Steven LafortuneMetdist Ltd is a family office supporting approximately 50–60 employees across three countries. With headquarters in Limassol, Cyprus, and additional offices in London and two Dubai locations, the company relies on a distributed infrastructure of 6 physical servers and 19 virtual machines spread across four sites.
Demetris Papademetriou has been the company's System Administrator since 2017, responsible for the entire technology stack. His role encompasses daily user support, infrastructure monitoring, backup verification, and ensuring business continuity across time zones—all as a one-person IT department.
The daily grind of manual connections
For a solo administrator managing infrastructure across multiple continents, the daily ritual of checking machine health became an exhausting bottleneck. Each morning required systematic verification that all 25 machines were operational and running without issues, a task Demetris describes as non-negotiable: "It takes time to check them all, but it's a task that must be done—no questions asked. In the end, that's my job."
The manual process was grueling. Without centralized tools, Demetris had to find IP addresses, locate login credentials, and open individual RDP connections for each machine. "I have to find IP addresses, login details, and open an RDP connection to each machine", he explains. "Not convenient at all!"
"People are telling me, 'It's only a machine.' But if that machine is not ok, it can cause me problems. So yes, this task stresses me a lot."
The friction compounded across multiple pain points. Locating connection details for each machine and opening individual RDP sessions consumed hours that could have been spent on strategic projects like the ongoing SharePoint migration. When urgent issues arose, even brief delays finding credentials could escalate problems—especially critical when managing infrastructure across time zones.
Security added another layer of complexity. Scattered credential storage increased risk exposure while slowing down response times. "That's number one priority," Demetris emphasizes. "I always make sure everything is secured properly, as tools and data saved on the machines are very critical and sensitive for the company."
From scattered credentials to centralized control
Demetris's journey to Devolutions Remote Desktop Manager began in 2009 at a previous company. After finding Microsoft's Remote Desktop Connection Manager too limited, he discovered RDM around version 9.x and has used it ever since, even through job changes.
At Metdist, his implementation leverages the free version of RDM with a straightforward setup:
Centralized connection management: All 25 machines are organized within RDM, grouped logically by location and function—no more hunting through documentation for IP addresses and credentials.
-
Learn More: Discover how vault dashboards provide centralized management: Spotlight on: Remote Desktop Manager vault dashboard
-
Secure credential storage: Login details are encrypted within RDM, with passcode-protected backup entries stored in OneDrive. "I like the fact that I can set up a passcode for the saved backup entries," Demetris notes. "I can set a complex password using the RDM generator, and the HTML file has a nice structure of all entries—password protected again. I love it!"
Batch connection capability: The ability to select multiple machines and connect sequentially with a single command transformed his workflow. "I just select a bunch of them, hit the Enter key, and connect to them one by one in a matter of seconds."
From hours to seconds: measurable time savings
The impact on Demetris's daily workflow has been substantial. Daily health checks that previously consumed hours now take minutes. The transformation from manually finding credentials for each machine to "select, press enter, connect in seconds" freed up significant capacity for project work.
Deep Dive: Discover all the ways RDM streamlines IT workflows: Spotlight on: Storing more than just remote sessions in Remote Desktop Manager
"No need to search for usernames and passwords to copy and paste. All necessary login details are already in there, saved securely."
With instant access to any machine during critical incidents, Demetris can respond immediately rather than scrambling for credentials. Centralized, encrypted credential management with automated backups means better security without sacrificing accessibility.
When asked if his current approach would scale as the environment grows, Demetris responded confidently: "Yes, for sure. Since everything is moving to the cloud, and RDM has a lot of integration for cloud services. We are moving to the cloud so I do see my approach to scale up."
The solution's effectiveness has even prompted Demetris to explore additional features proactively. "I even try features included in RDM just to see how they work and how I can benefit from that so if and when I will need that, I will know how to use it."
Advice for solo sysadmins managing multiple sites
For system administrators working solo or managing infrastructure across multiple sites, Demetris's experience illustrates how the right tool can transform daily operations. His advice to peers is direct: "Grab yourself a copy of RDM, add all your connections, whether it's an AWS S3 bucket, Microsoft Entra ID, SQL database or a remote VM and problem is solved."
"Simply put, it does what it is supposed to be doing, you can work conveniently and easily, and if you start playing around, you will find that it has more potentials and more features."
The elegance of his implementation lies in its simplicity—no complex deployment, no team training required, just a focused solution that eliminates friction from routine tasks. As Metdist continues its cloud migration and responsibilities expand, Demetris is confident the solution will scale with him. "As duties and responsibilities increase, I do believe in the future I will be using more of the Devolutions ecosystem and solutions."
Read more about why RDM Free is ideal for solo administrators: Why Remote Desktop Manager Free is a power tool for independent IT pros
For IT professionals managing distributed infrastructure, the question isn't whether centralized connection management saves time—it's whether they can afford to keep wasting it without one.
