Peter Pflaster (00:01)
Hello everyone, and welcome to the April 2025 edition of Product Talk. We're really excited to have you here. We've got a special guest—Josh—in the room today. And of course, my cohost Steph is here, too. It's been a while since we've both been on the podcast together, so the dynamic duo—no one calls us that, but I will—is back!
Peter Pflaster (00:27)
We’ve got a lot of great stuff lined up. We’re going to talk about a couple of recent releases and dive into the thinking and expertise behind the Automox user interface—how we design it to earn awards for ease of use and adoption on platforms like G2, Capterra, and TrustRadius.
Josh, welcome! Why don’t you start by telling the audience a bit about yourself and your role at Automox?
Josh Kriese (01:07)
Thanks, Peter! I’m Josh, a Senior UX Developer at Automox. I focus on building and maintaining our design system, which is a library of UI components for both designers and developers. It helps us deliver a fast, consistent, and well-designed interface.
Peter Pflaster (01:32)
Yeah, Josh’s work is really important—unless you’re doing everything in the terminal, you’ve probably used something he’s worked on. Before we dive into the design system, I want to highlight two big releases from the past month.
First up: Automox Analytics. This is our new reporting engine, and it’s a big upgrade. At the time of this podcast release, it’s already been available for a few weeks. It adds a ton of new reporting capabilities, including the ability for MSPs to report across organizations.
It also lets you track the impact Automox is having in your environment, including vulnerability and patch exposure. One of the most requested features we’ve added is visibility into CISA’s Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEVs) catalog.
Peter Pflaster (03:35)
Another huge addition is MTTR—mean time to remediate. It helps you benchmark how quickly your organization is patching vulnerabilities, whether from Patch Tuesday or out-of-band updates. That’s huge for IT admins who want to demonstrate their work to leadership.
We’re also adding trends over time and insights into CVEs and their severity. If you’re listening now, Analytics is live—go check it out in your Automox console under Insights.
Steph, anything to add?
Steph Rizzuto (04:50)
Yeah, I think you covered it well. What’s really exciting is that customers can now prove the impact of their work with Automox—without needing to do anything extra. That’s a big win.
Peter Pflaster (05:16)
Absolutely. We’ve got more on the roadmap, so keep the feedback coming. And if you’re not already subscribed to the newsletter—Automox Now—definitely do that to stay in the loop.
Another big release is the new end user notification system for Windows and Mac. This is now generally available, unless you’ve opted out. Internally, we refer to the end user as "Sally," as a kind of stand-in for the people you support.
A lot of Windows and Mac patches require a reboot to take effect. Just installing the update isn’t enough. So sending trusted, clear notifications with a modern tray icon is crucial. We’ve had countless customer calls about this, and we’re excited to roll it out.
Steph Rizzuto (07:21)
Hahaha
Peter Pflaster (07:41)
Steph actually helped lead this project, so I’ll let her share more.
Steph Rizzuto (07:53)
One key part is the deadline notification. The "Sallys" of the world need to know when to act—whether it’s installing or rebooting. And we’re giving them more flexibility in how and when they do that.
This is just the beginning. In future releases, you’ll be able to brand the tray notifications and customize the text. Users want to know it’s legit, so we’re working on ways to show it’s coming from your organization. Plus, they’ll be able to see what’s being installed.
As end users get more tech-savvy, our notifications need to evolve too. The tray makes that possible.
Peter Pflaster (09:13)
Thanks, Steph. Let’s move on to today’s main topic. All the features we’ve talked about are user-facing, and a big part of making them intuitive is our design system. Josh, can you tell us more about what a design system is and why it matters?
Josh Kriese (10:15)
Sure! A design system is a library of UI components used by both designers and developers. One big benefit is consistency—when we build a component like a button with accessibility and performance in mind, that same high-quality component gets reused everywhere in the console.
This consistency speeds up design and development. Designers don’t need to reinvent a button every time, and developers don’t need to rebuild one. Everyone speaks the same language, and we can focus on solving bigger problems.
Steph Rizzuto (13:04)
Josh, have you worked anywhere that didn’t have a design system?
Josh Kriese (13:10)
I have—years ago. It was like the Wild West. Buttons looked and behaved differently all over the place. Sites would have totally different styles from one portal to another, which breaks customer trust. A design system helps the product feel cohesive and familiar.
Steph Rizzuto (14:08)
That’s something customers often compliment—ease of use. And that comes from a lot of behind-the-scenes work.
Josh Kriese (14:25)
Exactly. And at Automox, the design system is a team effort. I work on it, but so does our whole front-end team and UX team. It’s a collaborative project, and that’s what makes it great.
Steph Rizzuto (14:58)
We’re upgrading it now, and even internal folks are noticing the improvements and getting excited.
Josh Kriese (15:05)
Yeah, it’s a fun update. We’re moving from old components to a new architecture that’s more colorful, easier to use, and technically stronger. Users will feel the improvements even if they don’t realize what changed.
Peter Pflaster (15:47)
Some users might wonder—will I have to learn something new?
Josh Kriese (16:03)
Not really. If we do our job well, it should feel familiar—just better. We’re rolling changes out incrementally. Things like buttons, alerts, and breadcrumbs are already updated. You’ll just notice things are smoother and nicer.
We’re also improving accessibility. By fixing one thing in the design system, we fix it everywhere. Plus, we’re tightening design-to-dev parity, so components look and work exactly as intended.
Peter Pflaster (18:17)
That’s great. I think doubling down on usability is one of our strengths. I love that we’re not just settling—we’re actively improving.
Josh Kriese (19:24)
Yeah, and we’re also cutting out a lot of excess code. The old system had bloat that we didn’t need. This update removes that, which improves performance. It might be microseconds faster, but it adds up.
Peter Pflaster (20:13)
Steph, anything else?
Steph Rizzuto (20:19)
Josh explained it really well. When you say, “We updated a button,” it might not sound exciting. But when you realize the ripple effect it has on performance and usability, it’s a big deal.
Peter Pflaster (20:53)
Totally. And Josh, this rollout will continue gradually, right?
Josh Kriese (21:05)
Yes—depending on timelines and feature rollouts, it’ll likely continue over the next few quarters or even years.
Peter Pflaster (21:11)
I’ve already noticed some of the improvements, but there’s still more to come. For those listening, there’s a lot to look forward to.
So that’s it for this month’s episode! We covered the new Automox Analytics release, the end user notification system, and all the work behind making Automox the most intuitive tool on the market. Thanks for tuning in—see you next month!
Steph Rizzuto (22:08)
Bye, everyone!
Josh Kriese (22:09)
See ya!
