I take care of about 100 PCs on a regular basis - was 150, but I just deleted a lot that I rarely get calls for.I have been using LogMeIn and it has been OK. There are lots of room for improvement with it, but it reliably gets me on the PCs and lets me work remotely. I like it.
But now my subscription fees are due to jump from $600 a year to $4,000 a year for LogMeIn and I just cannot fiscally justify doing that. Add that to the fact that I still am not happy about how LogMeIn did us when they dropped the free version and gave everyone only 7 days before it would be shuttered. That was really shitty.
So I am looking for a replacement for LogMeIn. I am looking into TeamViewer. When I told the LogMeIn rep that he said “TeamViewer will likely end up costing a similar amount due to unforeseen charges with their business model (software updates, adding machines, etc).”
Is that true? Are there hidden fees and update charges in TeamViewer that you have to be wary of?
Also looking at Zoho Assist - only $920/yr for a single technician and 150 unattended access PCs.
I’d appreciate any input as I need to make the move quickly.
8 Spice ups
Take a look at Screen Connect, Splashtop, search the forums here for a few dozen posts and at least one poll on the topic.
2 Spice ups
seanmdit
(Sean Donnelly)
3
We run the premise version of ScreenConnect and the software is awesome. I’m very pleased that we decided to go with them over Bomgar. Definitely spend some time and trial the software as they also have a hosted solution like LMI.
@brittany-for-connectwise
2 Spice ups
Ran it at my last place. Endless problems with machines going offline in the console. We had to remotely restart the service to fix it. (Kinda hard to do if they are not on a VPN). They blamed it on Kaspersky. Maybe it was, or wasn’t but you would think they would reach out to Kaspersky with that kind of issue.
Other than that, from a capability perspective it worked fine.
2 Spice ups
will8054
(Will8054)
6
We use Dameware, not that expensive. Works well even with slower connections, multiple monitors. Supports VNC and remote desktop. I also use it to VNC into some thin clients at remote branch.
Dameare is licensed per technician, and unlimited clients I think about 250ish per tech.
2 Spice ups
I am really liking ConnectWise Control (formerly ScreenConnect). My organization is just now starting the transition from TeamViewer and I havan’t seen really any issues. They do have a cloud version or a local on premise version.
1 Spice up
Please check out Splashtop Remote Support Basic / Plus Pack. Seem like you are already familiar with LogMeIn Central (Basic/Plus). Splashtop offers the same features, yet less than 50% of LogMeIn pricing and higher performance. over 30k+ MSPs have migrated to Splashtop.
Yes, we have heard that perpetual software vendor ends up pushing for upgrade almost every year… and if you don’t upgrade, you are left with using an old product that’s doesn’t have security patches, feature enhancement, and running into compatibility issues. The constant cost of upgrade ends up much more expensive than subscription based solution that is usually priced much lower. With Splashtop cost effective subscription, you are always using the latest version of the product.
@Splashtop
2 Spice ups
Hi Jim,
Seems like FixMe.IT might just be the right fit for your needs. With a single license priced at $300/year you can manage up to 150 unattended machines and run an unlimited number of concurrent on-demand sessions. No hidden upgrade fees - you’ll always use the latest version. Free 15-day trial is available here if you’d like to give it a try.
1 Spice up
A few of my currents need to be able to work from home as well, so of have to check and see if they could on this plan or if individual licenses were available.
Could you please clarify whether you’re referring to your clients or other techs?
FixMe.IT’s licensing is based on concurrent techs which means you can share your license with other technicians, but each license can be used on a single computer at a given time. So, for example, if you need three techs to work simultaneously you’ll need three individual licenses.
seanmdit
(Sean Donnelly)
12
Maybe they addressed that with an update to the software? I can’t say we’ve run into that issue at this point, but I’ll definitely be on the lookout for this now that you’ve mentioned it.
I take care of these 100 or so PCs, but some of the owners of those PCs also want to work from home.
Honestly, at this point I am just thinking of rolling my own solution. Its something that I’ve wanted to do for a long time now. It seems to me that the UIs of the ones I have used (haven’t used them all yet) are overly complicated and the costs are definitely ridiculous.
Connectivity should be free (I’m looking at you Microsoft). And, should free not be possible, it should be damned cheap. If I have to roll my own, ease of use and keeping cost as close to zero as possible will be my 2 main goals.
Teamviewer tends to push the ‘upgrade to the next version’ and make it inconvenient if the person/system that you are trying to remote into has a newer version, but there are really no unexpected costs. If you don’t mind sticking with a particular version for a few upgrade cycles and can explain to your clients not to upgrade then there are no unexpected costs. I’m still running TV 10 with 1 business license & 1 add-on workstation and really have no big incentive to upgrade. One other useful feature about TV that is often overlooked in this context (remote support) is that it also includes multi-participant ‘meeting’ capabilities like Skype for business which is handy if you want to give a quick ‘class’ or ‘lesson’ to your users.
Edit: when I wrote the above, I had not seen the post about allowing the various users to access their machines remotely. TV does not offer this capability without additional [costly] licenses.
4 Spice ups
Thanks for the ScreenConnect mention and tag!
To the OP - We’d definitely be able to handle those 100 PCs for you. For our pricing, you can see all of the pricing breakdowns here , and you can also submit to get a quote from our team. You can either get it hosted or have it hosted yourself on-prem. Additionally, you can find a ton of our available features here: https://www.screenconnect.com/Remote-Support-Features
And (last thing!), we have a 14-day free trial if you want to check it out for yourself: Trial | ConnectWise ScreenConnect™ Remote Support
Let me know if you have any questions.
Thanks for the info! Does ScreenConnect have anything for my users that want to connect from home, like a single user/machine license?
For user remote access, you could also consider Splashtop Business Access , which is simply $60 per user per year for accessing up to 5 computers from unlimited # of devices. It’s cost effective and high performance.
If you proceed with Splashtop Remote Support solution, it actually come with secondary user remote access for free… so if you have a good # of users needing remote access, Remote Support is actually the way to go.
but if you just need to buy a few seats of remote access, cannot go wrong with just paying $60 per user per year with Splashtop Business Access…
@Splashtop
1 Spice up
We been using Screen Connect and we love it , you can customize all the website when client go to download the remote software.
Splashtop was the answer for me in a very similar situation. It offered everything I needed that LogMeIn offered but 1/3 of the price.
@mark-splashtop
2 Spice ups
vidya-zoho
(Vidya (Zoho))
20
@kitten-of-doom , glad to note that Zoho Assist is in the reckoning. The licensing is pretty straightforward. Will be happy to provide you with more information that might help evaluate ZAssist. If you want to talk to the folks concerned on the pricing and transparency, can set up a call. Let me know.
@Zoho
1 Spice up
