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Remote work is expected to become a norm of the modern office in the years to come. In our new economy, many companies around the world are starting to establish work from home policies, something that a lot of employees have dreamed about for a long time. While it may have taken longer than many would have expected, the public and private sectors are making that transition.
With more professionals working from home, businesses will also need to invest in the infrastructure necessary to facilitate the change in how things are done. From software to secure connection, employers will need to make sure that their employees are prepared to telecommute.
This includes managing your employees efficiently and creating a collaborative environment. One of the best mechanisms to incorporate into your operations is remote desktop apps.
A quick Google search will yield dozens of services that may or may not be suitable for your corporate needs. That said, we have compiled a list of 15 remote desktop software for your office.
1. TeamViewer
From $27.90 per month
TeamViewer helps companies achieve maximum productivity levels, even if the staff members work remotely. It’s is a software application for remote control, desktop sharing, online meetings, file transfers, and web conferencing. The application is available for Android, Windows, Chrome OS, BlackBerry OS, and Linux.
What makes TeamViewer an attractive option for a lot of businesses and IT departments is the seamless integration with mobile devices. Moreover, it makes the internal collaborative process more productive thanks to a wide variety of contact management, video conferencing, and collaboration tools.
2. Parallels Desktop for Mac
From $79.99
How many offices use Apple computers these days? While the figure may not be precise, Apple did reveal that the Windows 10 operating system is four times more popular than what the Mac offers. But that doesn’t mean Apple computers are not as prevalent. A lot of startups, particularly those in the advertising, design and marketing realm, are utilising Apple. When you are on the hunt for a remote desktop app, you need one that suits your technical needs.
Parallels Desktop for Mac offers paid solutions to allow impeccable delivery of virtual desktops and applications to a diverse array of devices that run Windows on a Mac. Moreover, the service enables Mac management with Microsoft SCCM and remote access to both PCs and Mac.
Parallels is a superb remote desktop app for its user experience as it works with a wide variety of operating systems, provides enhanced customer service (24/7 phone and email support, for example) and maintains a stellar centralised administration and management system.
3. LogMeIn Rescue
$108.25 per month per user
LogMeIn Rescue is one of the most popular information technology helpdesks for instant remote support to customers and employees. It functions as an easy-to-use solution for PCs, Macs and mobile devices to work with organisations and service internal and external customers across multiple platforms. In addition to smartphone and tablet support, it’s the little things that make a big difference, including real-time monitoring, file transfer, screen sharing and diagnostics. The price might be a little steep for a lot of smaller firms but it may be a worthwhile investment.
4. Zoho Assist
From $8 per month
Zoho Assist is based in the cloud that provides remote support and access software, which assists you in extending support to customers from another location. What makes this highly-rated software a functional service is that it is web-based and on-demand, allowing you to set up unattended remote access and management for PCs, laptops, mobile devices, and servers without any headaches.
Users have access to voice and video chat, file transfers (up to two gigabytes), diagnostic tools, multi-monitor navigation and advanced two-factor authentication security.
5. ConnectWise Control
From $19 per month
ConnectWise Control is known for maintaining secure remote connections that help you solve your clients’ problems faster. It is routinely compared to GoToAssist, but the companies do differ in a myriad of ways, such as price, Linux support, iOS guest support and remote meetings.
Like other names on this list, ConnectWise also offers file transfers, instant messaging and mobile integration. The auditing feature will prove to be most useful because it provides in-depth data analysis and valuable new insights about user activity, files and other reporting and statistics.
6. Chrome Remote Desktop
Free
Chrome Remote Desktop will make you ask: Is there anything Google doesn’t do? When you want the most basic of remote desktop apps, Google goes above and beyond by offering a free service that also is secure and multifaceted (access from your Android, computer or other location).
For a free service, the functionality is impressive, from maintaining support for multiple operating systems to a quick install in your office to working on Android devices, the shift to the Chrome Remote Desktop app will be smooth.
7. Splashtop
$60 per year
Splashtop is known for having more than 30 million users. But what lead to it having that many users? Many reviews contend that it possesses the best value for your money, in addition to the numerous features. Most important of all, however, is its secure connectivity, which is paramount for businesses these days.
Your firm will have access to the celebrated Portable Splashtop Business Application, which includes a treasure chest of tools, like the inventory dashboard, dual monitor support and security add-ons. Plus, when you are having difficulty with your app, there are multiple technicians available to connect to the same computer.
8. Remote Utilities
From $29
Remote Utilities allows users to control another computer remotely through a proprietary protocol. Users can also see a remote computer’s desktop and operate its keyboard and mouse. A common problem, based on user reviews, is that it does not present web-based accounts and you cannot autosave passwords. While this might be better for safety, some customers have complained about the lack of convenience and usability. But when you consider its support mechanisms in place, like remote access over LAN, VPN or the internet, attended and unattended access, and connection to multiple remote PCs at once, you start to make trade-offs.
9. BeyondTrust
$163 per year
BeyondTrust regularly warns about the wide variety of threats that organisations face, from unwanted remote access to stolen credentials to misused privileges. Why mention this? BeyondTrust maintains a comprehensive and secure remote support solution for RDP, SSH, SQL and VNC sessions.
You may have guessed that it is for the more technical staff members at your firm, particularly on the security front with its authentication and encryption security and firewall configuration. But whatever problems you run into, you have reliable remote control solutions.
10. MobaXterm
Free with premium plans also available from $69
MobaXterm is popular for its home edition software package that is distributed for free under its end user license agreement. But you can always upgrade to premium services that consist of additional plugins that are designed to improve your experience on MobaXterm, including MobaSSH, MobaLiveCD and MobaMotiv. The other premium and non-premium services feature a text editor, embedded servers and tools, enhanced extensions and remote session management.
11. GoToMyPC
From $33 per month
GoToMyPC is well-known even for companies and individuals that are only now getting into the remote desktop realm. Why? It is one of the oldest remote desktop firms around, developed by ExpertCity and launched in 1998. Yes, you read that right: 1998. And, yes, it’s been that long already!
So, what makes GoToMyPC so successful that it has stood the test of time, from the dot-com bubble to the financial crisis? For one thing, its security goes beyond industry standards, with its advanced encryption standard maximum security. The other aspect is that it has a suite of management features in the administration centre, allowing you to customise the experience for you and your team.
12. TightVNC
Free
TightVNC is a cross-platform free and open-source remote desktop app. Like its competitors, TightVNC utilises and extends the RFB protocol of Virtual Network Computing to facilitate end-users controlling another computer’s screen in another location. Its biggest advance is that it is commercial-friendly, bandwidth-friendly, and free.
Its infrastructure ensures that there are no interruptions amid your remote access. This means when you are on multiple platforms remotely, you don’t need to worry about losing access.
13. AeroAdmin
Free with premium plans also available from $89
AeroAdmin is marketed as an all-in-one software that contains plenty of features and functions, such as simultaneous remote connections, file transfer, and the option of connecting to an unlimited number of endpoints. What’sWhat’s more, it has established end-to-end encryption with strong AES-256 and RSA-1024 cryptographic keys. In layman’s terms, this security technology is based on the same standards as HTTP/SSL and industry standards.
Impeccable security is just one facet of the AeroAdmin ecosystem as it presents a detailed list of features, like auto-update, remote reboot, auto-scaling and clipboard synchronisation.
14. AnyDesk
From $10.99 per month
AnyDesk recently endured some bad publicity because there was a case of fraudulent access, which was caused by users giving access to their devices to unknown parties. But this was not the fault of AnyDesk, but the users. Still, AnyDesk has been working diligently to improve its security apparatus while still offering platforms independent remote access to PCs and other devices.
At the same time, it still offers an incredible list of tools, such as unlimited endpoints on unlimited devices, remote printing, file transfer and mobile-to-PC remote control.
15. SecureLink
$500 per year per vendor
SecureLink continues to improve its game by not only maintaining stellar network security and remote support, but also simplifying its vendor privileged access management (VPAM) with a new mobile-enabled version.
Ultimately, SecureLink possesses a secure access point into one or more servers on your network by trusted third parties. You will also receive an audit trail, behavioural analytics (you can better understand users’users’ experience), compliance management, file sharing and diagnostic tools. Are you running into some problems? You have real-time chat at your fingertips.
To work from home successfully, employees will need the right equipment and software to get the job done. Essentially, whatever was at the office in town should also be in your home. This will bring peace of mind to management without resorting to micromanaging through remote employee monitoring. It will also allow employees to be productive and to improve their workflow – without commuting back and forth, workers can save a lot of time, which can then be transferred into their work.
Have you ever used any of this remote desktop software? Which ones would you recommend? Let us know in the comment section below!
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