RapidFire Tools announced today the release of Reporter, a new stand-alone, low-cost virtual appliance that MSPs can use to fully automate regularly scheduled Network Detective IT assessments for their clients.

The new software appliance is available as a $29/month add-on for Network Detective subscribers, and is used to remotely schedule the running of any Network Detective scan, and automatically generate any of the fully brandable reports included with most of the individual module subscriptions.

"Reporter is based on the proven automation technology that we have built-into our Inspector deep-dive diagnostic appliance," said RapidFire Tools CEO Mike Mittel. "But we have thousands of MSP subscribers who want to automate their IT assessments, yet don't have an Inspector attached to every client network. The new Reporter appliance is meant for them."

Reporter is available as a downloadable software appliance that can be installed as a virtual machine on an existing server on the client's network. For those who want the convenience of a plug 'n' play system, for an additional monthly fee the Reporter subscription can include a pre-configured small form server that is shipped to them as a physical appliance that is ready to use.

"In this competitive world, you can't be too diligent, and you can't over-communicate when it comes to your clients," added Mittel. "Reporter allows MSPs to get the greatest value out of their Network Detective subscriptions by allowing them to perform their assessments much more frequently, without any additional labor cost and to remain top-of-mind with their clients through the delivery of new high value services and regular, professionally prepared reports."

Reporter is accessed directly through the primary Network Detective application, and can be used to schedule scans for all of the IT assessment modules (except for the SQL Server Assessment module), as well as the scans for both the HIPAA and PCI Compliance modules. Scans can be pre-scheduled to run at specific time intervals, and specific times of day and/or days of week. In addition, any reports that are included in the MSPs' Network Detective subscriptions can be programmed to be automatically generated and saved to a specific location, or emailed to one or more recipients.

"We believe Reporter is going to revolutionize the way MSPs manage their clients' networks, and manage their client communications," predicted Mittel. "More automation means more network scans. More network scans mean more issues discovered. More issues discovered means more value in services delivered. And the automated Network Detective reports will document that value."

Reporter is only available to existing Network Detective subscribers or to new subscribers immediately after purchase of their first Network Detective module. The Reporter appliance can be ordered directly through the Upgrade button inside the Network Detective application.