Adaptations in Remote Access for Small Businesses

Based in Santa Barbara, Calif., Expertcity provides Web-based remote access and customer support technologies. The company’s screen-sharing know-how enables users to view and control a remote computer via the Web. Its flagship service, GoToMyPC, enables employees at enterprises such as Gateway, Sun Microsystems, and Intuit to remotely access and work on their PCs from any Internet location, anywhere in the world.

While the media has already pounced on remote access as a boon to corporate users, there is solid evidence that with its low price point and ease of use, GoToMyPC also can serve a vital function in the small-business community. GoToMyPC Pro, just introduced in June, has already attracted more than 1,000 small business customers requiring a simple, secure and cost-effective managed service for their remote access needs.

Brian Donahoo, Expertcity senior vice president of client services of, said the success of GoToMyPC’s corporate edition motivated the company to move into the small business market.

“GoToMyPC Pro provides security and administrative features on a scale appropriate for small businesses,” Donahoo said. “Its rapid adoption in just five months demonstrates that our solution has the security, flexibility and mix of managed administrative features small businesses need to maintain a productive and competitive workforce.”

Constructive Interpretations

Based in Brooklyn, N.Y., Eriksen Translations provides comprehensive language services to Fortune 500 companies, financial institutions, law firms, international organizations, educational institutions, and health care providers around the world. The small company’s blend of skilled language professionals, project managers and IT experts strive to meet its clients’ needs. The result is that Eriksen is a leading language service provider in all-major languages and has been so for over seventeen years.

Every translation project demands the right team of translators and editors. This is why Eriksen has assembled an extensive pool of language professionals — native speakers that are experts in the art of translations. By the same token, Eriksen Translation is aware of the value of computer-aided translations and other technology tools. Understanding where the efficiency and accuracy of such tools end, and the expertise and judgment of professionals begin, is one of the small company’s strengths.

Vigdis Eriksen, Eriksen Translations president, said the company has been using GoToMyPC for more than two years. The ability to securely access a PC from anywhere in the world has dramatically impacted its business.

“Since our clients and suppliers are located in different time zones around the world, it’s extremely practical for our project managers to be able to log on from home in the early morning hours or late at night, Eriksen said. “Travel has also become much easier now that we can go to any Internet cafè and log on to our desktops in the office. While on vacation, our bookkeeper just transmitted payroll from France. Other staff members have been able to go back to their home countries for several weeks at the time while they keep working. It’s great for our company as well as our people.”

Eriksen added that the small company’s use of GoToMyPC means that everyone is always connected.

“Two of our staff members moved to Europe last year, but have been able to continue working with us full time thanks to GoToMyPC,” Eriksen said. “Their PCs are still here in the office and they are now being referred to as ghosts.”

Because GoToMyPC literally takes employees directly to their desktops, it also gets them inside the company firewall, giving access to everything that resides on the company network. When users sign on, they see exactly what is on their desktops. Anything users can do at their desks can be done through GoToMyPC, which explains why some workstations might appear to be haunted.

Bottom Line
GoToMyPC Pro is designed for small businesses with remote access needs for 20 or fewer employees. Business data is secure and protected with advanced 128-bit end-to-end encryption and one-time passwords. Setup is easy and takes only minutes — an online Administration Center enables centralized billing and real-time usage tracking as well as system monitoring. No training is required.

GoToMyPC also offers PocketView features allowing full access and control of desktop PCs in real-time from Pocket PC wireless devices. Employees have anywhere, anytime access to information with full wireless remote access functionality.

Kneko Burney, analyst of In-Stat/MDR research group, said GoToMyPC Pro is simple to use and affordable, yet includes a level of security and control features, such as one-time passwords and Web-based administration, that make it a compelling choice for small businesses.

“With the need to stay ‘connected’ to information and applications rising, demand for remote-access solutions among small companies is higher than ever before,” Burney said. “However, these firms need balance between ‘enterprise-class’ capability and ‘small business-class’ flexibility and affordability. GoToMyPC Pro seems to have found this balance.”

GoToMyPC Pro is available for purchase online, starting at $67.80 per month for a four-PC plan. A free trial is available for unlimited access to four PCs for 30-days.

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