Advances in Remote Support over the last 30 years

13 Votes

2024-08-14 Published, 2024-08-29 Updated
1256 Words, 7 Minute Read

Richard (Senior Partner)

Richard has been with the firm since 1992 and was one of the founding partners

Introduction

There was a time when 'support' required an engineer to drive to the site, login to the system and fix it, and in the early days that was genuinely required because most 'failures' were hardware based, but as things evolved we started using modems to dial-in to support systems. This was in the day when computers didn't have monitors, they had terminals which were serial based and so the modem just connected to a spare tty port and upon calling it, you were presented with a login prompt. This did enable some basic diagnostics to be run before the engineer headed out, but we didn't have the internet and sending 'files' over this tty was virtually impossible.

As Personal computers became a 'thing' with the IBM PC and the plethora of clones that followed, we saw a new market open up in 'desktop' support, which we could handle over the telephone in some cases, or an engineer was required if the issue was more fundamental. This was hugely profitable, because early windows was terrible (I'm not saying current windows is better) and users had little or zero training. In 1993 we started using pcAnywhere and/or carbon copy with important clients so we could 'remote' support them using a modem directly connected to the PC. In some companies the modem was 'mobile' so it could be moved to the PC in question and that worked albeit laughable by today's standards.

As the internet became more popular, and more clients had modems, our ability to remote support via pcAnywhere became much easier, but this was only for small clients with a few PC's. As we started putting internet gateways into larger companies, we were able to leverage pcAnywhere over the internet using an early VPN to our gateways, which allowed us to support everyone in the company, but we had to buy a pcAnywhere license for each PC which quickly became expensive. VNC was a client solution which was much cheaper (free) to deploy and did 'most' of what pcA and CC did for us, and we built this functionality into our, then 'office gateway' which maintained a catalogue a PC's with VNC installed and the hostname so when we connected we could select the right user.

GotoMyPC was another service that we trialled for a time, but then we had Microsoft Remote Desktop which we migrated to, updating office gateways to scan RDP ports and get machine names over netBIOS.

Market

Remote support is a vital market for us, and we work it hard to provide a high level of support to servers, systems and desktops. Today the HelpDesk leverages remote support in 79% of tickets over the last 12 months, and we expect that to increase. The power of being able to almost instantly support a customer and resolve their issue without needing any site visits or lengthy phone calls getting the customer to type in endless commands into the terminal. Modern tools allow us to perform an inventory as we connect so we know what's installed, what drives, what peripherals, and versions, and of course we're not cross platform supporting Unix, Linux, MacOS, Windows and even now iPad's, Tablets, and Phones. It can significantly shorten the time to fix when we can see what the customer is doing on their phone or tablet or PC, and this means that, whilst it's a growing market, it's getting cheaper for customers.

We now offer maintenance in blocks of time, and then we deduct from that time for each ticket with some customers choosing PAYG and being invoiced monthly, whilst others choosing to pre-pay a block of time for a cheaper rate. Its clear that Remote Support, and Technical Support as a service will continue to be a growth market now and in the future.

Rolling Contracts

In the past, we would sell maintenance on an annual basis (or multiple years), for a fixed cost, providing x hours of support over the term AND including various add-ons like housekeeping, auditing, backups, etc. This was what everyone did and it was the norm. However, in the last few years customers have asked for monthly billing, in arrears which provides the same level of service but the customer pays monthly for their use.

The issue with monthly in arrears is that its hard to forecast use, and makes it hard for us to manage resource. One month we could handle 400 hours of support, and the next 4000 hours, and that means we're not operating as efficiently as we can and that affects the prices we charge.

As a solution, we now offer rolling contracts, which are the same as our annual contracts, but the customer isn't committing to a year or more, and this allows us to better forecast resource, whilst still allowing customers the choice.

Remote Support Today

Today, we use a high-grade remote support tool, that provides quick install and access to any computer, server, or device remotely and securely. Customers have to 'authorise' our connection providing an extra level of control (except for servers which are unattended). The tools today provide us with centralised time tracking so we can accurately record the time we spend on each session, and with the customers permission we can capture session recordings to help with training and QA.

For customers who go fully managed, we can now receive notifications from the endpoint antivirus, and inspect events like new software installs or changes to configurations, most of which is harmless but not all, and for anything that isn't our HelpDesk responds rapidly.

Service Levels

A critical component of 'support' is the service level, which guarantees a series of metrics for us to comply with, things like time to respond, time to fix, etc. Service levels (or SLAs) are not one size fits all, with customers selecting a high SLA for servers and infrastructure, e.g. 1 hour response 24/7, but a much lower SLA for desktops, e.g. 4 hour response M-F 0900-1700. Selecting the correct service level is important but not vital, if a customer is in desperate need then we'll happily support them and add it to the contract.

Emergency Support

A specific sector of support is 'emergency' support, that is, providing rapid response to a critical event which was not and could not be foreseen. This could be a server failure, a data breach, ransomware, or any issue that demands immediate response.

Emergency support is expensive but when the chips are down, leveraging our specialists to descend upon your facility with parts and expertise to resolve a critical issue pays for itself. Emergency Support is not common in the industry, and we do find ourselves being called out to customers who have maintenance with someone else, but need something faster.

Conclusion

The landscape of remote support has undergone a remarkable transformation over the past two decades. From the days of on-site visits and clunky dial-up connections, we've progressed to sophisticated, instant remote access solutions that span multiple devices and platforms. This evolution has not only streamlined support processes but also revolutionised the way businesses approach IT maintenance.

Today's remote support offerings are more flexible, efficient, and cost-effective than ever before. With rolling contracts, tailored service levels, and the ability to provide emergency assistance at the drop of a hat, companies like ours are well-equipped to meet the diverse needs of modern businesses. As technology continues to advance, one thing is clear: remote support will remain a cornerstone of IT services, providing swift, expert assistance to keep businesses running smoothly in our increasingly digital world.

13 Votes

Comments (1)

Sharon X · 2024-08-15 17:17 UTC
I do actually remember pcanywhere, it was like witchcraft at the time, but looking back it was so primitive. I do miss those days though. Nice article, and I agree, modern remote support is brilliant.