Much thanks to our friends at www.wareprise.com for taking the time to review ScreenConnect recently. As we try to get the word out we reached out to a few key editors and technology writers to see if they would give us feedback on our product. Wareprise took it a step further and even posted their review online. It was a great surprise when they contacted us with their review, so if you get a second take a look at our ScreenConnect review http://www.wareprise.com/2010/02/25/screenconnect-a-self-hosted-remote-support-software/

 

Choosing a remote support solution from the hundreds of software applications available can be daunting. Some solutions are free, some charge you monthly fees, some are already integrated into software you use today, and others are installed on your own server or workstation. It is not an easy choice, but here are a few tips from our team to help.

• Consider your budget – How much can you afford to spend, if anything, for your remote support solution? Each product will have pros and cons for your environment. Over the long term, what will the financial impact from licensing costs, support, employee training, and implementation be?
• What features do you really need? – Remote support software has increasingly become a me-too environment, with companies throwing hundreds of features at users to validate higher costs. Do you really need a laser pointer or the ability to share smiley faces with your customers? Create a list of what features you must have, and then create a high want list of features that could be useful to you.
• Security Concerns – In some environments it is not ideal to run your remote support sessions through third party servers located somewhere off-premises. Government organizations, military contractors, or anyone with increased security concerns should consider on-premises solutions versus hosted options.
• Free Versus Paid – There are free remote support software tools on the market, but most have some drawbacks. A few software solutions will not work with customers running Linux or MAC computers, and others do not support Windows. Some tools work wonderfully if the computer is on your domain, but the tools’ protocols do not work well with certain firewalls or proxy settings. One solution requires a payment of 15% of the fee you charge customers for support. Most free tools are free for a reason: they either lack certain functionality, or they may require specific settings or software implemented on your client PC before a connection can be made.

When selecting a remote support solution, also consider feedback from friends and online discussions. Our remote support solution is ScreenConnect, a self-hosted application that requires no monthly charges. Whichever software solution you choose, by considering these four points, you can be sure to select a software tool that will match your business needs.

One of the biggest questions we get from prospective customers: how many licenses do I need? With ScreenConnect we try to keep the answer as simple as possible, but it does raise some questions that we thought were worth addressing. Below are a few points to consider when you are choosing how many licenses to purchase of ScreenConnect or another tool.

1. Size of your support team – Although this seems pretty straightforward, it’s easy to overlook small nuances. For example, you may have ten support engineers, but how about product managers or other experts? They may occasionally jump in on a session to help out a customer or remote field employee. You should consider groups other than support, such as R&D, marketing, and IT, that could also benefit from a remote support solution.
2. How often will you use the tool? – Are most of your calls resolved via the phone or email? You may not need as many licenses as you think. A quick conversation with your support team can identify the possible usage levels.
3. Will every employee be using the software at the same time? – Typically, all of the members of your support team are not hosting remote support sessions at the same time. This means you may not need a license for every potential user. ScreenConnect works under a community license structure; if you have five licenses, you may run five sessions concurrently. Other tools are linked with a specific user or IP address. Those tools require you to purchase more licenses for your team, yielding a lower return on investment since you are not using the licenses all the time.

Generally we recommend that you purchase one license for every three users, depending on your usage model and budget. ScreenConnect can be purchased as individual licenses or as an unlimited license. But what if you want to purchase individual licenses now and an unlimited in the future? Never fear! No matter how many licenses you purchase today, we will credit your initial purchase(s) towards the unlimited license price.