Turn remote support numbers into a business case

Nothing is stored

In browser

Standard TCO horizon

3 years

Time-saving basis

Per ticket

Concurrency measure

Peak

Most IT business cases fail on arithmetic, not on argument

The case for better remote support is easy to make qualitatively and hard to make quantitatively, which is why it often loses to something with a spreadsheet attached. The numbers are not difficult, though. Time saved per ticket multiplied by ticket volume is a labour figure. Avoided site visits multiplied by travel cost and hours is a second. Downtime avoided, valued at whatever an hour of stopped work costs your organisation, is usually the largest and the one people forget to include.

These calculators do that arithmetic with your figures rather than a vendor's. Everything runs in your browser, so nothing you type is sent anywhere or stored, and you can put a real salary cost or a real hourly downtime value in without worrying about where it ends up.

• Labour: minutes saved per ticket, at a loaded hourly rate, across your real ticket volume
• Travel: site visits avoided, including the hours lost travelling rather than just mileage
• Downtime: hours of stopped work avoided, valued at your own cost per hour
• Licensing: peak concurrent sessions rather than headcount, modelled over three years

The inputs worth getting right

Two inputs dominate every one of these models. The first is your loaded hourly cost, which is salary plus employment costs divided by actual productive hours, not salary divided by 2,080. Using the wrong figure understates every saving by roughly a third. The second is peak concurrency, which is the highest number of sessions running at the same moment rather than the number of people who might connect. Teams routinely overestimate it by a factor of two or more, and it is the number concurrency-based licensing is priced on.

For downtime, use a figure your finance team would recognise. A number you invented will be challenged; a number derived from revenue per hour or from staff cost per hour will not.

Use the output as evidence, not as a verdict

A calculator produces a defensible estimate, not a decision. The useful output is a range with the assumptions written next to it, because that is what survives a conversation with someone who did not build the model. Every calculator here shows its working for that reason, and each one is paired with the guide that explains the reasoning behind the formula.

Frequently asked questions

How do you calculate the ROI of remote support software?

Add the labour saved (minutes per ticket times ticket volume at a loaded hourly rate), the travel avoided (site visits times cost and hours), and the downtime avoided (hours times your cost per hour). Subtract the licence and rollout cost, then express the result over three years so renewals are included.

What is a loaded hourly cost and why does it matter?

It is salary plus employer costs divided by genuinely productive hours, rather than headline salary divided by total hours. It is typically 25 to 40 per cent higher than the naive figure, and using the naive figure understates every saving in the model.

How many concurrent remote sessions does a team actually need?

Far fewer than its headcount. Count the highest number of sessions running simultaneously during a busy period, not the number of people with a login. Most small teams peak at two or three, which is why concurrency-based licensing is usually cheaper than per-technician pricing for them.

Is any data from these calculators sent anywhere?

No. Every calculation runs in your browser. Nothing you enter is transmitted, logged or stored, so you can use real salary, cost and downtime figures without them leaving the machine.