Information technology empowers modern businesses and helps keep remote locations connected. IT also safeguards the confidentiality and privacy of corporate and customer data while protecting trade secrets from prying eyes. Since it plays such a vital role in your daily business operations, your IT environment must be up and running optimally and securely. That’s why reliable remote IT support is a necessity for small- and medium-sized companies.
When you need help understanding cash flow, profitability, and other financials, IT resources create automated, easy-to-digest reports. From warehouse management to product development, technology fuels your company from start-up to expansion and growth. In this blog post, we’ll dig deeper into what remote IT support is and how it can benefit your organization.
What Is Remote IT Support?
The majority of businesses aren’t equipped with the personnel or resources to staff an internal IT team and instead outsource these responsibilities to a third-party provider. These responsibilities include tech support, which no company can do without due to our reliance on technology to conduct business. Remote IT support makes this assistance more convenient for companies partnering with outsourced IT providers.
Remote IT support enables IT professionals to connect to a computer or network remotely from outside of the location of the device or hardware. This could include your office, an employee’s home, or a vendor location. Remote IT support allows a technician to instantly access the remote device to troubleshoot or perform whatever task is necessary, eliminating the need to physically be onsite to resolve any issues.
Help is available when you need it, without having to wait for someone to physically arrive at your location to provide the support you need. Remote support from help desk professionals means a quicker turnaround time, which is always beneficial in business. Less waiting allows you to improve customer satisfaction, reduce costs, increase collaboration, and produce your deliverables on time.
Remote IT support enables technicians to remotely:
- Connect to devices and servers using multifactor authentication.
- Manage communication and collaboration tools for team members in different locations.
- Support a decentralized, mobile workforce.
- Automate reports, diagnostics, and maintenance jobs.
- Facilitate training and onboarding for employees.
Many businesses across the globe rely on remote IT support to troubleshoot and solve their technical problems. Whether you have a small business or run a multinational corporation, this remote access provides essential support your business needs to operate in a timely fashion.
How Will It Benefit Your Business?
Remote IT support offers three main advantages to your company. They are:
- Increased flexibility. Some people prefer face-to-face service for technical support. That’s certainly understandable. With remote IT support, you have flexibility with the type of service you receive. Your IT technician can come by and handle the matter in person, or they can do it remotely without having to make the trip to your location.
- Lower costs. Remote IT support makes it possible for your technicians to resolve your issue without physically paying you a visit. Eliminating ‘house calls’ will lead to significant savings and minimize costly downtime that will impact your business financially as well.
- Around-the-clock access. With remote IT support providing your tech professionals 24/7 access to your devices and systems, your business will be supported no matter the day or time. This means limited interruptions to your operations while an IT issue is resolved.
Remote IT support means never having to wait for an IT technician to show up at your location, leading to happier employees, more satisfied customers, and a better bottom line.
What to Look for In a Remote IT Support Provider
Once you’ve decided to take advantage of this next-level support, you’re left to decide who to partner with. These days, there is no shortage of IT providers offering this service. To help you find the right partner for your business, when vetting providers for IT remote support, ask them to answer the following questions.
What’s Your Experience? Qualified third-party providers should be experts in the IT field, which means they have the education, certifications, and experience necessary. However, don’t just assume or take their word for it. Inquire about the credentials of their staff. How long have they been doing this, what certifications do they have, do they have experience with your industry, etc. To get the best results, it’s important to verify you’re hiring the right remote IT support.
What’s Your Network Management Strategy? IT network security is paramount to protecting your company’s sensitive data. Additionally, it’s important to maintain networks appropriately to avoid possible downtime. Instead of fixing things as they break, an IT support provider needs to take a proactive approach to maintenance and protection. Partner with a provider that monitors your network 24/7, actively looking for threats and other issues before they occur.
What’s their Guaranteed Response Time? When companies are willing to put a response time in writing, it indicates that they take service levels and other commitments seriously. Rapid response times can make or break your IT remote support strategy. The longer you have to wait for assistance when there’s a problem, the more your business will be impacted by it. So, make sure that you have someone who will pick up the phone and prioritize solving your problem—no matter what comes up.
Here are five things to look for in a provider:
- Quick response times
- Team of qualified experts
- Available 24/7/365
- A proactive approach to security
- Good reputation
Wisconsin Document Imaging proudly offers our remote IT support tool Splashtop to Green Bay or Menomonee Falls businesses. To learn more about this secure solution, contact us today to speak with one of our IT specialists.