[V3] RSupport brings remote support to Android and Windows Mobile

RSupport brings remote support to Android and Windows Mobile

지면일자 : 2011.02.22 (현지시간)

The demand from enterprises for low cost, reliable support of smartphones and tablets is set to increase as the capabilities of these devices continue to grow, and employees expect to use popular models like the HTC Desire or iPad for work purposes. But the complexity and application flexibility of these devices raises questions over how best to support them should something go wrong.

The answer, according to Korean firm RSupport, is remote support. RSupport may not be a name that rings any bells, but the firm has made a big name for itself in Asia, becoming the number one provider of remote support software in Korea and Japan. It boasts a customer roster that includes telecoms operators SKTelecom and NTT Docomo, and manufacturers Samsung, Toshiba, Sony, Fujitsu, Lenovo and LG.

Still not impressed? Hans Seo, the quietly spoken chief executive of RSupport, slips in almost as an afterthought that the company sells its software to the US Army.

Seo said that 55 per cent of all calls to support services are for smartphone or mobile phone issues, and that they fall into two categories, upgrade of system software and program problems, both of which can be serviced through remote software.

Seo confidently claimed that Samsung managed a 99 per cent satisfaction rate among its customers after deploying RSupport software. It's a statistic that should have operators and businesses that rely on employees working on smartphones and tablets listening, as the time and cost benefits are large, according to Seo.

Remote control software has been around for a long time in the desktop support market, but firms like RSupport are bringing the same technology to mobile devices. The ability not just to fix problems but to control device functions means that companies worried about private organisational data leaks could restrict the use of devices such as cameras on smartphones.

Seo pointed out while demonstrating the RemoteCall software at the recent Mobile World Congress show in Barcelona that the support representative can control the device through a remote desktop application, from where they can access detailed information about the device's configuration and a full list of running application processes. They can also kill processes if necessary.

Seo highlighted RemoteCall's ability for support representatives to draw on the device's screen, pointing users to what needs to be pressed. It is another feature that diminishes the need for users to call a support centre.

Users are informed that a support representative has connected to their device and, even though a remote viewer may be active, if the user needs to enter private information such as passwords, they will not appear on the remote viewer.

Aside from providing support, Seo mentioned the need for support staff to have an audit log of actions for dispute prevention and training purposes. He showed the extensive logging capabilities of RemoteCall, giving support staff low level information on the devices.

The biggest problem of remote support software such as RemoteCall on smartphones and tablets is the varying levels of connectivity found on mobile devices. Seo claimed that RSupport has developed an efficient way of switching between Wi-Fi and 3G connectivity without dropping the support session.

Within the software there are options such as altering the colour depth of the remote viewer, allowing the support operator to work on the device even with patchy internet connectivity.

"If the device has an internet connection, we can provide support," said Seo.

However, even if the device doesn't have an internet connection RemoteCall can access it if it is plugged into a computer via USB using the computer's internet connection. In demonstrations to V3.co.uk, the transition between the three levels of connectivity was flawless.

For manufacturers such as Samsung and LG, RSupport has worked hard to shorten the time taken to incorporate RemoteCall into its devices. Seo explained that it took Samsung just two hours to load RemoteCall onto a Galaxy Tab, while LG managed to get the initial install time of one week down to a single day in a matter of weeks.

RSupport has worked hard on making RemoteCall efficient. Seo claims that RemoteCall uses two to 30 per cent of CPU power on a device with a 1GHz processor, depending on the type of support task being performed.

The amount of data being transferred between the device has been minimised, and the firm claims that just 40KB a minute is needed to provide support.

RemoteCall runs on all versions of Google's Android operating system and Microsoft's Windows Mobile 6.5. Seo said that support for Windows Phone 7 is planned, but would not be drawn on the lack of support for BlackBerry and Apple's iOS, a factor that could hamper its potential within the enterprise.

Lawrence Latif V3.co.uk

기사원문보기 : http://www.v3.co.uk/v3/analysis/2274918/rsupport-smartphones-tablets?page=1