Businesses are cutting the coat according to cloth. The C-suite has learned the way to profitability is to run lean. This means downsizing IT teams to balance high productivity with minimal overheads.

As a result, SMBs are turning to MSPs to reduce IT operational costs. This is where RMM comes in. Remote monitoring and management (RMM) solutions fill in for the manpower gap for running IT operations smoothly. It's no surprise, 75% of IT services are occasionally outsourced to MSPs.

But, is your MSP ready to handle the growing demands of SMBs?

The answer depends on your awareness of the latest RMM trends. A knowledge gap puts you on the defense, while competitors get busy playing offense and take away your customers and their money.

To score winning touchdowns, keep these 2019 RMM trends in mind:

Covering A to Z

Businesses want to partner with RMM providers that can orchestrate an entire set of solutions, covering the entire IT operations. It makes more sense to work with one vendor than multiple solutions owned by different vendors.

An RMM-PSA integrated solution allows complete endpoint IT management. The RMM handles the technical implementations while the other takes care of the manual business operations. Service providers are quickly hopping on this new trend as it allows them to manage IT operations from a single pane of glass.

The real challenge would be to make this integration work seamlessly. Basically, RMM solutions that offer less friction will achieve higher customer satisfaction.

Push for next-gen automation

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RMM and automation have formed quite the camaraderie. Using machine learning, IT teams are able to automate repetitive tasks. Fewer errors and more hours on the clock have led to increased profits and better endpoint management.

Today, automation is being seen from the lens of AI. Early versions are already being tested out to achieve zero human intervention. The goal is to create an IT infrastructure that does all the heavy lifting.

For instance, condition-driven AI automation has gained popularity in recent years and will continue to grow. Set pre-established conditions and once they are met, the AI will take actions intelligently to resolve issues. Neat, eh?

Stringer compliance with HIPPA and GDPR

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) and the recently implemented General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) are having a tremendous impact on data management and privacy.

Since MSPs maintain records of personal data and processing activities, they will have to share legal liability with their clients in case of a breach. There ’s greater responsibility to ensure compliance is met by both the client and MSP.

Responsible MSPs focus on educating clients on the various regulations for long-term adherence. Create a resource hub that will prepare clients and highlight the vulnerabilities under these new regulations.

Here’s one that talks about the impact of GDPR on U.S. companies.

Security remains a concern

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The harshness of GDPR, rising cybersecurity threats, and overconfident users who know the risks of opening unknown links but do it anyway are some of the many concerns keeping the industry on the edge of their seats.

To protect one's IT estate and its components, BCDR solutions will see more takers. Of course, with multiple players in the market, it's important to focus on choosing the right data backup solution that makes the job easier.

Still, technology cannot replace communication. MSPs and clients need to work in sync and ensure best practices are followed to safeguard IT infrastructure against threats.

Finally, play the long game

Prospects are looking at the long game and so should you. Position your MSP as a long-term consistent partner rather than a temporary fix provider.

This will make you seem a reliable confidante to businesses that will be dependent on RMM technology for deploying IT operations.