Flexible work software developer GoTo (formerly LogMeIn) has given its UCaaS offering a new look, adding an IT helpdesk feature designed to lend more support for IT management and end-user ticket submission. 

The feature; now available via the GoToConnect platform, brings GoTo Resolve functionality into GoTo products. GoToResolve is GoTo's IT support and management tool launched in early 2022, today, it will add that functionality directly into GoTo's unified interface. 

Essentially, it brings IT helpdesk functionality into GoTo Connect, so end-users can submit a ticket from within the GoTo app. According to the company: this offers users a consolidated view of the process and time to resolve IT issues from within its video conferencing and telephony offerings. 

Complete with the firm's UCaaS vision in mind, the primary goal of the feature centers around driving end-user productivity, as these individuals can access a full range of features: including those that enable home/remote working. Users can receive instant alerts and view end-user details such as device and connection information. 

Instant troubleshooting is the principal benefit of GoTo's latest, as running tests for common issues such as poor network connection is a quick process. And ticketing with GoTo, Paddy Srinivasan, Chief Executive Officer, said "Is one click to a rapid resolution." 

 

GoTo Futureproofs Products

During a recent interview, Srinivasan further told me about the new feature, which he hopes will enable IT admins; to become more proactive rather than reactive. The way he sees things, the Coronavirus Pandemic created unique challenges for GoTo customers, adding: "And of course, it was the impetus for the mass shift to remote and hybrid work."

He went on to say; that, however, GoTo's platforms are futureproofed. 

"As these changes occurred, we prioritized innovating for our customers in (the most) essential areas they rely on (the most) to continue functioning, such as IT support and communications."

GoTo added the functionality now, and not earlier in the Pandemic, because: "While the pandemic fundamentally changed how we all work, today’s announcement is about preparing businesses for what is ahead." This, he contends, is a continuation of GoTo's vision to further invest in and innovate for SMBs and their IT needs. 

Now, appears to be the right time. There is this: and the fact that customer demand was: off the charts for IT management functionality within the UCaaS solution. Again, Srinivasan:

"We see IT and communications support as necessary products to keep a business running and employees and customers engaged, yet no one else is bringing together this functionality in a single experience for SMBs."

 

Customers Demand IT/Admin Management Tools

With a particular focus on SMBs, GoTo's CEO said that business owners in this sector often wear many hats and face increasing workloads. 

The cause: according to Srinivasan, a result of flexible work demands, and he says, they are eager to cut down on tedious tasks. A report on small business trends in 2022, commissioned by GoTo for industry analysts at Frost and Sullivan, found that 43% of respondents agree that IT jobs have become more difficult than the previous year. 

Now; seems to have been the perfect time to bundle this function with GoToConnect as businesses look to implement easy-to-use all-in-one solutions that extend more functionality with fewer overhead costs - Srinivasan contends.

As the roles of IT pros develop and expand into something they didn't look like three years ago, the GoTo/Frost & Sullivan report further found that 95% of companies have plans to consolidate their tools in 2022, meaning there's a lot of room for opportunity. 

"With an integrated technology ecosystem, small businesses can increase productivity across departments and reduce the burden on IT with a secure platform that offers protection and reliability all while driving the business forward," Srinivasan concluded. 

 

Talking Overall Strategy with GoTo's CEO

Srinivasan believes that because SMBs have always been the firm's focus, the company is: uniquely positioned to help SMBs keep customers and employees supported and protected. 

"These are the essential connections that help protect a company’s revenue."

It is all about the integrated workflow today, something that many companies swear by. "By having this integrated workflow, we are making it easier for IT admins to proactively and reactively address technology problems and stay connected with their users," he noted. 

As a UCaaS provider, GoTo is also unique. It is the only UCaaS provider that integrates IT support functionality within its UCaaS products - expediting many potentially complex processes. These are features: he believes, remain essential to modern UCaaS stacks.

"We have always made it our mission to provide our customers with all the technology solutions they need: and nothing they do not need." 

Consolidation will make plenty of companies a winner if they do it right; as most businesses now leverage too many tools that end users need to learn, IT admins need to manage: and companies "need to afford," - Srinivasan added. In the end, Srinivasan wants GoTo to become a sort of one-stop-shop - looking to further its position as a leader in the UCaaS market. 

 

Pricing and More

Regarding pricing, it is worth highlighting that while helpdesk ticketing into GoTo Connect is free of charge - GoTo also bought to market a new bundle for organizations in need of more robust IT Support technology: as it calls it. 

That bundle includes both GoTo Connect and GoTo Resolve. Pricing for this bundle starts at $24 per user, per seat. GoTo's Essentials bundle lends customers access to both; communications and IT support products under a single invoice and admin system. 

All this; is a seemingly small price to pay when you consider how easy it could make the life of IT management and admin within SMBs. 

Over the past year, the company has seen (countless) changes, including one of its most sizable milestones. It reached over one million users on its flagship offering, GoTo Connect, and it only just appointed its former Chief Product and Technology Officer to CEO about a week ago. 

Stay tuned for the latest unified communications industry news, trends, and likely more GoTo news in the coming weeks here on GetVoIP News.