2024/08/20
Smooth scaling: Optimizing IT support with TeamViewer Tensor
Being able to grow and adapt is vital — always. Here’s how TeamViewer Tensor can help your business to scale and thrive.
Are you familiar with the game whack-a-mole? Well, it’s not dissimilar to delivering IT support to a constantly growing fleet. Whenever one request is dealt with, a new one arises, seemingly from nowhere.
If you’re in IT, you’ll know the challenge of trying to scale your operations while maintaining exceptional IT support. Because being able to deliver remote support to a growing base of users can be the difference between failure and success.
The good news? By investing in at-scale solutions like TeamViewer Tensor you will be well placed to scale, future-proof your business, and maintain that all-important competitive edge. And all without compromising on security or support quality.
Here, we’ll take a look at the main issues affecting operating at scale and — by looking at the success of the global food distributor Dole — see how Tensor helps to address them. Let’s dive right in.
In this article
The problems of operating at scale
In our recent research report, we found that one of the key issues facing today’s companies is operating at scale. As you know, this is a multi-faceted problem. Here are some of its most decisive components:
Security challenges
Little surprise that this was the number one reported issue (48%) with operating at scale. Dispersed remote IT support significantly increases the attack surface and complexity of security management. Meaning it’s challenging to maintain consistent security policies and keep up with rapidly evolving threats.
Diverse hardware and software
Supporting a large number of users means catering to a large number of needs which, in itself, can be pretty challenging. Add in a wide variety of hardware (e.g., different computer models, peripherals) and software (e.g., various operating systems, applications), and you’ve got a real head scratcher.
The rise in remote working and bring-your-own-device (BYOD) policies has further added to this problem. According to a recent global Gartner study, 55% of workers said they used personal devices for work at least some of the time. All of which creates a real challenge for those in the business of remote support.
Geographical dispersion
Working in a remote-first support team across locations and time zones brings its own problems. For one thing, communication and coordination can be complex. Also, depending on where you and your team are based, you can run into increased latency due to sluggish VPN.
Lack of scalable infrastructure
Many teams will find that their infrastructure will struggle once hit with an increased workload. Deploying a scalable infrastructure capable of efficiently handling an uptick in pace is crucial.
Compliance issues
As this recent article shows, maintaining IT compliance is now harder than ever, with AI, cloud-based applications, device diversity, increased regulatory pressures (typically, all over the world) and cyberattacks all playing their part.
High-volume of requests
Lastly, growth means a higher workload. Supporting many users means dealing with numerous support requests simultaneously. If this isn’t properly managed, this can overwhelm support teams, leading to unnecessary stress and burnout. Little surprise then that a recent report found that 62% of IT professionals reported feeling “physically and emotionally drained.”
Introducing TeamViewer Tensor
Maybe you’re struggling with some or all of the above problems. And you wouldn’t be alone in that: according to our research report, less than one in four organizations say they are extremely confident in their current remote support and connectivity strategy. But our respondent also knew the answer to this situation, with roughly 90% of them agreeing that a modern connectivity platform is essential today.
Enter TeamViewer Tensor. As a fully scalable option that combines disparate technologies into one unified and manageable solution, it will help to future-proof your remote support as you grow. Here’s how it addresses some of the main problems that come with operating at scale:
Delivering best-in-class security
The big one. TeamViewer Tensor offers exceptional security features to manage the risks of operating at scale. These include single sign-on (SSO), bring your own certificate (BYOC), and two-factor authentication (2FA), which work to add an extra layer of security across a remote fleet. All TeamViewer remote sessions are also protected with end-to-end encryption, meaning that sensitive information is extra secure.
Tensor also delivers terrific access control with Conditional Access, which allows you to set granular access rules based on user roles, devices, locations, and time to ensure secure and compliant data sharing. It will also go a long way in preventing authorized connections from random devices to maintain the integrity of your network.
Ensures your compliance
Tensor adheres to all regulatory and compliance requirements, including GDPR, HIPAA, and SOC 2. Not only this, but by helping you to keep track of all actions across your system, it grants you full visibility into user activity. This gives you the power to identify compliance risks long before they cause any issues.
Delivers cross-platform support
Tensor scales seamlessly to manage the increased number of devices and applications being used across companies. Supporting a wide range of operating systems (Windows, macOS, Linux, Android, iOS) and hardware configurations, it allows you to stay flexible. No more worrying about what hardware or software your teams use.
Guaranteed smooth connections
TeamViewer has over 1,000 routers worldwide, making connectivity a breeze. Even if you’re working with someone on the other side of the world, Tensor delivers instantaneous remote access and support. Issues are resolved more quickly, and downtime is reduced, meaning you’ll save time and money.
Scales with ease
Growing slowly, exponentially, or even unexpectedly? No problem. TeamViewer Tensor scales as your number of devices grows. Requiring minimal admin input, your end users won’t even notice a thing. The service can be up and running within minutes.
Integrates with your favorite apps
Integrated into popular services and solutions like ServiceNow, Microsoft, and Zendesk, Tensor will also save your IT team a lot of time switching between apps. Seamlessly save in-session information and recordings to your favorite tools, keeping the data flow uninterrupted. With Tensor, you can say goodbye to silos — you'll have everything in one place, finally.
Case study: Dole
This all sounds great, but how does it work in practice? Good question. Let’s look at the global food distributor Dole to find out.
Dole is one of the largest producers and marketers of fresh fruit in the world. Their operations span every corner of the Earth, and so does their highly complex and dispersed IT fleet. It encompasses more than 5,000 devices including networks, servers, and end user devices like mobile phones. As you might gather, managing this fleet, and ensuring its security, is no small feat.
In particular, the IT team were having problems with inconsistencies across their network, which proved a big problem for delivering timely and effective remote support. They were also using various solutions to manage the fleet, meaning it was a bit of a (costly) mess.
The team needed a unified platform, and they found it in Tensor; and, in particular, its Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) functionality, which delivered a single source-of-truth for viewing devices and assets, with the added capabilities of patch management and software deployment at scale.
With the implementation of TeamViewer Tensor, Dole’s IT team can now deliver rapid, secure, and dependable remote support and troubleshooting to regional teams. And the result of this unified platform for IT management? Dole has been able to create a more streamlined workflow, improving operational efficiency by an impressive 82%.
“TeamViewer Tensor has transformed our IT management. It provides a seamless and scalable platform that perfectly aligns with our needs, enabling us to efficiently manage our complex infrastructure while ensuring fast and reliable remote support for our teams across different regions.” (Andy Ng, IT Director at Dole Asia Holdings)
Read the full story: Dole transforms IT management with TeamViewer Tensor for seamless remote support, monitoring and management
Summary
Operating at scale can be a real headache for Enterprise IT support teams. An explosion in the number of devices and systems, along with the increased security threats that this brings, demands a robust connectivity solution. And it’s not enough to keep buying new solutions — what's needed is a unified solution that can fully integrate within your operations.
As the example of Dole shows, this is exactly what Tensor delivers. With it, remote support is easier than ever before. With that all-important visibility of your growing fleet, you can take preventative action before those little issues turn into big problems. And isn’t that what every IT support team wants?
Want to scale without compromising on security?
Our Tensor experts are ready to talk you through your options to help you scale your remote support operations with ease.