General Consultant Discussion

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  • 1.  Have you adopted Teams as your remote support ( adhoc ) desktop control service?

    Posted 05-30-2023 09:02

    I'm just finishing an upgrade where the customer used Teams extensively. Microsoft Teams allows for sharing desktops and requesting user desktop control. 
    This leads me to question whether teams could replace GotoAssist type remote control.  Granted, this does NOT provide unattended access. However, it's not a terrible option for one-off support calls, especially since Microsoft seems to be working VERY hard to get Teams pre-installed on every desktop.

    1. Have you tried using Microsoft Teams as a replacement for remote control software such as GoToAssist ( etc )
    2. If so, what have you considered the pros and cons? 




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    Wayne Schulz
    wayne@s-consult.com
    Schulz Consulting
    (860) 516-8990
    Moodus, CT
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  • 2.  RE: Have you adopted Teams as your remote support ( adhoc ) desktop control service?

    Posted 05-30-2023 09:16

    I've considered it but to me Teams is not a viable option for remote support, although in a pinch it might be fine for one-offs but even that can be more trouble than it's worth.  I think the biggest issue is the often-cumbersome 'taking remote control', which I believe is [sometimes] related to how the client launched Teams, but of course it may be beneficial to at least be able to 'view' the client's screen - if they can figure out how to properly share their screen, lol.   



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    Brett Zimmerman
    Net at Work
    Greater Boston Area
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  • 3.  RE: Have you adopted Teams as your remote support ( adhoc ) desktop control service?

    Posted 05-30-2023 09:53

    I am just not there yet.  Free is certainly attractive but there are costs associated with it.  I will be sticking with GoToAssist.  I use the log feature for tracking my sessions.  



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    Jeff Schwenk
    Bottomline Software, Inc.
    (540) 221-4444
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  • 4.  RE: Have you adopted Teams as your remote support ( adhoc ) desktop control service?

    Posted 05-30-2023 11:04

    There are so many better options...Teams is a last resort for me



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    Phil McIntosh
    President
    Friendly Systems, Inc.
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  • 5.  RE: Have you adopted Teams as your remote support ( adhoc ) desktop control service?

    Posted 05-30-2023 13:25

    1. Have you tried using Microsoft Teams as a replacement for remote control software such as GoToAssist ( etc )
    A: Not as a replacement, but as a supplement. 

    2. Pros/Cons
    A: There feels to be just as many "Cons" as there are "Pros." So much so that we can't give up our remote software. You inevitably have to deal with (aka "Cons"): 

    (1) customers that may or may not be proficient with Teams, let alone a computer.

    (2) Unattended access is not possible (which Wayne mentioned). 

    (3) File sharing can be a bit challenging as you're trying to tell people how to interact with Teams to download when sharing via Teams - or - getting them to navigate to a OneDrive/SharePoint link can be a bit maddening.

    (4) Network restrictions defined by IT can also create challenges in consistency when working from customer to customer and sometimes employee to employee within the same organization. While IT folks should have consistency, there are always exceptions in meeting the demand of the lowest common denominator. 

    On the "Pros" side:
    (1) Potential savings if all you need are direct P2P connections where there's a person sitting on the other side.

    (2) MS Teams is more widely adopted now and seems to be more and more common over time. Plus, what Wayne mentioned about most workstations having it or it being packaged with Windows 11.
    (3) More "dummy proof" than GoToAssist or other remote software sessions. Those publishers have tried to make it dummy-proof, but, there will always be the standard "errors" that exist between the chair and the computer screen.

    It still feels a bit early to push for Teams to be used consistently with my customers, but there could be cases where it makes sense. Though I'd anticipate those to be "exceptions" and not the "rule."



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    Basil Malik
    e: basil@ss-adv.com
    p: (918)600-8700

    "Whatever you are, try to be a good one."
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  • 6.  RE: Have you adopted Teams as your remote support ( adhoc ) desktop control service?

    Posted 05-31-2023 01:06

    There are many companies where their Teams will not allow for remote control by someone outside of the company.  Definitely not an alternative for me.



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    [Michele] [Herzog] [CPA,CITP, CGMA]
    [Overland Park] [KS]
    [816-520-1365]
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  • 7.  RE: Have you adopted Teams as your remote support ( adhoc ) desktop control service?

    Posted 05-31-2023 02:27
    We just teams for meetings and office telephony but use SimpleHelp for support.

    Thank you,
    Douglas Luchansky (from my phone)

    ACI Consulting
    O 714.282.0378
    D 714.694.4194





  • 8.  RE: Have you adopted Teams as your remote support ( adhoc ) desktop control service?

    Posted 06-02-2023 16:41

    Valuable as an internal tool, not the best for remote assistance. 



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    Moira Goggin
    Chismet Consulting Corp.
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