Autotask Live: Roadmap Peek

By Gennifer Biggs, security, storage, and managed services editor

You can't have a partner summit without a product roadmap download, and Autotask Community Live was no exception. The product development team of Adam Stewart, VP of Engineering; Patrick Burns, director of product management; and Joe Rourke, director of product management, shouldered that task.

The trio reinforced CEO Mark Cattini's message of a simplified product with efficiency as a key deliverable. "There is a difference between complex and complicated," explained Burns, going on to say the goal for Autotask in 2011 was to take its complex tool and uncomplicated it. "This is about product experience," he said. "We want to simplify to increase productivity and engagement at our partners' employee level."

In addition to that message, the team covered some key releases the Autotask partner base should expect, including the rollout this spring of Live Reports, an enhanced report generator that includes dynamic filters, support of unique and creative (as well as self-branded) report design, and the inclusion of charts and graphs.

Another upcoming release will include multibrowser support, and expanded support for mobile devices such as smart phones and tablets. Included in the expanded version of LiveMobile, Autotask's product for smartphones and iPads, will be a CRM feature to support sales in the field.