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
• And more…

Date: Thursday, October 8
Time: 11AM Pacific, 12pm Mountain, 1pm Central, 2pm Eastern

If you miss this webinar, you can see the recording on-demand by click the register link above.

This Tuesday, September 15 at 10am Pacific time, we are hosting a webinar with the SSPA on using collaboration as part of your remote support environment. Here are the details for from the webinar invite. If you aren’t able to join live, you can still register (before or after the webinar) and an archived webinar link will be sent to you.

Register Here

Web collaboration has emerged from the economic ashes of 2009 as a high-impact support technology with a compelling ROI. And it’s no surprise — the benefits of Web collaboration for technical support include improved service levels, reduced operational costs, effective team communication and enhanced customer experience.

Join us for a live Webinar with John Ragsdale, VP of the Service and Support Professionals Association (SSPA). Ragsdale will discuss the business and customer value of Web-collaboration tools and share case studies of organizations that are leveraging this technology to thrive in a tough economy.

During this 1-hour interactive Webinar, you’ll learn:

• The 9 functional modules of Web collaboration
• How business can use Web collaboration to deliver better customer support
• Which Web-collaboration modules deliver the fastest ROI
• And more…

Strategies for Developing a Hightly Collaborative Support Environment

Date: Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Time: 10am Pacific, 11am Mountain, 12pm Central, 1pm Eastern 
Speakers: John Ragsdale, VP of Research, The SSPA and Brenda Dentinger, Product Marketing Manager, Citrix Online

If you aren’t able to catch the live webinar, you can click the registration link above and view the archived webinar on-demand.

Get the most out of your usage of GoToAssist Express with our monthly training, scheduled for this week on Thursday at 10am Pacific time. Here is the link to sign up:

Thursday, August 20, 2009 at 10:00am Pacific Time / 1:00pm Eastern Time

We’ll be covering such topics as:

• View and control your customers’ computers online to quickly resolve technical issues
• Speed resolution with powerful support tools such as remote diagnostics, file transfer, and reboot/reconnect
• Increase your support capacity using multi-support and unattended support
  Plus much more

Join us for an interactive Webinar on May 28 that will explore how innovative support teams are sharing expertise while in session to enable first-contact resolution, increase productivity and exceed customer expectations.

Go behind the scenes of GoToAssist Corporate to learn how your team can:

• Remotely collaborate in session to solve problems faster
• Increase knowledge transfer with in-session coaching
• Train new agents by shadowing sessions

Date:   Thursday, May 28
Time:  10:00  Pacific / 11:00 am Mountain / 12:00pm Central / 1:00pm Eastern

Click Here to Register

I recently participated in a webinar organized by SupportIndustry.com about how to improve communication skills in the first 30 seconds of a call, building confidence, then adding technology to ensure an exceptional support experience. My co-presenters were

• Roger Courville of the 1080 Group is also a popular blogger at thevirtualpresenter.com moderate.
• Rich Gallagher of Point of Contact Group was the main presenter. Rich is a well known and very well regarded expert on customer service and training. He has publised many books including Great Customer Connections and more recently, What to Say to a Porcupine which sounds really funny so I would recommend getting it for your support center team meetings.

In this webinar, Rich talks about many communication techniques and processes that you can employ in your support center to improve service and help your representatives deal with upset or even angry customers. To give you an example, Rich explains why you shouldn’t say “I’m sorry” when talking with customers (news to me) as “I’m sorry” has been said so much it doesn’t mean anything anymore. (Now, I’m so sorry to hear this and I wish I’m sorry still worked as sometimes I really am sorry – darn! You’ll have to play back the webinar to see what to say instead of I’m sorry.) Following Rich, I talk about how you can seamlessly integrate remote support technology your or your team to really focus on communication skills and solving the customer problems. It is the combination of both  — human skills and technology — that produces results for your call center.

You can view this webinar FREE, I’ve provided the link below:
The Power of 30 Seconds: Best Practices of Expeptional Support

There is a registration for this but don’t worry, you won’t get spammed to death so go ahead, enter your info and the enjoy webinar, it is a good one! Be sure to write back your comments and thoughts about the webinar. Would love to hear any tips you have for better customer support.

One feature I haven’t written about previously is Multiple Monitor Support. I don’t personally have multiple monitors (instead I have one monitor that seems to be the size of two) but a colleague keeps telling me how upgrading to two monitors was a “life changing event” for her.

Maybe your clients have introduced this life changing technology in their offices and you now need to support them. Good news — both GoToAssist Express and GoToAssist Corporate support Multiple Monitors – in a very similar way. For the purposes of this post, I’ll focus on GoToAssist Express.

All Citrix Online products are built for simplicity so this will be a simple explanation.

• When you first start screen sharing, you will be notified that a customer has multiple monitors.
  You can navigate among the monitors by arrows located on each side of the Viewer window.
• If you and your customers both have 2 monitors, you can view both customers monitors on your 2 monitors.
• The Monitor Layout window allows you to see the entire desktop and you can select a section of the desktop to work on.

If you’d like to learn more about this feature, you can visit page 13 of the GoToAssist Express User Guide or attend one of our live product trainings.

Congratulations everyone! We’ve launched GoToAssist Express 1.0!

Now you all should know I’m in marketing and I couldn’t resist developing a special ‘virtual’ launch video with Chris Pirillo to celebrate. Take a look:

Purchasing Information

By now, you should have received the email with instructions for how to purchase GoToAssist Express 1.0.  In order to take advantage of your 30% beta discount, you will need to purchase within the next 60 days (by April 11, 2009). Here is a quick recap on how to purchase:

• Login to your account on the new Web site: www.gotoassist.com
• Be sure to use your beta email address / login and password – the system will recongize you as a beta customer and will automatically apply your discount to your account.
• If you try to log in to GoToAssist Express from the system tray icon, you will be told your plan has expired and it will redirect you to the Web site to log in.
• Once you’ve entered your beta login information, you will immediately see the plan options (monthly, annual and day pass) and you will see the special beta pricing.
• Select your plan and click “Continue.”
• You’ll need to enter your credit card billing information, then click “Continue.”
• Confirm your purchase by clicking the “Buy” button.  (Note: If you need to go back and edit your plan selection or billing information, you should do so before clicking the “Buy” button. )
• Once you see the “Download Now” button you have purchased your plan and can start using GoToAssist Express 1.0.
• If you would like to change your email address or any of your account settings, just click on “My Accounts” under the GoToAssist Express logo.

Global Customer Support

If you run into problems or have questions, our Global Customer Support department is always here to help, 24/7. You can contact them toll-free at 1-888-621-0542, or visit the Help and FAQ section of the Web site — our Global Contact information is listed there for your convenience.

Our training team will be hosting live, instructor-led training regularly using our GoToWebinar software. You can sign up for this by clicking on the link to the right of this post called Product Training.

In addition to product training and a live demo, we can address questions about the beta ending and other questions you might have.

If you would like to comment on this post, please log in to your account on the beta Web site and click the link for the forum to log in to the Beta Forum.

This is a 3 part series. Part 1 explained Unattended Support, Part 2 gave you step-by-step instructions for how to set up Unattended Support on a client computer. Now, in Part 3, I will discuss the security issues and best practices to follow when using GoToAssist Express Unattended Support.

As I sat down to type out this post, I realized it would be much better if you could hear directly from the Citrix Online security team, as they are the ones who develop and enforce our remote support security policies. To put it a bit more directly, they are the ones who ensure your data, and your customer’s data is encrypted, uncompromised, and secure. And they are awesome at it!

So I called up Citrix Online Security Architect, Tony Spataro. Tony is the security lead for GoToAssist Express and part of the Citrix Online Security Group. He performs security analysis and design, working closely with other engineers to ensure that all changes are implemented in accordance with the product’s security architecture. Tony designs and implements the security-relevant features of GoToAssist Express and other Citrix Online products.
Below is the transcript from our interview.

Brenda: How many hours a day are you thinking about security issues?
Tony: Hmm… If we assume that I never have security dreams or nightmares, then I’d say I spend about 16 hours per day thinking about security – which is to say, every waking moment! Of course, it’s not always computer security that I think about. Security guys are always looking for threats in the environment and finding ways to reduce risk. It’s just the way our minds work.

Believe it or not, I spend a fair amount of time at work thinking about ways to provide less security. One of my guiding philosophies is that availability and security are generally at odds with one another. We’ve all used software before that was so secure it hurt! A large part of my job is to identify the important risks, mitigate risk in the least obtrusive way possible, and find ways to accommodate the very wide range of security needs that our customers exhibit.

Brenda: Is GoToAssist Express Unattended Support secure?
Tony: Absolutely. Since the word “secure” can mean different things to different people and it is not a very precise word, I want to define what I mean when I say “secure” at Citrix Online. I mean that the confidentiality and integrity of all customer and session data is completely protected using 128-bit AES encryption, SSL and strong passwords.

GoToAssist Express customers know their clients entrust them with access to the client computer and its data; our goal is to ensure that their remote-support experience is just as secure as being at their computer and supporting them in person. If you were sitting at your customer’s machine, you would know if someone was monitoring your keystrokes or mouse commands, or looking over your shoulder at the screen. And you could fight them off with a baseball bat or whatever you have nearby for intruders. GoToAssist Express uses encryption and authentication to prevent unknown intruders and security threats, so you never have to use a baseball bat or ever really worry about intruders or threats – we do that for you. The level of security built into GoToAssist Express makes it just like being there, sitting next to your customer at their computer, only you aren’t physically present at the computer, and you don’t have to have a baseball bat.

Brenda: Nice metaphor, OK, but can I still have a baseball bat (or in my case, a hocky stick) near my desk just for fun?
Tony: Yes, of course.

Brenda: What security measures are in place to notify the end-user customer that someone has set up Unattended Support on their machine?
Tony: First of all, enabling Unattended Support on a machine requires the explicit consent of someone who is physically at that machine – in other words – it is 100% permission-based. When you set up Unattended Support during a session, you will notice that screen sharing pauses momentarily. During this pause, we are showing a dialog box to the customer explaining what Unattended Support is and asking their permission to continue. Once Unattended Support is set up, the GoToAssist Express icon remains in the system tray at all times as a reminder to the customer. They can get more information or disable Unattended Support at any time by right-clicking the system tray icon.

Brenda: How do we guarantee the confidentiality and integrity of the end-user customer’s data and machine?
Tony: It’s all about the access code. As part of the setup process for Unattended Support, we ask you to choose an access code for the machine. Your access code is a secret that you share with the customer’s machine, and it lets the two of you authenticate each other at the beginning of a session and agree on secret cryptographic keys that are guaranteed to be known only to the two of you. Not even Citrix Online knows these keys; as long as you choose a sufficiently long and complex access code and keep it safe, it is computationally infeasible for anyone to spy on your unattended sessions.

Brenda: What if the end-user customer doesn’t want their support rep to access their machine anymore. What controls do they have?
Tony: Customers can choose to revoke the support rep’s unattended privileges at any time using the system tray icon’s context menu. The customer has the option to permanently revoke access or to temporarily block access for a limited time. Blocking access is useful if the end-user customer knows a late night unattended session is planned but they want to cancel so they can finish up a project for a deadline. Revoking access or uninstalling the software will also keep the support rep away! Support reps can also delete the Unattended Support Computer from their list at the request of their client.

Brenda: What are some best practices that all GoToAssist customers should follow when setting up Unattended Support on their clients’ machines?
Tony:

• Never set up Unattended Support without first explaining to your customer what you are doing and how it will provide access to their computer. GoToAssist Express software shows them an informative dialog and asks their permission to continue, but at the end of the day, your customer places their trust in you – the person with whom they have a business relationship – and not in any piece of software. It’s important that you build on their trust in you by talking them through the process and explaining the concept of Unattended Support to them. 
• Always choose the longest, most complex access code you can tolerate. It’s better to choose a real doozy, write it down and put it in your wallet, than to choose something easy to guess. Bear in mind that the access code is the cornerstone of the security guarantees that GoToAssist provides. 
• Choose a different access code for every unattended host you set up. If someone manages to learn one of your access codes, they won’t be able to leap-frog into every computer that you manage. 

• Once you’ve set up Unattended Support, give your customer a tour of the system tray. Show them how to block or revoke access. 

• It’s a good idea to call or email your customer ahead of time when you’ll be accessing their computer. Even though your customer is giving you permission, it can be very disorienting to have someone jump into your computer while you’re using it.
• Remember to check the computer status in the Unattended Support dialog before you connect. Computers that show up as “in use” are being actively used by someone who is physically at the machine, and you should think twice (or maybe call them) before connecting.
• At the time you set up Unattended Support, agree with your customer on the times of day you are likely to access their computer. Find a schedule that works for them and honor it. 
• Use the software’s session notes feature to keep a log of what you do during every Unattended Support session. Email or call your customer after every session and notify them of what you did. You can even generate a weekly or monthly report of session notes and send it to your customer to demonstrate the value you’ve provided as a vendor. 

Brenda: I know you are taking a few weeks off for the holiday, are you going on a trip?
Tony: Not only am I going on a trip, it’s a very unusual trip. I have a reputation around the office for sprinting off to exotic locales such as Japan, Iceland, Costa Rica and Belgium. As an amateur linguist I find it supremely enjoyable to be immersed in another culture, soaking up their language and customs.

This year I’m doing something different, taking advantage of affordable gas and going on a road trip! My exotic destinations include Utah, Arizona, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Texas. I am assured that the locals are friendly, that the food is quite palatable, and that the language will be no problem for me. I’ll fill you in when I get back!

Brenda: Thanks Tony! Have a great holiday and a fabulous trip!
Tony: As always, it was a pleasure. Have a happy holiday yourself!

If you would like to comment on this post, please log in to your account on the beta Web site and click the link for the forum to log in to the Beta Forum.

This is a 3 part series. Part 1 explained Unattended Support, Part 2 in this post will take you through the steps of setting up Unattended Support on a client computer, and Part 3 will discuss the security issues and best practices to follow when using Unattended Support.

In Part 1 of this series, I explained how you can use Unattended Support to work on your client’s computers while they are away from them. This allows you to work on customer computers without interrupting their work day.

In this part, Part 2, I’ll explain how to set up and use Unattended Support in GoToAssist Express.

To enable Unattended Support on a client computer, you must first be in a live session with your customer. This is permission-based so you customer must approve it and you will not be able to approve it for them. Once you’ve explained how Unattended Support will give you access to their computer while they are away, go to the tools menu and select “Set Up Unattended Support”.

Your client will be prompted to approve the enabiling of Unattended Support on their computer.

Once your client clicks yes, you will be able to create a nickname for your customer’s computer. Name it something easy to understand, like the client and user names.

After the nickname is created, you will be asked to authenticate, enter your normal user name and password.

Then you can create a unique access code for this machine. You will want this to be at least 6 characters long and it should include both letters and numbers for security.

You will be notified that you are successful with the following message.

 You can see your Unattended Computers in one of two places:
1) While in the GoToAssist Express window, click the session button, then select “View Unattended Support Computers”.

2) from the system tray, right-click the GoToAssist Express icon and select “View Unattended Support Computer”.

You’ll see all your unattended computers in a list, with an indication of if the computer is currently in use, recently used, available and online, offline or currently in a GoToAssist Express session as shown in my example below for my laptop. (Remember, you have to be in a live session to enable Unattended Support. I set up my laptop to get these screenshots and when back in to make sure it was successful so it show my laptop as “in session”.)

Start a session with your unattended computers by clicking the “connect” button (assuming it is “online” as in the example above with Client C Work PC.)

You will be asked to enter your access code and then your unattended session will begin.  Your customer will be able to tell you are working on their computer as they will see the GoToAssist Customer Menu in the bottom right corner of their screen.

Your customer can stop screen sharing by closing this window or by clicking the “stop screen sharing” button. This is one of the security measures we’ve provided in GoToAssist Express.

Your customer can also block or deny you access to their machine from their GoToAssist Express icon in the system tray, another security measure allowing your customers control over access to their computer.

Once in a session, it is like any other sesssion except there is no customer at the other end, you are driving the computer without them physically at the computer. If there is no activity in your unattended session, your session will time out after 30 minutes.

In Part 3, I will talk about the security issues your customers will be concerned about and best practices to follow with using Unattened Support. I hope you tune in.