GFI MAX RemoteManagement Now Offers Cloud Management Capabilities For Office 365 And Google Apps

Popular cloud-based applications first to be supported by App Control, allowing MSPs to shift business focus from managing devices to management of end user experience

Durham, N.C. – GFI MAX™ today announced the launch of App Control, a new cloud services management component in GFI MAX RemoteManagement, which enables managed services providers (MSPs) to take full advantage of the cloud services opportunity with their clients. App Control will initially allow MSPs to manage Microsoft® Office 365™ and Google Apps™ user accounts, mailboxes and licenses, all from a single dashboard. This new feature further enables MSPs to shift from device management to managing the broader user experience, as well as enabling them to add additional value to customer relationships and better address clients’ evolving needs. As organizations continue to adopt more and more cloud services, GFI MAX MSPs are equipped to help them to do business effectively across a full range of IT environments including physical, virtual and cloud-based.

App Control allows MSPs to perform user and group management tasks in both Office 365 and Google Apps from a single, consistent user interface, eliminating the need to login to multiple consoles or to use complicated scripts or APIs when managing customers’ differing IT infrastructures. MSPs using the platform are also better equipped to resell Office 365 or Google Apps licenses as well as to manage existing deployments. Support for additional cloud-based services such as sync and share and productivity services will be added on an on-going basis.

Key benefits of this new feature include:

• Enhanced administration and monitoring capabilities help clients to reduce waste on unused cloud services licenses. 
• Fast onboarding and offboarding capabilities enable MSPs to create, update or remove user accounts easily, ensuring that customers can get new employees up and running on cloud services quickly, even in the face of high turnover.
• Dramatically simpler management of security groups, distribution lists, organizations and teams from a single screen allows for added efficiency when adopting and managing new services.
• Reporting capabilities allow MSPs to better predict future usage trends and help customers understand their current and future cloud services costs

“MSPs are faced with an accelerating rate of adoption of cloud services in their customer base and until now this has presented more threat than opportunity,” said Dr. Alistair Forbes, general manager of the GFI MAX business unit. “The movement to cloud-based services in the SMB sector is well-established and is not going to slow down. Previously, MSPs have not had access to tools that allow them to embrace these services and be proactive in offering and supporting them for their customers, all while facing the added risk of either increasing unbillable time or weakening their customer relationship. With App Control’s new cloud management features, MSPs using GFI MAX RemoteManagement have the opportunity to create new revenue streams by taking the complexity out of cloud adoption and taking on additional responsibility for a new, critical component of their customers’ businesses. The data available about their clients’ cloud services use will better position MSPs to advise customers on cloud strategies and current trends, increasing their value even further.”

For more information, please visit: www.gfimax.com/remote-management/app-control

About GFI MAX

GFI MAX helps IT Support Companies and MSPs grow monthly revenues from existing customers, attract new customers with affordable, high-value, easy-to-use services and deliver proactive, cost efficient services to grow an IT business profitably. GFI MAX provides a range of integrated software solutions built specifically for IT Support Companies and MSPs that are fast to implement, low effort to manage and fully brandable, so your customers see their value. The GFI MAX platform enables MSPs to provide managed antivirus, managed online backup, remote support, email security, automated monitoring, patch management, asset tracking, alerting and viewing and reporting all from a single dashboard.

About GFI

GFI Software™ develops quality IT solutions for small to mid-sized businesses with generally up to 1,000 users. GFI^® offers two main technology solutions: GFI MAX™, which enables managed service providers (MSPs) to deliver superior services to their customers; and GFI Cloud™, which empowers companies with their own internal IT teams to manage and maintain their networks via the cloud. Serving an expanding customer base of more than 200,000 companies, GFI’s product line also includes collaboration, network security, anti-spam, patch management, faxing, mail archiving and web monitoring. GFI is a channel-focused company with thousands of partners throughout the world. The company has received numerous awards and industry accolades, and is a longtime Microsoft^® Gold ISV Partner.