Remote Support/Management Software

An Overview of Crucial Features You Should Consider While Picking the Best Tool for Your Business

The rise of remote work brings new challenges for companies for managing endpoints, networks, and devices. According to PwC, 33% of companies plan to implement a mixed workforce model of in-person full-time, some hybrid, and some fully remote. Meanwhile, 18% plans to implement a hybrid model, and 4% plans to go fully remote. This confirms that remote work is now an integral part of any business operations. 

Hence, you need to ensure that your organization is ready to face the challenges it can bring to your processes. What you need is remote support software for business that will allow you to monitor and manage all important aspects of your operations from anywhere. It serves as a centralized software tool that can assist your support teams with routine tasks for your IT management and helpdesk.

What is remote support/management software?

Remote support/management software allows technicians, IT teams, or support teams access to remote devices via the internet. This allows them to provide technical assistance to both your employees and clients from anywhere and at any time. 

Through virtual access, technicians can take control of the device remotely. This allows them to examine the problem and perform the tasks they need to execute. Some of its primary functions are to:

  • fix issues
  • install updates
  • deploy software
  • perform maintenance

 

This is a much more efficient and effective way instead of coaching the users themselves to perform such tasks via a phone or video call. Moreover, it cuts long hours of commuting for technicians to resolve issues.

Other remote support software solutions provide a more proactive approach to managing remote devices, networks, and endpoints. A good example is XEOX, a cloud-based remote monitoring and management software. It doesn’t just serve as a helpdesk for your users, but it also monitors and takes care of your IT infrastructure. This allows it to identify and resolve issues faster.

What features to consider when choosing the best remote support software

There is countless remote support/management software to choose from nowadays. All of them offer unique sets of tools and functions to help manage your devices remotely. To choose the right one for your business, you must first go back to the reason why you need remote management tools in the first place. From there, you can have an idea of what features to consider.

Nonetheless, there are key features of remote support software that are an absolute must. So make sure to look out for the following:

1. Configuration management database

Configuration management database or CMDB is a database that contains all the relevant information about your organization’s hardware and software components. It provides a comprehensive and organized view of your configuration data, making such information more accessible to your support/IT teams. 

This is an important feature of remote tech support software because it enables your support teams to easily locate information about specific assets to better manage or fix them remotely. By having this feature in your remote support software, you now have a centralized location for all essential data needed for your remote management and monitoring. As a result, your support teams can have more control over your organization’s IT infrastructure.

2. Task Automation

Manual tasks can bog down your support team’s productivity. Cut down on time and costs by automating some of their routine tasks. For example, you can use automation to trigger the installation of patches and updates across remote devices. You can also automate the task of monitoring your assets and detecting issues within your network.

As your business grows, the more complex your IT infrastructure becomes. Hence, task automation is an important feature in your remote support software list. This will help your support teams cope with the growing complexity of your IT environment. It will enable them to deliver services with improved speed, consistency, and security.

3. Cross-platform support

Remote work is all about flexibility. You must make sure that all tools, functions, and processes can be accessed from anywhere and at any time. This also applies to your remote support/management software. After all, it would be ironic if the software itself cannot provide you with the flexibility you need for remote access.

The best remote support software would be compatible and accessible across various platforms. This would allow your support teams to monitor and manage all your assets using any device they want—whether it is their smartphone, laptop, or tablet. Most importantly, it allows your support teams to respond quickly to requests and resolve issues immediately. The same goes for your users, allowing them to access remote support from anywhere and at any time.

4. Secure remote access

The increased virtualization of business operations makes businesses a prime target for hackers and fraudsters in the digital space. And with the rise of remote work, your assets become even more vulnerable than before. Hence, it is important that your remote support software can provide you with secure remote access.

Choose a software that offers endpoint management. This allows you to authenticate and supervise access rights of endpoint devices within your network and apply security policies to prevent external or internal threats from slipping through. 

Using Port-Based NAC (Network Access Control) can also help you combat potential Windows security threats and other risks. Through this feature, you can limit the devices that can connect to your network and receive notifications for any suspicious devices connecting to it.

5. Reports and analytics

Take a proactive approach to remote support and management. Rather than just waiting for issues to appear, develop preventive protocols and measures to ensure that your remote processes can go smoothly.

You can do this by leveraging reports and analytics into your IT management. With powerful IT reporting, you can identify frequent issues and potential vulnerabilities within your current IT infrastructure. You can then use such data to create and implement IT strategies that correspond to the common problems. 

Most remote support software offers data analytics tools to help you gain valuable insights about your assets and hardware inventory. This feature also allows your support teams to receive detailed reports on:

  • Network health and performance
  • Alerts and active issues
  • Patch status
  • Task history

What are its benefits?

There are many advantages to having remote support/management software. It doesn’t just benefit those who plan to continue working from home, but it also applies to almost any organization. 

For one, it allows for instant support for your employees and customers. By allowing your support team to connect to the remote devices via the internet, they can perform routine tasks or fix issues right on the spot without the need to travel anywhere.

It is also a more efficient way of helping users since your support teams will still be doing all the heavy work. All the users have to do is sit back and wait for the team to finish their tasks.

Having remote support/management software also encourages proactive system maintenance. It provides your support team with a practical solution for monitoring the organization’s assets remotely.

Other remote support/management software even allows integrations with third-party solutions for optimal services. For example, you can connect your accounting software to your remote management software to help keep track of the expenses incurred by your digital assets.

Support from anywhere

According to Baker McKenzie, 77% of organizations worldwide are embracing digital transformation. As a result, IT support and management are crucial aspects of any business operation. You must ensure that your teams have the right tools to provide such support for the rest of your customers and employees. One such tool is remote support/management software for your business.

– Finances Online

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