Competitive Analysis
Worldwide Clientless Remote Support Software 2013
Vendor Shares: Top 6 Market Share Leaders
Rob Brothers Ben Hoffman
IDC OPINION
This study reviews the market share leaders in the clientless remote support software market. This market is currently dominated by the top 6 market participants. Key trends in the hardware support and deployment services market include the following:
Growth in the market is very strong. The market grew over 35%, with Rsupport and Bomgar seeing significant gains at 25% and 20.7%, respectively. The largest growth came from the "others" segment, which saw a dramatic increase in growth, led by players such as
TeamViewer and Zoho. Citrix also saw significant growth, with a 19% gain in 2013. Citrix and WebEx are still the market leaders by a significant margin, with 30.1% and 20.4% market shares, respectively.
Mobility is no longer innovative; it is a must. Vendors that do not have a compelling mobility story should not expect to remain competitive by the time IDC publishes its next clientless remote support forecast. We have reached an inflection point where the vendors that are doing the most around mobile support innovation are the ones vying for contention in the elite market leader segment. Smartphones and tablets are here to stay for the long term, which means vendors need to think about how they can differentiate their offerings to remain attractive to potential customers.
Vendors are developing quick-fix technologies. As enterprise and SMB employees increasingly leverage mobile devices both in and outside the office, the need for not only mobile remote support but also immediate resolution becomes critical. LogMeIn, for instance, includes a feature called Click2Fix in its Rescue clientless remote support solution. Click2Fix enables one-click fixes for common mobile device concerns such as firmware issues, battery optimization, and malware detection. IDC expects more vendors to develop this type of technology going forward.
If you want to lead, think about the IoT (Internet of things). With everything being connected, how are devices on the very edge generating massive amounts of data going to be supported? Remote support of these edge devices is going to be the next battleground in the near future, and planning strategies today on how to effectively grab a piece of that market will be imperative for players in the clientless remote support space.
IN THIS STUDY
This IDC study presents the top 6 market share leaders for 2013 in the worldwide clientless remote support software market.
Clientless Remote Support Software Tools Market Definition
Clientless remote support software tools are applications that allow one device to stream the contents of its screen to another device via an Internet connection. These tools give IT support specialists the ability to remotely control devices from almost any system that can access the Web. Most of these solutions include the ability to support PC and Mac-based devices; however, remote support of mobile operating system (OS)-based devices is more limited today. Clientless remote support software tools differ from remote control software because they do not require client software to be pre-installed on the host machine to connect to the guest device. They differ from remote access services solutions in that they have a specific set of functionality that is geared toward an IT professional. Clientless remote support software tools are commonly sold in a subscription model, although licensed software and hardware appliances are also available.
SITUATION OVERVIEW
The need for remote support within both the enterprise and the small and medium-sized business (SMB) workplace is greater than it has ever been. Mobile device proliferation has expanded into all corners of the business world, and likewise, the way that employees work has changed dramatically. Gone are the days when laptops represented the overwhelming method for completing work outside of the four walls. Smartphones and tablets are now a legitimate necessity for many workers, and this means that support for these devices is critical to ensure employees can remain productive at all times. Enterprises are typically more equipped to address these concerns than SMBs as a result of having greater resources and generally more robust IT teams.
Nonetheless, the SMB, SOHO, and consumer segments have an increased need for remote IT support. While these groups typically have very little or no IT resources, they may seek the assistance of independent support providers that can help their business get the support they need. At the end of the day, these segments are facing many of the same issues that larger companies are, but simply need a different method of tackling them.
For corporate IT, remote support is appealing because of the fact that many solutions on the market today allow engineers to multitask efficiently for quicker problem resolution. For example, if a
technician is working on a specific server within a datacenter and is carrying a smartphone, he or she has the ability to log in to support sessions outside of the datacenter. Remote support solutions enable technicians to address employee or customer issues that may be occurring anywhere else in the world. Further, some solutions today include automated problem resolution for common support issues
A challenge facing IT groups today with respect to remote support is how they plan to deal with the fragmented device landscape. The device policies an organization has in place make an enormous difference in the way the business handles remote support issues, since many solutions on the market today only support certain mobile operating systems. On top of this, the list of approved devices within the organization can have a direct impact on how much support a user will potentially require. For example, if the organization only allows workers to use Android devices, they are likely to deal with more malware-related problems than an organization that only allows users to use iPhones.
Business Models
Today, clientless remote support software tools are offered in the business models discussed in the sections that follow.
Hosted Solutions
Most of the vendors in this market are providing the clientless remote support solution as a hosted application. In this business model, the customer or services provider pays a monthly or annual fee to the vendor for the rights to use the software. This approach has advantages for services providers that intend to use these tools to provide support to their customers because it does not require them to make a significant up-front investment in software or hardware. This model is also easy to scale, as the customer can just add more seats with the hosted software provider.
Software Solutions
Some vendors are offering the clientless remote support solution under a traditional software licensing model. This model offers advantages for customers that are interested in using this type of solution to support internal employees. Because the software is installed on-premise, it is owned by the enterprise and thus can be deployed behind the corporate firewall, which helps minimize some of the security concerns of the enterprise.
Hardware Solutions
The final model being used is a hardware model. In this model, the vendor provides the solution as an appliance that can be installed in a company's datacenter. This model avoids the need to install the software on a server but maintains the advantages of being behind the firewall.
FUTURE OUTLOOK
Market Share Leaders
The top 6 clientless remote support software tools providers in 2013 are shown in Table 1 and Figure 1. In 2013, Citrix and WebEx were the number 1 and 2 market share leaders, respectively.
TABLE 1
Worldwide Clientless Remote Support Software Revenue by Top 6 Vendor,
2013
Rank Company Enterprise SMB Total
1 Citrix 27,608,000.0 110,432,000.0 138,040,000.0 2 WebEx 26,021,255.7 67,822,485.2 93,843,740.8 3 LogMeIn 29,231,280.0 43,846,920.0 73,078,200.0 4 Bomgar 36,141,031.0 16,283,898.0 52,424,929.0 5 Rsupport 12,600,000.0 8,400,000.0 21,000,000.0 6 NTRglobal 4,095,000.0 6,615,000.0 10,710,000.0 7 Other 46,078,269.9 23,569,178.0 69,647,448.0 Total 181,774,836.6 276,969,481.2 458,744,317.8 Source: IDC, 2014
FIGURE 1
Worldwide Clientless Remote Support Software Revenue Share
by Top 6 Vendor, 2013
Bomgar
Bomgar focuses exclusively on internal employee or external customer remote support technology with a sweet spot at the enterprise level. In 2013, Bomgar saw revenue of $52.4 million, which represents a 20.7% increase over 2012 revenue. Bomgar is fourth in the market share leaders list. Bomgar's solution is unique in that it is offered as either a physical or a virtual appliance, meaning the solution resides within a customer's firewall for amplified security for users within and outside of the firewall. The company also enables integrations with identity management and authentication tools and includes over 50 permission controls within the solution that can be administered either to individual employees or through group policies. Bomgar's technology captures a full audit trail plus a video recording of each session for either compliance or training purposes. Bomgar's solution supports Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, BlackBerry, Windows Mobile, and Linux platforms.
Within the past year, Bomgar has released a number of updates to its technology. Aside from the TA Associates announcement regarding its majority investment in Bomgar, Bomgar's integration with TOPdesk, and integration certification from ServiceNow, Bomgar also released major product updates. In July 2013, the company announced the launch of Bomgar 13.1, which includes new features — including a presentation tool that allows users to conduct training meetings and share information, all through a Flash-based interface so no downloads are necessary. Bomgar 13.1 also includes a canned message system for more efficient support resolution, iOS enterprise app support for secured app environments, file transfer enhancements, and embedded remote app support via SDK for iOS and Android apps.
In January 2014, Bomgar announced the release of Bomgar 14.1, which hosts a number of new features, including RDP integration, session permission policy controls, click-to-chat functionality for mobile users, HTML5 chat capabilities, and several other upgrades, user experience enhancements, and bug fixes. Bomgar 14.2, released by Bomgar in June 2014, includes new support routing and scheduling capabilities through a tool called Jump Client Access Schedule. Bomgar's new Rep Console Device Verification enables organizations to control which networks a specific rep console can use. The new offering also includes several other updates to make the solution more powerful and efficient.
Cisco WebEx
Cisco's subsidiary WebEx sits behind Citrix as the largest vendor in the clientless remote support market, with 20.5% of the total market share in 2013. While Cisco has not added to or updated its offering since the latest version of our forecast (see Worldwide Clientless Remote Support Software 2013–2017 Forecast, IDC #244467, November 2013), WebEx nonetheless offers a compelling suite of remote access and remote control tools, including WebEx Meetings for Web conferencing, WebEx Event Center for Webinars, WebEx Training Center for online training, and WebEx Support Center, the company's clientless remote support offering.
WebEx Support Center is designed to address a number of different technical support needs. Product features include WebACD Queue Manager, which enables automated, rules-based call distribution, and WebACD Manager Dashboard, an analytics engine that gives administrators insight into both
with VoIP, videoconferencing, and teleconferencing tools, in addition to CRM applications such as Salesforce.com or Remedy. WebEx Support Center is delivered through the Cisco WebEx Cloud, which provides a simple installation process for end users.
Citrix
Citrix, one of the largest global SaaS providers, places a significant focus on three of its lines of business: access and cloud, collaboration, and IT support services. Citrix saw a 19% revenue increase in 2013 and is the market share leader, with a 30.1% share of the clientless remote support market. As in past years, Citrix continued to build momentum with innovative solutions that address users' needs from a social, mobile, and cloud perspective.
GoToAssist is Citrix's remote support solution, and it comprises several cloud-based, on-demand tools and services that are built to support both technology and people. The solution supplies IT managers, IT consultants, managed service providers (MSPs), software consultants, and technicians with a comprehensive toolset for providing secured live and unattended remote support to customers, employees, and servers from any location and at any time of the day. GoToAssist features a team-based support methodology, which enables the assignment of multiple technicians to a single support case and assigns permissions to designate unattended machines to specific technicians. Customers can initiate support requests from any location via a social support community, self-service portal, or Web site once GoToAssist has been integrated.
GoToAssist includes myriad features that facilitate efficient support resolutions, including in-session chat functionality between employees or customers, session recording capabilities, and session transfers to other technicians. Two-way screen sharing allows both the customers and the IT technicians to share their respective screens.
On the mobility front, GoToAssist enables technicians to provide support to iOS and Android users. For iOS users, technicians can create and push custom settings for email, WiFi, and many other device attributes; transfer files; and chat with the mobile user. For Android devices, technicians can do each of these tasks in addition to glean system diagnostics for apps, settings, and accounts; view and control the user's device; and remotely diagnose router, printer, and other hardware issues through the user's on-device camera using Citrix's recent feature called SeeIt. On the other side of the coin, technicians can also provide support from their own iOS and Android devices. This is a useful feature for technicians that often work in an environment outside of the office.
GoToAssist can also be integrated with either Citrix's Service Desk or Monitoring tools. The Service Desk offering includes a number of key functionalities such as ticketing and incident management, problem management, change management, release management, configuration management, and a knowledge center for self-support. The Monitoring offering incorporates capabilities such as device health monitoring, inventory management, and critical alerts notifications.
Citrix also offers GoToAssist Corporate, which is designed specifically for contact and technical support centers, customer service departments, and enterprise help desks. This offering includes
LogMeIn
In 2013, LogMeIn retained its number 3 position in the clientless remote support software market, with 15.9% total market share. The company experienced a significant 17% year-over-year growth for its clientless remote support product, Rescue, with total revenue for this product at $73.1 million in 2013. The product is targeted at a number of verticals, including healthcare, technology, education, and telecom.
Rescue allows users to assign IT administrators and technicians to different groups or support channels based on the specific end-user issue. IT administrators can monitor real-time technician activity to maximize support resolution efficiency.
Key features of Rescue include single-click support sessions without the need to access a browser, an autorouting function that enables customers to join a specific support queue based on their technical issue, and multi-technician support or session transfers to other technicians. LogMeIn's BoldChat product acquisition in January 2012 helped address the chat functionality that the vendor's customers were asking for.
One of Rescue's most intriguing features is Click2Fix, a tool that permits one-click fixes for common mobile device issues. Features include remote control and view, which allows the technician to see the user's device and use a whiteboard, laser pointer, screen capture and recording tool, and more. An alert bar displays notifications of application, battery, or firmware issues, and a battery optimization feature pushes settings to optimize battery life. Click2Fix also incorporates a predefined Access Point Name (APN) push functionality, radio toggles for connections such as Bluetooth or WiFi, and URL push, which sends a URL to an end user's device. This proactive guidance is designed to reduce support costs and processes. Click2Fix also checks the user's device to ensure the OS is updated and that there are no harmful apps or malware issues on the device.
Rescue enables the support of PCs, Macs, smartphones, and tablets, including iOS, Android,
BlackBerry, and Windows Mobile devices. The solution enables technicians to remotely configure iOS and Android connectivity settings, including WiFi network setup and APN settings.
NTRglobal
NTRglobal, an ASG company, designs solutions that are built specifically for the IT services and desktop management markets. The company, headquartered in Barcelona, Spain, was founded in 2000 and services over 17,000 companies. NTRglobal had revenue of $10.7 million in 2013, based on new guidance, and is in the sixth position in terms of overall market share. The majority of NTRglobal's customer base is still located in Europe, and the company is realizing some of its fastest growth in North America.
NTRglobal focuses on enabling solutions for enterprise-level IT customers. The company's solution is built on a SaaS platform and has two primary product offerings: NTR Cloud and Support Ultimate. NTR Cloud comes in three different flavors: NTR Cloud for ITSM, NTR Cloud for Help Desk, and Free Cloud. Both of these offerings provide IT automation and remote systems management, and hence much of the functionality of these technologies would be covered within IDC's PC, device, and IT service management practices. From a mobile standpoint, NTRglobal provides support to a couple of platforms within its Support Ultimate offering. NTR Chat, a one-click messaging tool within Support
Rsupport
Rsupport, founded in 2001, provides remote support solutions for PCs and Apple products, as well as other mobile devices. The company develops its technology for both SMB and enterprise
organizations. In 2013, Rsupport saw growth rates of 25% and currently sits in the fifth position for overall market share.
Rsupport's remote support solution is RemoteCall. Key features of the solution include a queue system to manage customer requests to specific agents, an instant chat tool, canned messages for more efficient responses, and video chat functionality. RemoteCall Enterprise is another offering from Rsupport and includes additional features such as support team setup, call distribution policy control, and customer queuing to enable customers to reserve a time for a callback in case technicians are unavailable. RemoteCall Pro, a third offering from Rsupport, includes additional features such as drag-and-drop file transfers, service reports, whiteboard tool, and remote printing.
Rsupport also offers RemoteCall Appliance, which is a plug-and-play solution that is designed for standard rack server environments. In addition, Rsupport offers RemoteCall + mobile pack and RemoteCall + visual pack. RemoteCall + mobile pack supports Android and Windows Mobile in the same way as the PC support method. RemoteCall + visual pack is a real-time communication service that enables specific objects or environments to be shared visually using a smartphone's camera via cellular connection or WiFi. Rsupport also recently announced news that its solution will come pre-installed on Samsung Galaxy NotePRO and TabPRO tablets.
More than 5,000 organizations around the world leverage these solutions to help optimize their operations. Rsupport's global headquarters and R&D center are located in Seoul, South Korea, with branch offices in Tokyo, Beijing, and New York City.
Others
IDC believes that TeamViewer is a significant player to watch in the clientless remote support space. In May 2014, private equity firm Permira announced its acquisition of TeamViewer for approximately $605 million in leveraged loans. TeamViewer offers a freemium, private-use download in addition to three levels of business-grade plans each available via a one-time, up-front payment. The company offers apps for iOS, Android, and Windows Phone 8/Windows Phone 8 RT. TeamViewer offers an API for integration into certain back-end systems such as CRM infrastructure.
ESSENTIAL GUIDANCE
Advice for Vendors
The market for clientless remote support solutions is beginning to experience platonic shifts. Legacy solutions such as Cisco's WebEx and NTRglobal's solution have essentially remained the same since at least 2012, while others such as Citrix's GoToAssist and LogMeIn's Rescue have experienced
example of this. IDC believes the top vendors will need to take the following actions in order to maintain their dominance:
Develop innovative approaches or become irrelevant. The harsh reality is that only the most innovative companies in the clientless remote support space will not only remain competitive but survive. Specifically, this means developing solutions that address customers' needs around mobile support, immediate tier 1 issue resolution, and an intuitive user experience. Expand partnerships with enterprise mobility vendors. As the conversation around clientless
remote support goes from the support to PCs and Macs to Android and iPhones, clientless remote support vendors have an opportunity to partner with mobile enterprise vendors in the mobile enterprise management (MEM) space to enhance the security of their support solutions. Further, partnerships with mobile OEMs will be a key go-to-market strategy, with Rsupport's nascent partnership with Samsung being an example of how this can be effective.
LEARN MORE
Related Research
Bomgar 14.2: More Productive and Secure Access Features and Functionality (IDC #lcUS24928214, June 2014)
Support Services: The Value of Technical Account Managers (IDC #249237, June 2014) Worldwide Business Use Smartphone 2013–2017 Forecast Update (IDC #244840, December
2013)
Worldwide Clientless Remote Support Software 2012 Vendor Shares: Top 6 Market Share Leaders (IDC #241656, June 2013)
Worldwide Mobile Enterprise Management Software 2013–2017 Forecast and 2012 Vendor Shares (IDC #241650, June 2013)
Worldwide Remote Access Services and Applications 2013–2017 Forecast and 2012 Vendor Shares (IDC #239865, March 2013)
Synopsis
This IDC study presents the top 6 market share leaders for 2013 in the worldwide clientless remote support software market. Over the past several years, the market for clientless remote support tools has grown considerably. Each of these providers is approaching the market in a slightly different manner and developing a niche for itself. More competition will begin to work its way into this market space as more devices hit corporate networks and the demand steadily increases.
"Remote clientless support vendors understand how to target the smart device market," says Rob Brothers, program director for IDC's Software and Hardware Support Services practice. "The next step for these vendors is to expand to the IoT (Internet of things); adding features and functionality to the existing offering is great, but the players that will differentiate will open new markets."
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