Relaying a customer support experience that makes it feel like a technician is present with your customer every step of the way is possible with the right remote support software. With it, you can both save time and provide an excellent customer support experience without overbearing support costs.
It can be hard to know which system will work best for your business needs, niche, or size. To help your remote experts diagnose, solve, and validate customer issues through a great remote support experience, this guide covers the best software on the market to integrate into your support workflow.
The Top 5 Best Remote Support Software
- Zoho Assist — Best for unattended remote access
- TeamViewer – Best for efficient remote support
- BeyondTrust – Best for extra security enforcement
- AnyDesk — Best for fast, user-friendly remote desktop support
- Pulseway — Best for personal use
There are five remote support software tools that I recommend. Below I dive deep into the pricing, tools, and standout features of each system to help you make the most sound decision to strengthen your customer support efforts.
#1 – Zoho Assist — Best For Unattended Remote Access
- Just one person required
- In-depth diagnostics tool
- Assign permissions to teams
- Starts free
Zoho Assist makes it easy for you to administer unattended remote access support from anywhere.
Once you install Zoho Assist’s unattended remote agent onto your devices, you can use its bulk deployment feature to maintain and update any device without the presence of anyone on the other end.
The diagnostic tools give you an overview of the status of hardware, software, printers, and task management on your devices. This helps with performing native system diagnostic operations when necessary.
With Zoho Assist, you can easily stay organized by grouping and sorting each computer according to any criteria. You can remotely shut down your devices, hibernate them, log off, or set them on standby. As an added security feature, you’re able to assign permissions to particular teams or technicians to avoid confusion and keep your systems operations organized. Features like these make Zoho assist an excellent software option for affordable unattended remote access for device support.
Zoho’s prices break down by either monthly or annual plans. Here is how the three unattended access plan breaks down when paying annually:
- Free – One technician and five unattended computers
- Standard – $8 per month for 25 unattended computers, with computer grouping, bulk deployment, and mobile apps
- Professional – $13 per month for 25 unattended computers, with session recording, diagnostic tools, and bulk deployment
All tiers, including the free plan, come with instant chat, a desktop app, clipboard sharing, user management, Zoho Desk and Zoho SalesIQ integrations, and organization roles. Each tier comes with more features.
To ensure you get all the remote tools you need, I recommend checking out the pricing page to see what each specific tier offers before making a final decision. You can also do a 15-day free trial to test it out.
#2 – TeamViewer — Best For Efficient Remote Support
- Fast file transfer
- Record meetings
- Quick support link
- Cross platform capabilities
You can support your workforce on the job, equip IT for PC customer support from any device, and onboard new employees easily with TeamViewer and all its remote software support tools. Their popularity speaks for them as they experience at least 30,000 downloads every hour.
As a powerful and dynamic remote support system, TeamViewer offers augmented reality support, IT management, fast file transfer between remote devices, and even online meetings. These features aid in efficient remote support, especially being able to have and record meetings across devices to ensure quality and have a record of the assistance.
TeamViewer helps you improve first call resolution rates with remote support tools that don’t require a VPN and diminish firewall accessibility issues. If you need to show a customer where to click on their screen or walk them through configuring their computers or routers, you can do so once you send a TeamViewer quick support link that gives you access to their device instantly.
They make it easy to manage security with the ability to create groups, assign permissions, and set the appropriate policies. Their extensive cross-platform compatibility makes it easy to connect from PC to PC, mobile to mobile, PC to mobile, or mobile to PC.
Their prices are straightforward, and they breakdown into three tiers:
- Single User – $49 monthly
- Multi User – $99 monthly
- For Teams – Multiple seats $199 monthly
Each tier offers features that include:
- Remote access and control of computers
- Secure unattended access
- Remote printing for Mac and Windows regardless of printer type
- File sharing
Once you get into how many managed devices are permissible for each tier, it starts to differ. You can watch a free demo or speak to the sales team on the TeamViewer website.
#3 – BeyondTrust — Best For Extra Security Enforcement
- Integrations with password tools
- Extra secure
- Monitor support KPIs
- Try them for free
If extra security features are what you’re looking for, BeyondTrust ensures every step of your remote support workflow is secure by enabling the right level of access for any given device.
This means highly secure access to compatible systems like Windows, Linux, Mac, iOS, and Android. BeyondTrust offers you powerful tools for effective remote support, whether you want to administer unattended access to any device or help customers fix technical issues.
It provides plenty of integrations with password tools to ensure granular team and permissions management, so every step of the remote support cycle is accounted for and logged. This can be useful for reference in the event of compliance issues and auditing.
Their real-time reporting tools allow you to monitor IT support KPIs and security issues. Because of their innate ability to handle access point protection and enforced security features, BeyondTrust is the optimal solution for technical support that deals with sensible data.
You can try BeyondTrust before you commit with a free trial. To learn the full scope of their prices, contact their sales team.
#4 – AnyDesk — Best For Fast, User-Friendly Remote Desktop Support
- Great for beginners
- Access on-the-go
- RSA 2048 asymmetric encryption
- Starts at $10.99/month
App developers and software businesses can highly benefit from a robust remote support system that prioritizes speed without forgoing quality with desktop support software like AnyDesk. Users rave about the user-friendly interface and management screen.
AnyDesk makes it easy for IT professionals onsite or anywhere else in the world to connect to any computer remotely and quickly. This enables you to fix customer support issues from one operating location at scale.
For instance, if you need to access your computer on the go, AnyDesk allows you to do it once you set up a secure password. Its banking-standard TLS 1.2 technology ensures your computer is protected from unauthorized access. AnyDesk also uses RSA 2048 asymmetric key exchange encryption to make sure every connection is verified and secure.
To use AnyDesk, you’ll have to download their software. But at just 3 MB in size, it’s designed for lightweight and convenience. As if that wasn’t enough, AnyDesk is compatible with the works, including windows, Linux, Mac OS, free BSD, iOS, and android.
Here’s how their pricing tiers break down:
- Lite – $10.99 a month (one device)
- Professional – $20.99 a month (multiple devices)
- Power – $52.49 a month (multiple devices)
Each tier offers the basics, which include:
- Commercial use
- Unlimited endpoints
- Remote printing
- File transfer
- Mobile to PC remote control
- On-screen whiteboard
- Auto-discovery
From there, each tier starts getting a bit more personalized with access to additional features. For instance, if you choose the Power tier, you’ll get access to features like an unlimited number of devices and sessions, three base devices to administer remote support from with the option of add-ons, and unlimited concurrent sessions.
#5 – Pulseway — Best For Personal Use
- Great for home devices
- Automated background tasks
- Run everything from mobile device
- Starts free
If you’re looking for remote support software best for personal use, look no further than Pulseway. It allows you to monitor two systems for free and manage up to 19 systems if you decide to upgrade.
With Pulseway, you can capitalize on device control with tools that enable you to run windows updates, quit processes, or even hibernate your machine from your smartphone.
Not only that, you can schedule IT-related tasks on a recurring basis. With this feature, you can save time, as maintenance tasks you once had to do manually to fulfill your remote support needs will automatically be done in the background.
To start monitoring up to two systems for free, you can get started with Pulseway by creating an account and selecting the free starter plan. If you want to upgrade to paid remote plans geared for businesses and teams, you can use Pulseway’s price calculator.
How to Find The Best Remote Support Software For You
The first step is identifying what industry your business operates in. This helps you narrow down your search by getting specific about the non-negotiable remote support tools you’ll need for your niche. This can mean features like unattended access, screen sharing, text chat, or even remote training tools for onboarding new technicians.
Here are a few key factors to consider that I used for this list when choosing reliable software to give the most supportive customer experience at a distance.
Type of Remote Access
When you’re administering remote support, you can usually do so in one of two ways:
- Attended
- Unattended
Attended support happens when you reach out to any customer having trouble and need help fixing their technical issue in real-time. With the right remote support software, you can easily connect to their device and help them troubleshoot the problem within minutes. This doesn’t require any software preinstallation and can be done at a moment’s notice.
Unattended remote support does require preinstallation of software. A designated IT technician can then reach any device from one access point to troubleshoot issues, install updates, or do routine maintenance without anyone needing to be present on the other end. This works well for in-house routine device maintenance. These features can be a deciding factor in the type of remote support software you need for your support team to operate successfully.
Cross-Platform Compatibility
Your remote support software should be compatible with a wide array of systems. This means compatibility with the most popular ones, including Windows, Linux, Mac, and Android devices.
The more compatible your software is with different software, browsers, and devices, the more versatile and robust your support representatives can be. It translates to saving time and money in the long run while boosting customer support productivity.
Reach and Scale
As your business scales, you’ll need remote support software that can grow along with you. For example, features like collaborative tools that enable your IT technicians to work together can come in handy.
Onboarding features like augmented reality training offered by software like TeamViewer can ensure your in-house technicians are readily equipped for the job. Unattended support features can streamline your routine device updates.
Security
One big customer concern when administering remote support is security. Understandably, customers might want reassurance that the remote support software you’re employing is safe.
Check prospective software to see if it offers any extra security features whether you’re using cloud-based software or go the self-hosted route. This can also provide your customers with extra peace of mind as you access their devices from afar.
Conclusion
The best remote support software highly depends on what you’re looking for according to your industry and business needs.
Here’s a quick overview of each remote support system I recommended for your reference:
- Zoho Assist — Best for unattended remote access
- TeamViewer – Best for efficient remote support
- BeyondTrust – Best for extra security enforcement
- AnyDesk — Best for fast, user-friendly remote desktop support
- Pulseway — Best for personal use
No matter what type of support you offer, you can find remote support software that streamlines the process with this in-depth guide.
via https://AiUpNow.com January 30, 2021 at 12:02PM by Lars Lofgren, Khareem Sudlow,
