Technical Support For Businesses With Teams Abroad
One challenge of distributed businesses is that not all partners can support their computers at the same level. Some users may be tinkerers and even computer professionals, while others need technical support to help with anything more complicated than double-clicking a file or typing a document. Here are a few ways that remote support and self service portal systems can help your business grow while stretched across the globe.
What Is Remote Support?
Instead of calling technical support to walk to your computer, technicians can connect to your system through the internet.
When you move or click your mouse or type on your keyboard, you’re sending a signal to your computer that translates to the letter being typed or files being clicked open. Remote support takes the place of your keyboard and mouse, allowing technicians to use their own keyboard and mouse or other input devices to work on your system.
Remote support is done with consent, and you should always confirm a remote session with your support company of choice. This mostly means that you’re the one calling in for help, so avoid accepting unsolicited remote support requests without first calling your support company.
Once connected, technicians can do anything that could be done with a mouse and keyboard. Viruses can be removed, programs can be installed or uninstalled, and cleanup tasks can speed up your computer.
If the task requires physically adding or removing hardware — or any task that can only be done with hands-on work — a field technician needs to step in.
Field Service Technicians For Additional Tasks
When remote support isn’t enough for a task, support companies can send a field technician to visit your employee’s worksite to handle the situation.
Since it’s a deviation from how things normally work with quick, remote tasks, a support team should send you the name and picture of the technician on the way. Identification becomes easier, and your business becomes safer from thieves who figure out how certain technicians can get into business assets or employee homes.
Once a technician is verified onsite, the work can begin. A field technician can either handle the task as he or she sees fit or work with a remote technician if the task is complicated enough. There is little reason to call the previous technician for many simple tasks, so don’t be alarmed if the remote and field technicians aren’t connecting for tasks on every single work request.
Self Service Options
Many tasks can be handled with self service portal options, especially when it comes to business systems and web services.
A remote technician can help your employees log into a website or reset a password, but it’s a lot easier to train employees to reset their own information as needed. With a self service portal, your business allows many direct service options such as password resets, email services and internal knowledge bank access without technician intervention.
As long as the employee’s computer and internet service work, he or she can visit a company portal and use a variety of options. You may require employees to download and install certain programs or retrieve certain files, and the service portal can handle those links with systems such as bulletin boards and news reports.
One popular service portal function is to connect with the business network. Many intranets and remote login systems are complex and require some specific instructions to dial in, but a business portal can include a specific link or login field for employees to access.
If they’re confused about how to connect, a set of help functions can be added to explain the process and provide quick fixes. For example, a company intranet that requires certain programs to be installed and configured can be added to a help link, and users can install what they need to get connected.
If the problem is logging in with proper credentials and a password reset isn’t possible, remote support technicians can step in and guide the employee. Whether they need to contact you in the place of your employee or search through business resources on their own, a technician can be vital when it comes to guiding the less technically-savvy employees through different processes.
