ConnectWise - Experts & Thought Leaders

ConnectWise, the software and services company dedicated to the success of IT solution providers, announces the appointment of Craig Rones as Chief Marketing Officer. Rones will lead Global marketing strategy, brand, and demand generation, reporting to Chief Executive Officer Manny Rivelo. Rones joins ConnectWise at a category-defining moment as Managed Service Providers (MSPs) and IT teams navigate AI adoption, escalating cyber risk, and growing customer expectations. Building on the recent launch of the ConnectWise platform and its native AI capabilities, he will focus on aligning ConnectWise’s platform positioning with real-world partner outcomes –helping partners grow revenue without growing labor, through an intelligent, automated System of Action and unique insights from 25+ years of MSP community expertise. Category-defining moment “Craig is the exact leader we need for this next chapter, and I am thrilled to welcome him to ConnectWise,” said Manny Rivelo, Chief Executive Officer, ConnectWise. “He is a builder who brings an incredible mix of strategic vision, operational depth, and deep empathy for the channel. Craig understands that a great platform is only as strong as the trust behind it. His track record of building high-performing go-to-market organizations at leading cybersecurity and technology companies will help us elevate our partnership with the MSP community. He is here to ensure that as we advance Predictive IT™, our partners have the resources, the clarity, and the support they need to thrive.” Driving operational leverage “I chose ConnectWise because this company sits at the center of the global MSP and IT ecosystem, with a rapidly evolving AI-native platform, and the passion and depth of its partner community is unrivaled in the industry,” said Craig Rones. “My focus is on accelerating our platform’s value and delivering real, material outcomes for our partners. We are going to show exactly how native automation and applied AI help partners grow revenue without growing labor – driving operational leverage into stronger margins and enterprise value, securely.” Metric-driven approach For ConnectWise, Rones’ appointment signals a continued commitment to a partner-first, transparent, and proof-based marketing strategy. His leadership will unify the company’s brand and positioning around a single mission: helping partners turn platform innovation into measurable business outcomes, grounded in compelling insights, real-world results, and the deep MSP community expertise that sets ConnectWise apart. Rones brings more than 20 years of experience scaling global technology, security, and services organizations. Before joining ConnectWise, he served as CMO at LevelBlue (formerly AT&T Cybersecurity) and Trustwave, where he led high-stakes brand positioning and go-to-market strategies. He also held senior marketing leadership roles at NTT DATA and Dell. Rones began his career as a Certified Public Accountant in corporate finance and turnaround advisory. This unique background gives him a disciplined, data and metric-driven approach to marketing, allowing him to connect investments directly to business value and partner success.

WatchGuard Technologies, a global pioneer in unified cybersecurity for managed service, announced a major expansion of its WatchGuard Cloud PSA (Professional Services Automation), now offering deep, native support for ConnectWise Manage, Autotask PSA, and HaloPSA. This broad integration ‒ which includes the entire portfolio of Network, Identity, Endpoint, and MDR services ‒ solidifies WatchGuard's continued commitment to empowering MSPs by embedding security management directly into the core systems they rely on to operate and grow their businesses. This broad integration ‒ which includes the entire portfolio of Network, Identity, Endpoint, and MDR services ‒ solidifies WatchGuard's continued commitment to empowering MSPs by embedding security management directly into the core systems they rely on to operate and grow their businesses. Efficiency across security operations With this expansion, WatchGuard creates efficiency across security operations and scales to each partner’s business model with a flexible fit. As the newest addition to its Unified Security Platform, these advancements deliver seamless integration and eliminate the need for spreadsheets, manual reconciliation, or disconnected workflows via: Native integrations with ConnectWise Manage, Autotask PSA, and HaloPSA WatchGuard Agent deployments through ConnectWise RMM Automated workflows for asset synchronization, billing, ticketing, and contract management Unified operations that eliminate manual processes, boost SLA compliance, and increase profitability ConnectWise environment “Many cybersecurity platforms lack deep PSA integration, forcing MSPs to juggle alerts, tickets, and billing outside their core operational systems, creating inefficiencies, increasing risk, and impacting revenue,” said Chris Miller, vice president, Pacific Office Automation. “Directly from my ConnectWise environment, my team can now instantly view customers and product licenses, while alerts automatically generate and resolve tickets. Role-based access and multi-tenant visibility streamline account transitions and strengthen compliance.” “It’s a major leap in operational efficiency that empowers my technicians to focus on what matters most ‒ delivering outstanding customer service.” WatchGuard Agent Managed service providers have made it abundantly clear that managing multiple agents is no longer acceptable. WatchGuard is the first to answer the call with WatchGuard Agent, a single, modular agent for FireCloud client, endpoint security products and add-ons (including patch management and encryption), NDR collectors, and cross-platform support for Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, and iOS. Partners that qualify can join the beta now. AuthPoint MFA integration and Open MDR support will follow in early 2026, further extending the unified experience. Managed through WatchGuard Cloud, the WatchGuard Agent accelerates onboarding, reduces maintenance overhead, and simplifies upgrades. Additionally, MSPs can now easily monitor the health of their clients’ security posture, ensuring every component is properly installed, updated, and operating as intended. True single-agent solution By leading the market toward a true single-agent solution, WatchGuard is enabling MSPs with one platform, one agent, and the ultimate goal of total security. “With full integration across our Unified Security Platform, including Firebox, FireCloud, AuthPoint, Endpoint Security, and ThreatSync, we’re delivering unified detection and response, automated workflows, integrated MDR capabilities, and actionable insights that empower our partners and customers with true 24/7 threat protection,” said Ben Oster, vice president, product management operations at WatchGuard. “Regardless of PSA choice, WatchGuard MSPs now achieve full-spectrum automation from alert to invoice.” Recognized by industry analysts WatchGuard is recognized as a  Champion in the 2025 Canalys Cybersecurity Matrix, underscoring its commitment to innovation and partner success. “RMM and PSA continue to be the core of the MSP operating stack,” said Jessica Davis, principal analyst at Omdia. “As the threat landscape has evolved, cybersecurity is becoming a third component of that core stack. MSPs expanding their service portfolios need deep integrations between their security platforms and their PSA/RMM platforms to drive efficiency and profitability. These integrations need to provide simplified management, automated workflows, and a unified platform that scales with customer needs.”

Absolute Security, a pioneer in enterprise cyber resilience, announced that Absolute Resilience for MSPs has launched a newly certified integration with ConnectWise RMM™ on the ConnectWise Asio™ platform. For more details on this new integration, please visit the ConnectWise Marketplace, which connects Managed Service Providers (MSPs) with a vast ecosystem of third-party integrations designed to enhance their service offerings and drive business growth. Digital ecosystem MSPs will have a quick and efficient way to integrate advanced capabilities that help ensure their clients In the digital ecosystem, organizations face ransomware, data breaches, and complexity-driven incidents that can cause prolonged disruptions and negatively impact their bottom lines.  With Absolute Resilience, MSPs will have a quick and efficient way to integrate advanced capabilities that help ensure their customers’ endpoints remain defended and resilient in the modern threat landscape. New Absolute Security marketplace With this new Absolute Security marketplace offering, MSPs can: Enforce Endpoint Compliance: Monitor key device attributes and self-heal critical security applications to maintain an effective and resilient security posture. Rehydrate Endpoint Devices: Restore PCs back to a fully secure, compliant, trusted, and operational state after an IT or security incident—remotely, with a single click. Secure At-Risk Endpoint Devices and Data: Freeze compromised endpoints, securely wipe data with proof of erasure for audits, enforce encryption, and maintain rules-based geofencing for mobile PCs. Digital business environment “Absolute Security helps global enterprises achieve the level of resilience needed to thrive in today’s digital business environment,” said Cherlyn Chin, Senior Vice President, Business Development, Absolute Security. “We are excited to partner with ConnectWise, as our MSP partners are essential to our ability to deliver our pioneering solutions on a global scale.” Other security or management tools Absolute Security is partnered with 28 of the world’s pioneering PC OEMs and embedded in the firmware of more than 600 million pioneering Windows endpoints.  This unique position allows MSPs to ensure their customers remain defended against advanced threats, protected against risks, and able to quickly recover after an incident—even when the device OS and other security or management tools have crashed, been compromised, or become corrupted. ConnectWise integration program Integration followed the completion of all vital security certificates as required by ConnectWise Absolute Resilience for MSPs is integrated into ConnectWise RMM™ on the ConnectWise Asio™ platform through the ConnectWise integration program. Integration followed the completion of all necessary security certifications as required by ConnectWise, the world’s pioneering software company dedicated to the success of IT solution providers. Integrate with ConnectWise APIs and platform To directly integrate with ConnectWise APIs and platform, integrators like Absolute Security must pass an independent security review to ensure its integration is safe and secure for MSPs to leverage. The integration program is a robust and secure way for MSPs to connect their solutions with ConnectWise.  The program strives to support MSPs globally in growing their businesses by harnessing the power of innovative technologies and by fostering mutual productivity, including Tier 1 integration support from ConnectWise.