Syncro: Network Discovery
Company
Role
Year
Overview
Network Discovery is a feature designed to help managed service providers (MSPs) quickly identify and bring unmanaged devices under monitoring. Prior to launch, device onboarding relied heavily on manual entry and tribal knowledge, making it time-consuming and error-prone. This project focused on designing a reliable, confidence-building discovery experience that reduced manual setup and accelerated time-to-value for MSPs.
Problem
MSPs often manage complex, heterogeneous networks with limited visibility into what devices are actually present. Manually adding devices was slow, inconsistent, and easy to get wrong. Existing discovery tools felt opaque and risky, users were unsure what would happen when a scan ran, whether it would succeed, or how to act on the results.
The challenge was to design a workflow that made a technically complex and potentially disruptive action feel safe, understandable, and worth using.
Solution
I designed a guided Network Discovery experience focused on clarity, progress visibility, and actionable results. The solution emphasized:
Expectation-setting upfront, so users understood what discovery would do and what it would not affect
Clear scan states and progress feedback to reduce uncertainty during long-running operations
Actionable results, allowing users to immediately install agents and convert discovered devices into monitored assets
The experience was designed to encourage confident adoption while minimizing the cognitive load of a highly technical task.
Nearly 98% of devices discovered through Network Discovery were successfully brought under monitoring, turning visibility into real operational value.
Impact
Achieved 67% adoption within the first 90 days of launch, signaling strong discoverability and trust in the experience
Supported 108K discovery runs, with an ~87% successful completion rate, despite varied network environments
Enabled discovery of 5,300 previously unmonitored devices
97.7% of discovered devices were successfully converted into monitored assets, directly reducing manual device onboarding for MSPs
These results validated the design approach and demonstrated that a clear, confidence-driven experience could meaningfully impact operational outcomes for MSPs.
Testimonial
"Syncro’s new network discovery capability makes it significantly easier to map client environments and gain full visibility into what’s actually on the network. It streamlines the process of identifying devices that are untracked or have fallen off the radar, helping my team stay proactive and in control."
– Des Quinn, Owner, Equinox IT Consulting