6 Examples of Remote Access and Why It’s Important for Businesses

Last Updated on May 19, 2023

Remote access gives you the ability to access a computer or network from a different location through a network connection. 

While it can be used in home networks, the most common use of remote access is on corporate networks, allowing business owners, employees, and support technicians to access their work computers and files remotely and securely.

With so many people shifting to remote work these days, remote access is an effective way to allow employees to connect from outside the central work location. 

It is also something that can be quite beneficial when your computer is out of reach, or even in the case of stolen, lost, or damaged devices. 

Many businesses are yet to explore the many benefits of remote access. If you are wondering whether or not this is for you, read on to discover six examples of where you might use remote access and why it is important for businesses.

What is Remote Access? 

Remote access refers to two separate, yet related purposes that allow access to a computer system from a geographical distance.

• The first definition of remote access refers to employees that access data, files, and resources from outside the company network or location (e.g. an office).

• The second definition refers to technical support remotely connecting to a user’s device to help solve problems with their software system.

Simply put, remote access allows an authorized person to access another computer or network that is not in their physical presence.

How Does Remote Access Work? 

Remote access lets you connect with other devices that are not in your physical vicinity by using a combination of software, hardware tools, and network configurations to send data from one device to the other through encrypted channels. 

The software encrypts the request prior to sending it to the remote device and decrypts it upon arrival, which helps to ensure the security and safety of your information.

The remote access tool you use needs to be installed on both devices. Once installed, the application must be turned on and you can then select the device you want to access. 

When that is done, the software will mirror the screen on that device from wherever you are accessing it from. 

Linux, macOS, and Windows all have the software available for allowing remote desktop access.

Through this software, you have the ability to access and share any of the files located on the remote device. 

You can download them to the device you are using and you can even make any changes you want on the remote device. This allows employees to work more effectively and efficiently. 

These days, there are a ton of consolidated remote access solutions available to choose from that are compatible with a wide range of devices and platforms. 

Now that we’ve covered the basics of what remote access is and how it works, let us take a look at why it is so important for your business.

Why is Remote Access So Important? 

Due to the growth of remote work in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, remote access and team communication methods have become extremely important for businesses.

For many, working remotely is the new norm, and employees are no longer bound to just one working location. This makes secure remote access an essential part of their everyday operations. 

It is reasonable to think that if most businesses ran an environmental scan within their organization, this would be a problem area as so many companies were forced to adapt so quickly.

Here are some more reasons why remote access is crucial for the modern workforce:

Enhancing Employee Productivity

One of the main advantages of remote access is that it helps to boost productivity for businesses that are managing both in-office work and remote work simultaneously. 

Many organizations have implemented work from home (WFH) policies to establish processes and workflows for the employees so they can effectively conduct business regardless of where they are. 

With the right remote access tools, work can continue uninterrupted whether the employee is in the office or at home. Moreover, if you continue to refine your processes, you will see ongoing improvements. As an example, the team at gaming studio Solitaired was able to improve their remote work productivity by over 20%.

Improving Business Efficiencies

Global organizations are making a move toward remote access as a way to improve business efficiencies. 

For instance, a company that hires college students to work online with a complex CRM may require remote access to its employees in case of a problem. 

While they could hire and wait for a local technician to fix these problems in person, which would not only be costly, but would also reduce productivity in the time it takes to solve the issue, they can remotely diagnose and fix the problem quickly.

Relying on Vendors

More and more businesses rely on vendors who offer services, software, hardware, and other products that help to support operations and ensure that the business operates efficiently. 

Naturally, these vendors need to have a level of access to some parts of the organization’s network. 

Remote access tools allow them to securely access devices and networks in the company’s ecosystem so they can conduct installations, maintenance, etc. This saves everyone time and money as it eliminates the need for vendors to travel to specific locations when fixes are required.

Examples of Remote Access

Now, we are going to take a look at six different examples of remote access and why each is important in a business. 

Allowing Employees At-Home Access To Work Devices

Most of us have had the experience of forgetting the files we needed at work. At such a time, remote desktop software might have been all we needed to save the day. 

Remote access is also helpful for workers who need to log into a secure device connected to their organization server while working from home on a personal device.

Regardless of the size of the organization, any business stands to benefit from implementing remote access. With remote work becoming more and more common than ever before, the majority of businesses have to rethink how they operate. 

Remote access will allow your employees to safely work from any platform, device, or network whether at their home office, at an internet cafe, or abroad. 

They can access, edit, and share important files with colleagues, which makes collaboration easy and helps to streamline work for all employees concerned. 

Traditional remote access solutions for businesses used dial-up technologies to let employees connect to the office network through a connection between telephone networks and remote access services. 

These days, virtual private networking (VPN) has replaced that physical connection by creating a sort of tunnel over the internet or other public network in order to connect the individual employee (referred to as the client) to the corporate network (known as the host network). All of this is done while keeping corporate data secure from cyber threats. 

Employers Assisting Remote Employees When Needed

Beyond simply connecting to remote resources, remote access also allows employers to assist remote employees when the need arises. 

According to Nelson Sherwin, the manager of PEOCompanies.com, “To ‘remote’ successfully requires an understanding that you’re dealing with a different kind of beast entirely. All the little interactions taken for granted in a centralized office setting go away. The only kind of communication is what you set up and use.”

For instance, say a worker is having trouble with their presentation. They might share their screen with the employer or manager to help them with any issues they are experiencing. 

This means they can get immediate help, as opposed to waiting until they get a chance for an in-person meeting, and it helps to boost the employee’s productivity – and ultimately, the organization’s results. 

Depending on the needs of your business, your remote access system might come in one of many different forms. 

You might choose an on-premise server-based model or you could opt for a cloud-based solution, such as we are seeing in many different industries these days. 

The solution you choose will have to have the features you need to make collaboration easy so employers can assist remote employees effectively.

IT Specialists Troubleshooting Remote Devices

For most businesses, technical problems arise faster than they can solve them and it is in these moments when remote access can help to save the day.

With remote access tools, the host computer (the local computer that is going to access and view the desktop of the target computer) can see and interact with the computer being accessed through its actual desktop interface.

This ability makes it particularly useful for tech support purposes and allows the host user to view exactly what the target user sees and makes it possible for IT specialists to troubleshoot remote devices. 

Some of the things IT specialists can do through remote access include:

• Viewing files
• Making changes to files
• Fixing technical issues
• Changing settings

… and much more.

As you can see from the image below, this tool lets your IT staff take care of a lot of your business’s tech problems from afar, saving everyone a lot of time, money, and effort. 

If you have ever had to send a tech to go and troubleshoot the problem, remote access would have solved that problem for you by giving the IT person access from wherever they were.

Secure remote access is an important tool for many organizations, and even the most basic software will transform the way a business operates, particularly now when so many people are working remotely. It helps to enhance the business’s workflow and boost productivity. 

Often, problems come up very quickly when managing a global workforce, and having remote access in your business will enable help desk technicians to troubleshoot successfully from remote locations. 

Problems can be identified quickly and taken care of without the need to wait for in-person troubleshooting. So, a problem that may have taken a day or more to fix (with travel) would now only take a few minutes. 

This means the work can go on with very little interruption by simply giving authorized organizational users access from wherever they are so they can take control of a computer. 

Employees Collaborating Easily Independent of Location

One of the most fundamental advantages of using remote access software is that it gives you the ability to access files from a computer or device in a completely different location.

Regardless of where they are located in the world, employees and employers need to be able to easily share files with each other and remote access gives them the tools to do so in a quick and secure way. 

In addition to file sharing, other features of remote collaboration include:

• Chat functions
• Video conferencing
• Shared word processing

… and more. 

All of these features help to streamline work for your employees and make collaboration as easy as possible for the entire organization.  This can be especially beneficial with training courses that allow for collaboration, which is possible if a company uses PLR courses. 

With the right remote access tools, employees can safely work and collaborate from any platform or device with functions that allow them to get remote access to important files, share screens for meetings, etc. whether they are across town, at the other side of the country, or on the opposite end of the world.

Remote Workers Accessing Their At-Home Computers from Portable Devices

Yet another benefit of remote access is that it allows remote workers to access their computers at home using portable devices when away from home. 

Remote access software will let you control your computer from your device to help increase efficiency and make your life a lot easier. 

This is a huge advantage of this type of software and it can come in handy in a ton of situations. 

For instance, say you are set to have a meeting with a client in a few minutes, but you just realized that you left your presentation deck back home on your computer. 

If you have remote access installed, you can simply log onto your desktop from your portable device and copy the presentation over in just a few clicks.

This is just one of the many examples where this software can save you a lot of time, money, and frustration. 

It is important to note that remote work comes with its own caveat, especially with handling your login credentials. You can address this problem by using a magic link.

Managers Logging All Activity on the Network

Remote access also offers solutions for managers who want to keep track of what their employees are doing on the company devices. 

The software has the ability to log all the activity that occurs in a network so managers can easily get historical information on usage. 

This not only informs managers on what employees are looking at, but also helps to promote network security. 

The logs will provide details of everything from individual user authentication to video sessions, etc. so you will know who is accessing your company’s network, when and how they are doing it, as well as what they are doing while they’re there. 

Important Note: If you are granting team members access to systems or company devices, you need to take security measures to prevent unauthorized access to any of your data or programs. 

The right remote access system will involve a combination of different technologies, applications, and strategies to protect your computers and networks from being accessed by the wrong people. 

The world was abruptly thrown into a predominantly remote working culture. This has made remote access even more essential to ensure successful business operations. 

You too can implement remote access in your own business to remove the distance between employees and files, and problems and solutions. 

In the process, it also saves you a lot of time and money when you do not have to send out technicians or have projects stalled because employees cannot access data at all times.

Author’s Bio: Ron Stefanski is an online entrepreneur and marketing professor who has a passion for helping people create and market their own online business.  You can learn more from him by visiting OneHourProfessor.com You can also connect with him on YouTube or Linkedin.