Action1 Reviews

Great dashboards/views. Remote connectivity through HTML5. Ability to host and push software. Easy to deploy and implement.

The interface does leave something to be desired. For example, the decision to move and pretty much hide the remote connectivity button recently is a bit odd.

It helps me greatly being able to see what vulnerabilites are showing on my devices, as well as patches which are missing, and their criticality. It is also great to be able to hit a couple of buttons and push the patches out immediately.

Remote control is an excellent bonus!

- Helping small companies. The soft is free for 100 endpoints, and it's beautiful approach for those starting out,

- Caring for customer. At every step of using the application you feel presence the support of the service,

- Low entry threshold. The application is intuitive and easy to use.

- I haven't discovered, so for this moment can't tell.

- Application version management,

- Remote software installation. Insanely important in times of remote work, where a domain does not always do the job

Simplicity (A+)

As technical people, we don't necessarily thing about the "ease of use" or the basic operation of a product, but when we use something that is top-notch such as Action1, it makes our lives so much easier. Our company has been with Action1 for nearly two years now and the product has improved beyond description. The simplicity in the overall design of the application makes daily tasks a breeze (such as quickly viewing a list of endpoints that have vulnerabilities that need to be addressed). We have used seven other RMM utilities recently and none of them match the feature set and ease of use. Something as simple as executing a command from a script library was super-simple, yet other platforms (NinjaRMM and N-able namely), make it difficult and you find yourself digging through documentation and eventually contacting support which may or may not help and refer you to the same documentation you've already read.

Support (A+)

Another area that Action1 shines is their customer support. On average, we use Action1 more than a dozen times per day and that type of frequency of use will eventually require assistance with the application. The support technicians are always courteous, knowledgeable, and downright helpful. Sometimes we overlook the obvious (again, due to our technical minds always thinking in complicated manners), and their support is very kind at explaining it in terms that are not offensive. We have had approximately 10 communications with Action1 Support and we have never once had a bad experience and they responded within a few hours (some within minutes). All this while on their free plan. They don't look at you differently just because you're not paying. If you're a customer, you're a customer (my best Yogi Berra impression).

Sophistication (A+)

The user interface for Action1 is simple, yet sophisticated. For instance, to deploy updates to endpoints that need them, you go through a process called Update Approval. This could not get simpler. You are presented with a list of updates and which endpoints need them. Select them all and click Approve and you are presented with a notification that informs you of previous versions that you can ignore. The elegance in the design that appears is basic, but has all the functionality one needs to perform the task at hand. That's sophistication. There are so many tools out there to choose from and the majority of them give you either information-overload or way too many buttons/options/links in the interface that cause you to not want to use them. Action1 gives you everything you need, and nothing that you don't. It's as perfect as an RMM can get in our opinion.

One area that we would like to see improve is the remote control and access utility. Currently, it's web-based and although it is convenient to be able to remote control an endpoint from an iPad standing in the middle of an airport, it would be useful if there was a Windows/Mac/Linux app that would also offer features like remote command-prompt, Powershell, Registry, and User Management like other tools offer. We've discussed this with the Action1 team and believe they are interested in learning more about this request. We're keeping our fingers crossed in hopes that they follow through and add that as an option.

Keeping endpoints up-to-date and vulnerability-free takes some effort. With Action1, that effort is kept at a minimum. So many tasks are automated or executed with a single click. Ocassionaly, we have the need to reset a user's password (local machine account) or install an application. This is easily done with Action1.

Action1 is very easy to use. Once an update has been initiated, you can track the progress in real time.

Once patching is complete endpoints can report back if they need to be rebooted.

Or alternatively automatically reboot at a predetermined time.

There is even a web based remote access tool.

I can't think of anything I don't like about this product.

Compliance of security updates for servers.

I have decided to create a G2 account to review Action1 because i fall in their generous "free up till 100 endpoints" and after using their solution i'm thoroughly impressed and want to spread the word :-)

So yes, Action1 is completely free to use without any feature limitations up until 100 endpoints (you only miss out on support which is obvious). And even if you happen to go over 100, the first 100 endpoints keep being free and you only pay for what you use above the initial 100.

I was using PDQ Deploy + Inventory for quite some years but my license was up for renewal and i decided to investigate if i could find a better solution. PDQ is great, however it will only work in a local network which is a limitation, escpecially with road warriors. Also i always thought i missed updates and patches while using PDQ. PDQ now also has a cloud based solution, but it's still very new and i didn't look at it.

Before i found out about Action1 i also trialed Atera and Syncro which both were pretty nice and do offer more RMM features. But for both i found their software deployment and patching to be "meh", which for me was the main thing i would use (for internal IT of ~ 50 systems).

Then i found out about Action1 and saw they were even free to use for my 50 endpoint network. I would not say Action1 is a RMM like Atera and Syncro are, for example you can't view system load, eventlogs, etc. Their main focus is on patching, updating, and deploying of scripts and software. However, they do it in a way which left me deeply impressed!

First, their platform is snappy and has a clean and modern look with included dark mode. Deploying clients is easy and they even have a deployment service which you can install on an internal system which will auto-deploy the client to specific Active Directory OU's. Within a day i had migrated my PDQ custom software installs and scripts and added all clients.

Once clients have been deployed the magic can start; you will get a great overview of the needed updates and patches for all systems. It also ties in with CVE's and will clearly show which software has known vulnerabilities and offer to patch those. It was able to roll out windows updates and patches so that now almost every system is fully compliant. With PDQ i never had this kind of insights in my network. I also went ahead to create automations to automatically distribute patches and updates. Critical and Important patches and updates are sent within 24 hours, and all other patches and updates will be distributed with a delay. This will make using Action1 mostly automatically for me which is great!

When you initiate an action from the control panel the client will pick it up quickly and you can see the result. If the client is offline, it will start the task as soon as it comes back online so a task is not missed.

They also have a roadmap of upcoming features, which includes a Mac client Q1 next year and even a Linux client later in 2024. Also, more RMM features are coming like monitoring and graphing of cpu, disk and memory, integration with AV, warranty tracking, etc... all coming in 2024.

Lastly, Action1 is GDPR compliant which is important for us in Europe, and upon creating your account you can also choose between a US and Europe data center so your data is also stored in Europe.

No real dislikes... Would like Mac and Linux client to cover all my systems but this is on the roadmap already. Also would like more RMM features, but these are also on the roadmap. So what i have today is already great but will improve rapidly so yeah...

Knowing all your systems are compliant and secure with patches and updates without having to do this manually. Rolling out new systems with our LOB software in a pinch.

Action1 gives me the ability to manage multiple locations with multiple devices each, accross two states with ease and confidence. It also provides RDP options should I need to connect and help out. I can even automate tasks for daily updates. I have it update my computers every night.

(more my issue than Action1) Some applications or settings dont play well with Action1. If you have a dormant user and an application update or uninstall that requires the user to log in the update will not complete.

Action1 gives me the ability to Remotely assist end users, even when RDP is not enabled in Windows. I can apply patches across entire sites, and organizations or select only certain endpoints, saving me a lot of Keybaord time. I can also see the specs on a given endpoint without needing to log onto the device or run a separate scan, Action1's agent has already polled this data for me.

Best tool I've ever used for patch management and remote installation.

Fast and light agent, with ease installation.

Wonderful web management interface, quick communication with the machine and now with a list of known vulnerabilities.

When trying to delete a user profile with Action1 installed, the function is disabled while the Action1 service is active.

The speed of remote access can also improve, as there is a delay.

Greater visibility of notebooks outside the company without VPN connected

Action1 is a comprehensive patch management and remote support solution that has revolutionized the way I manage my IT environment. With Action1, I can easily control all of my Windows and related updates, as well as third-party and custom applications, from a single platform. This has saved me a significant amount of time and effort, and has made it much easier to keep my systems up to date and secure.

Action1's remote support tool is another huge plus. It allows me to remotely control and troubleshoot Windows endpoints, which has been especially helpful for supporting remote workers and users in different offices. Action1's remote support tool is also very easy to use, and it has saved me a lot of time and headaches.

Currenty unable to transfer files to an endpoint via the Remote Control interface.

Automatic app updates can fail: If an EULA needs to be approved, automatic app updates can fail. This is because the EULA cannot be approved when approving the software.

Reduced workload: Action1 has significantly reduced the workload for my IT team. We can now automate many of the tasks involved in patch management, such as scanning for missing patches, approving patches, and deploying patches to endpoints. This has freed up our time to focus on other important tasks.

Improved security: By keeping our systems up to date with the latest patches, Action1 helps us to improve our security posture and reduce our risk of cyberattacks.

Increased uptime: Action1 helps us to reduce downtime by proactively identifying and resolving potential problems. For example, Action1 can scan our systems for known vulnerabilities and provide recommendations for fixing them.

1. Dashboard info cards to immediately see client device statuses for OS and 3rd party application management is immensely helpful; 2. Auto discovery of client devices works pretty well and saved a lot of time in rolling out to workgroup clients as well as *the often easier* AD deployments; 3. The breadth of 3rd party application supported allowed me to move away from other, more labor intensive 3rd party app management tools;

1. Patches are approved globally instead of at client organization level -- I have clients that require some patches not to be installed while others need to be fully covered; 2. Scheduled system reboots do not always work (though this is true for many patch management solutions I've tried, so it's not a major tick against Action1); 3. Removing a previously approved patch is not easy -- either the system or the Action1 service is exceptionally thorough in reapplying the approved patches;

** these are primarily answered in the Pro & Con section ** -- overall great OS and 3rd party application patch management helped me to reduce the patch management solutions needed for my clients

We were struggling with 3rd party application updates and vulnerability remediation. With a new window into our laptops, both of these areas have been covered.

Although it has met all of our needs it is still being updated and polished. There are a few items that could be overwhelming to look at like all endpoints and I'm not sure about the Vulnerability list, it seems to be pretty high.

We did not have a very good record for getting updates pushed out for either Windows or third-party applications since we are relatively small (<100 endpoints) and patching was a bit challenging. WSUS had failed on many occasions to correctly identify the machines, and did not work for our remote users unless VPN connected.

Since using Action1, we have seen a high compliance rate which has shored up our security, created visibility into our systems and provided the missing Remote Desktop Service that was not up to par using Teams.