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The Bureau of Labor Statistics found that 27% of the U.S. workforce worked remotely in 2022. A handful of academic surveys suggest that number is now closer to 50%, and Forbes recently reported that roughly 28% of full-time employees work in a hybrid model.
Without a robust remote assist solution, MSPs and IT teams can’t provide those workers with adequate, timely helpdesk support.
To overcome this hurdle, many IT professionals turn to AnyDesk. But the AnyDesk platform comes with distinct challenges and design limitations that restrict a helpdesk’s ability to serve stakeholders efficiently, cutting significantly into its ROI.
Thankfully, there’s an alternative: JumpCloud Remote Assist. Below, we’ll review the unique features and capabilities of JumpCloud’s solution and how it can transform your MSP or internal helpdesk into a top-tier service organization.
What Is Remote Assist?
Remote assistance is a way for MSPs and IT teams to offer support to workers who are not in a physical office. Remote desktop software gives technicians a front-row seat to the problem an end user is experiencing, allowing them to diagnose and fix it without the need for field service work orders. Ideally, remote assist tools have strong and secure real-time connections to enable speedy service.
The Limitations of AnyDesk
Like any tool, AnyDesk has pros and cons. While it’s a popular option because of its easy setup, its usability is constrained by several significant factors, including:
Lack of comprehensive security features
As we know, passwords are highly vulnerable to brute force attacks. And if your remote assist solution is hacked, criminals have free rein to wreak havoc on company devices, steal sensitive information, and leak confidential data. AnyDesk is protected by two-factor authentication — the bare minimum security protocol for any remote assist tool. Other tools, like JumpCloud, allow for multi-factor authentication (MFA) to add additional layers of security, such as biometrics or push notifications, to remote connections to keep cyberattacks at bay.
While the AnyDesk platform itself may be considered secure, the company isn’t taking measures to help customers implement robust security measures in their own environments. JumpCloud, for instance, enables customers to take a Zero Trust approach, locking down devices, applications, files, networks, and other resources from a single open cloud directory platform. Plus, JumpCloud has additional security features like conditional access and single sign-on (SSO), both of which would require other tools, such as an IdP, to implement alongside AnyDesk.
Limited device management capabilities
AnyDesk is not an mobile device management (MDM) solution, rather a tool to facilitate applying MDM policies. And it can’t do that alone. You’ll still need a second vendor that is an actual device management platform to do that. AnyDesk competitors like JumpCloud take a unified approach to IT management, combining MDM with other policies and procedures commonly under IT purview, such as: identity and access management, SSO, remote assistance, and patch management tools. With this single pane of glass architecture, JumpCloud gives admins full visibility and centralized control over the entire IT function in one platform.
Poor connectivity and support
To provide comprehensive support, IT and MSP teams need a remote assist tool that will connect to any device with any operating system at any time. But AnyDesk users have consistently complained about AnyDesk’s connectivity, reporting system glitches and crashes whenever there is poor Wi-Fi — on the technician or the end-user side. And it cannot connect to multiple users at the same time.
When things go wrong, AnyDesk support isn’t there to help. Although they do offer customer support, it only takes place over email, rather than by phone or chat. Admins have reported frustration with the timeliness or lack of resolution.
Poor scalability
AnyDesk is built for small businesses and personal use. So as you might expect, users can only have a few concurrent sessions without the app crashing. AnyDesk also lacks important enterprise features like session scheduling, bulk deployment for unattended access, diagnostic tools, and session confirmation, hindering MSP and IT teams’ ability to get employees back to work quickly.
The Superiority of JumpCloud as an AnyDesk Alternative
JumpCloud Remote Assist has an abundance of features — from real-time secure peer-to-peer connections to event logging to role-based access control — that make MSP and IT teams’ lives easier. Let’s delve into JumpCloud’s signature features in detail.
Enhanced security features
Security is JumpCloud’s utmost concern. That’s why Remote Assist comes with multi-factor authentication and secure connection protocols. All private sessions are protected by end-to-end encryption and facilitate direct peer-to-peer communications. Although JumpCloud Remote Assist supports unattended access, admins can also enable consent-based attended access to ensure they have end-user permission to control devices.
Remote Assist has native connections to JumpCloud’s existing identity and access management (IAM) products, lending an overarching Zero Trust mentality to IT support. Remote Assist’s role-based access control also defines which technicians can access certain end-user devices. And JumpCloud’s always-on audit logging tracks exactly what’s happened during each session.
Robust user management capabilities
Perhaps one of the most unique aspects of JumpCloud’s Remote Assist product is its centralized user access control, giving admins easy access to company resources, policies, and permissions. In fact, JumpCloud is the only remote assist platform that consolidates live remote support with centralized identity, asset management, and Secure, Frictionless AccessTM to all company resources. JumpCloud also seamlessly integrates with other common IT and MSP systems and applications, streamlining end-user support and back-end functions like billing or time and expenses.
Scalability and flexibility
With JumpCloud Remote Assist, you can deploy remote assistance to any user device with any operating system (Windows, macOS, Linux) straight from your Chrome, Edge, Firefox, or Safari browser. Remote Assist’s direct integration with JumpCloud’s identity, access, and device management solutions makes employee onboarding and offboarding a breeze — even as your organization scales. And, with an open directory approach, you have the flexibility to integrate the tools, processes, and protocols you prefer to use in your environment without vendor lock-in.
Improved Productivity with JumpCloud
Once implemented, a fully featured, centralized platform like JumpCloud increases efficiency while reducing time to ticket resolution.
Streamlined remote access and collaboration
Multiple monitor support, clipboard synchronization, remote printing, secure file sharing, and collaboration features accelerate service for enterprise-grade helpdesks. Easy remote device management with JumpCloud keeps employees and in-office equipment online — even when IT or MSP teams cannot be there in person.
Simplified user experience
End users actually enjoy using JumpCloud Remote Assist. Its intuitive user interface, single sign-on functionality, and straightforward video calling and screen sharing simplify communication with IT professionals. And any tool that gets problems resolved faster is a clear winner in stakeholders’ minds.
Cost-Effectiveness and ROI
Productivity gains from JumpCloud inherently boost ROI for IT teams and MSPs alike.
Competitive pricing model
JumpCloud is the only free remote assistance tool available on the market, enabling existing JumpCloud customers to scale easily to thousands of users without a dramatic increase in cost. Non-JumpCloud customers can create a freemium account with Premium platform features and 10 days of Premium in-app live support. If you’d rather pay a la carte, JumpCloud Remote Assist is just $2 per user per month. Use our convenient pricing calculator to get a recommended package based on your or your client’s IT environment.
Reduced IT overhead costs
JumpCloud’s all-in-one platform decreases hardware and infrastructure requirements. With everything housed under one roof, it’s much easier for IT admins to distribute and execute tasks, leading to time savings. Plus, combining IAM with remote assistance has the added benefit of an overall lower total cost of ownership.
JumpCloud Remote Assist: The Solution for the Enterprise
If you’re looking for a tool to help family and friends, AnyDesk is a great option.
But for MSPs and IT teams that support enterprise companies, AnyDesk falls flat. Its lack of key usability, security, and scalability features simply cannot keep up with the volume and complexity of any enterprise helpdesk.
JumpCloud is the best remote desktop protocol alternative to AnyDesk and its other competitors, TeamViewer and Zoho Assist.
Built by enterprise engineers for the enterprise, JumpCloud’s browser-based support system empowers IT admins to connect to any device (including mobile phones) with any OS at any location, protected by unique session keys and the end-to-end encryption enterprise organizations require. Because it’s fully integrated with JumpCloud’s identity and access management solutions, admins have all they need to solve the most common helpdesk problems at their fingertips, amplifying the speed of service and maximizing ROI.
Explore the breadth of what JumpCloud Remote Assist can do by reading our FAQ, or get started for free to experience the undeniable benefits yourself.
