Which Atera plan best suits my I.T. business and needs?

We know that you know that Atera is the all-in-one solution for IT professionals. However, deciding exactly which package is the right choice for your specific needs can be a tougher question.

We regularly field questions from trial users and prospects who <3 Atera, but aren’t sure which plan meets their needs. Is the first tier suitable, or would they benefit from choosing the more popular middle plan? Are they getting all the value they can out of Atera, or would they 10x their growth by choosing the top-tier package?

These are all reasonable questions, and as always, we’re here to help! Let’s break down all of your options so that you can choose the exact plan that works for your needs.

The first question you need to answer is, are you an MSP or part of an IT department?

At Atera, we split our IT solution services into two distinct groups, for two different kinds of customers. So the first question is to ask yourself, are you a Managed Service Provider, or an IT department?

If you’re a Managed Service Provider, you’ll have multiple customers who you manage IT services on behalf of, looking after their IT environments across different offices and brands, usually including network performance, hardware and software offerings, security, and more. You may have totally different agreements with different kinds of customers, for example, some may deal with their own hardware procurement in-house, or need more granular support for compliance or cybersecurity due to working in a sensitive industry. You value flexibility, and the ability to serve different needs with customization and control.

If you’re an IT department, you handle the IT services for a single business. Of course, sometimes there will be multiple offices, and in today’s work-from-home reality there will almost always be multiple sites to consider. However all of your work is for one business, you are the internal IT dept for the business. Everything IT-related will come under your purview, but you may need to work alongside Security or DevOps teams with more close contact, as you’re not a separate entity. You want visibility and oversight, and zero gaps in how you manage your work across sites.

The best way to make sure that you’re getting what you need out of Atera is to choose the right persona from day one. Moving forward, we’ll be continuing to roll out features that suit each of these groups of users, so if you pick a package under the IT department category when you’re actually an MSP, you may miss out on great tools for managing and maintaining disparate customer environments for example.

Once you’ve started on the right path, each group of users can then choose between three plans. For MSPs, it’s Pro, Growth, and Power, while for IT departments, it’s Professional, Expert, and Master.

Let’s look at each of these tiers in more detail for both sets of users.

Just starting out? Here’s what you get on the starter Atera tier

If you’re just starting out and you’re on a budget – Pro or Professional might well be the right choice. These give you a chance to kick the tires of Atera and see the foundational technology that sets us apart from other IT software solutions.

For both MSPs and IT departments, you’ll get all the remote management, automation and scripting capabilities from inside the Atera platform, full monitoring and alerts, OS and software patching, and helpdesk and ticket automation. Both user groups can also benefit from Remote Access sessions using Splashtop at no additional charge. (limited concurrent sessions.)

For MSPs, the Pro plan allows you to benefit from automated time tracking to help you meet your customer SLAs, and great functionality for setting up and managing contracts and invoices for the end of the month. You can also track tickets and notifications using the Atera mobile app.

If you’re an IT department, you’ll be able to monitor using the Mac agent on top of Windows OS, even on the most basic Atera plan — which isn’t possible on Pro for MSPs. As most businesses have some Mac users, especially now that there is such a trend towards remote working, this is a real perk. You’ll also get the major benefit of Azure AD integration, so that you can sync Active Directory with Atera continuously, keeping all of your sites updated with a single import.

Moving up the ladder to Growth or Expert plans

Our most popular plans by far are the mid-tier, known as Growth for MSPs, and Expert for IT departments. At this stage, both MSPs and IT departments can now benefit from as many concurrent Splashtop sessions as they need, and use multi-monitor remote access through AnyDesk, too. Both groups can chat with their users in real-time through Atera, too. That’s quick questions answered in a flash without the need to go through the whole process of opening tickets and waiting for replies.

At the Growth stage, this is where MSPs unlock Mac agent support. Other great features for MSPs include the ability to view files and transfer up to 15GB at a time. You’ll unlock up to 10 support addresses so that you can channel communications for specific customers to the right technicians or teams, and you can gain access to the Atera API for up to 600 RPM.

For IT departments, the Expert plan gives you a lot more control and flexibility over the way that you work. You’ll unlock Network Discovery free of charge, so that you can see all of your devices and site activity through scheduled scanning and monitoring at a glance. You can also get proactive by scheduling tickets ahead of time. This means maintenance reminders, and the ability to handle repetitive tasks proactively so that nothing gets forgotten.

You can also benefit from AI auto-tagging, the Atera API up to 2000 RPM, and 2 support addresses, which we find IT departments use to separate out queries for different teams, such as technical support and Sales for example.

Getting the best out of Atera with Power and Master plans

To truly rule your IT business, the Power and Master plans at Atera unlock all of the above functionality, and then take it to the next level. For both MSPs and IT departments, you get a whole lot more peace of mind when opting for the top tier. This is done through two key features that are not available for those on the lower tiers.

Database snapshots: If at any point you accidentally delete any data, for example, a customer profile, contracts, applications, or files, database snapshots allow us to provide you with the CSV file so that you can get that data restored without any gaps. Whether an intentional attack or an accidental misclick, you know that you’re covered.

Geo-redundant database: By storing your data on more than one database, you have far greater security and control if one of the databases experiences a failure or an outage. This won’t necessarily be related to where your business or your customers are based, giving you the ability to ensure business continuity no matter what.

Both groups of users can also unlock unlimited support addresses at this tier, giving the ability for limitless customization of ticket queues, dispatching, and customer service and support.

For MSPs, moving to the Power plan unlocks the Atera API up to 700 RPM, and also allows for up to 50GB per file transfer, making it even easier to work with your customers.

For IT departments, the API capabilities of the Master plan take a leap to up to 4,000 RPM, and you also unlock VIP support for your business. This means a dedicated customer support manager, quicker resolution times, and the confidence that you will get the help when you need it, no matter what.

Wondering what’s on the roadmap for Power and Master users? Keep your eyes peeled for customized reporting, which will change the way that you handle your data, providing business intelligence and insights from the information within the Atera platform. For MSPs, this will help prove the value of your work and encourage upsell opportunities and loyalty, while for IT departments – those shiny reports will earn you your seat at the table for the next executive meeting.

Add-ons and integrations for everyone!

Whether you’re an MSP or an IT department, and no matter which Atera tier you go for, Atera offers the same awesome integrations to a wide range of third-party technologies and tools. We never pick favorites, but here’s just a little about some of the categories of partners we play nicely with.

Security

Want the best tools in the business to ensure total security across customer environments or different sites? Try virus and malware protection through Emsisoft, advanced ransomware and spyware prevention with Malwarebytes, prevention, detection and response from Bitdefender, email security with Ironscales, and Ninite Pro for patching all of your applications across all of your networks.

Backup

Atera partners with two awesome backup providers. Our OG, Acronis, allows you to offer continuous data protection and flexible storage options, and Axcient is the new kid on our block, experienced in business continuity and disaster recovery and a pioneer in chain-free backup.

Billing

Aimed at MSPs, our Billing integrations make invoicing super easy, so that you can quickly add the correct taxes, track expenses, manage the hours you work, and create customized invoices and reports for each customer relationship. We integrate with QuickBooks Online and Xero, helping you to manage your business without toggling between all of those multiple applications and screens.

Remote Access

Splashtop sessions start from the Pro and Professional plans of Atera, while you can level up to Growth or Expert and get unlimited concurrent sessions, or use multi-monitor remote access via AnyDesk. Splashtop also enables Atera Work From Home, so that employees can remote into their office computers with ease.

Pro, Growth or Power, and Professional, Expert, or Master — we’ve got your back!

No matter which group you fall into, and no matter what plan you choose inside Atera, you’re one of us! We’re always happy to discuss your specific business needs, and to make intelligent recommendations for how you can get more out of using the platform, whether that’s bumping you up to the next tier, or helping you decide that actually you don’t need all the bells and whistles! We’re in it for you, and that means always making decisions with your best interests in mind.

If you need any more help discussing your options, don’t hesitate to reach out!