I’ve been looking at a ton of user comments from surveys, UserVoice, etc… and I decided to address an issue that seems to be showing up rather frequently. Many of you might not even be aware that the feature exists. So here it is, a very quick and easy way to setup unattended support when you are on-site, physically at the target machine. Along with the written steps, please take a look at my quick instructional video. I created it using GoView, another great product from Citrix Online.
My name is Tem Boylan and I would just like to say how excited I am to be the newest member of the GoToAssist product management team. Although not a Santa Barbara native, I have lived here ever since I moved from San Diego to attend UCSB. When I’m not working I like to spend my free time Running, Racing (both Auto and Motorcycle), Riding my Dirt Bike, Surfing when I can, and Traveling whenever possible. I come from a long history of involvement in the technology sector so I am extremely aware of the value offered by remote IT support services and have been a long-time user of Citrix Online’s product offerings.
The GoToAssist line of products provide invaluable tools for anyone in a support role. I look forward to doing my part to ensure that GoToAssist continues to be the leading remote support service. I’ll be posting to this blog on a regular basis to share pertinent stories, helpful tips, and the latest GoToAssist news as the team continues to crank out new features and enhanced performance.
I thoroughly enjoyed my time off and hope you were able to both take some time off and enjoy it. The kids did get their skakeboards but have realized they “need to grow bigger” before they can really learn to ride them. Fortunately, the athletic toy industy has created a wonderful device called “the scooter”. (Whew!)
The impact of implementing and supporting a transition to Win7. Citrix Online recently conducted a survey in which we found that:
55% of small business IT consultants plan to implement Win7 in 2010
65% say the largest hurdle is people’s limited understanding of the OS and Apps
“Hand-holding” (aka live or remote support) may be the biggest challenge in making the transistion to Win7 for clients
I just finished my last turkey sandwich (for breakfast) while reading through my emails of the last week. I really enjoyed last week’s “home” vacation with family and friends and managed not to get too stressed out about c0oking. I even accomplished some of the things on my personal ToDo list which felt good.
Now the pace has picked up and I’m thinking very seriously about how I will accomplish my goals for the year — there is still a lot more to do both personally and professionally. Personally, I need to figure out how to clean the outside of the house. (I see a pressure washer in my future.) Professionally – One favorite part of my job is talking with customers and prospects. There are so many interesting stories I hear and so many ways people use remote support products. Today, as I get back into the groove, I’ve decided I want to hear your story. So send me a note and tell me about how you use GoToAssist, how remote support technology has helped your business, or just tell me about you.
Two weeks have passed since the Oct. 22 retail release of Microsoft Windows 7, and we’re wondering how installation efforts are going out there. In particular, we’re curious if any of you have used GoToAssist or GoToAssist Express to migrate your company – or even your family and friends – to the new operating system. Or perhaps you’ve used GoToAssist following a recent installation to provide remote support. If so, we’d like to hear all about it. And we might even share your story with the world.
Here are a few questions to get you started:
What Windows 7 challenges were you facing that led you to consider and use GoToAssist?
What happened? How did it go?
What is the name of your company, how big is it, and what industry is it in?
What is your job title, and what are your responsibilities?
We’ll post some of the responses here on the blog, and may even contact you about sharing your story with the media.
One of the concerns I’ve heard from the consultants I’ve met is they don’t always want to solve problems more quickly. Consultants often bill by the hour so the longer it takes to solve a problem, the more billable hours they can add to their invoice. I get it. Everyone needs to protect their income.
I’ve also heard from consultants that they can actually make more money if they solve problems faster. Their productivity skyrockets (literally) and they are able to take on more business, manage different types of projects, and charge more for their services. They can remotely serve multiple customers off hours simultaneously for monthly maintenance or updates, increasing their billable hours. They can improve their customer’s satisfaction.
I’ll never forget the conversation I had with a customer (we’ll call her Lori) at a conference who told me this story: Lori was in her car and received a call from a customer. She was about 45 minutes away from her office so she thought she would try to trouble-shoot the problem over the phone. Lori could use the software in her sleep so she thought she would easily be able visualize what her customer was seeing and explaining. She spent the entire 45 minutes on the phone with her customer and never solved the problem. Once at her desk, she booted up her computer, launched a session and solved the problem in 5 minutes. 45 minutes vs 5 minutes.
No doubt, seeing the problem and remotely supporting customers will lead to faster problem resolution. But that is a GOOD thing not a bad one. Consultants can improve customer satisfaction which leads to making more money and they can simply fit more into their days – which, depending on the type of person you are, could also general much more money for you. I’d love to hear your concerns or stories about using remote support in your business.
Recently, Frost & Sullivan published a new report called: World Web-based Clientless Remote Support Software Market. In this report, they identify market challenges, drivers and growth opportunities.
There are 3 major points from this report that I will share with you in this post.
The need for remote support is growing because “Businesses are being compelled to ‘do more with less’ and improve service and support internally for employees and for customer.” says Frost & Sullivan.
Internal IT and support departments are growing at a faster clip than external support departments. Why? In the past, internal support has made things work with free or legacy tools. IT is a cost center and they haven’t always had the budget for more sophisticated tools that required a fee. Now, “as businesses grow remote employees and mobile users, free tools are not powerful enough to meet the needs of the tech support proffessionals.” says Frost & Sullivan.
GoToAssist Corporate is noted by Frost & Sullivan as “the worldwide market leader.” Yay!
You can read more about our leadership in this press release.
Join us for a live Webinar to hear John Ragsdale, VP at The SSPA, share strategies for using surveys to radically improve the customer experience, accurately measure session performance and fortify one of your most important revenue streams.
Attend this interactive Webinar to learn:
Best practices for developing an effective survey strategy
How to use survey results to improve first-call resolution and customer satisfaction and loyalty
How to leverage customizable surveys to identify new revenue streams
A colleague recently asked me what my plans are if our kids school closes this winter due to HINI penetrating our community. I looked at him blankly and sighed. In spite of all the hype around the upcoming flu season, I hadn’t really thought of it actually. Being a working mom, I sometimes filter all the data (meaning I don’t have time to watch the news) or I just stay in denial and hope my carefully crafted balancing act won’t be disrupted by things outside of my control (yeah right.)
Well, Eric, you brought up a really good point, and it got me thinking. Fortunately, I work at Citrix Online and we have lots of tools that enable me to work remotely from home, using GoToMyPC I can log into my work PC, I can collaborate online with my colleagues using GoToMeeting, and get support remotely from my IT HelpDesk with GoToAssist. Heck, I can even present in a webinar from home (assuming I’m well enough and don’t have screaming children in the background) using GoToWebinar. I know this seems like a shameless plug for all Citrix Online products but these products have enabled me to have flexiblity in my crazy-busy life.
So like last year, I know that I will work from home when my kids are sick or if their school closes – but I hope they dont’ get too sick (fingers crossed really tightly) and I certainly hope the school doesn’t close. But if it does, there will be lots of families looking for ways to stay connected to their work and some of those people will even be in IT.
The beauty of using GoToAssist is that you can use it from anywhere. You can remotely support your employees from home just as easily as if you are in the office or on the road. Everyone in IT and business should be thinking about business continuity for their companies, see this article from Business Week: Small Business Urged to Prepare for Swine Flu. But have you also thought about business continuity for yourself? How will you support all those employees who have to stay home due to school closures? What will you do if your school closes?
