security updates and Windows feature updates. It includes being able to upgrade Windows versions to newer builds, such as Windows 10 20H2.
Role-based access control—Organizations and MSPs can now assign role-based access to multiple users in the organization, which helps bolster least privilege best practices.
Endpoint groups—Endpoints can now be grouped and have different management policies defined, helping to define more granular management of endpoints.
Management policies—These policies can be assigned to endpoint groups and define different patching priorities.

Free version available for up to 50 endpoints

Earlier this year, Action1 announced the release of its new RMM offering. With the announcement of the then-new features (enhanced security patching, roles-based access control, endpoint groups, and others), Action1 announced that its RMM solution would be available free of charge for organizations with 50 endpoints or fewer. One of the points that caught my attention with the 50 free endpoints is that Action1 guarantees they will not sell customer data, and it would not be impaired with trialware popups or feature limitations.

Wrapping up

The cloud-based Action1 RMM solution provides modern features and tools for organizations that have shifted to a distributed workforce where traditional management and monitoring are no longer effective. In addition, the core functionality, including patching and update features, remote access, application deployment, inventory capabilities, and others, empowers organizations to manage hybrid and remote endpoints, regardless of where they are located.