Helpdesk Support Tool for Basics via Internet

IT Week  - Daniel Robinson
Jun 12, 2006
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Laplink has announced it will release a remote support tool for helpdesks that is easier and cheaper than rival products.

RemoteAssist, set to ship in early July, enables IT staff to take remote control of a Windows system to fix problems or make changes. It also enables the uploading of files, but does not support chat sessions, unlike tools such as LogMeIn Rescue or GoToAssist.

“The customers we approached said they didn’t want all the bells and whistles, just remote control and file transfer. Many of them already run a chat application and didn’t want a second,” commented Laplink chief executive Thomas Koll.

Laplink has focused on ease of use with the new tool, so support staff just need to direct a customer to the RemoteAssist client, then generate and send them a password for that session. The client itself is a small executable that can be permanently stored on firms’ desktops or downloaded on demand.

Because RemoteAssist uses Microsoft’s RDP protocol, it allows support staff to gain administrator access to a system even across an internet connection, according to Koll. “As far as I know, none of the competing remote support tools can do this,” he said.

RemoteAssist will be available in two versions: the Standard Edition will be hosted from Laplink’s datacentre and accessed as a service, while an Enterprise Edition is installed on a customer’s server.

The Standard Edition is expected to cost about GBP350 to GBP400 per support technician per year, while perpetual licences for the Enterprise Edition are expected to cost about GBP800 per technician and GBP1,300 for the server software.