This post is part of G2's 2022 digital trends series. Read more about G2’s perspective on digital transformation trends in an introduction from Tom Pringle, VP, market research, and additional coverage on trends identified by G2’s analysts.

Supporting remote work in a hybrid workplace

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic disrupting routine business operations globally, tech and remote support solutions aided in smooth maintenance of workflow in organizations. The outbreak of COVID-19 coerced organizations to adopt remote working strategies for keeping their employees safe, with most of those organizations having little to no experience with the process. Adapting to the “new way” of working has been a bumpy ride. Fortunately, remote support solutions facilitated smooth transition and ensured business continuity and growth.

                      Source: Reviews for G2’s Remote Support software category from 2020 Q1-2021 Q3

After spending two years working from home, organizations are now planning for employees to return to office premises, envisioning a hybrid workplace model. Remote support software is pivotal to a successful hybrid workplace. The growing popularity for remote support solutions is reflected in our G2 data where the number of reviews for the remote support software category saw a significant YoY increase of 68.9% in the enterprise, 209.3% in the mid-market, and 80% in the small business segment respectively during 2021 Q3. Technology buyers are increasingly searching for a good remote support software fit to enable IT administrators in their organization to resolve technical issues, monitor systems, and run diagnostic tests from a different location. 

In this article, we will look at a few of the trends in the remote support software and solutions industry and how they will be used by companies in the coming year.

Companies to expand their cybersecurity framework

Scalability of cloud applications supports remote work. However, providing “secure” remote support software on the cloud is one of the biggest challenges that businesses face. G2’s 2021 Software Buyer Behavior report cites security as the number one consideration for mid-market and enterprise technology buyers.

According to the McAfee Report, cybercrime costs the world economy more than $1 trillion, or just over one percent of global GDP. Most organizations attribute susceptibility to cyberattacks to remote working. Connections at home are unreliable as employees use unsecured Wi-Fi, providing hackers with an easy entry into the company network. Various online collaboration tools come with minimal default security settings, exposing devices to attackers. Additionally, phishing attacks through emails remain a prominent online threat faced by businesses. 

The hybrid workplace is emerging to manage security threats as organizations expand corporate budgets to mitigate cyber risk. 

We expect to see a significant increase in cloud-based security solutions that sustain remote support software. Integrations will happen on a much bigger scale between remote support and security solutions, addressing authorization and authentication concerns. 

For instance, organizations will implement identity and access management policies to control and monitor access to critical organizational resources. Access to the cloud will be secured with multi-factor authentication (MFA) to identify and validate users accessing applications & data.

To tackle non-trusted devices on corporate networks for employees using their personal devices, organizations will plan to either deploy or upgrade NAC to control access to corporate infrastructure or endpoint detection and response (EDR) solutions to detect and block potential security threats in due time. Organizations will also turn toward SD-WAN, especially for home offices, as it facilitates on-demand remote access, allowing IT managers to deliver internet-based networking efficiently. 

Consolidation of remote support tools to reduce business complexity 

Remote work has become the backbone of contemporary business. To ensure effective employee collaboration, software such as video conferencing, cloud support, and remote desktop are used. With a multitude of solutions being an integral part of a business’s continuity plan, it is challenging to manage each one individually, and identify, and monitor the ingress of data and events. This leads to operational inefficiencies, higher susceptibility to attacks, and lack of control on the part of the management.

To solve such software management issues, we predict that organizations will look toward adopting centralized, consolidated solutions that will ensure compliance and provide visibility and control from a single point of view.          

Consolidation of remote support platforms provides enterprises with numerous tools at their disposal, including live video support, screen share, and co-browsing. For instance, remote support solutions have become an important part of the corporate service desk and help desk.

To reduce IT complexity and ensure smooth flow of operations, organizations will consolidate remote desktop, support, and endpoint management. IT administrators will continue to support video conferencing, communication, remote access, and other cloud-based technologies. Consolidation will also help in generating information that allows IT admins to go back and audit each connection, thereby enhancing security. 

Augmented reality for remote support

AR for remote assistance is a technology gaining immense popularity as it enables product experts to visually guide and communicate with remote employees by combining AR with live video streaming. Live images and videos are presented in real time, with interactive AR technology that enhances the user’s view of the physical environment through computer-generated perceptual information.

We expect to see more companies in various industries moving towards AR remote support solutions in 2022. AR remote support is a cost-effective solution that integrates effortlessly across various devices, saving time for experts to travel on-site. AR devices operate on rechargeable batteries enabling them to operate even during power outages. AR remote support requires a stable internet connection which can be achieved with backup and mobile hotspot solutions. This speeds up the process of resolving issues remotely.

Final thoughts

According to a survey by NASSCOM, 70% of IT companies are trying to make the hybrid model work effectively. The hybrid work model has gained popularity as the ideal return-to-work strategy, with expectations from organizations to finetune the model to make the best out of it in 2022. Hybrid work is here to stay, and remote support software will contribute hugely towards making hybrid work successful.