In a post-pandemic world, many businesses have transitioned into the hybrid work model to reap the benefits of both onsite and work from home arrangements. According to EY’s Future Workplace Index, 59% of companies have adopted the hybrid work setup for a mix of office and remote work.
With this in mind, various IT solutions have become essential in maintaining productivity and keeping company resources secure. Chief among these tools is remote access software.
In this article, we look at remote access software, what it is, how it works, and why you should consider it for you and your business.
What is remote access software?
Remote access software is a type of solution that enables users to connect to a computer or device in a separate location. This connection allows them to access files or use applications remotely — all without physically interacting with the host computer itself.
It can be likened to a powerful remote control that lets you run another computer in a different location.
For years, remote access software has primarily been used as a way for IT professionals to troubleshoot issues with work computers in remote locations. However, the emergence of hybrid workforces has emphasized other ways it can be used, such as for team collaboration, increased productivity, and tracking.
Let’s examine some of the top reasons your business should invest in remote access software.
Reasons your business should consider remote access software
Faster IT response
With remote access software, IT specialists can quickly address employees’ computer and network issues without ever being in the same location. No longer will IT personnel need to physically interact with an employee’s computer, making for faster response and less downtime.
This is beneficial for businesses that have a big portion of their employees working remotely, as they can get quick IT support while staying where they are.
It also helps businesses with smaller IT teams as remote access software can be used in conjunction with managed service providers — easing the burden of in-house teams working to resolve technical issues.
Catered towards hybrid and WFH workforces
Remote access software benefits WFH and hybrid arrangements. System administrators, for example, can use remote access tools to manage work computers used by their remote employees. They can also be used to monitor endpoints, implement essential updates, and have real-time access to company devices.
For hybrid and fully remote employees, remote access also allows for greater flexibility. For example, if you’re a hybrid employee and decide to work remotely for the day, you can use remote access to continue working on important projects without needing to travel to the office and access your workstation.
Less downtime, less money lost
Through speedier IT response times, remote access software helps reduce overall downtime and lessens the risk of significant financial loss.
For large organizations, IT outages can mean thousands of dollars in lost revenue or expenses incurred. With the highly interconnected nature of businesses, any sort of downtime can put your business at risk of losing massive amounts of money or witnessing lower customer satisfaction.
Increases productivity and team collaboration
Remote access software can also help foster productivity and team collaboration. It can save individual users time and make their workflow more efficient because they won’t have to worry about physically accessing their office computers when they’re on the go. Hybrid employees or individual freelancers can also readily access important files or applications no matter where they are.
For collaboration, small teams can also use remote access for high quality screen sharing, remoting into another team member’s device when needed, or sharing important files and documents with each other.
More impactful training for remote employees
Lastly, businesses with several remote employees can utilize remote access software for a more seamless and impactful onboarding experience.
Instead of giving new employees long sheets of written instructions, remote access software can be used to provide more hands-on training to new hires, either through screen-sharing or by remoting into your new employee’s computer.
Remote access software usually allows users to record their sessions, so training managers can save training sessions and introduce more standard onboarding packets for future reference.
Why TeamViewer is a good remote access solution to consider
Given the benefits of remote access software, you might be curious about which remote access solution to go for. Fortunately, TeamViewer has partnered with TechRepublic to showcase some of its standout features as a remote access provider.
Strong reputation among its customers
Founded in 2005, TeamViewer has served thousands of organizations and users worldwide. Some notable TeamViewer Remote customers include Philips, Doro, and Health Point Neurodiagnostics.
One success story I found was TeamViewer being used by the Oberursel fire brigade in Germany. With TeamViewer, the fire brigade knows that all its IT components are up-to-date and consistently managed. The brigade also shared that TeamViewer helps reduce the risk of any IT-related issue from hampering their firefighting operations.
Heavy emphasis on after-sales service
One of TeamViewer’s unique selling points is its emphasis as an after-sales service solution. This can be particularly useful for software providers, as TeamViewer allows for continued IT support with their remote access solutions.
For businesses in particular, this allows you to provide quality customer service, via remoting into user devices, without needing to send out on-site support. Whether quickly troubleshooting technical issues or improving response time, TeamViewer’s remote technology can help increase customer satisfaction.
AI-powered summaries and insights
AI-advocates will be happy to know that TeamViewer now offers powerful AI features specifically designed to aid IT teams and support personnel. Launched last October 2024, TeamViewer’s Session Insights automatically generates comprehensive summaries of your team’s support sessions. These summaries cover the step-by-step events in each case, how they were solved, and what type of issues were addressed.
TeamViewer also introduced Session Analytics, an AI-powered feature which provides in-depth insights about each support session. Through AI, Session Analytics can be used to recognize common support patterns, identify recurring issues, and discover other relevant data regarding each case.
With both features, I see TeamViewer as a great way to make the reporting and documentation process much easier — especially for IT teams with less overall manpower.
Wide support for most devices and operating systems
TeamViewer is also device-agnostic, having broad support for today’s most popular and commonly used devices.
TeamViewer supports Windows, macOS, Linux, Chrome, and Raspberry Pi. It also supports Android and iOS, which means that TeamViewer is available for computers, smartphones, and tablets.
Accommodates both businesses and consumers
TeamViewer has remote access solutions for both businesses and consumers. It has TeamViewer Remote Access and TeamViewer Business solutions for individual users. Below is an overview of both plans:
- TeamViewer Remote Access: $24.90 per month, billed yearly; up to 3 unattended devices; 1 licensed user; 3 managed devices.
- TeamViewer Business: $50.90 per month, billed yearly; up to 200 unattended devices; 1 licensed user; 300 managed devices.
For businesses, TeamViewer has TeamViewer Premium, Corporate, and its enterprise TeamViewer Tensor solution. Below is a quick summary of these plans:
- TeamViewer Premium: $112.90 per month, billed yearly; up to 300 unattended devices; 15 licensed users; 300 managed devices.
- TeamViewer Corporate: $229.90 per month, billed yearly; up to 500 unattended devices; 30 licensed users; 500 managed devices.
- TeamViewer Tensor: Contact TeamViewer for price details; fully customizable license.
TeamViewer’s Black Friday Sale across its plans
If you’re interested in purchasing a TeamViewer subscription, they currently have a great Black Friday Sale with discounts covering several of their plans.
In particular, they have deals exclusively for the first subscription year for any new purchase or upgrade to Business, Premium, or Corporate Licenses, including associated add-ons. Below is a rundown of the special offers:
Deals for new licenses:
- New Business license = 20% off.
- New Premium license = 25% off.
- New Corporate license = 30% off.
- AddOns = 30% off.
Deals for upgrades:
- Upgrades to Business license = 20% off.
- Upgrades to Premium license = 25% off.
- Upgrades to Corporate license = 30% off.
This Black Friday offer is live now and valid until December 6, 2024, at 11:59 pm.