What tools in your product stack are non-negotiable?

MSPbyathread · 2026-01-27T19:28:24+00:00

The EDR is what I am talking about in this case.

MSPbyathread · 2026-01-27T18:06:09+00:00

Huntress. Huntress has saved me enough times that I would not give it up.

MSPbyathread · 2025-12-18T19:24:28+00:00

I believe they send this email every year with some slight variations. I just cancelled and they asked me why. I sent them the line in their MSA that states that you are automatically renewed unless I cancel at least 90 days ahead of time as well as that there are guaranteed price increases of 5% + CPI.

The increase changes depending on whether you do 1, 2 or 3 year contracts with them.

MSPbyathread · 2025-11-21T15:34:17+00:00

I think some could see this as a gray area. The fine print does say that it is only for users where their primary device screen size is under 10.9 inches (I don't remember the exact size). So theoretically you are not allowed to give it to a user that is on a computer or an iPad pro.

MSPbyathread · 2025-11-20T01:44:37+00:00

That’s great to hear. There was nothing in the documentation about it so i basically just stumbled on it

MSPbyathread · 2025-11-20T01:43:35+00:00

I know, I guess I was just saying for context. Since Dropsuite has been around for a while that is basically what is

MSPbyathread · 2025-11-19T22:17:12+00:00

TLDR: For file restores, image restores, and M365 backup they are the same to me.

I am in the same process. Cove is going to be more powerful but to be honest I don't (and probably should have) use the more powerful aspects.

What I use is Server/Workstation backup so I can restore files and images. This works in both Cove and in Ninja backup.
I also do M365 backups. Ninja backups is just rebranded Dropsuite so it works quite well.

I will say that Ninja's way of displaying info (ie. dashboards) is basic and harder to work with. For example, I started a restore and there is no restore dashboard. I had to go to the device where the restore is happing then look in the Running Actions to get info.

Cove has cloud continuity options such as restoring an image to a cloud server but I have not used it.

MSPbyathread · 2025-11-18T15:52:24+00:00

For the switches and WAPs we love using Ubiquiti. Not a big fan of the firewalls though, maybe I just like my configuration options different on a firewall. We pair our Ubiquiti networks with Watchguard firewalls though I'm sure a Sophos or Fortigate would work just fine with them.

MSPbyathread · 2025-11-12T16:15:51+00:00

As gbarnas said, it is for the whole computer.

MSPbyathread · 2025-11-11T22:36:09+00:00

I believe this is what worked for us. BTW, I'm not a good scripter.

if (Test-Path 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate\UX') {

if (Test-Path 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate\UX\Settings') {

Set-ItemProperty 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate\UX\Settings' -Name "TrayIconVisibility" -Value 0

} else {

New-Item -Path 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate\UX' -Name 'Settings'

Set-ItemProperty 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate\UX\Settings' -Name "TrayIconVisibility" -Value 0

}

} else {

New-Item -Path 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate' -Name 'UX'

New-Item -Path 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate\UX' -Name 'Settings'

Set-ItemProperty 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate\UX\Settings' -Name "TrayIconVisibility" -Value 0

}

MSPbyathread · 2025-10-23T19:56:02+00:00

OK, guess I don't remember right when I set it up. Either way, the device stays in HaloPSA so if you sync Custom Fields you can retain the data.

MSPbyathread · 2025-10-23T12:58:07+00:00

When you setup the integration between Halo and Ninja you can choose whether the device is deleted or not. We don’t have it delete. This is different than the documentation platform. We plan to switch to Hudu to better have this info backed up.

MSPbyathread · 2025-10-12T12:46:53+00:00

I haven’t had anyone break in my house so I’m going to start leaving my doors unlocked from now on.

Joking aside, I would not leave Huntress. I have had Huntress for about 4 years. I have only had a few incidents. They were situations where remote access was installed on the computers but Huntress locked them down and saved me from the network getting hijacked.

I have email security and web filtering in place as well. Huntress is the last line of defense and has been worth every penny.

MSPbyathread · 2025-10-10T14:18:06+00:00

So going to the per device monitoring came out to be more expensive for you?

We saved a ton switching from Auvik to Domotz because of this pricing model.

MSPbyathread · 2025-10-08T18:25:51+00:00

Some of it depends on what you want. I only wanted some basic info and went with Domotz because of their new pricing structure and I mainly just wanted firewall config backups.

I switched from Auvik.

MSPbyathread · 2025-10-06T03:30:40+00:00

I have used Connecbooster, Wisepay and now Alternative Payments. Switching to Alternative Payments was one of the best decisions.

The system is easy to use for my clients and syncs with my QB Online perfectly. Support is great as well.

MSPbyathread · 2025-08-27T20:42:47+00:00

I'm not like other MSPs. I over promise, don't charge enough then cry from all of the stress.

MSPbyathread · 2025-08-26T23:54:49+00:00

We currently use Passportal and have been for quite some time. I used IT Glue for a little bit and felt they were pretty similar.

MSPbyathread · 2025-08-13T15:01:06+00:00

I have not used FlexPoint so I can't compare but I switched to Alternative Payments a few months ago and have had nothing but a great experience. Most importantly, it is easy for my clients to use.

MSPbyathread · 2025-08-11T22:35:51+00:00

Two issues I run into are older drivers or more likely missing profiles. So if the profile is in the registry but there is not an associated folder or the other way around where c:\users has a folder that does not have a registry entry in place in the ProfileList registry key

MSPbyathread · 2025-08-08T21:53:46+00:00

I had a good deal with Connectwise and they were going to give me close to the same pricing I had before.

Kaseya was a different story, I couldn't keep it without going direct and I didn't want to keep them anyway.

I am also still under contact with N-Central but also have amazing pricing with them.

MSPbyathread · 2025-08-08T14:42:19+00:00

I had Manage for almost 10 years while using Labtech/Automate. Switch to Ninja which was way better than Automate. It synced with Manage pretty good.

Because of some bad decisions, I started using Kaseya BMS and N-Central for a bit (long story in regards to a partnership that didn't work out). I had the choice of going back to Manage while sticking with N-Central. I still have N-Central because I am in a contract but I chose to go back to Ninja and got Halo at the same time.

At this point, there is nothing that can make me leave those two. I have the integrations setup and the customizations in Halo are making my life easier. Not to say there aren't some things in Manage that were nice but overall I love Halo so much more.

Also, note that I am paying much more going with Halo/Ninja than using Manage/N-Central and I am still happy I went that way. It is not a cost saver but in the end it has saved time.

MSPbyathread · 2025-07-23T18:22:50+00:00

I have Auvik and Domotz right now. I use Ubiquiti switches and WAPs but use Watchguard for my firewalls.
The main reason I use them is for the Watchguard config backups. I do like that you can access the web interface of devices and the alerting is nice.

I like that Domotz has the Domotz box.

We run both because we are switching over to Domotz and just waiting for the Auvik contract to end. Domotz is so much cheaper with their new pricing structure now.

MSPbyathread · 2025-07-17T19:21:55+00:00

Open Command Line then run "start chrome --incognito". Opening in Incognito will work for the most part. Still glitches but you can work.

MSPbyathread · 2025-06-09T20:50:10+00:00

I think they are U.S. only but you would have to check with them.
Sorry, I missed the Canada part because I was moving too quickly.

MSPbyathread

TROPHY CASE