What is remote access?

Remote access is the act of connecting to IT services, applications, or data from a location other than a main office. This connection allows users to access a network or computer remotely via the internet.

Remote access is an integral part of many business continuity plans and disaster recovery strategies. It’s great for remote staff, hybrid workers, contractors, and individuals displaced from their usual workplace due to a natural disaster or other circumstances. Employees may have the flexibility to work from home, or have a plan in place if they are not able to go into the office during a natural disaster.

Explore additional cloud native topics:

What are the benefits of remote access?

Building an IT solution that can deliver remote access lowering costs and increases worker satisfaction and productivity.

Better work productivity and flexibility: Employees that work on the road, or have a hybrid schedule, or work from home need to be able to access corporate resources from anywhere. Remote access enables  employees to be productive on any device, from any location. Remote access does not make IT more complicated on the admin side either. IT admins can centrally manage corporate apps, even across different platforms, minimizing complexity and maximizing mobile productivity.

Better end-to-end security: Today’s end users want easy access to their web, cloud, or SaaS applications across multiple devices. However, IT teams need to maintain security and control in their environments. By leveraging contextual access controls, multi-factor authentication, and single sign on (SSO) across all applications, IT can maintain end-to-end oversight across all application traffic while users can connect from anywhere.

Lower costs with BYOD: Employees and contractors prefer to work on their devices of choice, rather than being required to use a standard issue corporate-managed device. Businesses can leverage remote access technology and a bring-your-own device (BYOD) program to support secure access to corporate applications on a wide variety of devices. With remote access, employees can be productive at any location. By allowing employees to use their own device, businesses can exponentially lower the costs of purchasing and managing corporate-owned devices. 

Improve business continuity: Business continuity is an organization's capability to maintain mission-critical functionality during and after a major disruption. There are a myriad of disturbances that can cost organizations time, money, and productivity, from natural disasters to service outages. If an employee has been displaced due to a business continuity disruption, they can continue to be productive using a secure remote access connection. Technical support teams can also leverage remote access to provide technical support from anywhere, reducing response time and helping to keep the business going.

Improve talent acquisition: Creating an IT solution that supports access to corporate resources from anywhere enables businesses to recruit from a much larger pool of talent. Remote access allows employees to work from anywhere, so hiring managers are no longer limited to geographic locations. This allows businesses to truly hire the best candidate, with no restrictions, giving managers the best opportunity to win the war on talent.

Citrix solutions for remote access

Citrix Virtual Apps and Desktops is a VDI solution that allows for a like-local performance and simple seamless access from any device, anywhere. Citrix offers support for a wide range of devices, so you can support every kind of device, from laptops and thin clients to mobile devices like tablets. Learn more about how Citrix can help you support a hybrid workforce use case.