What is PSA? (professional services automation)
Quick answer
PSA stands for professional services automation: the system an MSP runs its business in. Tickets, time tracking, client contracts, SLAs and billing live in the PSA, while the technical work on machines happens in the RMM. The two are usually integrated so an alert can become a ticket and logged time can become an invoice.
PSA versus RMM
The RMM touches machines; the PSA touches paperwork. A technician spends the day in both: the RMM to fix things, the PSA to record that they fixed it, for whom, under which contract, and for how long. Small shops often start with just an RMM and a shared inbox, and adopt a PSA when billing by memory stops working.