Last century, I’d have to talk my Dad through tech support with the phone cradled against my ear, madly typing on my computer to ‘try’ and reproduce the problems he had. Then, if I had a solution, I had to describe to him how to implement it, and then hope he understood what to do.
Now, you just log into their computer remotely and take control. For example, while browsing a program called PROXY Pro 6, which is remote access software, I noted how you could just sign in and take control of the other computer, and solve the problem asap. It does this by opening up a communication channel at one end, and then providing you the ‘inside view’ of the other person’s computer. From there, you control the mouse, keyboard, and what have you.
Sounds scary – but it’s not. Obviously, a program like this is powerful, and so needs safeguards (and in PP6′s case, it use encryption to avoid sharing any data over the Internet). But in the hands of tech support, for instance, it’s a time saver for business. In the case of my Dad’s tech support, I could have solved the problem usually in the time it would take to get past the ‘”Hiyas” at the beginning of the phone call. That’s money saved – and over many tech calls, A LOT of money.
Another aspect however is not support, but monitoring. For example, the system can also record what’s going on for multiple screens. this is ideal in a place like a call center. By recording the data screen, you can improve quality assurance. Additionally, I see a program like this useful in debugging and usability testing – imagine setting a user down in front of a new program, and monitoring how easy it is to use, without interrupting the user?
Remote programs like this have come a long way, and become more multifaceted and powerful. And if PROXY Pro is any example, the business uses for tools like this are getting brighter and brighter.
