What Is RMM Software and What Is It Used For?

Let us teleport for a moment to the Nostromo for this topic. Watch how the crew in the movie Alien travel in hibernation, while the ship does not simply drift through the darkness. The central computer, Mother, monitors the systems and only wakes the crew when something requires human attention. But wait, is this not the movie where (almost) everyone dies horribly because of a xenomorph? Well, yes, but let us stick with the idea of a machine that monitors and manages things while nobody is watching, issuing alerts only when necessary. Bring that concept down into our IT orbit and multiply it across hundreds of devices, and that is essentially what an RMM does.
So let us take an in-depth look at this software to understand it and, along the way, make sure it does not turn against us like Mother in Ridley Scott’s masterpiece.
As we will see, an RMM (Remote Monitoring and Management) is software that makes it possible to monitor and manage devices remotely from a single console. For managed service providers (MSPs) and IT departments with infrastructure scattered everywhere, this is the optimal form of governance: concentrating Command and Control in a single point.

What is RMM software?

The inevitable task of defining the concept will put us on the right track if we know how to read it in two parts.
RMM software (Remote Monitoring and Management) is a platform that allows you to see what is happening to a device and do something about it without having it physically in front of you.
The first part, monitoring, involves supervision capabilities: seeing status, availability, performance metrics and what is failing in the system.
The second part, management, involves taking action on that device, such as running a script, restarting it, installing packages, applying patches or reconfiguring it.
The key lies in the remaining term, remote. It is the ability to extend our reach and manage, from a single point, workstations in a distant branch office, servers in a data center, endpoints belonging to remote workers… Or, in the case of an MSP, devices that are not even ours, but belong to different customers scattered everywhere.
An RMM must cover all of this, because without the monitoring half we will be blind, without the management half we will be useless, and without the remote part we would need a power of bilocation that is unlikely to be granted to us.
In short, a single throne and power over many, extending all the way to the furthest corner.

How does an RMM tool work?

Nobody tell marketing, but almost all RMM tools look more alike on the inside than their advertising would like to admit.
That is why the typical RMM workflow is, in reality, a wheel that turns (almost) by itself:

• An agent or management mechanism is deployed on every device that needs to be controlled and monitored.
• These report information to a central platform, our Iron Throne.
• The console displays the status and metrics of each device.
• The configured alerts are triggered when certain conditions are met.
• Technicians can execute remote actions from that same monitoring console (hence the “almost” at the beginning, because in this job something will eventually require Mother to wake up a human).
• Repetitive tasks can be automated.

The specific architecture is what does vary depending on the vendor.
Some RMM solutions therefore push commands from the server, while others prefer the agent to retrieve them.
In Pandora RMM, for example, our system works like this: the agent connects to the server looking for scheduled executions and, if it finds any, carries them out locally and then reports their status. This way, the console does not knock on the remote device’s door; instead, the device comes to collect the assignment.
During those journeys communication is encrypted and the agent checks (by default) every thirty seconds, so the response time is limited by that interval plus the execution time of the task.

Main functions of RMM software

When it comes to RMM, features are a bit like the way these platforms work: the different options tend to give us similar powers, although they always vary depending on the brand and the price we can afford, of course.
The functions that a good RMM should provide are:

• Monitor endpoints: from availability to performance, including metrics, without having to constantly ask them “how they are doing.”
• Inventory hardware and software: knowing exactly what we have, where it is and which version it is running amid the constant dance of version numbers.
• Configure and receive alerts: notifying us when the Nostromo veers off course, something breaks or, even better, before that something breaks.
• Execute commands and scripts remotely: such as updating or running code on one, several or all machines at once.
• Automate tasks: so the machine does what a human repeats a thousand times a day.
• Install and update software: without having to log into each device individually, which is the essence of automated software deployment.
• Patch management: applying the necessary fixes at scale.
• Remote access and control: the RMM should save us from making trips, but not take away the ability to use the device as if it were right in front of us.
• Manage processes and services: such as starting, stopping or restarting them.
• Schedule tasks: so things happen at the intended time and not whenever our overloaded brain happens to remember them.
• Generate reports: turning raw data into something simpler and more visual that managers and customers can pretend to understand.
• Dashboards: providing a screen that tells the story at a glance for those who do not have time to read.

Obviously, the above is the ideal scenario, but in real life some functions come as standard in certain RMM applications, others may be available through integrations, while others may simply not be there at all.
That is why, when we read “an RMM does X” in the list above, it is better to mentally translate it as “an RMM can do X if the specific product supports it.” That “can” is the nuance that will remind us not to buy blindly.
Let us now zoom in on the subject and analyze some of the key tasks that an RMM can make easier in our day-to-day IT operations.

RMM and patch management

Since a patch that is not applied in time can turn into a vulnerability that gets exploited that very same night, patch management is one of the most in-demand, and useful, functions in an RMM, as this task is a perfect candidate for remote execution.
Patch management in a good RMM should include:

• Detection of available updates.
• Centralized deployment of those updates.
• Scheduling by maintenance windows so that we do not carry it out during peak working hours.
• Selection of which devices are included in each window, followed by validation that the patch closed the hole without opening ten new ones.

Patch management is as fundamental as changing the oil on the Nostromo, basic hygiene rather than a modern feature. In fact, NIST classifies it as preventive maintenance in its enterprise patch management guide (SP 800-40 Rev. 4).
For those who want to go deeper, we previously covered the subject in detail in our effective patch management guide.

RMM and automation

If patching is hygiene, IT task automation is about saving time, sanity and effort.
In situations where a task can be delegated to a machine, an RMM shines because it already puts the right lever in place: an agent on every machine, capable of executing whatever we tell it to.
Now, it is important to remember that I previously highlighted “sanity” and, if we want to preserve it, we need to understand that not every task is a good candidate for automation. Those that are good candidates include:

• Execution of scripts.
• Installation of packages and apps.
• Restarting services and applying configuration changes.
• Cleaning up accumulated temporary files.
• Launching other scheduled tasks…

But where we get real value is in reacting to known events without human intervention.
For example, if the system detects that the printing service (it is always the printer) has crashed and knows that the remedy is to restart it, there is little sense in technicians paid like seniors putting down their coffee and Genshin Impact to go and press a button.
With automation, we achieve:

• Less manual work.
• Fewer unforced errors.
• Technicians who leave the coffee and Genshin behind to focus on higher-value tasks, such as Clair Obscur.

In multi-customer IT environments, such as that of a managed service provider (MSP), that automation can provide the productivity advantage we are looking for. In those cases, remember to standardize MSP services first, because it is the essential prerequisite for automation done properly.
And speaking of service providers…

Why MSPs use RMM tools

Managing an MSP comes with an inherent challenge: handling thousands of devices from thousands of different customers while maintaining margins that are not swallowed up by travel and technical labor hours.
In a management scenario like this, RMM becomes essential, which explains its widespread use among MSPs, which benefit from advantages such as:

• Centralized management: translated as “many customers, a single console.”
• Proactive monitoring of issues: finding out before the customer tweets about it or, even better, before it happens.
• Less travel: meaning every visit we avoid is margin we keep.
• Standardization: which, as far as possible, once again translates into “many customers, a single configuration” that is similar everywhere. That is the key to scaling our operations.
• Automation: letting repetitive work be handled by whoever does not charge by the hour.
• Shorter response times: not necessarily because we move faster, but because monitoring in an MSP saves us from having to rush in the first place.
• Better SLA control: because it allows us to measure, and measurement is the first piece of compliance.
• Multi-customer management: allowing us to juggle multiple organizations, one platform and segregated data without dropping anything.

Today, an MSP without RMM that tries to micromanage two hundred endpoints click by click will find it very difficult to win the volume game.

RMM for internal IT teams

Any IT department with infrastructure spread across multiple clouds, third-party applications, on-premise systems and virtualized environments (is there anyone left who does not operate like this?) faces the same underlying challenge as an MSP: machines scattered “out there” that someone has to look after.
Remote work, offices in other countries, distributed endpoints or half-finished hybrid environments… The RMM key fits this lock just as well, except that here the “customer” is our own organization and the SLA is our own patience.

RMM vs remote access

There are some misconceptions worth clearing up, because the two concepts in the title are not the same thing.
Remote access is what allows us to connect to a device and operate it from a distance. We see the screen, move the mouse in a way that looks like magic to non-technical people, fix whatever needs fixing and leave.
This is extremely useful, but it is also reactive and handled one device at a time.
So, secure remote access is the starting square of the game, but RMM adds other layers on top: continuous monitoring, automation, alerts… and simultaneous centralized management of many devices.

RMM vs NMS

This is another common source of confusion with a little more technical depth to it, so let us take out the magnifying glass and examine it closely.
An NMS (Network Management System) focuses its attention on the network, on routers, switches, protocols, availability and the performance of our communications infrastructure. And that is its natural territory: the roads along which everything travels.
On the other hand, an RMM looks towards systems and endpoints, such as workstations or servers, which we operate and manage remotely. If the NMS examines the roads, the RMM examines the destinations of that communication and what runs inside them.
That is why they are not the same thing and they do not replace each other either. They can coexist perfectly within their respective areas, complementing one another to fulfill our old dream of total control with an iron fist.
At Pandora, in fact, there are separate licenses for RMM and NMS, although both can be integrated within the same platform, because the idea is not to choose between seeing the network or seeing the devices, but to replace that “or” with an “and” without building a Frankenstein’s castle of tools.

RMM vs PSA

Here we have two terms that are often mentioned together, because RMM and PSA work in tandem, although they divide up different responsibilities.
RMM acts on systems, as we have already seen, detecting, monitoring and executing, while PSA (Professional Services Automation) manages the service business, in the form of tickets, time tracking, contracts, billing and all the paperwork that exists between “I fixed it” and “I got paid for it.”
Integrating both tools makes it possible, for example, for a technical alert to become a manageable incident with an assigned owner, time tracking and closure.
However, not every RMM includes PSA out of the box. Some include it natively, while others simply expose the technical information and let the PSA collect it through integration.
If that integration works properly, the jump from a “disk full” alert to an “open and assigned ticket” happens automatically without anyone having to press a key, which is exactly where the real savings lie.

Benefits of RMM software

We have already looked at quite a few of them when discussing RMM and MSPs, but the truth is that they also apply to the modern management of almost any IT department because, as mentioned earlier, these teams face the need to manage increasingly heterogeneous infrastructures in a consistent way.
That is why the overall benefits of an RMM can be summarized as follows:

• Proactive maintenance: acting on trends that allow us to intervene before the threshold is exceeded.
• Time savings: thanks to fewer repeated clicks, fewer cases of carpal tunnel syndrome and fewer manual sessions.
• Less travel as well: because every visit avoided is money that stays in our pocket.
• Standardization: deploying the same thing consistently everywhere, which saves our future selves hours of support work.
• Reduction of repetitive work: so that routine becomes the responsibility of the system rather than the person.
• Shorter response times: because when the possible fire alert went off, we were already looking at the spark.
• Greater visibility: knowing what we have in our inventory and the sorry state it is in at a single glance.
• Scalability potential: growing our operation in terms of the number of machines without increasing the number of people manually managing them at the same rate.
• SLA support: so that, thanks to the RMM, we can measure in order to comply and comply in order to get paid.

Ultimately, these are the advantages that support strategies to reduce support hours without compromising SLAs and minimize reactive support that eats away at our margins.

RMM risks and security

Whenever I write, I usually reach the part that fewer people want to read and, at the same time, the one that should be considered most carefully: security. Because what does an RMM need in order to work properly and do all those wonderful things we have seen?
Elevated privileges, and on top of that, the ability to act on many devices at the same time. That means that if the platform is compromised, attackers get the keys to the entire estate, and the bloodshed aboard the Nostromo will pale in comparison to what they can do to us.
That is why we need to lock the tool down properly, and here are some good practices for doing so, which we can use as a checklist when reviewing our RMM.

• Multi-factor authentication: the RMM console is the master key to every door and, without MFA, one leaked password opens our entire environment to malicious actors.
• Least privilege and strict access control: the rule is the usual one, each technician can only see and touch what they need, and nothing more.
• Session auditing and logging: so that we always know who logged in, what they did and when, for those moments when something happens and we have to play Sherlock Holmes.
• Secure credential management: no passwords on a sticky note attached to the monitor, as I have come across more than twice in far too many offices.
• Clear segmentation: separating customers and environments so that if a hacker opens a breach, the crack does not spread to everyone in a cascade.
• Keeping the platform itself updated: because, ironically, the tool that patches systems also needs to be patched.
• Script control: with an inventory and regular reviews of what is executed at scale, because we must remember that they will run in many places at the same time.
• Reviewing inactive accounts: because zombie permissions and forgotten credentials are among hackers’ favorite entry points.

The nightmare scenario for our cybersecurity Blue Team with an RMM is the Borg from Star Trek: the complete and sudden assimilation of our entire IT fleet… because we ourselves provided centralized control.
In the end, a single point of control and command is also a single point of failure and risk, which is why CISA does not treat RMM platforms as a footnote.
In its RMM cyber defense plan, it warns that ransomware actors use them precisely to jump from an MSP into its customers’ networks, multiplying the impact of a single compromise.
In short, what makes us efficient at management also makes adversaries highly efficient at what they do.

What to look for when choosing RMM software

I think we all know how this goes: demos always work well, but day-to-day reality is another matter. That is why, in order to distinguish real value from product theater, it is worth once again treating the following as a checklist during our selection process and taking a close look at:
Supported operating systems: covering what we actually have, not what the salesperson assumes.

• Deployment: to see how agents are installed and how quickly everything can be replicated.
• Scalability and multitenancy: so that growing our customer base does not force us to constantly rebuild the entire loom, like Penelope while waiting for Odysseus.
• Automation and scripting: finding out how easy it is to code tasks and reuse them in the tools we are evaluating.
• Patch management: looking at its actual scope, not just what marketing suggests.
• Asset inventory: to understand the depth and freshness of the data we will obtain about the elements in our infrastructure.
• Remote control: integrated, secure and without a surprise license fee for something so critical.
• Alerts and reports: they should be genuinely useful and not end up as nothing more than attractive noise.
• Security and auditing: the multi-factor authentication we have discussed, activity logs, segmentation… everything covered in the previous section.
• API and integrations (PSA/ITSM): because an isolated RMM that cannot communicate properly is only half a solution.
• Licensing and deployment model: on-premise or SaaS? Per agent or per node?… And watch out for hidden limits.
• Support: because when something blows up at three in the morning, poor response levels come at a high price if we tried to cut corners.

How Pandora RMM fits in

Everything above is more than just data and features, it reflects what we have experienced at Pandora. That is why more than twenty years, hundreds of customers and thousands of devices and different requirements have crystallized into Pandora RMM, our specialized solution for real-world remote monitoring and management needs.
It allows us to:

• Remotely control Windows, Linux or Mac devices (with no additional license required).
• Install, update and patch selectively, keeping devices tuned and secure.
• Inventory hardware and software.
• Run scripts with preconditions and post-execution actions.
• Start and stop processes and services.
• Custom reports and dashboards…

In other words, everything that is truly useful, managed centrally.
And for MSP environments, all of this operates within the same shared platform, but with separate management for each customer.
Ultimately, we have not included all those checklists simply because they are expected in this type of content, but because we have distilled them from our successes and mistakes over the years.
But let us be honest where it matters. Pandora RMM’s security and compliance features (auditing, centralized log collection or alerts) help strengthen the environment, but they do not turn it into an EDR or a SIEM.
Obviously, that is a different conversation, but we always want to make it clear how far we go, without selling something we do not offer.

Frequently asked questions

Socrates believed that the way to learn was by asking the right questions, and he was right, so let us recap the most important points we have covered in that way.

What does RMM mean?

Remote Monitoring and Management, a term that refers to software that allows us to monitor and manage devices remotely from a single central management console.

What is RMM software used for?

To manage many remote devices from a single control point so that we do not have to travel for monitoring, inventory, patching, script execution, automation or device control tasks.

Who uses RMM tools?

Primarily Managed Service Providers (MSPs), but also internal IT departments dealing with a similar context of infrastructure distributed across remote work environments, branch offices, locations scattered everywhere and hybrid environments.

What is the difference between RMM and remote access?

One is a part and the other is the whole, because remote access connects us to a device so that we can operate it, while RMM goes much further and adds continuous monitoring, automation, alerts or centralized management across many devices at the same time.
An RMM can and usually does include remote control, but it is important to understand that they are not the same thing.

What is the difference between RMM and PSA?

RMM acts on systems by detecting, monitoring and executing actions on them, while PSA manages the service business, such as ticket creation, time tracking, contracts, billing…
In an ideal IT world, RMM and PSA are integrated to turn technical alerts into manageable incidents, but it is important to understand that not every RMM includes PSA and we should not expect it by default.

Can an RMM be used to manage patches?

Yes. Most RMM solutions include patch management because it is a basic capability and an ideal use case.
This allows us to detect patching requirements, deploy patches centrally, schedule and verify that deployment at the optimal times and on selected devices…
That said, as with everything in life, the scope and maturity vary between products and budgets.

Is an RMM a security tool?

Not by itself. It is true that it complements security through patching, inventory, policies or controlled access, but it does not replace an EDR or a SIEM.

Can a company that is not an MSP use an RMM?

Yes, of course. Any organization with distributed endpoints can benefit from it and, in fact, many IT infrastructures resemble an MSP in the sense that they have many machines and not all of them are physically close together.

Conclusion

IT operations have changed a great deal in a short time, and they have also changed location. In the past, intervening meant showing up: opening the ticket, getting in the car, sitting down in front of the device, fixing it and returning to our Batcave. But the scale and distribution of today’s operations have made that model unviable.
Today, RMM is the piece that allows us to graduate from handling devices one by one to managing entire infrastructures from a single console that combines monitoring, automation and remote action.
The best friend of our obsession with control.
For an MSP in particular, the value of an RMM lies in what it frees up: the ability to expand its portfolio of devices and customers without the operational workload growing at the same rate. That means gaining margin without losing control, which, in the end, is the real game for an MSP.
That Nostromo from the beginning monitored itself while the crew slept. Now, we can achieve the same thing in our infrastructure… And with fewer aliens lurking in the corridors.

Ahinóam Rodríguez

I studied Philology, but life circumstances led me to work in the Marketing sector as a content writer. I am passionate about the world of blogging and the opportunity to learn that comes with each new project. I invite you to follow my posts on the Pandora FMS blog to discover the technological trends that are transforming the business world.