A Guide to Evaluating a Remote Desktop Management Tool for the Modern IT Admin

COVID-19 accelerated an unprecedented digital transformation across industries, leading organizations to transition to a fully virtual workplace almost overnight. Now, as an increasing percentage of companies begin to make the shift toward permanently adopting remote work policies, IT teams are facing the challenge of scaling their internal processes and systems to handle the needs of end users logging in from home.

In direct response to the events of the past year, remote desktop management (RDM) software has become an essential component of the modern administrator’s toolkit. This technology enables access to remote devices, empowering managers to take complete control of users’ computers as if they were in front of the desktop themselves, whether it be for general maintenance or troubleshooting an issue. However, access is just one aspect of a complete RDM tool. 

Read on to learn more about the benefits of leveraging an RDM software as well as the features to look out for when selecting the right one for your organization. 

The benefits of remote desktop management tools

Today’s professionals are facing a more complex digital landscape than ever before. Due to a combination of bring-your-own-device (BYOD) policies and the increased popularity of loaned devices, teams must find a way to monitor an ever-growing endpoint security threat as more employees access sensitive data on personal networks.

In addition to IT teams trying to assist users trying to set up their work systems at home, remote workers themselves are also suffering from increased ticket time when it comes to troubleshooting. CIO reported that 75% of employees are waiting an hour or longer for resolution after reaching out for support, eating into productivity as well as an organization’s bottom line .

KnowledgeNile describes just some of the benefits associated with deploying a RDM. These include:

• Better visibility into application usage: If employees are using personal applications on company devices, it could expose sensitive data to malicious third-party actors. A comprehensive RDM solution can help to provide visibility into user behavior, including any apps they’re accessing on their desktops on company time. 
• Improved productivity: Rather than trying to describe the problem they’re experiencing over the phone, employees can give IT admins direct access into their devices. This helps to reduce the time it takes to identify and address issues, minimizing downtime for the user while also allowing IT teams to reallocate resources that would have been spent trying to manage the problem otherwise. 
• Long-term cost savings: As CSO Online reported, the average cost of a data breach is $3.86 million. By keeping up with necessary patches and addressing security vulnerabilities proactively, IT professionals can reduce the likelihood of an expensive attack as well as the costs associated with the legal and reputational impact of leaking sensitive information. 

The majority of the global workforce is either partially or fully remote, necessitating a new approach when it comes to managing and monitoring corporate systems. Additionally, IT teams will also need to simultaneously identify and address potential security vulnerabilities without physical access to enterprise networks.

Features your business should look for

RDM tools include any software that helps IT professionals identify, report and fix problems within a company’s network remotely. While the technology can save money for your business and time for your IT support team by automating certain processes and monitoring your network’s devices and applications, it can quickly become overwhelming to try to sort through all of the options available to your company. 

Business.com outlined some of the key features your organization should look for when it comes to finding the right RDM solution for your needs:

• Real-time monitoring and alerts management: The best way to solve an issue is to prevent it from ever happening. The solution you deploy should help your team to monitor all of the devices on your enterprise network as well as the applications your employees are using in real time. This way, IT can immediately intervene if a warning or potential issue arises rather than waiting for an end user to identify it themselves when their system goes down. 
• Patch management: By monitoring and automatically deploying patches as soon as they become available, you can minimize the threat of a security-related update going unnoticed and leaving a vulnerability open for a hacker to take advantage of.
• Reporting and analytics: Your solution should provide your IT team with clear visibility into user behavior while also generating key metrics regarding system health, licensing dates and patch feedback as well as offering an overall audit of your existing digital asset environment.

Every RDM solution is different. However, you should be sure that the option you go with will grow with your organization’s needs and can easily be integrated within your current processes and systems. 

Faronics Deep Freeze 

At Faronics, we understand the challenges that today’s IT managers face and are ready to help.

With its Reboot-to-Restore technology, our Deep Freeze solution secures configuration files and core operating systems on a server or a workstation. Once installed, your IT team can establish a desired state for your devices which computers are immediately reverted to once a reboot is completed. The application leverages patented technology to redirect cloned data from the hard drive to an allocation table while the original data continues to remain as is, reducing tickets and downtime in the event your users run into an issue or a glitch. 

Additionally, our Deep Freeze Command Line Control (DFC) also offers network administrators increased flexibility in managing a growing volume of remote workstations. DFC works in combination with third-party enterprise management tools and/or central management solutions, allowing teams to remotely update devices on demand.

Faronics’ easy-to-use device management tools provide maximum control over your remote systems and loaned devices, helping your organization stay secure no matter where the members of your workforce are located. 

If you’re interested in getting started with a comprehensive remote desktop management tool, contact us today.