Remote working has become commonplace today. This means your organization requires the necessary tools to remotely manage devices and provide top-notch tech support to your employees.
This is where ScreenConnect (formerly ConnectWise) can be a handy tool. It's a fast, flexible, and secure mobile support and remote desktop tool that boosts your employee productivity. Also, it reduces the need for onsite visits while improving the efficiency of your support activities and processes.
ConnectWise Control, originally known as ScreenConnect, underwent a branding change in 2017 when it was renamed to ConnectWise Control to unify its software under the ConnectWise brand. However, in May 2023, ConnectWise announced that they were reverting the name back to ScreenConnect.
Read on to know what ScreenConnect is and how it can benefit your business.
Features of ScreenConnect
ScreenConnect comes loaded with many features that enable you to offer efficient remote support for your employees and clients. Below are its salient features.
Remote Support
Remote support is the central feature of ScreenConnect. In many ways, it acts as the bridge between your technicians and clients who require technical support and also provides all the tools required for your technicians to quickly and efficiently fix your clients' issues.
Cross-platform Compatibility
ScreenConnect is compatible with many major operating systems like Windows, Mac, and Linux. Also, it's well-suited for controlling mobile devices from Samsung, Apple, and Android-based devices. All this means your employees can use this tool to remotely connect to the most popular devices for troubleshooting.
While we're talking about operating systems and devices, let's look a bit into the basic system requirements needed for ScreenConnect.
- Browsers: Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge, preferably updated with the latest versions.
- Bandwidth: 500-1000 Kbps
- Operating systems: Windows 7,8.1, 10, and 11, Windows Server 2008, 2012, 2012 R2, 2016, 2019, and 2022, macOS and Mac OS X, Ubuntu, OpenSUSE, Fedora, Red Hat, and CentOS.
Customized Support
A highlight of ScreenConnect is the high levels of customization that it offers for your business. Rather than having a one-size-fits-all approach, you can have a custom look and feel that reflects your business in every way. No HTML knowledge or other technical skills are required for this customization. All that you have to do is insert your logo and save the page!
Also, you can toggle about 1,200 settings to customize the tech support platform just the way you want. If you plan to offer support for non-English speaking customers, you can automatically translate the text from English to any local language. Furthermore, you can create a custom theme and apply it to your platform without writing a single line of code.
Hosting your Support
ScreenConnect makes it easy to host your tech support through your existing website. You can seamlessly embed Control into your existing website using an iFrame. Also, you can pick your hostname to start connecting to your tech support right away. However, note that you need a separate subdomain for custom URLs.
Supports Unattended Access
Sometimes, you may have to troubleshoot a device when the user is not available. In other words, you may have to log in and troubleshoot an unattended device. Thankfully, ScreenConnect enables you to do that at any time of the day or night.
All that your end-user has to do is install an unattended access agent and connect the device to a reliable Internet connection. When this agent is running, technicians can remotely connect to the device, and perform a host of actions like file transfers, debugging, and more.
Role-based Security
Security is one of the biggest concerns with remote access. To alleviate this concern, ScreenConnect offers role-based security, through which administrators can organize devices and users into different groups. Each group can have role-based security with granular permissions, so only technicians who are at a certain level can remotely log into devices for troubleshooting.
Also, ScreenConnect sends alerts to your end-users when technicians log into their system, so they are aware of how long technicians are connecting to their system. Depending on the nature of the service, end-users will also have to consent to this access in the case of attended devices. Control will send a numerical password to the end-user, and they have to share it with the technician for access.
Shared Toolboxes
ScreenConnect offers many tools and features to help technicians quickly troubleshoot remote devices. A notable tool it offers is a shared folder for storing documents and running executable scripts on remote devices. Needless to say, this shared folder is available to all team members through role-based access.
Remote Meeting
Remote meetings are essential to collaborating with your end-users, and ScreenConnect enables both one-on-one communication and group meetings for this collaboration. It even supports webinars, training sessions, and other forms of video communication. Furthermore, all the participants can take screenshots, record the video, share screens, talk, and chat during the meetings. Plus, there's no limit on the number of attendees.
Security
Security is built into ScreenConnect's design. Besides the role-based security we talked about earlier, Control also logs session activity. These logs come in handy for investigating issues related to data misuse and security breaches. You can review hosts, timestamps, commands, tools, files transferred, and just about any other pertinent information to identify security issues. With the consent of your end-user, these sessions can also be video recorded.
In addition, end-users can always monitor what the technicians are doing, and this ensures 100% transparency in operations and communication. The consent and permission-based control add another layer to the overall security. AES-256 encryption two-factor authentication, lockout after a certain number of failed login attempts, Windows authentication, and server-level auditing are other aspects that ensure comprehensive security.
Extensions
ScreenConnect is highly extensible, as it integrates well with many many top vendors like SolarWinds, Zendesk, and more. You can even develop your own extensions or make custom requests with the team. With more than 100+ add-ons and extensions, you can extend Control's capabilities to suit your requirements.
Also, you can use other ConnectWise products to further extend scalability and connectivity.
Now that you have a comprehensive understanding of Control's features, let's see how they translate to benefits for your organization.
Benefits of ScreenConnect for Your Organization
ScreenConnect can positively impact your organization in many ways.
- Saves Time and Cost One of the biggest advantages of ScreenConnect is its remote access features that allow technicians to remotely access a system and troubleshoot it, just like how they can do it on-site! This translates to quick and efficient troubleshooting without having to travel to the office. Imagine the time, cost, and effort you can save while ensuring that your employees' productivity is not impacted in any way.
- Boost Technicians' Productivity ScreenConnect comes with a built-in ticketing system that makes it easy for technicians to track and manage requests from your organization's employees. Moreover, it offers many tools like screen sharing and recording that can help technicians to better understand issues and troubleshoot them. It can be a good way to train your technicians on the commonly-occurring issues, so the Mean-Time-To-Repair (MTTR) can be low.
- Highly Secure Security is a major concern, especially in remote working and access. The good news is that ScreenConnect supports a wide range of security features like two-factor authentication and end-to-end encryption that can protect sensitive information from falling into the wrong hands. With such features, ScreenConnect also helps you to comply with industry standards like HIPAA and SOC2.
- Seamless Integration Another notable benefit of ScreenConnect is its seamless integration with most third-party and custom tools. In turn, this integration can improve the overall workflow and streamline operations. More importantly, you can customize ScreenConnect to suit your business requirements.
- Reporting and Analytics Reporting and analytics provide a snapshot of your business's state at a given point and can be helpful for informed decision-making. ScreenConnect comes with a wide range of built-in reports that can be used to track specific activities. For example, its session, technician, and client reports give you an idea of the length of sessions, the performance of technicians, and the impact on the client respectively. Armed with this information, you can make well-informed decisions that have a positive impact on your organization as a whole.
- Enhances Clients' Trust Control's advanced features help to build clients' trust in your operations. This platform generates a simple numeric code, and all that the client has to do is share it with the technician to enable a remote session. Its AES-256 encryption, in-session chat without an external app, consent to access, and other features provide an excellent experience for your end-users, and in turn, this can translate to a lasting relationship and enhanced trust in your offerings.
- Simplifies Remote Support The many features of ScreenConnect simplify the overall process of remote support. It ensures that resolutions are quick and smooth without any interruptions for the end user. Also, it provides multiple ways for technicians and end-users to communicate while providing 100% visibility on the actions and performance of the technicians.
In all, ScreenConnect can improve the efficiency of your support processes and provide better quality remote support for your employees and clients. Its security features, integration with other tools, customizable features, and advanced reporting make it a versatile tool for businesses of all sizes.
Moving on, let's look at some limitations of this tool, to help you decide if it's a good fit for your needs.
Limitations of ScreenConnect
Here's a look at some limitations of ScreenConnect.
- A reliable Internet connection is essential for smooth operations.
- Some features may not be available on non-Windows operating systems.
- It can cost extra for some additional features.
- It doesn't support all devices.
Note that the above-mentioned limitations are generic, so evaluate this tool's performance against your organization's specific requirements before making a decision.
Before we end, here's a look at the pricing.
ScreenConnect Pricing
ScreenConnect offers three pricing plans:
- One This plan is priced at $28/month paid annually. It's a single license in which one user can make one connection only. It's a good choice for supporting a handful of users and devices. In this plan, you can customize your service with your brand, conduct remote meetings, offer remote printing, transfer files, and more. However, you're limited to 10 unattended access agents per license.
- Standard The Standard plan costs $43/month/user paid annually. In this plan, each user can make three simultaneous connections and have unlimited unattended access agents. Besides all the features in the One plan, you can also enjoy some additional features like Wake-ON LAN, remote command-line troubleshooting, VoIP audio for meetings, expanded chat options, and more. It also comes with support for iOS and Android mobile devices. In all, the Standard plan is well-suited for supporting end-users. Also, it's ideal if your organization has to routinely connect to and troubleshoot unattended devices.
- Premium The Premium plan is priced at $53/user/month paid annually. In this plan, a user can make 10 simultaneous connections. Along with the features of the Standard plan, you also get video auditing, report generation, a remote diagnostics toolkit, and more. This plan is most suited for offering top-notch support to end users and unattended devices.
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Each plan is geared toward a different audience and hence, comes with a different set of features. Here's a brief description of each of these three plans.
Thus, these are the three plans that ScreenConnect offers. Note that the Standard plan is the most popular among these three plans.
Final Thoughts
To conclude, ScreenConnect is a good choice when you have to provide tech support service to your employees and clients remotely. This tool can come in handy In today's increasingly connected environment, where working from anywhere has become a way of life. Its additional features such as detailed reporting and analytics, security, and seamless integration with existing apps make it a good choice for any organization. That said, keep the limitations in mind, especially the need for a stable Internet connection, while deciding if this is the best support tool for your organization.
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