General Consultant Discussion

People still using GotoAssist? I'm finding more situations where it is either not running (connecting) on some remote computers or there's this requirement that when the customer attempts to login they're pushed a lengthy update or an update that won't download and I feel as if I then have two technical support cases to resolve... Is there a better hosted solution (I'm not interested in hosting something myself)

I agree. It aggrivates me with the constant upgrades JUST when I'm trying to quickly connect to a client. Let alone the time consuming downloads forced on the client. There should be a software award for getting it right the 1st time and measured updates.

Bomgar has a hosted solution, for $1188 per year. This gives you an unlimited number of sessions, full multi-platform support including mobile at no additional cost, unattended access, and a customizable customer support portal. Bomgar releases updates throughout the year and sends emails notifying you about it and the changes it will have. You have control over when you upgrade or if you upgrade. I attached some info about it. If you wish to talk to Bomgar about hosting you can talk to Harrison Simon (hsimon@bomgar.com, 770-407-1892).

This is timely information. I have individual GTM licenses for everyone in my company - super expensive every year. Bomgar was recommended to me by SWK as well and they are having great success with it.

@PeterWolf if you are thinking of changing wait till Summit they all have special deals.

Thanks @DianeRuth - I think we already have the special Summit pricing from Goto meeting ... it's still really expensive for eight licenses.

We have 5 users and my maintenance to stay current is 2032.50 which is only 169.37 a month, so that is 33.88 per user per month. That is a lot less than the special rate I had with GoToAssist which was around 99 per user per month.Granted I did have a larger up front cost to start which was why I didn't go for it for a few years but with the finance option I had, I was able to pay the same or just below the amount I had with GoToAssit.

Hmmm.... I only pay $33 per month right now for goto meeting.

You can also use it to do meetings like GoToMeeting. I think GoToMeeting is much better since it has audio and video. Bomgar only displays your screen. While connected for support to your customers you can also show your screen. No need to setup a GoToMeeting just to show them your screen.

We complained to Citrix about the constant upgrades and it appears to have gotten better. We have 3 users at $55 per user. That gives us 300 unattended computers support so most of our clients servers and workstations are setup for unattended support. I love the unattended support. I like being able to have several servers and workstations open at the same time and then sharing my screen with another support tech. Works great. We used to use WebEx but I like to GoToAssist a lot better.

Bomgar has the unattended connection as well. It also has what is called a jump point. You can install a jump point on the server then push to any machine on the domain with out user interaction. Another nice thing about it is that I can install an icon on handheld scanners. So when the customer has an issue on their handheld device I can connect and see what the issue is. Depending on the number of licenses available, you can invite others to your session. So if you are working with another reseller or consultant you can invite them to your session. After the session is over, access is no longer available. If I have support reps who need my help they can use the app to chat with me and invite me to view their screen. Another feature that I am starting to use more is scripts for command prompt. So when I connect to a server that doesn't have my login account, I can run a script to setup my user and set the password/group.

What are some thoughts about switching to GoToMyPC?

For the last three years, we have had a Bomgar Device in our rack with three licenses. It costs us $1397 per year. The licenses are floating so it is shared by about 12 people which works well for us. At one point we thought about adding a 4th license but decided it wasn't really necessary. It is everything Todd mentioned and has been very reliable. I only have about 12 servers and workstation pinned but it works well. The company I work for is also into managing networks. They use GFI Max and it has a Team Viewer that also gives us remote access to everything that is being monitored. I am fortunate to have a good relationship with my Customers IT people so I do about 90 % of my work through RDP and a special port. For me, RDP is simple, fast and it lets me work with form and report printing issues on a local printer. Our Bomgar system does not let me print to a local printer.

We are looking closing at moving from gotoassist to screenconnect for support. I have a couple of consultants testing it now. Very attractive pricing, $250 per concurrent license then 20% per year after to keep current. So 10 concurrent license = $2,500 first year and $500 there after and would allow us to setup all 20 of our named users. Keeping GoToMeeting for now for sales. Hopefully testing goes well... www.screenconnect.com

Any idea how it compares to teamviewer? The only (big) problem with teamviewer is they charge by the minute for phone conferencing

@BobKohlmeyer - please let us know how it goes. We are currently investigating this as well and I would love to know how it works.

@MarkChinsky Looks fairly similar to Teamviewer from what I looked at and what I've been told, but the pricing model is more attractive. @PeterWolf I'll post an update once we finish testing and I have more feedback from my staff.

I use Teamviewer with 3 licenses and love it. Low cost of ownership as there are no ongoing fees. I have the host version on all of the servers I manage so I can monitor them unattended. The quick support module is small, downloads quickly and does not leave anything permanently installed on the clients pc. The support module download is on my website so I control the version, so no unexpected updates. My only complaint is no printing support. Been using Teamviewer for many years with a small support team and it works great for the way we work.

@GregStiles The problem is Teamviewer is good for support, but for meetings, it's missing an integrated phone conferencing bridge and the ability to easily record that video and audio at the same time

Agreed, TeamViewer is a good replacement for GotoAssist. Not so good as a replacement for GotoMeeting. I do end up using both for their respective purposes.

@PeterWolf Just an update on our search for a GoToAssist replacement. I had 3 staff members test ScreenConnect and all 3 loved it. Some features better than GoToAssist including how it deals with Windows 7 UAC. And, we will save several thousand $ per year. Only draw back is, we have to host so waiting for my IT guys to get a virtual server setup.

Thanks for the update Bob!

How does it compare to Teamviewer? Looking at an unlimited license for a one time fee of $1,500. Only limitation is at that price, its a one on one session, not multi-to one like gotomeeting. Perfect for support.

We're in week one of our ScreenConnect evaluation. I'll be careful not to overstate how well it is going because it is clearly too early. @NicholasWebb might have something to add.

ScreenConnect is working great. It is a lot like Bomgar but less expensive. I have used Bomgar in the past. It is way ahead of Webex and GotoAssist.

@WayneSchulz What is your GotoAssist expense. You might find that ScreenConnect can be hosted at an equivalent expense.

looking at their forum it appears you can host it on Amazon, even in the server size you can get for free for a year.

While you can host it on Amazon who wants to go through all the steps to get it done: -Create Account -Enable EC2 -Launch a new instance -Choose a base image -Run the request instance wizard -Launch -Go back to the Control Panel -Wait for it to start running -Enter in the private key to get the credentials -Find the Machine Address ( non IP) -Allocate an elastic IP address -Associate it to the instance -Assign the A record -Install IIS -Install setup ScreenConnect -Re-badge ScreenConnect -Setup SSL Certificates -Install SSL certificates -Bind the site in IIS -Test site You can go through all of those steps or you can contact us for a complete turnkey solution for hosted Screen Connect or any other solution.