Backup provider Storage Guardian deepens ConnectWise integration

The enhanced integration introduces self healing tickets, and also makes Storage Guardian the first ConnectWise ecosystem partner that can be accessed directly from ConnectWise software, which in turn makes things easier for MSPs.

Omry Farajun, President of Storage Guardian

Toronto-based backup provider Storage Guardian has announced an extension of its relationship with professional services automation [PSA] provider ConnectWise. Storage Guardian has become the first member of the ConnectWise ecosystem whose solutions can now be accessed directly from the ConnectWise Manage software. The ConnectWise integration now automatically resolves outdated open-file alert tickets through a self-healing ticket process. It also increases the efficiency and accuracy of billing.

“We had been working with ConnectWise for about five years, but last year, because of our ongoing support for their community, they asked us to join their Invent program, which gives direct access to the ConnectWise Manage APIs,” said Omry Farajun, President of Storage Guardian. “We worked closely with their programmers then to have a tighter integration with our cloud.”

The new elements reflect a year’s experience of this closer relationship.

“These enhancements are the culmination of a year’s worth of the joint venture,” Farajun stated. “They wanted to see tighter integration with both their LabTech and ConnectWise sides.”

A key new feature is a self-healing ticket.

“ConnectWise wanted a backup platform that has a self-closing ticket,” Farajun said. “MSPs constantly complain that they have a lot of open files for false positive tickets, which costs them a lot of time and costs to handle. They have been looking for a methodology that will auto-close a ticket after a certain point if it’s not critical. To do that, it was necessary to develop a technique for better visibility about which tickets are critical. The goal was to clear all the noise, and allow MSPs to focus on important tickets.”

The new self-healing ticket process automatically resolves an alert ticket when a previously opened file is found closed during a subsequent backup.

“This is a unique feature within backup and DR,” Farajun said.

The other unique element of the enhanced integration is the new capability for MSPs to deploy Storage Guardian software directly onto their customers’ networks from ConnectWise Manage and ConnectWise Automate, which used to be Labtech.

“This is a first for the ConnectWise ecosystem,” Farajun said. “You can now launch Data Guardian client software locally, without having to log in and push out software. We are really proud of that.”

The billing enhancements see the need for manual entry of billing information eliminated by an electronic interchange of data. The new integration also includes flat-rate pricing based on total capacity rather than on agents.

Storage Guardian’s PSA focus is concentrated on ConnectWise for a good reason – Storage Guardian is also a customer of ConnectWise as well as a partner.

“We have over 100,000 endpoints managed through this joint venture,” Farajun said. “The ConnectWise Storage Guardian relationship is a year old, and we have been very successful with the ConnectWise partners who have signed up, with hundreds of recoveries. With this enhanced partnership, we are looking for extended adoption across all their audience.”

Storage Guardian is an Asigra channel partner which has been in business since 1999, and which has its own worldwide channel of about 2500 MSP partners. They have data centres in both Canada and the U.S.

“A great deal of our recent partner growth has been through our partnership with ConnectWise,” Farujan said. “It has helped us grow rapidly as a business.”