In my last post I mentioned TeamViewer which might be a good Logmein alternative for the occasional time of helping out a coworker or family member who needs tech support. However if the licensing for a pro account is too steep for you to get a paid subscription then SimpleHelp might be the solution for you.The one downside that I see of SimpleHelp is …….
the fact that you need to run your own server to host it. Unlike Logmein and Teamviewer who provide the hosting for you, SimpleHelp is a software only offering that requires you to manage your own server.However if you’re a MSP you’ve very likely got a server or two that are always on, and likely connected to a domain name, or at least a no-ip account so you can always access it. If so then then SimpleHelp might be the option for you.
After it’s all set up SimpleHelp provides a nice, fully customizable, web access portal where both the technicians and clients can log in. (don’t worry, clients only need provide a name to log in). From there the technicians can initiate remote access, or the client can even opt to permanently install the software on their machine to provide ready access at any time without needing them to visit the web terminal again.
Unlike other remote access solutions that limit the number of hosts/workstations through the licensing, SimpleHelp only limits the number of concurrent remote sessions that you can have. The number of technician accounts/ hosts is always unlimited.
And the pricing is relatively fair. If you only need to run one active session at a time then you only pay a one time $295 licensing fee. Which is good for most IT guys who occasionally offer remote support, aren’t running a remote support service desk. If you need more active sessions you can buy 2 or 3 for $495 and $795 respectively.
However if you need bulk licensing 15+ active sessions then the pricing gets to be a bit high. 20 active sessions will set you back $3295 (and likely require multiple servers to handle the load). However if you’ve got that many people offering remote support at once, this is probably just a drop in the bucket.
I’ve played around quite a bit with the demo of the software and I’ve actually found that it is quite snappy and responsive. In fact if your bandwidth is restricted it actually works much better than Logmein ever did. It might not have all the frills of some of the more well rounded software, but generally speaking it’s just as good of an alternative.
My advise, give the demo a trial run and see if it’s a good fit for your company. You can download it here: http://simple-help.com/
