Zoho Assist Review

• Zoho Assist is strong all-around remote PC access software that provides exceptional security and can help businesses improve their customer service.
• Zoho Assist offers a free plan that supports up to five users.
• We reviewed five of the most popular remote PC access tools and selected Zoho Assist as the best remote desktop software for all-in-one remote support and access.
• This article is for business owners searching for the best remote access software for remote support and unattended access in one easy-to-use dashboard. 

Zoho Assist is a well-balanced, all-in-one remote support software and unattended access tool. These two core functions – remote support and unattended access – each require a separate billing plan, but both are accessible from the same easy-to-use dashboard. Zoho Assist offers a wealth of features to help technicians resolve customer issues quickly and manage groups of computers remotely. Everything from transferring 2GB files to rebooting and reconnecting without terminating a session is easy to accomplish from anywhere in the world with a broadband internet connection. Zoho Assist also integrates easily with many other popular business workflow tools.

Zoho Assist Editor's Score: 94/100

Why Zoho Assist Is Best for All-in-One Remote Support and Access

Simply stated, Zoho Assist is the ideal choice for companies that want remote support and unattended access from the same intuitive user interface. Zoho Assist works well with other popular business tools, including Zendesk, Jira, Google Workspace, Slack, Freshdesk and ServiceNow. For businesses that want to eliminate the patchwork of cloud-based operations and legacy tools, this software fits perfectly alongside Zoho's other 45-plus integrated applications as part of a truly all-in-one software solution for businesses across various industries.

Source: Zoho Assist

Pros

• You can easily toggle between remote support and unattended access from the same user menu.
• The free plan provides access to five unattended computers.
• White-label options are available for larger organizations.

Cons

• The standard remote support plan does not have mobile functionality.
• Customer downloads are required for some remote support features.

Usability

We tested Zoho Assist's enterprise-level remote support software as well as its professional-level unattended access software. While remote support and unattended access are separate products in terms of billing, both function from the same home screen, with tabs at the top to navigate between these feature sets.

Source: Zoho Assist

On the remote support side, you or your support technicians only need to enter your customer's email address and decide if you're going to access a remote screen, share your screen to start an instant session, or schedule a future support appointment. Your customer will receive an email with a calendar invitation, or a link with a session ID that allows them to join instantly. From there, a quick download on the customer side is all that's required for you to get to work on the customer's device and quickly troubleshoot or resolve any issue they've encountered. Helpful communication tools such as text, voice and video chat make it feel like you're sitting next to your customers for the duration of your support session.

On the unattended access side, deployment is as simple as sending a preconfigured email to the appropriate address and installing the agent on your remote machines. From there, you or your technicians simply click "join" on the device list, and you're instantly given full control of your remote machine. The left-hand navigation menu provides quick access to diagnostic tools, file transfers, power controls, and the ability to invite other technicians within your company to remote machines.

With more companies opting for hybrid-remote office hours these days, Zoho Assist's unattended access provides an easy and seamless way for hybrid employees to access their office computers and related tools securely through SSL and 256-bit AES encryption so they never miss a beat, wherever they happen to be working that day.

Features

Custom Reporting

It's difficult (if not impossible) to improve on something that's not being measured. Zoho Assist's standard and custom reporting tools provide teams with actionable insights on every customer interaction. Managers can review session recordings, chat transcripts, and technician notes to better understand each interaction and find ways to make continuous improvements. Other details, including the total number of sessions and the length of those sessions, can help you optimize your teams and workflows to create better outcomes for your company and your customers at the same time.

Source: Zoho Assist

Security

Zoho Assist encrypts communications between technicians and customers with SSL and 256-bit AES. To further protect sensitive data, all personally identifiable information, including IP and email addresses, can be made anonymous at any time. Features such as two-factor authentication and inactive session timeout help ensure your many potential points of access remain as secure as possible. For transparency, the action log viewer provides audits of all activities carried out within your organization.

Mobile Functionality

Zoho Assist travels well with apps for Android and iOS devices. You can take full control of your customers' Samsung devices and let them share their screens with iOS devices. The cross-platform app also lets technicians deliver support to Android and iOS devices, with file transfers, chat functionality, and the ability to record or to invite additional technicians to the remote session with a single tap.

Cost

Zoho Assist offers two core products, one for remote support and another for unattended access. Pricing within each core category is based on the available features, which vary substantially. Larger organizations can take advantage of lower pricing, and Zoho provides a volume discounts calculator so you can see how much you'll be able to save. Small businesses can save roughly 15% with an annual commitment, which is reflected in the prices we've listed below.

Zoho offers a 15-day free trial. Some hybrid-remote employees may be able to use the free plan to access their office and home computers from anywhere they want to conduct business.

• Free: This plan's features include Zoho Desk and SalesIQ integration, access for one remote support technician, access to five unattended computers, instant chat, clipboard sharing, user management, and organizational roles.

• Remote Support Standard: $10 per month per technician, billed annually. This plan's features include file transfer, multi-monitor navigation, reboot and reconnect, session transfer, screen capture, Zendesk integration, and the ability to conduct two simultaneous sessions.

• Remote Support Professional: $15 per month per technician, billed annually. This plan's features include mobile functionality, the ability to schedule sessions, screen sharing, session notes, custom email templates, advanced reports, and the ability to hold four simultaneous sessions.

• Remote Support Enterprise: $24 per month per technician, billed annually. This plan's features include support for multiple departments, session recording, a service queue, session audits, remote printing, voice and video chat, contacts management, a customer widget, custom domain mapping, and six simultaneous sessions. 

• Unattended Access Standard: $10 per month, billed annually. This plan allows an unlimited number of technicians to access up to 25 unattended computers. Its features include computer grouping, group permissions, bulk deployment, wake-on-LAN, file transfer, remote power options, multi-monitor navigation, custom reports and email templates, mobile apps for technicians, and screen capture. 

• Unattended Access Professional: $15 per month, billed annually. This plan also allows access to 25 unattended computers for unlimited technicians. Its features include session recording, annotation, remote print, diagnostic tools, voice and video chat, departments, custom domain mapping, mobile and IoT devices, and advanced reports.

Setup

The initial setup for remote support technicians and their customers takes no more than a couple of minutes with a quick download and installation – one of the fastest setup processes we found in our review. On the unattended access side, you can invite via email, use a distributor and domain, or configure via group policy object to deploy to all the computers within your group. The bulk-deploy options are a bit more complex but certainly easy enough for anyone with education and experience in IT.

Looking for remote PC software with quick and easy setup processes? Consider our review of Remote PC by IDrive.

Customer Service

Zoho Assist offers customer support by email and contact form. It also has regular, in-depth live training sessions for remote support and unattended access. These webinars take you through all the basics, from setting up your organization account to configuring a group of devices for unattended access.

Drawbacks

One area we would like to see bolstered by Zoho is the 2GB limit on file transfers. This could be troublesome for some unattended access users looking to share files securely and easily between machines in different locations. On the bright side, Zoho Assist does not require the use of intermedia storage like USB, FTP, or cloud-based storage devices for file transfer.

A live chat feature seems to be missing from the customer support tools. We had trouble finding a quick solution to one of our issues, and an email that we sent to a listed Zoho support address bounced back. Making it a bit easier to get a hold of someone, even if that process starts with a chatbot, would be a big improvement.

Methodology

We spent one month with 10 of the most popular unattended access and remote support tools, testing their remote access and support capabilities on multiple Windows, Mac, iOS and Android devices. For each individual review, we spent at least two days attempting to find any shortcomings across devices and activities. Once our review sessions were complete, we scored each product on pricing, ease of use, features, integrations, and security – offering a relative score that takes the entire industry's offerings into consideration.

What Is Unattended Access and Remote Support?

Unattended access is a category of software that gives business owners, IT staff, and other workers the ability to take control of a second computer or mobile device from anywhere in the world with a strong internet connection. It was developed to allow technicians to troubleshoot computers from a distance, but it has become a very popular tool for hybrid-remote employees who need to access their office computers from home or vice versa. Most unattended access software providers also feature remote support as part of the same subscription plan or as an add-on that functions within the same user interface.

FAQs

Is Zoho remote support secure?

Yes, Zoho Assist offers the same type of online security features used in banking and payments, including SSL and AES 256-bit encryption. Other features, including inactive session timeout and two-factor authentication, help keep remote computers safe from tampering.

Is Zoho free to use?

Zoho Assist offers a limited free plan that might serve some hybrid-remote workers very well. The free plan includes access to five unattended computers as well as Zoho Desk and SalesIQ integration, instant chat, clipboard sharing, user management, and organizational roles.

Bottom Line

We recommend Zoho Assist for …

• Small businesses with support technicians who require both remote support and unattended access functionality in one dashboard.
• Technical customer support teams that want the option of text, chat, and video communications to better serve their clients during live support sessions.
• Teams that are relatively new to remote access software and want free training webinars with an instructor.

We don't recommend Zoho Assist for …

• Businesses that have a significant number of customers or remote computers in areas with a consistently poor internet connection.
• Service teams that do not want to ask their customers to download anything in order to participate in a live session.