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In today_s cost conscious support environments, most companies have to complete an ROI analysis for a new product purchase before the RFP process can begin—not a bad practice considering the enormous amount of money spent on “shelf ware” during the technology boom of the late 90s. Luckily, companies with mature metrics programs in place have a strong position from which to estimate the impact of many service and support technologies, and remote support platforms offer a much more straightforward ROI model than some technology areas.
SSPA Research defines remote support platforms as the bundle of functionality used to take control of a customer_s desktop via a secure internet connection to diagnose and resolve issues. Leading remote support platforms are expanding, with new features added in each release. Core components in most platforms include: _ Remote desktop control. Agents can access the customer_s equipment via a secure web connection, and take control, performing functions as if they were sitting in front of the machine.
_ Web chat. Agents may chat with a customer using a Web chat dialog during the remote control session, freeing up the customer to take a call or perform other work, with the agent prompting them with the chat dialog when additional information is required.
_ Web collaboration. Leading platforms offer varying degrees of Web collaboration, ranging from allowing other agents to join the remote control session to provide assistance to full online meeting and webcast capabilities.
_ Screen sharing. With screen sharing, the agent can view the customer's desktop, with an option to allow the customer to view the agent_s desktop as well. This allows agents to walk customers through procedures they may be struggling to attempt on their own. Other features may include joint form fill and page push.
_ Session monitoring. A new feature now available with some platforms, supervisors can select a remote control session currently in progress to see how the agent is handling the situation. Useful for quality control monitoring, to keep tabs on new agents, or to gage proficiency with the remote support technology.
_ Customer log files. Different platforms offer various diagnostics that can be used to pull complete log files of a customer system for real-time or historical analysis. Log files typically are sent to the agent as a text file at the end of the session and attached to the incident in the case management system.
By putting agents in the driver_s seat, issues are easier to diagnose and faster to resolve than by walking the customer through checking system values and attempting recovery procedures. This speed and accuracy impacts many support metrics and forms the basis for the ROI model discussed in this report.
Remote Support Adoption by SSPA Members
Basic remote control has been around for a number of years, first starting as a tool for IT help desks, though the technology is now commonly used to support external customers. Many SSPA members are already using some form of remote control, and as seen in Figure 1, 46% of enterprise (over $1B) members, and 38% of SME (small to medium enterprises), currently use remote support. Of the >$1B members, a significant number, 15%, have budget for additional remote support technology this year.
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