Love it or hate it, documentation is critical for effective IT support. Techs having access to documentation about the infrastructure they support will dramatically reduce the time it takes them to resolve issues. Documentation will also increase the quality of support by creating repeatable procedures.
To deepen your understanding of documentation strategies, check out our podcast on ERP058 - Getting The Most From Your PSA for insights into optimizing your documentation practices.
Like many things in business and technology, there is a spectrum of maturity in how organizations approach documentation. On the low maturity end, groups may just create a bunch of folders and documents on a file share or maybe they are sharing a OneNote page with loose notes. Here is a list of documentation systems that can help get your documentation from a messy garage full of unorganized junk to an F1 garage where you could eat off the floor and everything is in its place.
IT Glue
My favorite tool is IT Glue. If you run a managed service provider, IT Glue should be the frontrunner for your documentation platform. It is purpose-built for MSPs with powerful features like built-in sync to your PSA and RMM tools, like ConnectWise, Datto, Automate, and VSA.
Some of my other favorite features of IT Glue are that everything in the system can be linked together. When you open an asset like a Virtual Server, it will show you what host the server sits on, what network switch that server is attached to, standard operating procedures (SOPs) related to those systems, and passwords you may require when working on those systems. All of this information is at your fingertips, hyperlinked together.
There are other subtle but powerful features, like the completeness page, which shows each client and the percentage of their documentation that is completed. This is useful when onboarding a new client to see how much of the documentation you have captured. Another key advantage is that you can share the documentation with the client online. You can also produce physical runbooks to print out, but only if you have the enterprise package.
IT Glue
- Price: $19/user/mth (Basic) to $39/user/mth (Enterprise)
- Pros: Mature platform; SOC2 Certified; API & Integration with PSA/RMM; Domain Tracking; Linked assets and documents
- Cons: Limited customization; Acquired by Kaseya
Passportal Docs
Passportal is a well-established solution for managing passwords for MSPs. Recently, they have been working on a documentation solution that works well. All of the major required functions exist. Passportal’s tight integration with its password management solution is a strong advantage over other platforms.
Passportal
- Price: $15-$20/user/mth
- Pros: Tightly integrated with one of the best password management systems; Affordable; Highly integrated with leading PSA/RMM/Remote Access tools; Mobile ready app
- Cons: Limited customization; More limited API functionality; Acquired by SolarWinds
Confluence
If you have more time than money, Confluence might be a useful alternative. The major plus is that it’s dirt cheap for small teams — $10/mth for up to 10 users.
Confluence is a great wiki and highly customizable, but it will take a serious investment of time to build the basic structure of your documentation platform. Confluence has a large community, so you can find templates and plugins that may help you replicate some of the more advanced features in other platforms, but it will take an investment of time and the additional plugin costs can quickly add up. One warning: the SaaS version can be a bit slow, so I would suggest you get the self-hosted version after you’ve tested it out.
Confluence
- Price: Cloud: $10/mth for <10 users; $5/mth/user >10 users. Self-hosted: $10 one time <10 users
- Pros: Cost-effective; Highly customizable
- Cons: No RMM/PSA Integration; Requires a lot of time to set up; Cost increases with add-ons
IT Boost
IT Boost has a lot of feature parity with IT Glue. They also have some limited dashboarding features and client survey tools built-in. If you don’t have a dashboarding or client satisfaction scoring tool, this can be a big plus.
IT Boost
- Price: Starting at $17/user/mth
- Pros: Documentation + business dashboards + customer satisfaction surveys + backup monitoring; PSA/RMM Integration; ScreenConnect integration
- Cons: 5 user minimum; Acquired by ConnectWise
Hudu
The latest addition worth watching is Hudu. Considering its age, it’s pretty full-featured. It also has an option for self-hosting, which is not typical.
Hudu
- Price: $31/mth with 3 users, additional users $15/mth
- Pros: Affordable to get started; Self-hosted option; No setup fees
- Cons: Newer player in the market
SI Portal
The last notable solution in the field is SI Portal. Honestly, this one needs some work. The basic structure is similar to IT Glue, but consistent industry feedback says that it’s “unpolished.”
SI Portal
- Price: $15/mth/user
- Pros: Integration to PSA/RMM; Cheaper
- Cons: Mixed market feedback
Honorable Mention: Docuwiki — DIY, Open Source, Free.
Conclusion
Regardless of the direction you go, investing in a documentation platform is worth your time and money. Using a standard system will drive standardization and improve your team’s results.
Just remember that documentation is a cultural process. You must be ready to drive the cultural change necessary to sustain a documentation culture. You will fail if you just buy the platform and expect people to use it. Training time, project work, and targets are required to get the team using the system in a way that will drive the results you hope to see.
To learn more about building a documentation culture, check out the course IT Documentation Done Right.