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As more small companies begin to depend more on information technologies, the need for viable, inexpensive IT support solutions becomes a must. Small IT teams can support multiple businesses simultaneously thanks in part to modern cloud-based solutions including GoToAssist by Citrix.

GoToAssist by Citrix provides remote support and system monitoring administration tools critical to the successful operation of a modern company. Whether you’re supporting a small business with a team consisting of a handful of employees or an enterprise with thousands of employees worldwide, the ability for your support team to access, track and support workstations remotely is critical to keeping your company running smoothly.

A single workstation failure can cost a company a lot of money, and having to wait for a member of your IT department to arrive on-site to resolve the issue isn’t always an option.

For that matter, dedicated IT consultants may be responsible for maintaining the systems of multiple businesses. While one business may not provide enough work to keep your bills paid, you could take on 4 or 5 small businesses and even perform à la carte support to individuals as needed. In order for this to work, you need a solution that is both comprehensive and easy for the client to set up.

Enter GoToAssist, a single software solution that enables an IT professional to provide remote support to systems anywhere in the world, as long as they have an Internet connection. All the client needs to do to get the assistance they need is to visit a URL provided by the technician.

Keep in mind that GoToAssist allows you to select either the Remote Assistance or Monitoring modules or both, making it easy for you to only pay for aspects of the service you’ll actually use. You won’t be stuck having to pay a premium when you don’t intend to do any actual monitoring. Here are 10 reasons to consider GoToAssist as an essential part of your IT support toolkit.

Reason #1: Server Health Monitoring

Perhaps one of the most important roles IT plays in any organization is making sure the servers are up and happy. With GoToAssist, you can opt to take advantage of its monitoring capabilities, tracking up to 10 servers and 90 network devices at the entry level, which can be scaled up to 25 servers and 225 network devices should you need it.

The GoToAssist monitoring software gives you real-time updates on metrics, including: CPU, load averages, memory, and disk utilization. When combined with the Alerts feature, you can rest assured that you will be the first to know if any servers or network devices under your watch are experiencing serious issues.

Reason #2: Inventory Management

Managing an office full of IT assets can be a very difficult task. GoToAssist gives you the ability to quickly and easily take and manage inventory. You can even do a software audit, making it easier for you to ensure that every system in the office is updated and ready to go.

Inventory management has long been one of the more time-consuming tasks that IT has to handle. If you’re an IT consultant dealing with multiple companies at once, anything that can reduce that
significant amount of time is certainly a welcome addition to the toolbox.

Reason #3: Unassisted Support

During the day, you may receive multiple support requests of varying urgency. Being able to resolve each problem personally is a great thing, but not having to wait for the client to be at their computer is even better. With one simple download, your client’s system can be made available to you from virtually anywhere in the world at any time. You can solve non-critical issues at a time that’s most convenient for you, even if the office closed hours ago.

Reason #4: Alerts

Tired of having to manually track down server and workstation issues? Worried about employees installing third-party software that could potentially harm the network? You can set alerts to notify you of these issues as soon as they happen. Within minutes, you could be able to respond to a bottleneck or a full storage drive before the client even becomes aware that a problem exists.

If you want to seem like a miracle worker, this is one way to get it done for sure. Not only that, but these alerts could save you a lot of time and effort tracking down the source of a problem.

Reason #5: Multiple Sites

Being able to track and assist multiple clients separately and without confusion is important, especially when inventory and other critical systems are involved. GoToAssist allows you to set up for multiple technicians and sites, giving you the freedom you need to get the job done without having to worry about altering the wrong client’s system.

Bringing in a partner or hiring someone to pitch in during your off hours is easier with this feature, as it enables you to assign specific roles to your technicians, making it possible for them to do their job without having all the same keys and access as you.

Reason #6: Automation

Upgrading an entire site’s software is a chore. Perhaps you’re merely making an adjustment to the permissions levels of all the employees by request of the CEO, or installing the latest version of Photoshop on systems used by design staff. Either way, you can do this quickly and easily through Automation.

Not only does GoToAssist come complete with a set of scripts you can choose to run, but you can design your own batch files and automated processes, making this a truly customizable feature that meets the exact needs of your office.

Reason #7: Support from an iPad or Android device

You don’t have your laptop on you everywhere you go. If you did, your shoulder would get mighty tired lugging around the laptop bag. Perhaps you’re out and about and just want to take the least amount of equipment you could possibly need to answer emergency calls?

GoToAssist gives you the ability to do quite a lot from an iPad or Android tablet or phone. You can provide remote support to employees in much the same way you can on a desktop computer. A 300% zoom enables you to see specific details of the client’s screen, and all without losing those intuitive touch controls that make using the iPad or Android device a lot easier.

Oh, and you can enjoy this particular feature on a free plan on your iPad or your Android. Granted, you’ll have access to more functions as a paid user, but it’s a great way to try the service out before you commit.

Reason #8: Two-Way Screen Sharing

Two-way screen sharing is especially useful in cases where you need to show your client something that only you can technically see from your workstation. This enables you to demonstrate features and programs that may not even be installed on the client computer. It’s useful to be able to share your screen from time to time, if even just for some quick training.

GoToAssist makes this pretty easy. You can quickly switch from your screen to their own with a click of the mouse.

Reason #9: Reboot / Reconnect

One of the biggest problems with remote access software is that you often lose your ability to connect once the machine is rebooted. What do you do if rebooting the system is part of the support process? GoToAssist makes it possible for you to initiate a reboot and connect right back up once the system is running again.

Add this to unattended support, and there’s almost no reason you should ever have to set foot in the office. Well, you may want to stop by once in a while to pick up your check.

Reason #10: Security

The biggest thing on the minds of many IT professionals is the security of any remote access software. I’ve met IT pros who refuse to do any sort of remote access unless they are absolutely convinced that the connection is encrypted and safe from prying eyes.

GoToAssist uses a fully encrypted end-to-end Secure Socket Layer (SSL) connection secured with 128-bit Advanced Encryption Standard (AES) encryption combined with RSA public/private key encryption.
That’s a tough connection to break into, and chances are you’ll be long gone before anyone is even close to getting past that wall.

What about the fact that it is a cloud service? Isn’t the cloud inherently insecure?

Citrix has put thought into that, as well. On the GoToAssist side of things, secured connections are passed through a tiered server that stores all data two tiers away from the Internet. Your access is granted through a mediating application server.

Security is one area where Citrix is absolutely unmatched. Unlike some other remote access solutions that operate on a peer-to-peer level where your security is only as good as the weakest link in the chain, Citrix has created a product that keeps your data locked down and accessible only to you and your client.

You can try GoToAssist free for 30 days. If you like what you see, you can take advantage of GoToAssist Remote Support, GoToAssist Monitoring, or both on either a monthly or yearly plan. Be sure.