Remote Access

In computer soft­ware, remote access is the ability to access data, programs, and computer services from a loca­tion other than where the computer itself is stored. This can mean appli­ca­tions that are for remote tech support, web deployed, data that is available from a NAS, FTP, or other online repo­si­tory, or acces­sing services like backup and email services from any computer.

Who benefits from Remote Access?

Indi­vi­dual people and busi­ness clients alike benefit from remote access. Firstly remote access is an ideal solu­tion for provi­ding remote pc support to distant employees or clients, which will save the company travel costs and improve customer service. With remote desktop soft­ware, people who can access their own PC and data from anywhere are less rest­ricted by the tech­no­logy they carry with them. Busi­nesses can conduct their regular affairs and important work from anywhere via remote desktop access, placing fewer rest­ric­tions on their ability to perform their high prio­rity tasks. For example, remote access to important spreadsheets can enable a busi­ness to share ship­ping docu­ments with a dozen clients at once during a web confe­rence, or being able to access a personal music coll­ec­tion from anywhere means that a person does not have to carry a large hard drive ever­y­where they go.

Current discus­sions of the bene­fits of cloud compu­ting and web based busi­ness colla­bo­ra­tion appli­ca­tions all empha­size the bene­fits of remote access. Colla­bo­ra­ting on shared docu­ments increases the speed at which people can accom­plish complex tasks toge­ther. Acces­sing personal files from any remote desktop connec­tion means that a person is never tied to a single machine or loca­tion to use the soft­ware and files that are important to them, either for busi­ness use or personal enter­tain­ment. Cloud compu­ting and the Web are only as good as the content they enable people to access and share, and remote access is the key to all the bene­fits of these technologies.

How Remote Access Works

Remote access works in three basic ways. One method is strea­ming data from one machine to another, as happens when a person watches a movie or listens to a radio station online. A second is when web appli­ca­tions display an inter­face that enables the web user to interact with an appli­ca­tion, such as a search engine or an online store. The third method is when files are made acces­sible on a remote desktop computer via desktop sharing and remote control soft­ware, and are copied to the end user’s PC to be mani­pu­lated and copied back to the original loca­tion. For the third method, users benefit from down­loa­ding remote pc access soft­ware, a small but valuable piece of soft­ware for small busi­ness as well as mid- and large-sized companies.

Diffe­rent uses will use diffe­rent tech­no­lo­gies. For example, a person would never stream a text docu­ment but would rather present it during a web presen­ta­tion, and copying a complete movie would be a slow, inef­fi­cient means of watching it. Each of those three basic methods has its uses, depen­ding on which type of use listed above is important to the end user.