Atera Review: All-in-one IT management platform for IT pros

Investing in a reliable IT management platform is one of the most critical decisions an IT professional can make from the get-go. Your IT management software may further complicate operations or simplify them and lead to improved profitability.

For a long time, IT professionals have relied on Atera for their IT management needs. A few reasons for this include Atera’s robust functionality, intuitive user interface, 24/7 chat support, and continuous innovation, including Action AI™, Atera’s AI-powered IT (AIT). 

In this article, we will examine Atera’s key features, functionalities, performance, security, compliance, and pricing in more detail.

Let’s start with a brief overview of what Atera is.

What is Atera?

Atera is an all-in-one IT management solution for IT departments and managed service providers (MSPs). Atera provides tools for managing and monitoring IT systems and networks, ensuring smooth and efficient operation.

Of the many IT management platforms available, Atera is the only one that integrates AI into its platform to help technicians achieve 10X efficiency.

Key features of Atera

Next, let’s examine Atera’s main features so you can better understand its capabilities.

1. Remote monitoring and management (RMM)

With Atera’s remote monitoring and management (RMM) functionality, IT teams can monitor and manage their clients’ systems in real time, automate tasks, and gain insights into their health and performance.

Atera’s RMM features include:

• Proactive monitoring and alerts: You can monitor network infrastructure, servers, workstations, and devices in real-time. You can set alert thresholds to monitor system resources, logged-in users, IP monitoring, SQL server updates, and more.

Remote maintenance: The remote maintenance functionality provides easy access to uninstalling applications, running scripts, installing patches and running virtually any command.

• Asset management capabilities: Atera provides accurate inventory information on hardware and software assets, enabling IT professionals to track and manage resources effectively, allocate assets efficiently, and plan for future upgrades or replacements.
• Software repository: The software repository is used for centralized management and distribution of software applications.
• Reporting and analytics: You can create customized reports on system health, software inventory, and patch feedback. This will assist you in making more informed decisions and provide documentation for billing purposes.

Other notable RMM features Atera provides include patch management, remote access and support, and IT automation, all of which we’ll discuss later in this article.

The main benefits of Atera’s RMM capabilities include reduced costs, the ability to identify and resolve issues before they impact business, streamlined operations, and automated maintenance.

This is what one Capterra user mentioned on Atera’s RMM capabilities:

• “Atera’s integrated RMM capabilities were particularly valuable in maintaining the performance and security of my clients’ systems.

Whether you’re an MSP or an IT department, Atera’s RMM capabilities make managing endpoints and devices easy and secure. Plus, Atera uses a pay-per-technician model, which means you pay a fixed price regardless of your number of endpoints.

2. AI-powered features

IT teams often work with countless applications and databases operating simultaneously yet independently, making it difficult to maintain seamless IT operations. Integrating AI into the IT industry, such as through platforms like Atera, can streamline processes and improve efficiency. Atera review reveals how it enhances productivity and efficiency by 10X, addressing these challenges effectively.

Atera is the first IT management platform to incorporate AI into its platform through the Atera Copilot. The Atera Copilot improves nearly all aspects of IT management, from troubleshooting IT issues to summarizing tickets instantly to creating context-specific scripts in seconds.

Atera’s Copilot

Atera’s Action AI™ gives technicians access to AI, which comes with many benefits, such as:

• Better customer support: Atera Copilot enables a new way to manage IT; you can troubleshoot IT issues using real-time device diagnostics and AI-recommended actions, which results in faster resolution times and higher customer satisfaction.
• Increased efficiency: Atera’s AI ticketing handles issues like password resets and blue screens automatically, enabling Tier 1 technicians to move up to Tier 2 and allowing senior technicians to focus on strategic initiatives. Atera’s AI ticketing solution solves 50% of tickets before they even reach technician’s inboxes.
• Improved work quality: Atera Copilot enhances the quality of resolutions by tapping into historical data and your existing knowledge base. It also helps you create knowledge-based articles directly from your ticket resolutions, improving customer experience and reducing your workload.

Using the Atera Copilot to troubleshoot issues

With Action AI™, your team can achieve 10X operational efficiency, slash resolution time, and deliver better outcomes faster.

3. Helpdesk and Ticketing

Our Atera review on helpdesk and ticketing features helps you resolve customer inquiries and issues. Manage all your communication with your end-users from a single intuitive dashboard.

Atera’s IT ticketing system

Atera’s PSA functionalities include:

• Customer portal where customers can open tickets, track them, and find information in your knowledge base
• Contracts and billing for MSPs for creating contracts, managing SLA policies, and tracking customer rates
• Advanced reporting and analytics for making more informed decisions
• Ticket automation rules for quicker support resolution times

Atera customers on G2 appreciate that the PSA features are built-in and come at no extra cost, which is not the norm in IT management. Several other all-in-one IT management platforms offer similar built-in features, but Atera is the only solution that powers PSA functionality with AI. One example of this is Atera’s AI-based ticket summaries.

4. Remote access

Atera’s remote access feature enables IT technicians to remotely access computers, desktops, servers, applications, and files.

The remote session can be started directly from the alert, ticket, or device view via AnyDesk or Splashtop or through TeamViewer or ScreenConnect if you want to bring your own license.

One G2 user mentions using Atera’s remote access capabilities to access their client’s devices. When problems arise, they can solve them in the shortest possible time, avoiding any larger damage. 

Atera’s built-in remote access software integrates with Splashtop or AnyDesk, there are no extra costs. Competitors, like N-able, charge extra for this functionality, so Atera has a distinct advantage.

5. Patch management

Based on our Atera review, Patch management doesn’t need to be complex, but if your company lacks the right tools, it could be a major headache. Atera’s patch management features let you see, update, and maintain your patches for Windows, Linux, and MacOS devices.

Atera’s patch management view

Not only does Atera help with patch management, but it also automates it. Atera’s automated patch management helps to scan, identify, download, test, deploy, and verify system patches automatically. 

Unlike humans, automated patch management finds and fixes system loopholes around the clock before malicious actors can exploit them.

Atera’s cloud-based patch management provides advanced reporting for patches, ensuring that you are always up-to-date on patching status. You can even install missing patches within the patch reporting page.

Atera’s patch management reporting

6. Network discovery

Network Discovery identifies and lists all assets within your IT environment by scanning and monitoring workgroup and domain controller networks. 

This feature is particularly useful in remote environments where users work independently. One view of all customer networks, continuously updated, helps administrators and IT staff stay on top of everything.

Atera’s Network Discovery also provides status reports. These reports give detailed information about each asset, such as its model, serial number, and age. They help customers and businesses determine which devices must be retired or replaced and forecast costs in advance.

If anything goes wrong, the Network Discovery capability can also be crucial to incident response. The technology automatically logs all network connections, allowing you to see what devices were connected when the attack occurred, narrowing down your list of suspects.

7. IT automation

IT automation ranked second among IT trends in organizations across the United States and Europe in 2023. Atera enables you to create your own IT Automation Profile and apply it either at the customer level or at the agent level, ensuring smooth automated actions all day long.

With Atera’s IT Automation Profile, you can:

• Run operation system updates (critical security, service pack or both of them)
• Install Java/Adobe/Driver updates
• Create a system restore point
• Delete temp files/internet history
• Perform reboot/shutdown
• Perform disk management tasks and run scripts even from the mobile app

One Capterra user mentioned working 14-hour shifts dealing with patch management and maintenance. After implementing Atera, he still puts in a few hours here and there, but Atera’s IT automation eliminated the all-day job and replaced it with looking over a report for an hour to ensure everything was working.

Review via Capterra

8. Third-party integrations

Atera’s App Center helps you expand the functionality with different security, network monitoring, billing and reporting, backup, remote access, and CPQ applications.

With integrations such as Webroot, Acronis, Emsisoft, Keeper, AnyDesk, Splashtop, and others, Atera makes it easy to customize your IT environment to your exact needs.

When we compare Atera’s integrations with those of competitors like NinjaOne, Syncro, Datto, and ConnectWise, we find that the integration set is mostly similar. Yet, one area where Atera stands out is the OpenAI integration, which enables Atera users to take advantage of the AI-powered features.

9. Mobile app

Atera’s mobile app helps IT teams support their customers directly from their mobile devices. The mobile app includes alert monitoring, remote access via Splashtop, helpdesk and ticketing, and access to customer contacts and devices.

Screenshot from Atera’s mobile app

Most IT management platforms only offer desktop or cloud-based software, so Atera’s mobile app is a standout feature.

Interface and usability

Atera aims to help IT professionals streamline their workflows, which is reflected in the intuitive user interface. Customers recognize Atera for its ease of use, and G2 has awarded it for both ease of use and ease of setup.

The onboarding process for new technicians is quick and easy, and new users are up and running within an hour. Setting up new customer environments can seem daunting for many MSPs, but Atera makes the process stress-free and quick.

Once you’re signed up, this is what Atera’s admin dashboard looks like:

Atera’s dashboard view (Via Atera)

This is what one Atera user mentions on Capterra related to the user interface:

• “Atera’s interface is clean, simple, and effective. You can do everything you need to without having to dig for it. If I have to search for a feature, I will not remember that it is even there to use, and with Atera, it is all laid out so well that it is intuitive. You open your account, set up your clients, and away you go.”

Navigating between the different user interfaces is easy, and most of the features can be accessed from the left sidebar. If you still can’t locate a specific feature, you can use the search bar on the left side menu to find it.

Performance and reliability

As any IT professional knows, reliability and performance are crucial when choosing an IT management tool. Downtime can cause more security risks and problems down the road, so you should make sure your next IT management platform shields you from these risks.
Regarding platform reliability, Atera offers a wide range of support options. The easiest way to get assistance from Atera is through 24/7 live chat or a comprehensive knowledge base containing various resources.

Atera provides collaborative support methods, including a shared script library and an active IT community that can assist with troubleshooting issues and offer insight and suggestions. Atera also has an active blog containing hundreds of related articles for IT professionals.

We take pride in making troubleshooting simple and minimizing downtime.

Security and compliance

Atera’s built-in security is at the centre of everything we do, ensuring your data is always protected. 

Using smart logging and reporting and adhering to industry standards like MFA, we can give our customers peace of mind that their organization is not at risk from unwanted threats. Atera has achieved ISO/IEC 27001, 27017, 27018, and 27032 compliances.

Pricing and plans

Atera is renowned for offering a transparent pay-per-technician pricing structure. The available pricing plans are tailored to the specific requirements of MSPs and IT departments.Enterprise clients may receive a custom quote, but our standard plans for IT departments range from $149/month to $219/month.

For MSPs, the standard pricing plans range from $129/month to $209/month, and a custom quotation is available for Enterprise clients.

Regarding return on investment (ROI), Atera’s pay-per-technician pricing means companies pay a fixed fee regardless of the number of devices they manage. This is different from most RMM pricing plans, which charge customers based on the number of endpoints they manage.

Atera’s pricing helps you scale more easily and affordably, and you can add more devices without increasing costs. 

If you are uncertain whether Atera’s pay-per-technician pricing will make a difference, here is what one Capterra user mentioned:

• “Our MSP at the time had encouraged us to try to buy ConnectWise from them. The bill was going to be 160k, this is because we have many stable systems, and our users change very little across the network, so we had 3 techs and 500 computers. Atera charges by the technician and gives you unlimited devices, meaning our 160k bill, which we absolutely needed to have was converted to about 8k by changing from ConnectWise to Atera.”

Review via Capterra

Atera’s powerful patch management functionality also saves you money over time, and the available third-party integrations expand the system’s capabilities. 

All new customers get a 30-day free trial to help IT department decision-makers get a better understanding of the product.

User feedback and reviews

Atera offers robust all-in-one functionality, 24/7 live chat support, easy onboarding, and an intuitive user interface, so it’s no surprise that it has earned thousands of positive reviews from customers.

Across the most popular review platforms, including G2, Capterra, SourceForge, and TrustRadius, Atera has gained an average of 4.6 out of 5.0 stars rating with over 2,000+ unique reviews.

One Atera user on Capterra appreciates how Atera provides an all-in-one IT management solution for them. Instead of investing in multiple software solutions, IT departments can achieve the required support objectives within one subscription.

Review via Capterra

One SourceForge reviewer mentioned that Atera is a lifesaver for a one-person IT department. To simplify the onboarding process, Atera provides installation files and command-line instructions for each OS.

Review via SourceForge

An Atera user on TrustRadius mentioned that Atera’s deployment process is effortless, and new technicians are up and running in no time. The same user mentions that it’s easy to manage endpoints from one centralized dashboard.

Review via TrustRadius

Atera has also won G2 recognition for ease of use and setup, making it one of the most user-friendly IT management solutions available.

The only AI-powered IT management platform

Hopefully, this Atera review has given you a clearer idea of what Atera can offer. Even though there are many IT management solutions on the market, Atera is the only one powering its platform through end-to-end AI.

With Atera’s AI, IT technicians can work 10X more efficiently, and customers have reported 95% faster ticket response times. Of course, before deciding, you should compare different Atera alternatives to determine which platform best fits your organizational goals. 

However, we can confidently state that Atera is the only platform offering the AI-powered all-in-one functionality accompanied by the disruptive pay-per-technician model. If you want to evaluate how Atera fits within your organization, you can sign up for a free 30-day trial.You can also get in touch with our sales team today.