Remote Support 2024: Top Trends Defining the Future

Back in 2020, remote work leaped to the forefront of customer needs and expectations as the pandemic gripped the world.  Some technologies for managing this significant shift were available at the time, but their capacity to handle such a huge shift wasn’t enough to make it a perfectly smooth transition.

But 2023 was different. Remote work is quickly becoming standardized, and we believe that 2023 marked a breakthrough moment when technological capabilities were able to meet customer expectations.. 

According to Gartner’s Global Chief of Research, Chris Howard, new “composable products” will converge around software, platform, and infrastructure, enabling greater adaptability, speedier innovation, and less redundancy, ultimately enabling organizations to better capture value by extending infrastructure.

Today, as we look forward to 2024, a number of trends are emerging from the watershed year behind us.  Let’s take a closer look at the top trends that will shape IT support strategies in the near future and beyond. 

Cloud-Native Solutions Take Over

Cloud-based software is nothing new, but until recently it’s been more an afterthought bolted onto on-premise core products. But today’s digital-first initiatives demand not only cloud-based support but cloud-native solutions. 

Purpose-built SaaS platforms use leading infrastructure from AWS, Azure, and Google to deliver security, responsive scalability, and location-agnostic performance. 

Legacy on-premise systems are fading fast as cloud architecture ensures greater flexibility, scalability, and affordability. Cloud-native solutions will enable more purpose-built SaaS that leverages cloud infrastructure to deliver security, performance, and seamless scaling. 

Companies that adopt cloud-first strategies will ultimately provide superior remote support.

Built-In Collaboration Becomes Standard

Fragmented point solutions can’t facilitate the tight cooperation that intricate support cases demand nowadays. That’s why integrated platforms with collaboration capabilities like video conferencing, screen sharing, remote support, and real-time chat built directly in are not negotiable. 

These tools hardwire seamless teamwork across dispersed groups into the very fabric of systems. The result? Swifter issue investigation powered by tapping collective intelligence on demand.

This trend is expected to accelerate as customers expect their teams to collaborate more effectively from wherever they are, using a wider variety of devices and platforms. 

Customer-Focused Experiences Proliferate

In 2024, expect remote support teams to further optimize customer experiences through hyper-personalization and greater transparency. Generic assistance frustrates users, they want interactions tailored specifically to their needs on their channel of choice.

Sophisticated predictive analytics will enable proactive outreach to fix problems before customers even contact IT.  Platforms will increasingly provide self-service conveniences as well, including automated schedulers, online portal visibility into ticket status and technician progress, knowledge bases with answers to popular queries, and chatbots handling common requests.

This blend of human and automated channels allows users to get help easily without lengthy back-and-forth. Personalized notifications, intelligent routing to the optimal agents, and contextual understanding of past interactions also contribute to differentiated assistance. Support finally delivers the smooth omnichannel experiences customers love from consumer apps.

The goal is to delight customers with tailored help offers before they even ask.  They can resolve problems quickly without relying solely on manual ticketing. By balancing automation with human specialization, remote support morphs into a valued customer experience instead of a mere cost center.

Problems Are Prevented, Not Just Solved 

Currently, most tickets represent problems customers endured before contacting support. But monitoring tools, predictive analytics, and scripted remediation will help fix problems before customers reach out for support.

The efficiencies of flagging vulnerabilities early and resolving repetitious tickets like password resets automatically free support teams to deliver value.  Being proactive beats being reactive.

Mobile and Self-Service Accelerate

Customers expect omnichannel assistance on the devices they actually use, not just traditional channels. Self-service options will supplement human support.

Integrating virtual agents, knowledge bases, communities, and live chat balances specialization with scale. This reduces the burden on IT teams while still connecting users to expertise when needed. 

Support teams will deploy a more omnichannel approach that balances efficiency and personalization, enabling them to provide seamless services across platforms and devices. 

Additionally, customers are more willing than ever to access self-service virtual agents that are equipped with smarter chatbots, empowering customers to get the information they need to resolve their own technical issues. 

The Future of Differentiated Support Is Now

In the past we often dreamed about what the future of remote support could look like if only the technology were available to provide truly integrated and seamless experiences. 

Luckily, 2024 will finally be the year when those dreams become reality. From leveraging the flexibility and scalability of cloud-native solutions to delivering a broader range of personalized services, the moment is ripe for remote support teams and providers to take advantage of the confluence of software, platform, and infrastructure to deliver customer experiences that help them stand out in a crowded marketplace.

Ready to Jump into 2024?

Let ScreenMeet guide your team into the future. Request a demo or contact our collaboration experts to learn how our platform integrates seamlessly to provide the best experience and results for your remote support teams.