Asset Management Efficiency: How N‑central and ScalePad Lifecycle Manager Work Together

This blog was co-authored by Meg Kierstead at ScalePad. 

In this blog, we’ll explain how integrating ScalePad’s Lifecycle Manager and N‑central can help you drive smarter, smoother IT Management! Whether you’re looking to optimize hardware lifecycles, improve visibility, or reduce manual tasks, this integration offers the tools and insights to take your IT management to the next level.

Let’s explore how it works and the benefits it brings.

Challenge

Managing warranties effectively can be a common challenge for some N‑central partners, often due to fragmented data and limited visibility into expiration dates for certain hardware vendors. Some rely on spreadsheets or disparate systems to monitor warranty status, increasing the risk of outdated or inaccurate information.

This lack of automation can lead to missed renewals, and reactive rather than proactive support. Managing warranty information in this way adds a layer of complexity, making it difficult to streamline asset lifecycle management.

Without automation and visibility, partners are left reacting to issues instead of proactively managing hardware lifecycles, which leads to missed opportunities and can damage the business relationship.

Solution

MSPs can easily keep track of client assets by connecting N‑able N‑central RMM with ScalePad Lifecycle Manager. When you sync your actively managed assets from N‑central RMM to ScalePad Lifecycle Manager, it automatically pulls in the correct warranty expiration and purchase dates and then sends that info back to N‑central. It’s a seamless way to stay updated on everything!

Key Integration Features

• 2-Way Sync: Sync managed assets from N‑central RMM to ScalePad Lifecycle Manager and get a clean accurate inventory that is enhanced with warranty expiry and purchase dates, then synced back to N-Central.
  
• Actionable warranty and asset lifecycle insights: Grab the purchase dates and warranty info, and get a dashboard that quickly shows which assets don’t have warranty coverage or are outdated.
• Client-ready reports: ScalePad Lifecycle Manager uses your N-Central data to auto-generate client-facing hardware lifecycle reports so you can easily share asset insights with clients.

Key Integration Benefits

• Enhanced Efficiency: Automate asset tracking and eliminate duplicate data entry between ScalePad Lifecycle Manager and N‑central RMM.
• Provide clear reporting to clients: Easily provide clients with clear asset insights with visual reports that make asset refresh and coverage renewal simple.
• Save technician time: Reduce time spent manually tracking warranties and asset lifecycles, freeing up technician resources for higher-value tasks.
• Enhanced Monitoring: The System Warranty service in N‑central monitors a device’s expected warranty expiry date, accurate information here ensures that N‑central partners are always aware of the warranty status of their managed devices.

Lifecycle Manager + N‑central Implementation

(This integration requires your N‑central server to be running 2024.6 or later)

Setting up the integration is quick and easy, here’s how to get started:

Steps to Integrate

• Step 1: Sign in to N‑able N‑central with your Administrator credentials and create a dedicated ScalePad Lifecycle Manager integration role and access group.
• Step 2: Create an API-only user account. We recommend making the dedicated ScalePad Lifecycle Manager integration user account an API-only account, so it will not require multi-factor authorization.
• Step 3: Add N‑able N‑central user credentials to ScalePad Lifecycle Manager. Enter your JSON Web Token and N‑central Server Hostname on the N‑able N‑central add integrations page. For example: nable.yourcompany.com

Once you are connected, ScalePad Lifecycle Manager performs a full sync automatically. When it is finished, you should be able to view your hardware assets in your account.

Resources

For assistance with the integration, please refer to the following resources:

• Documentation: Integration Guide
• Documentation: Adjust Your N‑able N‑central REST Sync Settings

Get Started Today 

By combining N‑central’s data collection power with ScalePad Lifecycle Manager’s asset lifecycle tracking and client engagement tools, MSPs can streamline asset lifecycle management, have better client conversations, and ensure no asset goes unmanaged.

ScalePad has developed and maintains integrations with N‑sight RMM and N‑central (ScalePad Lifecycle Manager), as well as Cove Data Protection (ScalePad Backup Radar), via close collaboration with N‑able’s Technology Alliance Program (TAP). You can find out more about TAP by visting www.n-able.com/partnerships/technology-alliance-program.  To see all the industry-leading integrations provided by our TAP Partners visit www.n-able.com/integrations

Paul Kelly is the Head Nerd for N‑central at N‑able. You can follow him on Twitter at @HeadNerdPaul, LinkedIn and Reddit at u/Paul _Kelly. Alternatively you can email me direct.

Meg Keirstead is a Product Marketing Manager at ScalePad. You can follow her on LinkedIn @meg-keirstead or email at [email protected]