I am pulling in old messages from my prior blog because I thought some of them had good insight.

Remote support is now has been in high demand in the IT industry for quite a while and the accessibility of remote support software is even higher than that. I have done some research on various programs (and companies) to find which gives the best price and services. I will highlight 2 of the companies that were researched.

  • GoToAssist (a division of Citrix Systems, Inc.) offers a per-seat licensing scheme that runs about $425/mo. The technician-end software is fairly straight-forward and their end-user software is a small download (<1MB). The end-user software is actively configured from a web based form which will communicate with the technician’s running software via a relay server hosted by the GoToAssist team. Upon successful connection the technician will have shared control of the clients screen.
  • NetworkStreaming uses concurrent user licensing but they not only have a monthly plan, but give you the option to purchase an appliance to host the software yourself. The concurrent user licensing runs just under $100/mo (if paid annually, if paid monthly it runs about $150/mo) and offers the same exact functionality that the GoToAssist team offers you. An additional functionality of NetworkStreaming’s SupportDesk is the ability for the technician to generate session keys and email them to the client. In order to host the appliance yourself it will cost just under $4500 (one time) with a $750/y maintenance fee.

Both options are pricy, but if you use the solution enough, it will pay for itself. I suggest doing your own research before choosing the right company, but these are my opinions.