Troubleshooting issues for remote employees has become more complex for many tech support teams, which may now work remotely too. These remote support tools can make the task easier.
It’s estimated that between 25 and 30% of the U.S. workforce will likely work from home one or more days a week in 2023 and beyond. This means tech support and help desk workers, many of whom may also be working remotely, will face challenges with providing adequate support.
Because tech support teams themselves can’t be physically on site to support all of the work-from-home teams, they need access to the right tools to limit service disruption. With more companies recognizing the need to better address disaster preparedness, business continuity planning and security concerns, remote tech support has never been more in focus.
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As a result, the help desk solutions market is expected to hit $11 billion by 2023. Cloud-based remote support tools, such as the ones we’ll look at here, can help tech support teams get to the bottom of issues and provide better service to employees with less disruption.
Remote tools that help improve tech support for WFH employees
Providing effective and timely tech support to employees across an organization requires remote software or tools. These five can come in handy.
Atera is a remote access, monitoring and management tool designed for managed service providers and IT professionals (Figure A). It helps tech support teams with remote access, file transfer and multi-screen support.
Figure A
Image: Atera
Key features of Atera
Secure connection support to enable tech support to remotely access computers, files and applications and debug issues for any location.
Help desk monitoring and alerts on physical and virtual networks, server and software updates, and more.
Workstation and server IT task automation.
Automatic patch management for Windows service pack, Office, driver, Java and other updates.
Remote maintenance tools to uninstall applications and run scripts and many other advanced commands.
Reporting and analytics tools to measure and track system health, IT inventory, help desk activities and licensing.
Pricing
Atera has four pricing plans for IT departments, with a 30-day free trial available for its Professional, Expert and Master tiers.
Professional: $149 per technician per month, billed annually, or $169 per technician billed monthly.
Expert: $169 per technician per month, billed annually, or $199 per technician billed monthly.
Master:$199 per technician per month, billed annually, or $239 per technician billed monthly.
Enterprise: Contact sales for pricing details.
Pros and cons
Pros
Cons
Network discovery.
Automated warning when device is offline.
Well-designed dashboard.
Customized system alerts.
Automated patch management.
Time management for technicians.
Exhaustive software inventory.
CMD and PowerShell access.
Everything is cloud-based.
Configuration settings are hard to find.
Third-party integration.
ConnectWise Control Support
The ConnectWise Control Support solution offers IT help desk teams a fast remote desktop support tool with the ability to remotely, securely and seamlessly access, manage and support employee desktops and mobile devices from any location (Figure B).
Figure B
Image: ConnectWise
Key features
ConnectWise View allows tech support to live stream with employees using their computer camera to resolve their issues in real-time.
Control Support security ensures user authentication and allows for remote role-based security and permissions, session activity logging, video session logging, and more.
ConnectWise Control Support enables simplified management of multiple LDAP user sources and AD directories.
Control Support offers automatic and dynamic creation of subgroups that are easier to find.
Remote Support One: $27 per user per month, billed annually, or $34 per user billed monthly.
Remote Support Standard: $42 per user per month, billed annually, or $54 per user billed monthly.
Remote Support Premium: $52 per user per month, billed annually, or $64 per user billed monthly.
Unattended Access: Priced per agent; contact sales for more details.
Pros and cons
Pros
Cons
Outstanding third-party integration.
Shallow learning curve.
Technician monitoring.
Free option for home users.
Ability to execute commands from console.
Ad hoc support session support.
Lag-free sessions.
Mic and camera share support.
Sessions require download for remote users.
Issues arise when more than two monitors are in use.
Software updates can be problematic.
No recording option for hosted version.
GoToAssist Resolve
GoToAssist Resolve provides a technician (agent) console that ensures mobile remote employees have fast, unlimited, hassle-free issue resolution that helps them stay productive and focused on doing what matters (Figure C).
Figure C
Image: GoToAssist Resolve
Key features
Technical support members can easily access employee hardware and software configuration information through remote diagnostics.
As many as 15 sessions per technician can be simultaneously accessed through multi-session technical support.
Support teams can switch and navigate between multiple customer monitors simultaneously.
Patches, updates and more can be easily handled using secure file transfers.
Communication with other technicians and employees is enabled through Slack.
Pricing
GoToAssist Resolve has a free plan and three paid tiers, with a 14-day free trial available for the Standard and Remote Support plans.
Free: No cost for up to three agents and five Pro devices.
Remote Support: $40 per month, billed annually, or $50 per month when billed monthly.
Standard: $57 per month, billed annually, or $70 per month when billed monthly.
Premium: Contact sales for pricing details.
Pros and cons
Pros
Cons
Quick access to diagnostic information.
Mobile device support.
Superior video and sound quality.
Session transfer.
High level of security.
Low network latency.
Remote printer management.
Plenty of training documentation.
High cost.
File send can be complicated.
Machines can randomly disconnect.
Unreliable Mac support.
Outdated UX.
FixMe.IT
With FixMe.IT, technical support teams can assist WFH employees with issues such as configuration, logging in, file transfers and other complex technical support needs quickly, securely and from any location (Figure D).
Figure D
Image: FixMe.IT
Key features
Technicians and employees benefit from two-way desktop sharing for support and walk-throughs.
File and folder transfer can be done quickly and remotely using drag-and-drop functions.
Two-factor authentication can be enabled for increased security.
Mass applications can be deployed using Group Policy.
Video support sessions can be created for audit or training purposes.
Pricing
Pricing for FixMe.IT is available in a monthly plan at $30 per seat per month or an annual cost of $300 per seat.
Pros and cons
Pros
Cons
Deployment via MSI.
Option to follow user’s mouse.
Low latency.
Remote PC reboot.
Cannot block user input.
Windows support only.
No mobile support.
RemoteToPC
RemoteToPC is a scalable remote IT management solution that supports on-premises or WFH teams of any size (Figure E). It supports employees on the web or through smartphone access using two-factor authentication.
Figure E
Image: RemoteToPC
Key features
A low-impact monitoring technology allows technical support teams to keep an eye on and receive alerts about the health and metrics of all computers on a network.
Fast 256-BIT AES + Poly 1305 AEAD modern cryptography connection between two peer devices.
Remote printing and file transfer capabilities.
Unlimited remote sessions.
Pricing
RemoteToPC is based on four annual plans, with a 14-day free trial available for each plan:
Basic: $99 per year for up to 10 remote computers.
Business: $199 per year for up to 20 computers.
Teams: $299 per year for up to 50 computers.
Enterprise: $399+ per year for 100+ computers.
Pros and cons
Pros
Cons
Cost effective.
Simple dashboard gives view of all devices.
Remote printing support.
Real-time notifications.
Outstanding diagnostic tools.
Surveys and feedback.
No password hashing.
Slower than other remote tools solutions.
Other considerations when looking for tech tools to support your workforce
It’s important to remember that the price and features aren’t the only things to consider when shopping for a tech support solution for your WFH employees. Other factors to consider include:
Existing infrastructure and legacy system limitations.
The size and complexities of your workforce.
Current processes and policies.
Vendor reputation, stability and the support they provide for their solution.
Remote support vs. on-site support
Remote tech support is virtual support that enables IT teams to help employees and customers troubleshoot issues and deliver support from a distance over the internet, without being on site. It’s as effective as traditional on-site support, and it provides some essential benefits.
For companies, remote support is cost-effective, and there’s less overhead for maintaining office space, associated costs and infrastructure. Employees also benefit by accessing 24/7 support from anywhere in the world, which decreases service disruption while improving productivity.
