Remoting with the Folks — Useful Tools

September 2, 2011 by

Conquering the tech generation gap. Photo courtesy of Ollie Crafoord at flickr.

By Niklas Edlinger

I’ve recently made a pretty useful remote support discovery. Despite the fact that my elderly parents are eager to join the computer world (hello Facebook), they aren’t quite the best at navigating computer problems when they arise.

In the past, I’ve tried talking them through issues over the phone (or worse yet, email), which as anyone who has tried knows, is no easy feat.

“My Word has an extra page I can’t get rid of.”

“Have you tried scrolling as far down as you can and then holding backspace?”

“Of course I’ve tried that – the page is still there!”

And so on. I’m always happy to help when I can, but boy can it be frustrating. That’s when I realized remote support is for more than just professionals. One URL and a couple clicks later, I’m viewing their screen, solving the problem painlessly. It’s almost too convenient – soon they won’t even try to figure it out themselves, and that worries me and my free time.

Reuters just published an article on a group of elderly Japanese who formed their own IT support group, called “Computer Grandmas.” That sounds like a fantastic idea to me. I might have to leave that page open on my parents’ screen the next time I remote in.

Google too recognizes the looming tech knowledge gap between us and our elders. They’ve taken a stab at solving it with these easy self-help videos, and they’ve made it fun to send one to Ma or Pa.

Who knows, maybe someday, my mom will be schooling me in the complexities of IT.

Free Remote Support App – GoToManage for iPad

August 15, 2011 by

GoToManage for iPad is Now Available!

Citrix Online announced today the availability of their GoToManage® Remote Support app for iPad®.  It’s now ready for download on the App Store and iTunes – and it’s FREE.  The free app works with the award winning GoToManage Remote Support and GoToAssist Express services.  Read Press Release

For the first time IT professionals have the freedom to securely troubleshoot and provide on-demand technical support to a computer user from anywhere. The availability of the number one remote support solution on the iPad means that IT professionals can finally workshift and be free to work from anywhere. 

Using the GoToManage app, you can:

  • Provide unlimited live remote support sessions from anywhere.  
  • View and control your customers’ Macs or PCs from your iPad.  
  • Enjoy intuitive touch and gesture controls and 300% zoom. 
  • Use the full keyboard, including Alt, Ctrl and Tab keys.

How to Get Started

Existing GoToManage Remote Support or GoToAssist Express customers: Simply download the app and enter your current username and password to begin providing remote support from your iPad.

New Customers: Create a Free Mobile Account account first, download the GoToManage app and enter your new GoToManage username and password to begin providing remote support from your iPad.

Download the free app today and “Go Mobile” with GoToManage for iPad! 

 

BT: Strategies for Optimizing Web Chat in Support Centers

May 19, 2011 by

Automation, self-service, web chat, remote tech support – these strategic tools are the modern face of customer support. Contact centers continue to adopt novel support channels in a drive to enhance productivity, reduce costs and excel in pleasing customers.

But as Valerie Peay, head of the customer experience team at global communications giant BT, explains in a short video, these tools shouldn’t be understood as simply interchangeable elements. The goal isn’t to simply substitute support channels with lower costs per transactions for those with higher costs.

Case in point is BT’s experimentation with the use of GoToAssist Corporate’s new web-chat support tool FastChat™. BT has been an early and enthusiastic adapter of FastChat. The point of such chat tools, Peay says, is not to replace phone service. Instead, customer contacts centers have to work towards the best dynamic combination.

FastChat interface

Hence BT’s strategic approach to FastChat, GoToAssist’s web-based chat interface that launches instantly without any customer download. BT applied FastChat to the 20,000 customer calls coming into their wholesale division each week.

The rollout of FastChat was part of a targeted approach that sought to “eradicate the reasons to call in the first place,” says Peay.

FastChat, which BT branded as “eChat,” helped BT “move our customers into an e-service environment.” “If you can move them into an online environment,” Peay says, “then you can teach them using chat how to be able to self-serve.”

Of course, BT does not plan to eliminate phone support; they want to keep all communication channels open with their valued customers.

The project under Peay’s team was a smashing success. Incoming calls were cut almost in half from 20,000 a week, with eChat handling approximately 40 percent of those. BT plans to accelerate its deployment and make eChat the primary form of contact with wholesale customers over the next 3 months, in addition to expanding the use of FastChat to another 5 BT divisions.

BT’s research into customer experience also reveals an “absolutely fantastic” 20 percent boost in customer experience. As part of BT’s innovative approach to customer service, Peay and her team have continued to drill into the data to see what works by looking at customer surveys and transcripts of the chat session.

IT staff would rather work from home – Is your company prepared?

April 29, 2011 by

35% of IT employees said they’d give up 10% of their salary for the chance to work from home full-time, reports IT Manager Daily, drawing on a recent survey by IT job board Dice.com.  Some companies are looking for ways to satisfy IT employees without impacting their budgets.  Working from home, says IT Manager Daily, is a no-cost benefit to the company and a perk to many employees.  It’s a win-win for both.  View entire article here. 

www.ITManagerDaily.com

Is your company prepared for telecommuting?  It’s a great time to learn what business tools are available.  GoToAssist Express is a great solution for IT employees who want to work from home; it allows them to provide their valued service to customers using the market-leading remote support tool. 

In fact, many of our Citrix Online products are designed specifically to allow users to work with anyone from anywhere.  Check out our full suite of products.  And speaking from experience, telecommuting is a good thing.  I work from home about fifty percent of the time since I live in West Los Angeles and our Citrix Online office is in the Santa Barbara area which is a 2 hour drive.  I am definitely more productive and I’m happy I don’t have to fight the terrible I-405 & I-101 traffic everyday to get to work.   

According to the International Telework Association and Council, on average, workshifting yields:

  • 22% increase in employee productivity
  • 20% decrease in employee turnover
  • 60% decrease in employee absenteeism

And to learn more about the many advantages and best practices of telecommuting or remote work, visit this informative site: www.workshifting.com.

Webinar: Integrating Self-Service with Multi-Channel Assisted Support

April 18, 2011 by

Web-based self-service has emerged as a dominant customer support channel, with nearly half of all customer interactions taking place online. To promote the adoption of self-service, customer contact centers must provide a seamless escalation path to assisted support.

Join this live webinar with noted expert Tom Sweeny, cofounder of Service XRG, as he introduces the concept of “seamless support” and explores its core benefits and the steps necessary to get there.

Date: May 5, 2011

Time: 10 AM PDT / 1 PM EDT

Speakers:
Tom Sweeny, Cofounder, Service XRG
Jessica Eastman, Citrix Online

Attend this live webinar to discover:
• How the support model has evolved to include self-service
• Key steps to integrate self-service with assisted support
• Tools and technologies you need to achieve seamless support
• And more…

Crunch Time as Tax Deadline Looms

April 15, 2011 by

Inspiring nightmares everywhere. Photo courtesy of John_Morgan at flickr.

Dom da dom dom. The final day is approaching—the final tax submission day that is. In case it’s dropped off your radar, taxes are due Monday.

Yes, it’s crunch time for just about everyone – accountants, businesses and average Joe and Jane citizens. It‘s also crunch time for the firms that manufacture, install and support tax software.

One such company is CCH, a business unit within Wolters Kluwer. CCH offers about 30 software solutions to accounting firms and corporate tax departments. Their software support team works out of Wichita, Kansas, smack dab in the middle of the country, and it really gets busy about now. CCH’s 200 full-time tech and accounting representatives are joined by another 200 temporary workers in tax season.

By mid-April, pressures and temperatures start rising. Customers call demanding help fast. Luckily, CCH is able to react quickly, delivering speedy solutions while enhancing its productivity by using GoToAssist.

Read the CCH case study here. Now, if there was only such an easy, effective solution to my truly scary tax bill. Ouch.

Winning Big at HDI Expo in Vegas

April 6, 2011 by

Sure Winnings at HDI. Photo courtesy of Tenaciousme at flickr.

Just returned from gaudy and glamorous Las Vegas and the excellent Help Desk Institute (HDI) conference. I may have lost more than my fair share of chips at the blackjack table sometime between midnight and 3 AM, but HDI delivered a jackpot of a conference.

The presentations were top notch. Usually, I was being entertained and educated by a seasoned pro in the service and support business.

One thing that the HDI speakers made crystal clear was that customer support and help desks are evolving fast. They are speeding to meet the challenge of social media and web-savvy customers searching for quick answers, even as web-based tools (dare I say cloud?) help lower the costs of support and enhance productivity. Self-service, web chat, automation and outsourcing were some of the winning cards being dealt in the ritzy Venetian Hotel and Casino, which played host to the conference.

Indeed, next to presentations on metrics and team leadership, sessions on “integrating chat” and utilizing social media were among the top 10 most popular this year.

Hey, it was also great to meet so many GoToAssist and GoToManage users at our Citrix Online booth. Sure, some of you were interested in our deluxe schwag, but quite a few spoke to us about the challenges of support and how well our tools performed. And yes, just in case you are wondering, we HAVE immortalized a few of you on our Facebook page. Take a peek.

A big “Thank You” to our customers!

March 17, 2011 by

Frost & Sullivan honors Citrix Online with the 2010 Best Practices Award as Market Leader in Remote Support.

Frost & Sullivan 2010 Best Practices Award
What does that mean?  GoToAssist Remote Support is #1. Well, we say it’s our customers who are number one for utilizing our market-leading remote support tools each and every day, so Thank You! We know you have other options but you choose us.

 Frost & Sullivan presents this Award to companies who demonstrate excellence in capturing the highest market share within their industry while maintaining four key performance factors:

  • Factor 1 – Success of the remote support solution
  • Factor 2 – Global acceptance
  • Factor 3 – Resilience in a competitive environment
  • Factor 4- Innovation for the future

Frost & Sullivan believes that Citrix Online has achieved the market leadership position through sound strategy and excellent implementation and delivery of their solutions. Here’s a quote from the Frost & Sullivan report: “Citrix Online’s GoToAssist solution has found favor with users, for both internal and external support. The company’s offerings are designed to be simple to use, secure, cost-effective and reliable.”

Thank You! Thank You! Thank You! Keep on providing excellent support to your customers and using GoToAssist!

Meet Jackie Murphy

March 10, 2011 by

I’m excited to share we have a new Senior Product Marketing Manager on our team. Jackie Murphy has many years of experience in product management and product marketing, she previously worked for Zebra Technologies, Rent.com (an eBay company) and Realtor.com. Jackie is looking forward hearing from you all so reach out and say hello when you can. In case you are wondering, I’m changing my focus to customer marketing, so I’ll still be working on your behalf, generating specific customer programs that will help you all be more successful!

Won’t You Be Our IT friend on Facebook?

March 9, 2011 by

Share your IT insights on Facebook

Yes, come visit us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GoToAssist !

We need your insights about IT and tech, and you’d probably like an outlet to voice your opinions (and annoyances) with what’s going on in the always evolving IT world.

Not to mention, I’m sure you are dying to know what club I was at last night, and how I danced and partied like it was 1999. And I guess you can’t live without reading what are my top-10, most-favorite apps. And maybe you will just stop breathing if you haven’t read the latest sizzling words on my new girlfriend.

Not!

No, you won’t find any personal drivel on the GoToAssist Facebook page. Instead, connect with the GoToAssist team and voice your views about remote support and GoToAssist. The team is ready to offer industry insights, best practices and well maybe just as a wee bit of dirt on their latest party antics.

So, come and talk shop on our Wall!


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