When network hardware vendors issue device recalls, field notices, or security alerts, the implication can be massive for MSPs.
Take the 2017 clock signal issue, for example. That huge recall of Intel microchips was a large-scale vulnerability for tons of devices—and left MSPs scrambling to figure out which devices were affected on which client sites.
After frustration with his other software, Jason Whitehurst, the cofounder and vCIO of NoctisIT, says Auvik was the first place he looked for specific device information to check for the clock signal flaw.
“The traditional RMM tool, generally, is either incapable of doing it or the rule sets are so complex that it’s difficult to do. Whereas I have found that Auvik has much more easily been able to present that information to me.”
Cisco, for example, needed very specific information from MSPs to accept recalled devices. Robinson Roca, the lead network engineer and cloud architect at BBH Solutions, says, “The way Cisco identified what devices were affected was by certain numbers and letters within the serial number. They also needed to know how long the device had been up.”
If an MSP didn’t have the Auvik inventory data to discover which clients were vulnerable, they would have to sift through stacks of purchase orders and massive spreadsheets to figure out which serial numbers met the criteria and where each device was located.”
That process would have required a high-level network engineer to remotely tunnel into client sites, the logistics team to look into the purchase history for clients, and service reps to call clients to gather additional information. With so many hands on deck, that would have been a very expensive, manual issue to resolve.
But with Auvik, Roca had only to tap a single, less expensive technician to find the affected devices:
“Before we had Auvik, multiple resources had to do different tasks to solve a problem. Now, I can have one person log into Auvik and—without having to log into a single piece of equipment—get serial numbers and other details I need. I may not have to have a network engineer dig into that. I can push off tasks to other engineers that are a lesser cost. So, we save time and money.”
Roca was also able to expedite the return merchandise authorization (RMA) process with Cisco. “Auvik was a really easy way of providing the detail that I needed to start a huge RMA process across multiple clients. Auvik was monitoring up time, and I had the serial numbers that were affected. [In cases like the clock signal flaw], I can start RMA processes ridiculously faster, and I’m able to hit more of my clients easier.”
James Fodor, service desk manager at Access One, says in addition to finding affected devices more easily, Auvik helps him proactively prevent hardware or software vulnerabilities from affecting client devices in the future—which cements the value of his business.
“To go to a client and say ‘We’re experiencing these problems across a number of our other clients, so we’re going to put a fix in on your machine before it even becomes a problem.’ That’s unbelievably invaluable to our clients and is something that will keep them as our clients forever.”
It’s all part of owning the network.
