These are the five methods savvy IT professionals use to go the extra mile in remote support.
The ticket opens. Another support issue to deal with. No problem. That’s what your team does, it deals with them all day. But this one’s been escalated to you, the IT manager. Which means it needs a little extra attention.
And to solve it, you need the right tools.
The best support technician in the world can’t make an IT infrastructure run smoothly unless they’ve got the right information and applications. So this blog looks at some remote software support methods IT professionals use to close support issues quickly and effectively — methods that go far beyond the trouble-ticket email thread.
1. Deep-six the hassle factor of the operating system (OS)
Service people waste a vast number of hours simply working out the best way to connect different systems together so problems can be solved. Heterogeneity is a support problem in itself. But when you take the OS out of the picture by letting different devices connect without trouble — letting data connect to data, Mac to PC or phone to desktop — the most frustrating part of any service interaction is removed.
It’s a benefit enjoyed by the faculty and staff of St. Edward’s University. Serving over 1,000 users with a small team might seem like overload, especially with a service solution not suited to Windows and unable to support Macs at all. Switching to a remote support solution took away the technological differences, letting the techs concentrate on what mattered — solving problems for faculty and staff.
“TeamViewer increased our capacity to provide remote support by 15-20%. The days we used to scramble to get to multiple locations are gone, and now we can fix our school’s problems remotely.” — Danny Lorenty, Support Manager, St. Edward’s University
2. Take over their device for teachable moments
Of course, the ability to take over a user’s desktop is hugely useful when solving systems issues. But if it’s a repeated problem, you’ll find more payback in walking them through the solution, rather than just resolving the issue for them.
It’s the approach used by Axterisko, which uses desktop management features to solve user problems in real time — taking over the user’s software environment from afar, and making necessary changes directly on their system. As support techs solve each issue, the end user sees their cursor and desktop moving independently — and often learn what’s needed to accomplish a particular task again, cutting down the probability of the same trouble ticket being reopened.
“TeamViewer is a win-win solution. Being able to offer support on time helps the customer stay calm and also makes them happy.” – Antonio Fiore, CEO and Founder, Axterisko Informatica
3. Go multi on the media for faster comprehension
Sometimes the best way to solve a problem is face-to-face. But with the right technology, face-to-face doesn’t have to mean being in the same room. Remote support solutions offer multichannel conferencing and collaboration as well as remote monitoring and management. Particularly with inexperienced users, a chat where you can see each other can offer reassurance and confidence to your end user. When you solve a problem face-to-face, you’re showing the human side of tech support — which does great things for your profile within the organization.
Nor is face-to-face limited to the kinds of computer trouble normally classified as tech support. Physicians at MediTouch use remote support solutions to deliver complete physiotherapy sessions to injury victims via secure two-way videoconferencing.
4. Keep it mobile when you’re going global
When employee support is focused on the nerve center of the corporate network, mobile users or remote workers can often be left out. That’s a worry, since the top sales guy stuck in a hotel room or the traveling engineer with only a dialup connection is arguably in greater need of your services than the average worker sitting at a desk. If your end users can’t be productive wherever work takes them, a vital business process or a company-saving sale may be on the line.
As a communications provider, Avaya had a specific reason to be mobile-friendly. It treats mobile users as one with desktop workers, offering them the same program of maintenance and updates, at the same time.
“This ability to support customers faster, more efficiently, and professionally in the case of escalation via TeamViewer also naturally improves our quota of successful remote support.” — Thomas Wollenhaupt, Customer Support Engineer, Avaya
5. Use dashboards to solve many as one
Sometimes, the best remote software support doesn’t involve a service issue. Rather, it’s in the pre-emptive actions. Keeping applications up-to-date, maintaining the latest versions, applying patches and point releases to top up levels of security. Dashboards that bring together multiple instances of an issue, providing support teams with an integrated view on the data, can shed light on complex problems quickly.
Healthcare is one area where mistakes are best solved before they happen. The Red Cross Hospital of Córdoba uses remote support solutions to keep their IT infrastructure healthy.
Monitoring and measuring a range of metrics across a myriad of connected equipment means technical failures are found and fixed fast — often without users even realizing a problem occurred. Which is great news for the team of three providing support — and, of course, for the hospital’s patients.
Effective remote software support isn’t a simple list of problems to deal with first-in, first-out. Dashboards, monitoring, proactive control, passive updates and maintenance enable a strategic approach to tech support that results in faster response, better outcomes, and greater customer satisfaction. Whether those customers are internal or external.
There’s no time to sit back and relax — get proactive about seeing where a remote support solution can fit into your service infrastructure today.
Takeways:
- Remote software support isn’t first-come-first-served any more.
- The more data remote software support can integrate, the faster the solution can be delivered.
- Taking over a user’s desktop with remote software support lets the service tech teach as well as solve.
- A face-to-face can be a better choice than a response email.
- Sidestepping cross-platform issues saves countless hours of support time.
