When you’re looking for solutions to connect to devices remotely, two terms frequently come up: remote assistance and remote desktop. At first glance, they can seem practically identical, as they both allow users to access devices from a distance. However, upon closer inspection, it becomes clear that they’re distinct solutions with different uses.
With that in mind, what is the difference between remote desktop and remote assistance? Let’s explore, compare remote desktop vs remote assistance, and see which is best for your business.
What is Remote Assistance?
Before we can really explore remote assistance vs remote desktop, we need to understand what each one does. Remote assistance technology allows IT and other support agents to access a client’s device from another computer or device. This empowers them to troubleshoot devices remotely, without needing the client to describe their screen or give them step-by-step instructions on what to do.
Key Benefits of Remote Assistance
Remote assistance is an excellent tool for IT and support teams, as it makes their work easier and more efficient so they can better assist customers. Key benefits of remote assistance include:
Hands-on support: When IT agents can directly access a client’s device, they can provide direct, hands-on support to diagnose and address issues without any back-and-forth. This makes it far easier for the IT team to identify and correct any problems.
Improved efficiency: Remote support cuts down on the time agents need to spend on each call significantly. Rather than going back and forth with the customer as the agent attempts to provide instructions over the phone, agents can quickly access the device and resolve the issue. This saves valuable time for both the agent and client, freeing up agents to handle more tickets.
Security: Remote assistance provides a secure connection between devices, allowing IT agents to access the client’s devices without transmitting any data. With Splashtop, everything on the connected device remains secure, thanks to security features like multi-level password security, remote connection notifications, and intrusion prevention.
Cost savings: Remote assistance solutions can help save organizations time and money by improving efficiency and reducing certain expenses. Not only can agents help more customers each day (thus giving companies more value per agent), but remote support eliminates the need for on-site visits. This cuts down on travel expenses and saves time spent on the road.
Higher customer satisfaction: When customers call IT or technical support, they tend to be frustrated already. Remote assistance allows agents to quickly address their issues with minimal effort on the customer’s end, resulting in happier users and higher satisfaction with your team’s performance.
Use Cases of Remote Assistance
While the benefits are clear, there’s still a question of when organizations would use remote assistance. Surely it’s not necessary for every call, so what situations would call for it?
Technical support and troubleshooting are the most common uses for remote assistance. While some issues can be addressed just over voice or text chat, clients often have complex problems that are resolved more easily when the IT agent can view their screen and troubleshoot directly from there.
For instance, whenEPAD Business IT started usingSplashtop Remote Support, its IT agents could securely access client devices and manage multiple sessions and users at once. At the same time, they reduced their remote assistance expenses by over 70% after switching from the more expensive LogMeIn Central Plan.
What is a Remote Desktop?
Now that we understand what remote assistance is, it’s time to look at remote desktop solutions and see how they differ. Remote desktop solutions allow users to connect to their computers remotely from any device with an Internet connection and access their work, files, and programs remotely. This empowers employees to work from anywhere, even when their work computers remain at the office.
Key Benefits of Remote Desktop
Allowing users to access their devices from anywhere unlocks a wide array of features and benefits to users. The key benefits include:
Work from anywhere: Remote and hybrid workers can use remote desktop software to access all their work files and programs anywhere they go; all they have to do is log in and connect, and their work is right in front of them.
Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) support: Cross-platform remote desktop software, such as Splashtop, lets employees access their work computers from any device, whether they prefer Mac or PC, iOS or Chrome OS. This makes it easy for them to work on the devices they prefer.
Full control over your system: When users remotely access their devices, they have full control over their computers, no matter what device they’re working from. They can run updates and use all their tools and software even while on the go.
Access files remotely: Remote desktop software gives users access to their files and data, so they can find the work or information they need even when their work computers are back in the office. Multiple users can even access the same files to collaborate on the same project from halfway around the world.
Security: While remote desktop software allows users to access their computers, they don’t transfer data between devices – they just share the screen across an encoded stream. This keeps files and data secure, in addition to the many security features solutions like Splashtop include.
Use Cases of Remote Desktop
What situations would benefit from a remote desktop solution? Given the flexibility that remote desktops provide, there are several different use cases.
Arguably the biggest use case is for remote work. Remote and hybrid work have become commonplace, and employees need a reliable way to access their work even when they’re out and about. Empowering employees to access their devices, files, and programs from anywhere (and on their device of choice) makes remote and hybrid work easier and more accessible.
We can see this in action with Splashtop customers likeOlivier Palatre Architects, which uses Splashtop’s remote desktop software to empower employees who are working from home. Remote employees can access the same computer remotely and collaborate in real time, letting everyone work on their projects together without missing a beat.
Organizations also use remote desktop solutions when they need to update or manage multiple devices. They can easily connect to each one, run updates, and manage settings, all from a single device.
Educational institutions use remote desktop solutions to let students access computer labs and programs from their homes.Laney College, for instance, uses Splashtop to let students remotely access school computers and programs, such as AutoCAD, Photoshop, and other 3D design and modeling tools. Although those applications typically require powerful desktop computers, students can still use them from any device by remotely accessing the desktop computers running them.
Remote desktops are even useful outside of business environments. Users with remote desktop solutions can connect their personal devices and access their laptop or desktop computers from their phone or tablet, whether they’re on the go or just need to quickly pull up a certain file.
How Remote Desktop Differs from Remote Assistance?
While both remote desktop and remote assistance allow users to connect to devices remotely, they serve different purposes. Remote assistance is used by IT and tech support to connect to client devices for troubleshooting, while a remote desktop is used by employees and individuals to connect to their work computers or other work devices.
This means that remote assistance qualifies as a category of remote desktop, but still serves a distinct purpose that makes it unique.
As we look closely, we can see more differences between them. For instance, remote assistance allows IT agents to connect to client devices via a shared passcode, while remote desktop users log in with their username and password to access connected devices, so it’s easier for remote support solutions to quickly and temporarily connect.
Remote desktop also typically provides more access to files and programs. For instance, Splashtop’s remote desktop includes features like file transfer, remote print, mic passthrough, and USB redirection, which are powerful tools for remote connectivity but not necessary for remote assistance.
So while the two do share technological similarities, the exact features will vary based on their intended usage. Remote assistance connects to someone else’s device, while remote desktop lets employees connect to their own devices.
Remote Assistance vs. Remote Desktop: Which One Should You Choose?
Now that you know what’s the difference between remote desktop and remote assistance, you might be wondering which one is right for your business.
Remote assistance vs remote desktop comes down to your business needs. Will you provide technical support for others, or are you trying to empower a remote workforce?
If you need to provide IT support and troubleshooting to users or clients, whether they’re within your organization or they turn to you for help, remote assistance is the way to go. It allows you to easily connect to another device, share the screen, and work through the troubleshooting and support directly.
However, if you’re supporting a mobile workforce, you’ll want remote desktop software. This not only allows employees to connect to their devices while on the go, but it also provides administrative controls across all devices to manage updates, maintenance, and security. As a result, employees can access everything they need anywhere they go, while devices and data remain secure.
There are also cases where a company will want both – their IT teams can benefit from remote assistance software, while their remote employees can use remote desktops. In this case, it’s best to find a plan that offers both solutions in a single package, such as Splashtop Enterprise.
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Great job explaining this in a way that's easy to understand!
