Atera is a platform designed for MSPs and IT departments, offering Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM), Professional Services Automation (PSA), Help Desk, remote support, billing, and reporting. It's a complete solution to manage your entire business. This article will guide you through Atera's major features and direct you to specific step-by-step guides.
Getting started
Install an agent
You’ll need to install Atera agents on all end-user workstations and servers to monitor the availability, performance, and health of each device. This enables Atera to automatically alert you when a critical system or resource is down or degraded. Additionally, the agent provides valuable hardware, software, system, and security information. Learn more
Add sites and users
Creating a site correctly is crucial for all other functionalities to work accurately. Once you've added a site, you can proceed to add their departments and users.
The Sites page includes the following tabs:
- Users: All site users, including their name, job title, phone number, email, and the date they were added. You can also import users or sync them with Azure AD. Learn more
- Devices: All customer devices, divided by tab (All, Favorites, Folders). In the All tab, you can assign threshold profiles, IT automation profiles, edit relations, run scripts, initiate shutdown actions, Help Desk actions, Webroot actions, software installation, activate Chat, activate Work From Home, add folders, install an agent, and deploy apps from the App Center. Learn more
- Assets: All assets, including asset type, folder, and associated user. You can also add and delete assets. Learn more
- Tickets: All customer tickets, which at a glance include the ticket title, ticket number, customer, contact, creation date, last modified date, assignee, status, and priority. You can filter the list by status, assignee, and priority. Learn more
- Alerts: All customer alerts, which at a glance include the alert category, severity, status, description, alert number, related device, and creation date. You can filter the list by status, category, and severity. You can snooze, delete, and resolve alerts, as well as tinker with the alert settings. Learn more
- Password: Add site, user, agent, and device (TCP, HTTP, SNMP, Generic) passwords. Learn more
- Attachments: Add attachments, which can be downloaded as needed.
Add customers and contacts
Creating a customer correctly is crucial for all other functionalities to work accurately. Once you've added a customer, you can proceed to add their contacts, assets, passwords, attachments, and more.
The Customers page includes the following tabs:
- Contacts: All customer contacts, including their name, job title, phone number, email, and the date they were added. You can also import contacts or sync them with Azure AD. Learn more
- Contracts: All customer contracts, including the contract type, attached Service Level Agreement (SLA), and available actions (create, edit, clone, and delete contracts). Learn more
- Devices: All customer devices, divided by tab (All, Favorites, Folders). In the All tab, you can assign threshold profiles, IT automation profiles, edit relations, run scripts, initiate shutdown actions, Helpdesk actions, Webroot actions, software installation, activate Chat, activate Work From Home, add folders, install an agent, and deploy apps from the App Center. Learn more
- Assets: All customer assets, including asset type, folder, and associated contact. You can also add and delete assets. Learn more
- Tickets: All customer tickets, which at a glance include the ticket title, ticket number, customer, contact, creation date, last modified date, assignee, status, and priority. You can filter the list by status, assignee, and priority. Learn more
- Alerts: All customer alerts, which at a glance include the alert category, severity, status, description, alert number, related device, and creation date. You can filter the list by status, category, and severity. You can snooze, delete, and resolve alerts, as well as tinker with the alert settings. Learn more
- Password: Add customer, contact, agent, and device (TCP, HTTP, SNMP, Generic) passwords. Learn more
- Attachments: Add attachments, which can be downloaded as needed.
- Invoices: Add invoices, and see the invoice number, creation date, status, and associated invoice batch. Learn more
Customize
Dashboard
The Atera Dashboard serves as your central hub, offering a bird's-eye view of all crucial information related to your end-user devices. It highlights key aspects that need your attention, like tickets and alerts. And of course, the Dashboard is customizable, allowing you to tailor it to your specific needs. Learn more
Profile, roles, and homepage
Personalize your profile to match your unique style. Begin by fine-tuning technician specifics like email, role, and profile image. Next, choose your favored language for the platform and establish your preferred starting page, so you can land on the most relevant page for your daily tasks. Finally, make your presence felt by adding a distinctive signature to your tickets. Learn more
Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM)
Remote Access
Remote access is an important way help desk technicians can support their end users. They can view user behavior, desktop environments, and application quirks — to diagnose issues quickly — as well as install updates or applications without needing to involve the user in the process. For more info, see:
Set an email for alerts
Create an email address where alerts from installed Atera agents can be received.
We recommend creating a designated email address for alerts (e.g. alerts@yourdomain.com) or using the company's administrator’s address. Learn more
Set up threshold profiles
Configure threshold profiles for performance, hardware, and Microsoft Exchange to personalize the alerts you receive across Windows, Macs, Linux systems, and servers. These profiles can be integrated with scripts, allowing for precise monitoring and alert generation when predefined conditions are met. A basic default threshold profile (set with Atera presets) is automatically assigned to all newly installed agents — that is, until you configure and assign a new profile.
For more info, see:
Set up automation profiles
Create automation profiles to manage OS patches effectively across Windows, Mac, and Linux systems, as well as on servers. Specify settings for critical, non-critical, and recommended updates, giving you control over which patches are installed or excluded. Use these profiles to approve, postpone, or exclude patches, automate patch management, and schedule recurring automations. Designed to ensure your systems stay updated and secure, Atera automation profiles also provide the flexibility to test and approve updates according to your organization's needs.
For more info, see:
Set configuration policies
Atera's configuration policies offer streamlined control and compliance for end-user devices by allowing customization at various levels (site, folder, or agent). These policies ensure device security and efficiency, with flexible options for Windows Update management and policy inheritance for comprehensive network oversight.
Atera's configuration policies offer streamlined control and compliance for end-user devices by allowing customization at various levels (customer, folder, or agent). These policies ensure device security and efficiency, with flexible options for Windows Update management and policy inheritance for comprehensive network oversight.
For more info, see:
Manage devices
Atera offers a comprehensive suite of remote access tools for efficiently troubleshooting and resolving end-user issues, along with proactive tools for maintenance and preventing future problems. These tools are conveniently located under the Manage menu for each agent.
These tools enable you to access and manage your end users' computers remotely, and include:
- Patch management: Install patches and review existing patches. Learn more
- Software inventory: View and remove unnecessary programs. Learn more
- Software installation: Utilize Chocolatey, Homebrew, and your private repository. Learn more
- Run script: Run script on your end user's computer. Learn more
- Service manager: View, stop, or start running services. Learn more
- Task manager: End tasks that are no longer needed. Learn more
- Command Prompt/Terminal: Remotely send commands to a customer’s computer. Learn more
- Powershell: Run your own command or generate one using AI. Learn more
- User activity: View user activity. Learn more
- Package manager: View and upgrade installed Linux packages. Learn more
- Apps: Install, update, scan, and explore other apps in Atera's App Center. Learn more
- Helpdesk agent: Activate or deactivate the Helpdesk agent. Learn more
- File transfer: Manage and transfer files to or from your end user's devices. Learn more
- Event Viewer: View event logs. Learn more
- Shutdown actions: Log out, restart, or shut down your end user's computer. Learn more
- Registry editor: Edit and manage Windows Registry settings on your devices. Learn more
- Chat: Activate/deactivate the chat feature, and open chat sessions. Learn more
Monitor SNMP devices
Keep an eye on SNMP devices by linking them with a monitoring agent. This approach allows you to extend monitoring capabilities to a wide range of network devices. For more info, see:
- Monitor Linux servers using SNMP
- Add OIDs for SNMP Device Monitoring
- AI-generated OID recommendations
Professional Services Automation (PSA)
Set email addresses for tickets and support
Create a support email address for your customers using your own domain (e.g., support@yourdomain.com) which will forward to the Atera ticketing system (by way of an auto-generated address we provide you). Learn more
Set up the User Portal and Helpdesk agent
The Portal is your end users' round-the-clock destination for tech support, where they can open tickets and track the status. Here’s also where they can view their Knowledge Base library of support articles. You can customize the Site Portal address that you provide to your users; They’ll be able to visit the portal and log in with their username and password, which is automatically issued upon contact creation (and can be found within each contact).
Next, you’ll want to activate the Helpdesk agent. This will give your users the ability to create support tickets (using either the mouse or the CTRL + F12 hotkey). Once you activate it, the Helpdesk agent icon will appear on your end users' Desktop taskbar.
Lastly, your users will need to authenticate the Helpdesk agent (for purposes of identity confirmation). Learn how to authenticate the Helpdesk agent. Once this process is complete, the Helpdesk agent will be fully functional for the site.
Set up the Customer Portal and Helpdesk agent
The Portal is your customers’ round-the-clock destination for tech support, where they can open tickets and track the status. Here’s also where they can view their Knowledge Base library of support articles. You can customize the Customer Portal address that you provide to your customers; They’ll be able to visit the portal and log in with their username and password, which is automatically issued upon contact creation (and can be found within each contact).
Next, you’ll want to activate the Helpdesk agent. This will give your customers the ability to create support tickets (using either the mouse or the CTRL + F12 hotkey). Once you activate it, the Helpdesk agent icon will appear on your customers’ Desktop taskbar.
Lastly, your customers will need to authenticate the Helpdesk agent (for purposes of identity confirmation). Learn how to authenticate the Helpdesk agent. Once this process is complete, the Helpdesk agent will be fully functional for the customer.
Set up Service Level Agreements (SLAs) and contracts
It’s necessary to create a Service Level Agreement (SLA) which will provide the basis for the service contract you sign with your customer(s). The SLA is an agreed-upon document that details the average technician response, and resolution times for technical support issues. The first step is setting up your ‘business hours’, as this will be an indispensable part of the SLA. Finally, you can create contracts. Contracts can be based upon a retainer/flat fee, an hourly rate, block hours, block money, a project hourly rate, a project one-time fee, as well as on specific services such as remote monitoring, and online backup. You can have multiple contracts, based on different types of support or different support hours.
Tickets
Tickets are the bread and butter of the Atera support platform. And there are multiple ways to open tickets. You can communicate with your end users, respond, and provide them with updates from within the ticket. What's more, Atera's AI assistant — powered by openAI — ensures you're not alone, efficiently summarizing tickets, providing tailored reply suggestions, proposing optimal solutions, and generating scripts for rapid resolution.
For more info, see:
- Six ways to create helpdesk tickets
- Handle a ticket
- Merge tickets
- Atera's AI assistant
- AI ticket sentiment
Ticket automation rules
Ticket automation rules cause certain actions to occur based on a specific trigger. There are countless rules that you can create. For example, you could create a rule that sites are always sent an automated email upon ticket creation — or when a ticket is closed. You could also create a rule that sites will receive a satisfaction survey whenever a ticket is closed.
Ticket automation rules cause certain actions to occur based on a specific trigger. There are countless rules that you can create (don't test us, but it's pretty close to infinite). For example, you could create a rule that customers are always sent an automated email upon ticket creation — or when a ticket is closed. You could also create a rule that customers will receive a satisfaction survey whenever a ticket is closed.
For more info, see:
- Ticket automation rules
- Set up commonly-used ticket automation rules
- Time-based ticket automation rules
- Managing spam tickets
Set up an end-user knowledge base
You can provide your sites with a knowledge base library containing support articles, and other useful information. The knowledge base can be general and available to all sites or customized per site — with site-specific information such as usernames, passwords, or personalized instructions. For more info, see Set up a knowledge base
You can provide your customers with a knowledge base library containing support articles, and other useful information. The knowledge base can be general and available to all customers or customized per customer — with customer-specific information such as usernames, passwords, or personalized instructions. For more info, see Set up a knowledge base
Atera's App Center
Backup and recovery
Online Backup is the best way to ensure all your important data stays safe. The value of online backup lies in storing a copy of your data in a remote location, so it remains safe against possible natural disasters, theft, computer viruses, accidental deletion, hard drive failure, etc. With online backup, you will always have the latest copy of your data preserved. Atera integrates with these top-tier applications to offer exceptional online backup solutions:
Antivirus, email security, and password protection
Every email opened, app downloaded, link clicked, and network joined is an opportunity for hackers to compromise your data. Ransomware continues to evolve, and cryptojacking has joined the list of threats to add to the worry list. Atera integrates with award-winning cybersecurity solutions to ensure full-scale antivirus and identity theft protection:
Sales enablement
In the fast-paced world of sales, having the right tools at your disposal can be the difference between closing a deal and missing an opportunity. Effective sales enablement empowers your team with the resources, information, and support they need to sell more effectively. This includes streamlined communication, efficient lead tracking, and enhanced presentation tools. Atera integrates with Zomentum, a cutting-edge tool designed to revolutionize your sales enablement strategy.
Network monitoring
Ensuring a stable and secure network is essential for any business. Atera's network monitoring services provide comprehensive oversight of your network's performance and security. For efficient and effective network monitoring solutions, Atera offers its in-house Network Discovery tool and integrates with Domotz
Billing
As a true one-stop shop, Atera has billing built into the platform. Or, you can export invoices directly to your own accounting software with our flexible invoicing or by using CSV files.
Administrative settings
The place to set up, update and customize nearly all your settings, and to generally make the Atera platform your own, is the Admin menu. Here, you’ll find many settings within the categories of Basic Setup, Monitoring, End-User Facing, and General. Only a user with 'Admin' permissions can access and edit Admin menu. Learn more
Reporting
Advanced reports
Gain invaluable insights into your business operations with Atera's advanced reports. Create, schedule, and make use of preset reports to create informative dashboards, which you can filter and tweak to suit individual needs. If you have the data, create the report and turn insights into action! Learn more
Classic reports
View reports on every aspect of your IT business within the categories of general, monitoring, technician performance, profitability, and customer satisfaction. Learn more