Whether it’s enabling remote working for a global workforce or is satisfying the need to quickly respond to an on-site support request, companies adopt remote access technology to address business issues that are costing time and money.
While you may be looking at remote access to solve a very specific challenge, there are many ways this technology could help your company cut costs and increase business productivity, some of which you may not have even considered.
In this post, we’ll discuss 5 ways remote access software is helping businesses save time and money, directly and indirectly.
1) Reduce IT support costs and customer churn
The traditional use case for remote access software continues to be with IT service desks, remotely supporting staff and customers with their IT issues. It allows a support agent to connect to a different machine at anytime from anywhere, solving issues remotely and quickly, without the need to travel to different locations.
Dramatically reducing travel enables IT staff to provide support to more people with higher first call resolution stats.
Additionally, the ability to connect to the customer’s device from anywhere and see what is happening on their screen in real-time creates a more engaging and educational experience. This means that customers can learn from the support agent and can resolve future issues autonomously.
Over time, a higher degree of engagement will lead to fewer support tickets and a reduction in support costs, creating happier, more loyal customers. And while we could say that happy customers are priceless, this is not really true. Did you know that finding new customers costs up to five times more than retaining existing customers?
2) Cut travel costs and minimize disruptions
Talking about travel costs, IT teams are not the only ones on the road. Sales staff often leave the office to meet customers and network with prospects. Teams devoted to maintaining off-site equipment need to travel between sites to troubleshoot technical issues. Managers and senior staff are required to communicate with peers in other branches and attend conferences and important industry events.
The time and money spent on business travel is a constant concern, especially for Small and Medium Businesses (SMB). According to Entrepreneur Magazine, SMB spend 24% more than larger organizations on business travel.
A well-designed remote access strategy allows employees to perform many of their technical duties remotely, such as remote system maintenance (more on this later). When travel is necessary, remote access will be a helpful resource that allows off-site employees to stay connected regardless of their physical location, minimizing disruptions and improving team efficiency.
3) Increase uptime
When it comes to maintaining remote computer systems, you can’t always avoid an on-site service call.
In some cases, however, it is much more efficient to perform certain maintenance duties remotely, such as monitoring system status, troubleshooting problems, and upgrading software.
Over the years we have seen how many companies use remote access software to support distributed computer systems to minimize the time spent on the road between locations and associated service disruption.
For example, we recently reported the positive experience had by a private company that operates and owns toll facilities in the United States and Canada, and discussed how financial organizations use remote access to manage smart ATMs.
The ability of performing maintenance duties remotely translates to a more efficient customer service, lower maintenance costs, and most importantly increased uptime.
4) Deliver cheaper, more effective staff training
Employers understand the importance of staff training to the success of their business. Effective employee training helps to expand the knowledge of staff members, keeping them engaged and productive. Ultimately, this results in improved performance and higher staff retention rates.
Recent studies show that employee turnover comes at a great cost, that increases with seniority: while replacing a mid-range manager costs on average 20% of their yearly salary, replacing a c-level executive can amount to over 200% of their annual pay.
Despite the significant benefits associated with training employees, some employers are put-off by the challenges, such as the expenses of delivering training and the time training sessions take away from regular work.
Remote access software helps overcome some of these challenges and eases part of the financial burden. Companies that would typically deliver training sessions at their customers’ offices can deliver training remotely, and the lower training costs of remote sessions can also translate to a cheaper bill for the customer.
Companies who would normally get training delivered off-site can now choose to run some of their training sessions remotely, cutting costs and reducing the impact of training on the business.
5) Purchase fewer devices and office supplies
We are big supporters of BYOD initiatives. In a previous post, we discussed all the ways the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) movement contributes to creating a more efficient, happier workplace. You can read more about this in: A Happier Workplace with BYOD.
One of the bigger benefits we found about BYOD are the cost savings delivered by better resource allocation. By allowing employees, especially those in remote locations, to use their own devices to access IT resources, companies can support 170% more devices with the same budget.
Additionally, to support a remote workforce, companies will not only need to purchase fewer employee-specific devices, but also fewer office supplies, whether it’s a new chair, printing paper or standard stationery. The economics of supporting remote workers is pretty compelling.
These are just some of the ways remote access technology is helping businesses cut recurring costs and maximize their resources. Over the years we have encountered some very creative uses of remote access software, as organizations are making the most of their IT resources across departments and around the world.
