Help desk teams must play a constant game of tug-of-war between speed and security. For example, a broken laptop or locked account may not only need the help of technicians that could take time to diagnose, but they still have to jump into that machine without making users wait and also avoid compromising company data. Having the right remote access tool will determine if getting help at your help desk is a pleasant experience for the technician carrying out the work as well as for the end user on the other side of that screen.
Selecting an option from the array of possibilities is not exactly a walk in the park. While some are only designed for casual personal use and crumble under the scrutiny of an enterprise IT department. Some are packed with security features that unnecessarily slow technicians down. The most appropriate solution largely depends on the number of machines supported by a help desk, which compliance regulations are in place and how comprehensive licensing is when it comes to budget.
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Splashtop
Splashtop has built its reputation around remote access tools designed specifically for IT and support teams that need to act fast. You can find an overview of the company’s help desk offering by visiting this remote access tool for help desks.
Splashtop gives you both speedy session times alongside fine-grained access controls; a cornerstone of any help desk solution. By doing it in seconds, technicians can open a session and transfer files during the session without interrupting anything that was done — that is to say, users can reboot after clicking on a tab. Centralized logs give admins visibility into every session – which is important for organizations that need to demonstrate compliance as part of an audit.
Another asset is that Splashtop provides a variety of operating platform and device types support, which assists when a support desk supports a diverse fleet (so to speak) of Windows, Mac and mobile devices. Remote device support tool documentation discusses how device-level remote support agents typically work alongside broader remote access platforms, which provides IT teams with an indication of how the two layers can work together when managing enterprise hardware.
Pricing is based on the number of technicians and concurrent sessions, rather than by end devices; this will often favour help desks with large device fleets but a smaller technician headcount.
RemotePC
RemotePC has a no-nonsense approach to remote access in that it sticks with the basics rather than a long list of features. It can also handle unattended access, meaning that technicians can connect to a computer set aside for remote work even when there is nobody at the keyboard, which comes in handy for off-hours maintenance or patching.
A minimalistic design wins over depth. RemotePC is the choice of smaller help desks that need a tool with a low barrier to training new technicians that can be up and running in as little as an hour. However, the tradeoff is more limited admin capabilities than in platforms designed for bigger enterprise deployments.
RemotePC features file transfer, remote printing and a very basic session recording. Most of the time, you will not need any add-on modules since these features cover most function wise helpdesk tasks.
ConnectWise ScreenConnect
ConnectWise ScreenConnect is often the solution for managed service providers and internal IT departments that require a ticketing workflow tool at their core. The application connects to popular helpdesk / ticketing systems so that technicians can start a session from an open ticket instead of having to jump between applications.
Customisation of Powershell session: This is where ScreenConnect shines. Administrators can configure branded session windows, auto-triggered sessions that set up a call automatically, and custom toolbars for technicians who routinely run similar diagnostic procedures. All this configurability is likely to be attractive to larger help desk operations that have dedicated IT administrators on staff able to perform the setup.
Changes to network reliability in recent releases, the use of variable bandwidth conditions; are great things that help you deliver better results but some teams from smaller companies have found initial configuration somewhat more complex than any simple alternative. This description of a secure remote access protocol highlights the fundamentals of how remote sessions go over the wire, useful context for IT pros evaluating how various platforms tackle tunneling and authentication.
ISL Online
With a particular focus on organizations with stringent data residency compliance, ISL Online positions itself as a flexible cloud and on-premises option. It has both cloud-hosted and on-premises deployment options, which can be important for help desks that support clients in regulated industries such as healthcare or finance where data cannot travel out of a certain jurisdiction.
Session Encryption and detailed Audit Trails are part of the core product, not a premium addon. This places ISL Online as a decent option for help desks that have auditors to satisfy but do not want to pay for a premium plan access just to get security essentials.
The interface is functional but not as refined as some competition and the mobile app experience does not measure up to the desktop client. This is an acceptable trade-off for teams that prioritise compliance documentation over interface design.
Action1
Action1 offers a blend of remote access, patch management and monitoring, therefore making it suitable for help desks which seek to consolidate various IT functions into one platform. Instead of positioning remote access as a standalone feature, Action1 treats it as one tool in an overall endpoint management workflow.
This is more appropriate for internal IT departments who manage a known set of company owned devices because consistent patch management and inventory features are most beneficial when consistently administered across a known device fleet. The platform strengths may not be as relevant to their day-to-day workflow with an internal help desk serving external clients in different environments.
Since technicians have to learn the broader endpoint management dashboard, far greater than tools focused solely on remote access, there is a steep learning curve. If an organization is already leveraging some form of endpoint management, that generally yields the highest benefits when Action1 is simply added on top of a deployment.
The best remote access tool for a help desk is determined largely by team size, variety of devices, and compliance requirements. A small internal IT crew responsible for company-owned laptops has dissimilar priorities than a managed service contributor managing buyer environments with diverse security possibilities. It’s not simply about picking a couple contenders, and then comparing features on comparison charts; testing those top two or three tools against real support tickets tends to reveal how the practical differences become important when a tool is used every day.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which features are most important for help desk remote access tools?
Both session speed, file transfer, unattended access and the detail of audit logging tend to matter more. Software that tickets help desks supporting regulated industries should prioritize encryption standards and compliance documentation over flashy interface features.
Are there specific apps that help desk teams can use free remote access tools?
There are free tiers available but that often comes with constraints such as the length of sessions, the number of supported devices and an absence of features. If support with more than a couple of users, almost all help desks quickly discover that they need a paid plan.
How important is unattended access for a help desk?
Unattended access features are essential for performing maintenance, patching, and proactive troubleshooting when the end user is unavailable especially out of office hours. Perhaps the only caveat would be if you are on a team that is predominantly in-session all day attending to support tickets live, then this application may not matter as much to your daily workflow.
