Troubleshooting IT problems among workers in branch offices is a challenge regardless of company size or IT sophistication. That's one reason companies are moving toward managed services to help offload IT staff responsibilities.

There are a variety of services, such as WebEx Support Center, Citrix’s Go To Assist, and PC Anywhere, to help IT administrators remotely troubleshoot desktop issues. I recently talked with another vendor in this space - Bomgar - that offers some capabilities worth consideration.

Rather than offering remote troubleshooting capabilities via a service, Bomgar provides an appliance for customers to own and then host the technology internally. (For the record, Bomgar does offer a service, but it’s not the deployment method the company pushes.) By offering the technology as an on-site solution, IT staffs can address security concerns related to going through a service. We have found that remote control or remote access via the Web frequently is the origin of security breaches.

What I like about the so-called Bomgar Box is how it works: Companies install it in the data center, and then tech support people can open a Web browser and access that box over the corporate intranet. Once logged in, the user logs in to the same Web site and enter a seven-digit key the technical service rep gives him or her.

Within a few seconds, the service rep sees the desktop, and all data transfer is encrypted. What’s more, the box logs the entire session, who is involved and who controls the screen.

As we see significant adoption of the “virtual workplace,” these types of tools are going to be increasingly important. In fact, they are already. Nearly 90% of companies identify themselves as virtual workplaces, meaning they employ people who work remotely from their supervisors and/or workgroups full- or part-time.

Whether companies select a service-based option or an appliance option, it’s imperative to select something to effectively troubleshoot remote desktops. In doing so, consider the auditing and security capabilities available in the chosen solution.

Robin Gareiss is executive vice president and senior founding partner of Nemertes Research. Click  here for the newsletter archive.