When organizations introduce remote and hybrid work options, IT teams suddenly face a new challenge. Depending on company size, they may find themselves managing hundreds, or even thousands, of remote endpoints across employees, technicians, locations, and business units.
Enabling remote connectivity is only part of the challenge. IT teams also need robust controls to manage who has access to which systems, administer users and devices, enforce access policies, and oversee remote activity.
Fortunately, with centralized management, IT teams can enable remote access at scale without creating fragmented administration. So let’s explore what centralized remote access management means, what capabilities matter most, and how Splashtop can help IT teams of all sizes support remote work environments.
What is centralized remote access management?
Centralized remote access management is the ability to administer and control remote access across an organization, all from a single, unified console. This lets IT administrators and agents manage remote devices and users easily, rather than configuring users, permissions, devices, and policies individually.
With centralized management, IT teams can gain control over several elements of remote access, including approved users and devices, organizational structures, access permissions, security settings, and tracking remote sessions and activity.
This grows increasingly important as an organization grows, because the more employees and endpoints a company has, the harder it becomes to manage them all properly. When IT teams have to manage remote access across large, distributed environments, centralized management becomes essential.
Why large IT teams need centralized remote access management
First, we have to ask: what makes centralized remote access management necessary? As companies grow, so too does complexity, and IT teams need extra tools to support remote and hybrid workforces. With centralized remote access management, they can control who can access what remotely more easily and efficiently. This provides several benefits, including:
1. Manage access consistently across a large environment
With centralized administration, IT teams can establish and consistently enforce rules across all their endpoints, rather than manually configuring them one computer at a time. This is a major time saver, especially for companies with multiple departments, office locations, and remote employees, as it empowers them to manage devices across large environments in one go.
2. Delegate administration without giving everyone full control
Managing who has what level of administrative control and responsibility is important for efficiency, accountability, and cybersecurity. With centralized remote access management, IT teams can distribute responsibilities across global administrators, regional teams, help desk technicians, and more based on the access levels they need, while maintaining operational oversight.
3. Reduce administrative work as the organization scales
As endpoint and user counts grow, manually managing user provisioning, device configuration, and permission changes becomes increasingly difficult. Centralized remote access management provides grouping, deployment, and policy management features that policy administrators can use to make changes across groups, rather than configuring every device individually.
4. Maintain visibility into remote access activity
Visibility into endpoints and user activity is essential for security and accountability. IT administrators need to see who accessed what systems, when remote sessions occurred, and how remote access is used, which makes centralized logging and reporting essential. With proper visibility and logging, IT teams can better troubleshoot devices, maintain operational oversight, investigate security issues, and prepare for audits.
Key capabilities to look for in a centralized remote access platform
Not all remote access platforms offer the same features, so it’s important to make sure you find one with the capabilities you need. There are a few must-have capabilities that any centralized remote access solution should include, such as:
Centralized user and device management: Centralized management is essential so that administrators can organize and manage users, technicians, computers, and groups from a single console.
Granular permissions: Managing permissions is vital for controlling which users or technician groups can access specific systems and which capabilities they can use. Without granular permissions, you may have to grant broad permissions across the board, which can be a major security risk.
Role-based administration: Similarly, managing roles is also important. Administrators should be able to manage the resources relevant to their responsibilities, but that shouldn’t mean granting unnecessary access to the entire environment.
SSO and MFA: Single sign-on (SSO) and multi-factor authentication (MFA) integrations with identity systems can simplify authentication and strengthen access controls, making them vital for both ease of use and account security.
Attended and unattended remote access: Attended remote access is a powerful tool for troubleshooting and support as users need it, while unattended remote access helps IT teams manage devices after hours or when no one is around to grant permissions. Large organizations often need both in order to properly manage all their endpoints.
Technician and team management: Supporting and managing multiple technicians, groups, session collaboration, and structured support workflows is vital to maintaining efficient teams and workflows.
Mass deployment: If you have to configure each endpoint individually, you’re still losing valuable time. IT teams should be able to deploy remote access software across large device populations without needing to manage them one at a time.
Cross-platform support: Employees use a wide range of devices, especially in BYOD environments, so you need a remote access platform to match. The platform should accommodate the mix of Windows, macOS, Linux, and other devices your employees use.
Session logging and reporting: Administrators need centralized records that provide visibility into remote access activity, so finding a platform with automated logging and reporting can help save time and improve accuracy and efficiency.
ITSM and ticketing integrations: Remote access should fit into existing service desk workflows, rather than forcing technicians to constantly switch between disconnected tools. Finding a solution that integrates with your existing tools is a must.
Scalability: As your business grows, your remote access platform should grow with it. Look for a scalable solution where the architecture, licensing model, administration tools, and deployment options can support your organization's growth.
How centralized management improves remote access security
Centralized remote access management isn’t just useful for efficiency, as it also provides many cybersecurity benefits. With good centralized management, it’s easy to control who can access what, track remote access, and maintain accountability across teams.
Security benefits of centralized management include:
1. Apply least-privilege access
With role-based access control and least-privilege access, IT teams can apply granular permissions that give users and technicians access only to the systems they need for their work. This improves security and limits the risk of unauthorized users accessing areas they shouldn’t.
2. Standardize authentication requirements
Centralized management enables IT teams to set authentication policies across devices, such as multi-factor authentication and single sign-on. This adds extra layers of account security while reducing inconsistent access practices across remote teams.
3. Control access as roles change
When users are onboarded, offboarded, or change roles, you need to be able to adjust their permissions accordingly. Centralized user management makes it easier to update permissions when users change roles or when contractors and technicians need temporary access.
4. Create a consistent record of remote activity
Centralized remote access management includes automated logs and session records, improving visibility and accountability. With these logs, IT teams can more easily investigate unusual activity or present evidence during reviews and audits, gaining clear insights into who accessed what, when, and why.
How centralized remote access improves IT support workflows
Of course, centralized remote access also benefits help desk and IT support teams. Remote support lets agents access remote devices for troubleshooting and maintenance, and centralized remote access management makes it easier to support multiple distributed endpoints.
This works in many ways, including:
1. Give technicians faster access to the systems they support
With centralized remote access, IT agents can locate authorized devices and launch remote sessions from a single location. This improves the speed and efficiency of remote sessions without relying on ad hoc processes or separate connection information.
2. Organize technicians around teams and responsibilities
Managers and administrators can group technicians by department, region, customer, or support function. This makes it easier to manage large help desk operations, since you can quickly find technicians by group and responsibility.
3. Connect remote support with existing IT workflows
A good remote access management platform integrates with systems such as ITSM, PSA, ticketing, and service desks. This makes it easy to launch remote support sessions from tickets and log information automatically, enabling agents to quickly support users where requests are managed.
4. Support both planned and on-demand IT work
Remote support should include both attended and unattended access. Attended remote support lets IT agents directly assist end users on their devices, while unattended access supports remote maintenance and administration for unattended devices and after-hours needs.
Go beyond remote access with centralized endpoint management
Large IT teams often manage multiple remote devices, and in these cases, remote control alone isn’t enough. Many routine tasks, such as installing updates and enforcing security, can be handled centrally and pushed across devices instead of requiring remote sessions.
Endpoint management complements remote access and support by giving IT teams more visibility across devices and automating repetitive maintenance tasks. This includes:
Monitoring endpoint status.
Viewing hardware and software inventory.
Managing updates for operating systems and third-party applications.
Running scripts and background tasks across multiple remote endpoints.
Configuring alerts and security settings.
Automating remediation for common or recurring issues.
With endpoint management, IT teams can support multiple distributed endpoints while reducing unnecessary remote sessions. This improves speed and efficiency while freeing time for remote support requests that actually need hands-on troubleshooting.
How Splashtop centralizes remote access for large IT teams
It’s clear that large IT teams need robust centralized remote access and endpoint management to support users across the company. That’s where Splashtop comes in.
Splashtop Enterprise is built for large businesses, providing secure remote access and support from a centralized platform. With it, organizations and their IT teams can easily manage distributed users, technicians, and endpoints, all from one place.
Centralized administration
Splashtop Enterprise provides centralized management for users, groups, permissions, and access controls. This provides robust control over who can access what, helping organize large environments and maintain central oversight from a single interface.
Flexible access controls
Splashtop gives IT teams multiple ways to manage access controls, so they can ensure only authorized users have access. This includes user and device groups, granular permission controls, single sign-on (SSO), multi-factor authentication (MFA), and administrative controls to manage access across large and distributed IT environments.
Support for large help desk teams
Splashtop Enterprise includes multiple capabilities that make life easier for IT agents, such as technician grouping, multi-technician remote collaboration, and service desk workflows. It also provides both attended and unattended access, so agents can support users and remote devices as needed, thus improving support across large teams.
Integration with ITSM and ticketing workflows
Splashtop integrates with widely used ITSM, PSA, and ticketing systems, thus making remote support even easier. Technicians can launch remote support sessions right from the ticket, improving efficiency right from the workflows they already use.
Cross-platform remote access
Splashtop is designed to work across operating systems and devices, helping support BYOD and multi-device environments. Splashtop supports remote access and support across a broad range of Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, Android, and Chromebook environments, helping IT teams manage diverse device fleets from one platform.
Extend centralized management with Splashtop AEM
Splashtop also empowers IT agents to support and manage multiple endpoints across their environment with Splashtop AEM (Autonomous Endpoint Management). Splashtop AEM helps IT teams manage updates, monitor endpoint health, identify vulnerabilities, and automate routine remediation across distributed devices.
Splashtop AEM includes:
Automated updates across operating systems and third-party applications.
Real-time hardware and software inventory updates.
Endpoint monitoring and alerts to identify issues that require attention.
Policy-based automation for basic tasks and troubleshooting.
Scripts and background tasks to keep devices running smoothly without interrupting users.
Vulnerability insights to help identify and prioritize known security weaknesses.
Automated remediation for known issues.
With these features, Splashtop AEM gives IT teams the centralized visibility and control they need to support users and maintain endpoints with ease, rather than relying on disconnected tools and workflows.
What to consider before choosing a remote access platform
If you’re looking for a remote access platform with centralized management, make sure you choose one with the features and capabilities you need. There’s a lot to consider, so we’ve compiled a handy checklist of questions to ask when evaluating your options.
Be sure to check the following:
How many endpoints and users does the platform need to support?
How quickly are your IT environment and needs expected to grow?
Can IT administrators manage users, devices, groups, and permissions from a centralized location?
Can administrative responsibilities be safely delegated?
Does the platform support both attended and unattended access?
Can the platform integrate with your identity provider and tools (SSO, MFA, etc)?
Does the platform provide session logging and reporting?
Can the software be deployed at scale from a centralized location?
Does it integrate with the ITSM or ticketing workflows you use?
Can it support all the operating systems and devices your organization uses?
Does it include endpoint management capabilities that can reduce repetitive remote support work?
Remember: scalability is about more than just the number of devices the platform can connect to. Administration and control are just as important, since you should be able to manage every device effectively.
Centralize remote access and IT management with Splashtop
As companies grow, remote access and support can become more challenging. Large IT teams need a practical way to support users and technicians across endpoints while maintaining consistent control.
With Splashtop, IT teams can get the centralized remote access and endpoint management they need. Splashtop Enterprise provides robust remote access and support capabilities, empowering agents to connect to remote devices for attended or unattended support at a moment’s notice. With Splashtop AEM, it’s even easier to support distributed environments with automated endpoint patching, proactive management, and real-time visibility.
Want to learn more about how Splashtop can support IT teams in large organizations? Get started with a free trial and experience it for yourself today.
