Remote access and support

Remote access and support software gives a technician control of a client machine over the internet, either through an on-demand session initiated by the end user for a specific problem, or unattended access that lets a technician connect to a machine at any time without someone present. File transfer, multi-monitor support and in-session chat round out the core support session experience, and session recording provides an audit trail of what a technician did during a connection. Some products offer a self-hosted option for MSPs who want the connection infrastructure under their own control rather than a vendor's cloud.

Pricing is per technician per month in most cases, sometimes with unlimited endpoints under that seat, or per endpoint for unattended access licensing. A self-hosted option, where offered, is typically a flat licence fee rather than a recurring per-seat charge.

Unattended access and on-demand support sessions are the two core use cases; check that a product handles both well rather than favouring one over the other. Session recording matters for compliance-conscious clients or for training new technicians, and white-label branding lets the session window show your company's identity rather than the vendor's. Wake-on-LAN and command-line scripted deployment matter for rolling the agent out at scale rather than installing it machine by machine, and a self-hosted option is worth checking if data residency is a concern for any client.

PSA integration lets a support session start directly from a ticket with the right machine already selected, saving a technician from hunting for the right connection. Many RMM platforms already include remote access as part of the agent, so decide whether a dedicated remote access product is solving a gap in your RMM's tool, such as session quality or self-hosting, before paying for a second product that does something similar.

Ask about the contract term, whether pricing is per technician or per endpoint, and what happens to unattended access licences on machines if you cancel. Ask whether white-label branding and self-hosting, if needed, are included or separately priced tiers.

A small MSP already running an RMM with adequate built-in remote access may not need a separate dedicated product at all, unless session quality or a specific feature like recording is a real gap. A larger MSP running high support session volumes often benefits from a dedicated product's faster connection speed and white-label branding, and may have the scale to justify a self-hosted deployment.