Introduction
We recently acquired a new customer, and as part of the transition, we've taken over management of their existing NinjaOne environment. Since ConnectWise has been the only RMM I've worked with extensively, this has been a valuable chance to see how another platform approaches the same core problems.
Using NinjaOne has helped me better define what I like—and don't like—when it comes to an RMM. Rather than looking at features in isolation, this experience has highlighted how much workflow, usability, and visibility matter in day-to-day MSP work.
User Interface & Usability
Let's start with the UI.
NinjaOne feels modern, clean, and intuitive. I was able to make sense of the platform pretty quickly without needing to constantly reference documentation. The dashboard, in particular, is easy to comprehend at a glance and does a good job surfacing relevant information without feeling overwhelming.
That's not to say that ConnectWise's ASIO interface isn't powerful; it absolutely is. However, its depth can also make it easy to get lost, especially when navigating between different sections. In larger environments with many tenants, that complexity is understandable, but it also comes with a steeper learning curve.
With NinjaOne, the experience feels more focused and deliberate. It prioritizes clarity, which makes day-to-day tasks faster and less mentally taxing.
Integrations & Third-Party Tools
This is an area where NinjaOne genuinely impressed me.
The process of adding and managing third-party tools is straightforward and well-documented. I was able to deploy our SentinelOne tenant into the environment with minimal friction after a quick search through NinjaOne's documentation.
Even for tools that aren't natively supported, creating custom scripts to deploy them was simple and logical. While ConnectWise ASIO does offer similar capabilities, I found NinjaOne's approach easier to follow and quicker to implement in practice.
This ease of integration makes NinjaOne feel very adaptable, especially for MSPs that rely on a diverse tool stack.
Remote Access Tools
This is where the comparison becomes less clear-cut.
ConnectWise undeniably got it right with ScreenConnect. It's a mature, reliable remote access tool, and having it owned and tightly integrated into the ecosystem is a strong advantage.
NinjaOne, on the other hand, offers flexibility. It allows you to integrate third-party remote access tools alongside the RMM. In our case, the customer came to us using Splashtop, which ultimately wasn't going to work for our needs. That situation gave ConnectWise an edge in terms of ownership and consistency, but NinjaOne still deserves credit for its integration capabilities.
I haven't yet had the chance to fully evaluate NinjaOne's native remote access tool, so I can't speak to it in depth. That said, I also don't have many complaints about ScreenConnect—it remains one of the stronger parts of the ConnectWise ecosystem.
OS Patching & Visibility
One of my bigger frustrations with ConnectWise has always been patch visibility.
In my experience, you push missing patches and then wait and trust that it's running. There's limited real-time status feedback, and once the patches are deployed, the interface doesn't always make it clear what succeeded, what failed, or what's still pending without additional digging.
NinjaOne handles this better. When you push updates, you can actively monitor their status through the dashboard's activity view. You can see progress, completion, and failures in a way that feels more transparent and reassuring. Patch deployment also seems to complete faster, or at the very least, it feels faster because of the visibility NinjaOne provides.
Even if the underlying mechanics aren't drastically different, the user experience around patching in NinjaOne inspires more confidence.
Asset Visibility & Device Insights
When it comes to asset visibility, I'd say both RMMs are fairly neck and neck.
Selecting a device in either platform gives you access to most of the information you'd reasonably need like hardware details, software inventory, patch status, and so on. Where NinjaOne stands out slightly is on the device overview page. The activity timeline provides quick insight into what's happened recently on that system: backups, patch installations, configuration changes, and other actions.
That timeline is a subtle but valuable feature. Often, the first reason you're looking at a device is to understand what changed. Having that information immediately visible saves time and reduces guesswork.
Conclusion
All in all, ConnectWise remains a powerhouse. It's an extremely capable tool, especially in the hands of experienced technicians who know where to look and how to tune it properly. Its depth and flexibility are undeniable.
NinjaOne, however, feels sleek, modern, and approachable. It's easy to learn, pleasant to use, and does a great job of reducing friction in common workflows. While I can't definitively say that I prefer one over the other, using NinjaOne has been a valuable experience and has broadened my perspective on what an RMM can—and should—feel like.