Our most frequently asked questions of 2023

Having unveiled 70 new features and 15 new App Center Partners this year, it’s hard to believe that 2023 is coming to an end. 

But with many new enhancements and innovations, come many questions! 

In this blog, we’ll cover (and answer) the most frequently asked questions of 2023, offering insights, solutions, and a glimpse into the topics that have piqued your collective curiosity!

What is AI-powered IT?

AI-powered IT is a new category in the world of information technology, designed to help IT teams exponentially reduce their workload with a platform that integrates AI end-to-end. This entirely new category of IT management platforms — currently only offered by Atera — enables 10X operational efficiency, providing unprecedented impact across entire organizations.

The use of AI-powered IT can supercharge every part of an IT professional’s day-to-day activities, including AI-based ticket summaries, auto-generated responses, AI-recommended solutions, smart insights, and scripts for automating tasks.

Nevertheless, the benefits go beyond the IT professional’s desk. Similarly, end users are benefitting from this AI-driven revolution. These advanced IT solutions give users the power to resolve problems independently.

Picture a scenario where 50% of user tickets are resolved before they even reach a technician. End users armed with tools to reset passwords, troubleshoot blue screen errors, and handle other routine issues mean fewer interruptions for IT professionals and faster solutions for everyone involved. 

Time-based ticket automation rules: how can I close a ticket after a specific amount of time?

Here time-based ticket automation rules can be used. Ticket automation rules enable you to set actions that will automatically trigger when certain ticket actions occur (e.g., new tickets created, closed, or updated). You can also set up rules that perform action-based on time passed automations.

To read the step-by-step instructions for setting up time-based ticket automations to close a ticket after a certain time period automatically, check out this article.

Is Atera using my data to help train its AI algorithm?

With the proliferation of AI and generative AI tools come great rewards — but increased concerns as well. 

We’re pleased to report that Atera integrates with Azure OpenAI — as opposed to other, open source platforms — meaning that none of our data transfers to OpenAI but rather everything is confined to the Atera platform. In other words, your inputs (prompts), outputs, and embeddings are not accessible to either the OpenAI environment or to other customers, and are not used to train other AI models as well. 

You can find the full list of Atera’s compliances on our website.

Can we monitor X kind of device using SNMP? For example, can we monitor a Cisco firewall using Atera?

With Atera’s SNMP, known as Simple Network Management Protocol, you can monitor any device as long as the device itself supports the SNMP monitoring protocol!

For example, Cisco firewalls that can be monitored using SNMP can be monitored using Atera’s SNMP. 

For more FAQ surrounding Atera’s SNMP capabilities, check out this article. 

What languages is Atera available in?

Atera’s autopilot can support all languages, so please—give it a try in your native language!

Our co-pilot can understand all languages—meaning you can input your requests in any language of your choice. However, all output will be in the language defined for the user’s system. We currently support English, German, French, Italian, and Spanish.

Atera’s platform as a whole is available in English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish. More languages are on the roadmap, so stay tuned! 

Do you have a private software repository? How does it work? 

Atera does offer a private software repository that is currently available to Superpower subscribers, as well as design partners. It will very soon become available to all customers currently subscribed to certain plans. 

For more information about Atera’s private software repository offering, read this article. 

Can AIT be used to build ticket automation rules?

Of course, AIT can be used to build ticket automation rules! The possibilities are endless with AIT — all you need is your imagination.

You can create all kinds of automations based on ticket tags, for example, since the ticketing engine uses AI to auto-tag tickets.

We see automations such as dispatching that leverage this auto-tagging mechanism frequently. Consider the case of a technician who specializes in a specific hardware or device. All tickets with the relevant tag can be automatically dispatched to this technician. Alternatively, you can automate all dispatching for all tickets, eliminating manual dispatching entirely. Additionally, script deployments for specific issues can be automated by using auto-healing.

Is there a way to push out software installs and updates through the AI autopilot?

Absolutely! Installing and updating software is a very common request for technicians, whether for existing users or new employees, and it’s quite time-consuming. 

With Atera, that task falls under ‌auto-pilot. So technicians can configure the list of allowed software once, such as Zoom, Microsoft Office suite, etc. — and the autopilot will take care of all installs and updates from this list all on its own!

Only if it runs into a request that is not in the allowed list, or there’s an issue with permissions or something similar, it will escalate to the technician. And of course, the technician will get the ticket with all this information included. 

Can I assign multiple devices to one user?

Currently, a user can be assigned only to one device, but a device can have multiple users assigned to it.

We know this is a popular request, so stay tuned!

Do we have control over what is determined to be an auto-pilot issue, versus a co-pilot issue/ticket? 

Auto-pilot refers to activities performed by Atera’s AIT autonomously, while co-pilot refers to situations in which the AI acts as an “assistant” to the technician.

We are constantly adding to Atera’s auto-pilot, which currently has over 500 checks and solutions it can run on its own. Adding only risk-free actions to the most common scenarios is our priority.

In the event that the AI encounters a problem that it does not know how to solve, what happens? The escalation mechanism has been updated with cutting-edge technology. When the AI identifies an action that is outside its boundaries, it will escalate it to a human technician, thereby moving it from auto-pilot to co-pilot. The human technician will then be aided by the AI with auto-ticket summaries, suggested solutions and responses, and more.

An Dynamic Duo for IT Efficiency

In 2023, Atera’s Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) software emerged as a key tool for IT professionals, especially in patch management. Effective patch management ensures that systems are updated with the latest security patches, reducing vulnerabilities. Atera’s RMM simplifies this by automating the detection and deployment of patches across devices, saving time and minimizing errors. This integration not only boosts security but also enhances system performance, making Atera’s RMM a critical component for streamlined and secure IT operations.