Remote Support Software poll - Business

[ell]

Ammyy

 

[DBA]

I voted for Other, as I programmed my own Remote client

 

[Instant Housecall - Corey]

I programmed my own Remote client

Me too! . Would love to see what you built.

 

[DBA]

Its tied into our Endpoint Management Suite - So, when a client purchases the basic Managed Service (be it residential or commerical), it installs a Windows Service that communicates back to our office, and lists general information about the computer, monitors for alerts, allows RDP sessions etc, Its not really a stand alone client unfortunately.

 

[unclemarv]

Should probably clarify my vote...

1- RHUB Web Conferencing and Remote Support: our in-house appliance for support and training.
2- LogMeIn Central: primarily a couple of clients where we can give an onsite tech access to certain groups
3- MaxFocus (GFI): Trying out the hybrid MSP model

 

[Kurt]

GoToAssit... seemed cost effective.

 

[E Bell]

I have a Bomgar B200. I can have as many machines opened in tabs as I want. Once it is set up, no worries and my clients feel more secure with my locally hosted support. Bomgar has native Mac and Linux rep control panels. Has been a great experience.

Bomgar is a nice product. We used it in an enterprise environment at one of my past employers. It has some great features, but as mentioned is a little pricey. ScreenConnect is also locally hosted support and one of the reasons I went with them.

 

[ClickRight]

After using Teamviewer for years, we upgraded to ScreenConnect. Now using version 5.2. It's more reliable and easier to connect without version issues like TV. It's also less expensive and doesn't require a great deal of horsepower to run on your own server.

 

[ComputerPro]

ScreenConnect. Used to use Instant Housecall which was great too. SC is just a lot less costly for what we need full branding, unlimited unattended sessions etc. I wouldn't hesitate to recommend either.

 

[fencepost]

We had been using TeamViewer but are currently testing ScreenConnect. I've also fiddled with Copilot a bit, but was unimpressed by its speed, and I tried Instant Housecall and liked it but I'm not sure I see us signing on for a monthly contract - I'd rather have it purchased and self-hosted.

Regarding Ammyy, I needed to connect to someone for home support over the weekend a few weeks ago and decided to try it. Had him run it, and before I could connect to him someone else had connected to the session. Based on the numbers each of us got, I think they must just be assigning sequential session IDs, so someone just guessed what an available number might be. I was actually on the phone with him, and he said, "Oh, is that you?" because someone had just launched Notepad and said they were "Remote Support." I freaked, told him to either unplug the network cable or turn off the wireless until we got Ammyy removed, and immediately wiped it from any consideration.

 

[ccritchie]

We had been using TeamViewer but are currently testing ScreenConnect. I've also fiddled with Copilot a bit, but was unimpressed by its speed, and I tried Instant Housecall and liked it but I'm not sure I see us signing on for a monthly contract - I'd rather have it purchased and self-hosted.

Regarding Ammyy, I needed to connect to someone for home support over the weekend a few weeks ago and decided to try it. Had him run it, and before I could connect to him someone else had connected to the session. Based on the numbers each of us got, I think they must just be assigning sequential session IDs, so someone just guessed what an available number might be. I was actually on the phone with him, and he said, "Oh, is that you?" because someone had just launched Notepad and said they were "Remote Support." I freaked, told him to either unplug the network cable or turn off the wireless until we got Ammyy removed, and immediately wiped it from any consideration.

I had a similar experience with Ammyy and lost the customer over the fiasco. I realize that it was partly my fault for using a tool that I had not fully tested, and I now know that there are some ways that you can lock it down so that you don't use just a sequentially-assigned number to connect. However, I refuse to use a tool that is widely utilized by scammers to support my customers.

 

[Mainstay]

We had been using TeamViewer but are currently testing ScreenConnect. I've also fiddled with Copilot a bit, but was unimpressed by its speed, and I tried Instant Housecall and liked it but I'm not sure I see us signing on for a monthly contract - I'd rather have it purchased and self-hosted. etc.

This is a good cautionary tale.

While I am not happy with their business practices (continually jacking the rates), we use LMI and have worked out a way for our customers to pay for the licenses.

The program is easy to install, is safe, and is great for passing control to the client (i.e., we have clients that need to access their work computers from home AND we need to be able to maintenance that same system... so we install LMI and grant them access rights to their own system... and then charge them for the license and the maintenance plan).

We don't gouge... don't get that idea... but we do let our heavy users pay for the system and make a small profit to help make it all worthwhile.

We've fielded questions on our invoices, but no complaints and lot's of, "OH, I didn't know you could do that, can I also get system X, Y, Z on this plan?"

There was a Google Drive sheet created with a comparison of all the different remote platforms out there... it was very informative, but I haven't had the nerve to change off of LMI...

 

[fencepost]

The program is easy to install, is safe, and is great for passing control to the client (i.e., we have clients that need to access their work computers from home AND we need to be able to maintenance that same system... so we install LMI and grant them access rights to their own system... and then charge them for the license and the maintenance plan).

I was looking at that capability (explicitly listed for SimpleHelp, and I'm sure you could do the same with ScreenConnect), and we may list it as something available to our customers then simply add additional licenses as needed and split the cost out over a year or two.

We'll probably also look into SimpleHelp - pricing seems almost identical (except for the ScreenConnect discount available with the TechNibble Computer Business Kit). I like some of the additional monitoring SimpleHelp lists and their work towards MSP tools, but I also like the extensibility, active development and active forums for ScreenConnect such as their recent changes related to supporting RDP session connections.

 

[CuttingEdgeIT]

I've noticed a lot of you are using either MaxFocus with Teamviewer or Screenconnect? How does Zoho Assist compare to those two for anyone that has experience with Zoho Assist? I'm looking for a relatively affordable (so something under $200 a year) service, but if I gain a lot by using something that's a lot better than Zoho Assist, then I'm willing to pay extra for it. Thanks for any help!

 

[Pixelated Tech]

I currently use Zoho Assist. While the pricing is very competitive at $12/month, it lacks the luster and finish of some of the other competitors. The unattended-installer was removed and restored as of late as a beta but it proves to work fine. My largest gripe is having to use the web interface to access my unattended clients. The embedded html source works as intended and looks professional. The file transfer is decent and the transfer speed is acceptable. For the price, it is sufficient and serves well.

 

[CuttingEdgeIT]

Thanks for that info! I think I'm going to go ahead and try Zoho for now. As long as I can do my work with it and it does look professional, I won't have many gripes. I'll probably look to upgrade to a more expensive option later on, but this will definitely suffice for the short term.

 

[Pixelated Tech]

My pleasure. Best of luck in your ventures.

 

[MDD1963]

However, I refuse to use a tool that is widely utilized by scammers to support my customers.

I've seen a few scams recorded and broadcast via Youtube where the scammers were using LogMeIn, Teamviewer, etc; they are diversifying!

 

[Mike McCall]

I currently use Zoho Assist. While the pricing is very competitive at $12/month, it lacks the luster and finish of some of the other competitors. The unattended-installer was removed and restored as of late as a beta but it proves to work fine. My largest gripe is having to use the web interface to access my unattended clients. The embedded html source works as intended and looks professional. The file transfer is decent and the transfer speed is acceptable. For the price, it is sufficient and serves well.

I'm able to access my unattended clients using the desktop app. Might try it again.

 

[ell]

I had a similar experience with Ammyy and lost the customer over the fiasco. I realize that it was partly my fault for using a tool that I had not fully tested, and I now know that there are some ways that you can lock it down so that you don't use just a sequentially-assigned number to connect. However, I refuse to use a tool that is widely utilized by scammers to support my customers.

I use Ammyy and I love it, BUT before you host the download app on your website put a password on it! fixed.