This used to be an awesome product for tech support. Now it is just great.

Support staff is always professional. But the way they get information from us and use it as to features on the product and what we like and dislike was really poorly done.

Pros

I *used* to like the "Toolbox" till they broke it.
Ability to reboot computer and stay connected.
Screen drawing.. but that is bittersweet as the feature was VERY BADLY written. Whomever wrote, clearly did not use it to try and talk someone through something on their computer.
The ability to dynamically group computers by client and tags is AMAZING!!! I love that I can code searches for my groups.
Ability to rename computers.
See how long computers have been off-line
The plugin system that allows me to greatly enhance the way I interact with the interface.
Ability to create user accounts and control their security. (Still waiting for ability to limit how many connections they use)
The fact that I can run it off my own server is AWESOME!

Cons

I used to love that I could use the "Toolbox" to execute my tech tools while working on computers. Just pick it from the list... have it download to C:\SomeFolder and then open that folder and all the tools were there. I could clean viruses, restart the computer, go back and continue. That is no more though. After I bought the software they changed it. Now the tools download to the users "Documents" folder. The users get mad at me for digging through their "Docuemtns" folder to try and find "my folder" where the tools download too. It is hard to get to the folder. It is impossible to set exclusions on the virus shield because the folder name changes as it in the users profile. If they have bad internet or I leave a scanning tool running a long time, lose connection, the folder is removed and so are the tools. I have to start all over. This software SUCKS NOW! They completely changed it. The worst part is... they did not have too. They could have easily let it continue to work the way it was and given us some toggles and variables to control its behavior. Bad programming really. They say this app was written by techs for techs.. I think that may have been true once. Not any longer.

Lack of hotkeys... To move between screens and clear the screen drawing.
Inability to set the color of the screen drawing.
No button to set "Auto" sizing on the resolution.
"Acquire Lock" feature never seems to work.
I would list more but I am out of space.

Customer focussed support

I have used most remote support platforms over the years, and overall I find ConnectWise Control to be a solid performer, with backup support that is timely, friendly and professional. There are numerous other features which I have not mentioned here. My advise - give it a try!!

Pros

ConnectWise Control is a fully featured remote support platform that does exactly what it says it will do "Remote Support That Just Works". Being cloud based, it allows support sessions to be started from anywhere that an internet connection exists.

I predominantly use Apple platforms, and I find the desktop and mobile applications work seamlessly when supporting Windows clients.

I particularly like the Support and Access features, the former being most suited to temporary support sessions, and the latter for effortless connection to clients on an ongoing as required basis. Access also allows client machine connections to be saved with Machine or user defined Specific value for machine name and additionally Organisation name, which simplifies the process of selecting the machine with the ability to save . A nifty feature built into Support allows for push installation of the Access agent, in the background, where ongoing support is deemed necessary. A handy Build Installer provides all possible machine connection build options.

Visual indicators show when Host and Client machines are connected to ConnectWise Control, which takes the guesswork out of knowing when your clients are online and have connected successfully.

Help and support features built right into the portal save time.

Another nifty feature is a visual record of clients running older versions of the support agent, complete with the ability to push the updated client out to affected machines.

Cons

A software agent needs to be installed on machines before support sessions can be established, and while the process is straight-forward, the need for users to click on the installer after it has downloaded is missed by some users.

I also find that when switching between my local desktop and the remote desktop, at times the remote machine responses are not as expected. I simply press the command key (Mac) while highlighting the remote machine and this usually overcomes the issue, or disconnect and reconnect the session.

Fantastic product - always improving

Fantastic. Overall it's features, pricing and security is unbeatable in the industry.

Pros

We've hosted our on Control server and it is super easy to install and maintain.
Using the software to provide remote support has never failed because they provide multiple methods for creating connections for all operating systems.
The web interface provides basic information about the connected computer but you can download and install plugins to gather information about processes, services, events and software.
The screen snapshot is large enough to see if the computer is in use and small enough so you can't read what's on the screen.
Through the web interface you can customize a number of things like icons, labels and branding.
Through the server config files you can customize a number of other settings.
You can create temporary sessions just for one-time remote support or install the program for on-demand remote access.
On-demand remote access can be organized in session groups for easier management and security
Users can be created and assigned to specific session groups.
Access and commands can be audited.
While a session is connected a time line is kept to help troubleshoot connectivity issues.

Cons

The price to purchase screen connect was reasonable for a small business. When it was purchased by Connectwise the price to purchase it out right was quadruple the original price. If you have 100 plus machines to support then divided across the 100 machines is still cheaper than a comparable product. But if you only use it for temporary sessions it is hard to justify. However, Control is bundled with Connectwise Automate so you get Control for nearly nothing when subscribing to Automate.

Easy, Fast, Reliable, Robust - Not much more I could ask for.

Overall, we're very happy with the purchase and performance and would recommend the product to anyone. It's fast, reliable, easy to use, competitively priced and their support has been great to work with the few times we've reached out.

Pros

I love how quickly I can navigate my inventory, how quickly machines show up once the agent is installed, how quickly a connection is established, and how robust the suite of tools are that I have to interact with the endpoint. File transfers are simple and intuitive (no digging around wondering where the file landed), and the connection doesn't take up a ton of bandwidth so even users in areas with poor internet can still get the help they need.

It's also extremely fast and easy to update the agent on the endpoints.

Cons

I can't RDP connect, only VNC. Sometimes it would be very helpful to connect to the machine without unlocking the screen to the end user. This seems like a basic feature that is standard on many other remote support tools but isn't built into Screen Connect. This is probably the most important feature request I have made.

I wish there was an option to make the chat more "attention-getting" as most users simply don't notice when I start chatting with them if they're not expecting it. I have to call the user to begin their support.

I haven't seen a remote lock (make the HDD inaccessible) or kill feature (wipe the drive after its been stolen and is unrecoverable). This would be a huge help as well.

There have been bugs with "Cloud Administrator" printers getting installed on endpoints that stay there after the connection closes. It's a bug from a previous build that hasn't fully been fixed yet.

Some of the vernacular isn't easily understood (for example, "End" removes the endpoint from the console instead of just ending a session that might be stuck open). If you read through the explanation that's included with each option, it becomes clear but it seems like a poor word choice.

Sometimes the connection gets finicky and takes a minute to reconnect if the user logs out of their windows profile. Thankfully the connection is maintained, but its a bit clunky.

Geat product very reliable and good value

I think the previous box covered it as best as I can. you spend a lot on advertising your new and other products but it is impossible to buy them when the sales people ignore you even when your a current customer. I have had so many little issues that should have never happened and not been treated very well and fixing them only caused more problems that cost me and caused major problems for my company and our ability to support our customers. While I like the product I am very disappointed with the back office staff and how issues are handled and customers are ignored even whey they are begging for help. I left another vendor to come here when I had an amazing sales rep held me and get my onboarding taken care of and help me in every step of they way learn the basic of the product. She even tried 2 times to get me in touch with other departments for MSP products I needed with no luck before she left the company. I Am about to sign up with PCmatic later this week as I need a MSP product and wish it could have been with Connnectwise . I am not sure if I will stay wit the product I had one heck of a ride in my year and a half or so and issues that should have never happened and when they did should have never been handled the way they did that crippled my company. I apologize if my review may upset anyone but you did ask for it I am taking the time to be honest and tell you my true experience It is important to know the truth on how the customer feels. I hope it helps you.

Pros

Very reliable, The ability to preview desktops is a huge plus and adding 3rd party plug ins is wonderful.

Cons

Wish it had a roll out tool for installing on multiple computers. The platform does go down from time to time and you can self fix it by moving your system to a different location yourself. There are issues with the license counter and many times it says I am out of licenses and we are unable to use the product when we still have license available not being used. Two support requests tickets have been sent and they never respond. Support is a hit and miss. Email support and they will not reply or respond so it is useless , Chat support is hit or miss depending on who you get but if you get the right person it is great. Sales is very disappointing I have been using the product for over a year and so many times I tried to contact sales by email and phone about buying other products the sales reps will never call you back or respond so I gave up and went with another vendor. The sales rep I was working with that was amazing when I started with the Connectwise no longer works there so I am just left floating out here. When I had issues with my license it was a nightmare and ended up costing me a bunch of money to fix I have to repay for my subscription I was already paid for. I gave up trying to resolve the issue paying for something that I already paid because my company was down I needed the product working so we can support our customers. I still have a balance on my account due that I do not owe from that nightmare. Its a good product but there are serious back office issues.

Best remote control software out there, period!

We used Log Me In Rescue for years, paying $500+ a month. We've used TeamViewer, gotomeeting, join.me and Splashtop. We switched to ScreenConnect over 5 years ago and never looked back. The licensing model allowed us to pay once for a number of concurrent connections without having to worry about the number of techs we have. With this licensing model we can pay for upgrades every few years and still save many times over from what we used to pay for Log Me In Rescue. We run the server on our own hardware, having complete control over who has access to it and from where. When ConnectWise took over the product and renamed it to Control we had no issues. They've continued developing it rapidly.

Pros

You can buy a license forever. Easy to install/update the server component. Easy to train new users. Easy to deploy to customers. Has every feature we'd ever want: recording sessions, copy/paste into remote window, unattended access, flexible security settings for different levels of employees, works through UAC prompts (unlike gotomeeting), transfer files/directories to/from remote machine, toolbox to run common executables with one click. Has an API to build additions (we've never had to but it's nice to know we can.)

Cons

We were nervous when ConnectWise bought this company (previously ScreenConnect) because they were known for "rent only" products but for now they've kept the option to buy licenses to own. The possibility that one day they could change the licensing model to rent only is the only thing I dislike about using the software.

IT Manager Review of ConnectWise Control

One of the unexpected benefits of having ConnectWise Control is the ability for Managers and Office Managers to be given a subset of privileges to use the software for assisting employees remotely. There are many times they have new employees that need a little help getting familiarized with proprietary software we use in the Ag. sector. ConnectWise Control gives the new employee assurance they're not isolated on an island and the managers are not frustrated at having to drop what they're doing to drive over to a remote site to provide assistance with something that can easily be handled remotely with Control. (<--shiver, see how creepy that sounds...) This use case scenario is reason to consider a few extra licenses so your not fighting over them. We have two currently, but are considering upgrading since there are times that I can't admin since the managers are using the licenses. (Aarrghh)

Pros

This software is one of the most important tools I have in my toolbelt for quickly resolving issues. We have a few remote VPN sites and when an endpoint is having issues, it's so much more efficient to see the issue rather than have to decipher another persons interpretation of the issue.

Our sites are not very far apart - about 45 minutes from main office, but when we have an issue that hinders or stops our ability to server our customers that drive feels much longer. To reiterate, resolving issues quickly and efficiently is what I like most about ConnectWise Control. Downtime is costly.

Cons

Probably my least favorite thing is getting the session filters tweaked just right. Once you get the hang of the syntax it's really not bad, but there is a learning curve. Having your endpoints arranged into session groups is well worth the effort.

Oh, and the name needs to be shorter. It doesn't have to be ScreenConnect, but it needs to be that easy to say. Saying Control by itself sounds creepy, like Big Brother creepy. As an Admin I never say "I'm going to use Control to help you with that issue."

Went from good to AWESOME when we ditched our old remote software for ScreenConnect!

Inexpensive, full featured remote desktop software that is super easy to administrate and use. IT professionals would be hard pressed to find something this good for this price. And companies that need remote access for their employees need look no further.

Pros

We moved from a company that charged 25% for a lot less of what we need. While the old login software was limited to 10 computer for more than we currently pay, we can now remote into 100 computers with unlimited logins. We only needed 25 remote computers but since it is so cheap for the 100 computers we went with that and have started offering this service to our clients so that we can log in to their computers and get the financial data directly from their computers rather than having to have them do it for us (which can take both their time and ours and can be frustrating waiting for the data we need fast).

It is MUCH easier to install the software to set up a new computer as all you have to do is name a new computer and download the installer and click on the executable file on the computer you want access to and you are done. 5 minutes to install have up and running. Then you simply have a web portal to access of your computers and you are just two clicks away from the computers you need to access from anywhere in the world.

Cons

There are times when I wish there was a downloadable application to install on computers you will be using frequently to access your remote sessions. But the web login is fine and keeps you logged in for quite some time so having a program installed on your computer is not as much of a necessity. I also don't like that it has an always on preview of the desktop from your web portal. I like that you can see if someone is active on the remote computer you are wanting access to but I think there are some privacy issues that if our clients knew we could "peek" at their desktop without logging in, they might not be so ready to give us access to them.

The Unfortunate Software Cycle Victim

Overall, Connectwise Control has been and is a great software and has allowed me to remotely support clients with a smooth connection and not overly complicated connection process. Unfortunately, I believe being owned by Connectwise was and is the biggest weakness and downfall of the Control (formerly Screenconnect) software. Don't get me wrong, it is still a very usefull and functional software, however, it is very clear that the software lack development because the interface is not the intended interface that Connectwise would like you to use, they want everyone to use Manage, which I completely dislike. I am running the Stand alone version I do not beleive they offer anymore, I am thankfully grandfathered in which isthe best legacy benefit of Screenconnect. I cannot say I have found a better option, however, the software as sold now is all in the cloud and I do not think the benefits are the same as my experience.

Pros

I love the performance and quality of software customization allowed. I am able to tweak the software to wording, colors, and images allowing me to make the software more of my own. I like that there are multiple ways to connect to client computers from password, link, and unattended access to name a few options.

Cons

They were formerly ScreenConnect until they were bought out by Connectwise who after my most recent experience are a virus to software. Most of the contribution since the buyout is purely visual and makes it work better with other Connectwise software, effectively crippling any chance Control had of integrating with any other software or advancing features such as the chat window and info windows because they expect you to integrate with other Connectwise software.