If you’re still manually installing software or begging users to connect to the VPN so you can patch their laptops — you’re wasting your time. Seriously. Unless you’re running an air-gapped network in a government basement, it’s time to admit that manually babysitting endpoints in 2025 is the IT equivalent of using a fax machine to send memes.
This is where Action1 enters the room, holding a hot cup of coffee and 200 free endpoint licenses, ready to save your evenings.
Let’s rewind a bit. I stumbled on Action1 last year while looking for a way to manage a few remote machines without going full RMM-as-a-second-mortgage. At the time, their free tier capped at 100 endpoints — generous already — but in early 2024, they just said “screw it” and doubled the offer to 200. Free. Forever. With every single feature unlocked.
No expiration, no credit card. Just straight-up management tools that usually sit behind four layers of enterprise pricing.
The Feature Set You Didn’t Think You’d Get for Free
The list of features is, frankly, absurd for a free plan. It does everything a modern RMM should, without turning into a part-time job to configure.
Let’s start with patching — not just Windows updates (we all know how reliable those are), but also macOS patches and a healthy chunk of third-party apps: Chrome, VLC, 7-Zip, Notepad++, VS Code… the list grows steadily. Updates roll out automatically, even if the user is at home, at the airport, or tethering through their phone from a fishing boat. No VPN needed, no WSUS prayers.
Then you’ve got software deployment and scripting. You can push MSI and PKG installers from the web console. Want to deploy Zoom, kill Skype, and run a PowerShell script to clean up temporary files? It’s all just clicks away. You can even schedule scripts to repeat — handy for monthly cleanup jobs or running that annoying legacy app with a weird config tweak.
The remote control is especially refreshing. Most of us have danced the TeamViewer tango — install, share the code, oops it’s expired, install again, enter the password… With Action1, remote desktop is baked in. You can launch attended or unattended sessions, securely over HTTPS, with MFA. It’s not as flashy as AnyDesk or as enterprise as Level1, but it gets the job done, and it’s integrated — which saves time and headaches.
Oh, and there’s inventory reporting. Think full visibility over what your endpoints are running — hardware specs, installed software, missing updates, vulnerability exposure. It maps to frameworks like CIS, NIST, and ISO 27001, and you can export it to PDFs if your boss wants something shiny for the next compliance check.
You’re Not the Product: Data Sovereignty Done Right
Worried about where your data goes? You should be — and so are your legal and compliance teams. Action1 offers region-based data residency, which means you choose your hosting location at signup: Virginia (US), Frankfurt (EU), or Sydney (AU). Your telemetry stays put.
They’re not just waving the GDPR flag for marketing points — it’s actual, locked-in jurisdictional control. No weird cross-border backups or S3 buckets floating in limbo.
No Snake Oil Here: Real Security Credentials
Now, plenty of vendors throw around terms like “enterprise-grade” or “military-grade encryption” (whatever that means), but Action1 actually shows its work.
Every year, they renew both SOC 2 Type II and ISO 27001:2022 certifications. Not just one-time snapshots, but continuous auditing — which is exactly what you want when trusting a vendor with control over 200 machines. Add to that a 327% growth rate in 2024 and a Cybersecurity Breakthrough Award, and it’s clear they’re not messing around.
Oh, and they’re on the CISA Secure-by-Design pledge list, too. Always good to see a company commit to building tools that don’t require 10 hotfixes a month.
Why This Matters in Real Life
This is the part where theory meets practice. Action1 isn’t just cool on paper — it changes how you work day to day.
Let’s say you’re supporting a team of remote sales reps. They’re never in the office. They probably think VPN is a type of vitamin. Doesn’t matter. As long as they’re online, the Action1 agent phones home, pulls updates, installs patches, and even reboots the machine after closing PowerPoint. It just works.
Or take a hybrid environment. The marketing team lives on shiny MacBooks, while finance runs stubborn old Dell laptops. You don’t need separate tools or agents — everything is managed from the same console.
And let’s not forget the joys of shadow IT. If someone installs “Minecraft_cracked.exe” on the CFO’s machine (yes, I’ve seen this), you’ll know. You can uninstall it remotely and log the event for compliance. Try that with Group Policy.
Need to impress your manager? Generate a PDF report showing that 98% of devices are fully patched. While they’re still stuck in the Zoom lobby, waiting for someone to let them in.
A Few Things to Watch
Okay, so it’s not perfect.
The remote control feature is snappy over decent connections, but expect some lag over high-latency networks — nothing fatal, just mildly annoying.
Linux support is still on the roadmap. If your fleet is full of penguins, you’ll have to wait or look elsewhere.
There is a REST API, but not every knob and switch in the UI is exposed just yet. Automation addicts may have to get creative and inspect a few requests via browser dev tools.
Should You Use It?
If you’re managing fewer than 200 endpoints and you’re still doing things by hand — yes, absolutely. There’s zero reason not to.
Even if you’re just experimenting with better ways to manage a lab, a side hustle, or a couple of satellite offices, Action1 makes it painless. It’s clean, fast, well-documented, and secure. No bloat, no nagware, no “contact sales” button hiding behind critical features.
Create an account, pick your hosting region, deploy the agent, and breathe.
It’s 2025. The sneaker-net is dead. Let’s keep it that way.