MSP Tools Vendor Syncro Rolls Out AI Ticket Help

MSP tools platform upstart Syncro has rolled out a new AI-powered Smart Ticket Management solution within its existing platform.

The company said in a statement that the feature is purpose built to boost MSPs’ ability to remediate more tickets more effectively with less time and effort.

Syncro, which named former Continuum CEO Michael George as its new top executive in February, is one of many MSP tools providers to add AI-powered help to its core platform.

Syncro pitches itself as a unified remote monitoring and management (RMM) and professional services automation (PSA) platform. These are the two key tools/platforms that are considered the core of every MSPs operations and stack.

Over the last year, several add-on tools have entered the market to help MSPs become more efficient. They include:

In addition, MSP tools platform companies including ConnectWise, Kaseya and N-able, as well as SuperOps, NinjaOne and others have rolled out their own automation and AI-driven assistants to help MSPs gain efficiency in help desk and other operations.

Any number of top experts, including Evergreen’s Syndney Hockett, an expert in MSP valuations and M&A, and Service Leadership’s Peter Kujawa, have said that the implementation of AI-driven efficiencies will mean significant improvements for managed service providers who embrace it.

Syncro’s Smart Ticket Management: What’s in the Box

Syncro’s Smart Ticket Management includes the following key features and benefits:

Automatic Ticket Categorization - When a ticket is created, the system automatically categorizes it based on its contents. There are up to 40 different categories including printers, network, storage, memory and CPU.

Asset Identification – The system determines if the ticket has an associated printer or asset and displays relevant asset identification information, letting technical staff quickly assess details necessary for troubleshooting.

Guided and Automated Resolution Steps – The system creates guided resolution steps with a checklist embedded in the ticket. Many tickets include links to scripts and automations, enabling technicians to resolve issues with a click. Syncro said suggested automations and scripts are vetted and pre-approved by Syncro’s team to ensure a safe and secure computing environment.

More Enhancements Planned for This Summer

Syncro said a new Smart Search feature will roll out in Smart Ticket Management this summer. This will go beyond keyword searches, letting technicians see tickets similar to the ones they are working on. Once a technician opens a ticket, the system will automatically display the most similar and relevant tickets for the associated client.

The Smart Search capability also introduces what the company has dubbed “conversational search,” which leverages natural language. It enables users to perform queries in a natural and intuitive way. For example, a user might ask, “Show me all the tickets where I helped Acme Corp. resolve printer problems.” Or they might ask, “Show me tickets where the disk quota was exceeded.”

Executive and Personnel Changes at Syncro

In February, CEO Emily Glass departed and Michael George took on the top job at the company. Soon after, Syncro's founder, who served as channel chief in recent years, moved aside to make room for a new executive in that role, Tim Lasonde. Syncro has made several new appointments to the team since the CEO transition in February.

Cybersecurity 2024 at Syncro: What Glass and George Said

Just six months ago, Syncro CEO Emily Glass told ChannelE2E that Syncro was planning a big cybersecurity push in 2024 for its MSP partners. Back then, Glass told ChannelE2E that Syncro operates a marketplace-type ecosystem to help MSPs navigate the many options they have for cybersecurity. That ecosystem has included partnerships with vendors including Acronis and Proofpoint. Syncro has also introduced a number of innovations to its platform in 2023 to help its MSP partners with their cybersecurity, such as an IP Allow list that lets MSPs lock down their logins to certain IP addresses. Syncro also offers single sign-on (SSO) capabilities. The company recently achieved SOC 2 compliance.

Looking ahead in 2024, Glass said Syncro plans to introduce innovations around simplifying security solutions for MSPs. As the threat landscape has evolved, more solutions have come to market to protect against them. But that’s led to another problem.

“The solutions that are emerging to deal with cybersecurity threats are very fractured,” Glass said. “Syncro is looking to unite them, similar to what we did for PSA/RMM.”

Syncro offers a unified PSA and RMM platform. The unified approach to these two core MSP business functions simplifies the operation of a managed services business.

“We believe that security is a third pillar of the platform,” Glass said. “You shouldn’t have to piece together separate solutions – especially for MSPs that are just starting out. It’s too hard for them to go shopping and investigate and piece together all these things, especially with minimums of contracts and all the complexity there. We want to make that really really simple for [MSPs].”

When Michael George took the helm in February 2024, ChannelE2E asked him about his plans for cybersecurity, and whether they would continue along the same path.

George said he recognizes that to be an “effective and comprehensive MSP today, you have to have a viable security offering as part of your own portfolio.” He pointed out that his previous MSP platform company, Continuum, was the first MSP company to focus the company's strategy on cybersecurity when everybody else was saying, no, this is not an SMB problem. Continuum did a series of acquisitions around security.

George says Syncro will put some basic pillars in place as a security offering for its MSPs in the first half of 2024 -- and that's right about now. Will that be MDR? Will it be a SOC-as-a-service? It’s still unclear the exact shape these plans and development will take when they are released. Stay tuned to ChannelE2E. We'll be following Syncro for developments.