Archive for October, 2007

How to Make Screen Sharing and Remote Control Less Scary for Your Customers

October 26, 2007

Screen Sharing and Remote Control are two core features offered by GoToAssist Express to make it easy for you to provide remote support. But it might be a little scary for your customers the first time you use them. (Don’t worry, they’ll end up loving it!) Here are some things to say to ease their minds about security and privacy issues: 

  • Screen sharing lets me see what’s happening on your computer just as if I were there in person. Don’t worry, I can only see what is currently showing on your desktop. Feel free to close any files you don’t want me to view.

  • If you’ll give me keyboard and mouse control, I can find and fix the problem faster. You’ll be able to see everything I’m doing, and you can take back control at any time by simply jiggling your mouse or hitting a key on your keyboard.
  • The entire support session is encrypted end-to-end, so no outsiders can intercept the connection or get any information about you in any way.

 Happy Halloween!

If you would like to comment on this post, please log in to the Beta Forum at forums.gotoassist.com.

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Express Yourself: We’re Listening

October 12, 2007

We decided to launch a beta program for GoToAssist Express specifically because we want your opinion. You are a critical part of our development process. Not only will you will help us find important bugs (an essential piece of all beta programs) but your ideas and suggestions for product functionality and direction will be embraced, evaluated and possibly even implemented (depending on their nature and feasibility, of course).  

More than anything else, we want this product to meet your remote support needs and we want you to love GoToAssist Express as much as we do. So please tell us what you think. Tell us something every time you use the product or just anytime you think of something – or both!

 

We’re here and we’re listening.

 

Note: The best ways to share your opinion is through the user forum or the feedback form.

If you would like to comment on this post, please log in to the Beta Forum at forums.gotoassist.com.

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Remote Support Market Summary

October 12, 2007

Good news: Remote support is helping a ton of people. According to the IDC, the remote support business is blossoming into quite an industry and is growing 19% each year. Why? Several reasons:

  • Clientless remote support: This means you won’t have to pre-install the software on someone’s computer; you can help anyone, anywhere, as long as they have an Internet connection, with a click of a button (or a couple of clicks depending on your situation).  
  • Growth of small and medium-sized businesses: I hope you are all making lots of money and enjoying your work. 
  •  All of your businesses need IT services: The fact is, we can’t live without our computers or Internet connections these days. I know I probably spend more time on my computer than with my spouse, but I really like my computer. ;-) And I would sadly feel lost without it.
  • Remote workers are on the rise: They need to be supported just like everyone else. With clientless remote support they can have instant support without always having to send their computers back to corporate headquarters.  

In summary, the IDC is recognizing clientless remote support as a real business solution. We’ve known this for years of course, but it is nice to finally have someone else say it in black and white.  

And now you should know something about our product: GoToAssist was the first clientless remote support software product – we created this category and believe it is the best solution on the market today. With GoToAssist Express, we are deepening our commitment to the industry and our customers.

If you would like to comment on this post, please log in to the Beta Forum at forums.gotoassist.com.

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GoToAssist Express Feature Overview

October 10, 2007

GoToAssist Express is a Web-based remote support tool for individuals that has some really great features. Features that are currently in the product are:

One-Way Screensharing - This will enable you to remotely view your customer’s computer

Shared Keyboard and Mouse Control - This enables you to remotely control your customer’s computer

File Transfer - Works in both directions (From customer to you and from you to your customer)

Multiple Platform Support - Currently you can control computers running XP, Vista, and Mac OS X

More features are coming soon and will posted on the blog, so keep checking back!

If you would like to comment on this post, please log in to the Beta Forum at forums.gotoassist.com.

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Remote versus In-Person Support

October 9, 2007

If you’re reading this blog you’ve either already implemented remote support into your service program or started thinking about it very seriously. So I’m probably preaching to the choir here when I talk about the benefits of remote versus in-person support. Still, it’s nice to be thorough. If you’re already a believer, just consider this as 3 reasons to feel smug about the great decision you’ve made. 

  • No travel time or expenses. With remote support you don’t even have to walk down the hall, let alone drive or fly to your client.
  • Easy multi-tasking. GoToAssist Express lets you conduct up to 8 support sessions simultaneously, so you can help another customer while you’re waiting for your first customer’s download to finish. It’s a great way to increase productivity.
  • Unlimited geographic range. Even if you like to travel, you can only be in one place at a time. Remote support lets you help people all over the globe in the same day (or even the same hour).

  If you would like to comment on this post, please log in to the Beta Forum at forums.gotoassist.com.

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Is GoToAssist Express Secure?

October 9, 2007

Definitely! You and your clients can trust GoToAssist Express because it has the same security architecture as GoToAssist: Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) and 128-bit Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) encryption. It’s the same level of security that online banks use. No unencrypted information is ever stored on our system, and consultants using GoToAssist Express can only access their clients’ computers if they’re given permission.  

Plus, Citrix Online has achieved SiteSecure certification from Cybertrust.

If you would like to comment on this post, please log in to the Beta Forum at forums.gotoassist.com.

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User Forum

October 5, 2007

You might be wondering why we have a blog AND a User Forum, instead of just having people make comments on the blog. The difference is that on the forum, you lead the discussion, not us. Also, the forum is strictly for beta testers – you have to log in to access it – while the blog is public. That way you know you’re only talking to your peers in the forum, instead of to random people who don’t know anything about GoToAssist Express.  

Log in to the User Forum [link] today and give it a try. Ask a question, post a comment, read what other beta testers have to say.  

If you would like to comment on this post, please log in to the Beta Forum at forums.gotoassist.com.

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Who Should Use GoToAssist Express?

October 5, 2007

In general, we’ve designed GoToAssist Express for individual support providers, such as: 

§         Independent software consultants

§         IT or PC support consultants

§         Internal tech managers of small businesses

§         Accounting consultants  

It’s not really for support organizations with multiple support reps to manage – that’s who GoToAssist is for.

Also, if you think there’s a specific group of people we’re leaving out, use the feedback form to let us know who they are and we’ll try to find a way to reach them. 

If you would like to comment on this post, please log in to the Beta Forum at forums.gotoassist.com.

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Why GoToAssist Express?

October 5, 2007

You’re probably wondering why Citrix Online decided to make GoToAssist Express when they’ve already got GoToAssist, a well-established product that’s been serving the remote-support market for years now.  

Well, we have ears. We heard some people needed something different from a remote-support product. GoToAssist is awesome (if we do say so ourselves) for organizations with multiple support providers. But it’s not the best fit for individual support providers like software consultants or for startups that may only have one IT guy. They don’t need all the same features (what would they do with team collaboration?) and they don’t need the same administrative capabilities.  

So we decided to make a new product, using GoToAssist’s core screen-sharing technology but entirely redesigned from the ground up with the individual support provider in mind.  

If you would like to comment on this post, please log in to the Beta Forum at forums.gotoassist.com.

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Facts

October 5, 2007

Here are a few facts we’d like you to keep in mind during the beta testing program:

Fact #1: There will be bugs.

That’s just the nature of a beta release. Because of this, we don’t recommend you use GoToAssist Express Beta in mission-critical situations. We don’t want you to put your reputation on the line to test our beta. Instead, just try it with a few of your most solid customers. Send them an email saying, “Hey, I’m trying out this new support tool and I’d love to know what you think.” If you’re up-front about it, they’ll appreciate that you’re looking to find the best way to meet their needs with a cutting-edge service.

We’ll try to let you know as soon as we find a bug, and we hope you beta testers will do the same for us by using the feedback form  liberally. The sooner we know about a bug, the sooner we can start working on fixing it. And we assure you, we’ll be working late.

Fact #2: We don’t know all the facts yet.

We’ll try to answer your questions the best we can, and we’ll update the online FAQ when we find that people are all asking the same question. However, some questions might not be answered right away because we simply don’t know all the answers yet. In fact, we’re even hoping that some questions will be answered by you - that’s why we set up the User Forum.

Fact #3: It’s free.

If facts #1 and #2 get you down, don’t forget fact #3: It’s free! So relax and enjoy discovering what GoToAssist Express can do for you without any cost, obligation or usage limits.

If you would like to comment on this post, please login to the Beta Forum at forums.gotoassist.com.

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