Caisey vs. Bomgar for PCI-DSS Environments: Why a Browser-Coordinated Console with Durable Session History Beats a Dedicated Appliance for SMB Compliance

When an SMB processes credit cards, PCI-DSS compliance isn't optional. The standard requires strict controls over remote support: session recording, approval before access, access control, and a tamper-proof audit trail. For years, Bomgar (now BeyondTrust) has been the gold standard in compliance-heavy industries. Its dedicated appliance model offers ironclad security, but at a cost—both financial and operational—that often exceeds what a small or mid-sized business needs.

Caisey takes a different approach. Instead of a dedicated appliance or per-technician licensing, Caisey uses a browser-coordinated console with headless runtimes on enrolled endpoints. The control plane runs on Cloudflare Workers with SQLite Durable Objects, giving you durable session history, configurable approval gates, and shareable transcripts—all without the hardware or licensing overhead. For SMB IT directors who need PCI-DSS compliance without the baggage, Caisey is worth a close look.

Core PCI-DSS Requirements for Remote Support

PCI-DSS Requirement 7 (Access Control), Requirement 8 (Authentication), Requirement 10 (Audit Trails), and Requirement 12 (Policy) all touch remote support. Specifically:

• **Session recording or logging:** Every remote session must be logged with date, time, user, and action. Many auditors expect session recordings or detailed transcripts.
• **Approval before access:** Technicians must obtain explicit approval from an authorized client representative before initiating a session, especially on systems handling cardholder data.
• **Access control:** Only authorized technicians should be able to connect, and they should have the minimum necessary privileges.
• **Audit trail:** Logs must be protected from tampering and retained for at least one year.

Bomgar meets these with an on-premise appliance or cloud subscription that records sessions, enforces role-based access, and integrates with SIEM tools. But for an SMB with a handful of POS terminals and a part-time IT person, the overhead is significant.

How Caisey Meets Each Requirement

Caisey was built with accountability as a core principle, not an afterthought. Here's how it addresses each PCI-DSS requirement:

**Session recording and audit trail:** Every command sent through Caisey is recorded in a durable session history stored in Cloudflare Durable Objects. This isn't a screen recording—it's a structured transcript of every diagnostic command, result, and approval event. The transcript is tamper-proof (SQLite Durable Objects provide strong consistency) and can be shared as a public reviewed share with auditors. No need to export video files or scrub PII from screen captures.

**Approval before access:** Caisey's configurable approval gates let you require client consent for any command, not just session initiation. For PCI-DSS environments, you can set a policy that every command on a POS endpoint must be approved by a client representative via an in-app prompt. The technician sees a "waiting for approval" state until the client clicks "Allow." This granularity goes beyond Bomgar's session-level approval.

**Access control:** Caisey uses client grouping and role-based permissions. Technicians only see endpoints in their assigned groups. The browser-coordinated model means no VPN or direct network access is needed—the endpoint initiates outbound connections to Caisey's bridge, so you don't open firewall ports. This reduces the attack surface compared to an appliance that must be reachable from the internet.

**Audit trail retention:** Session history is retained as long as you need it. You can export transcripts as JSON or Markdown for long-term storage. The Cloudflare Workers architecture means no on-premise storage to manage.

Concrete Scenario: Retail POS Credit Card Processing Issue

Imagine a small retailer with a POS system that intermittently fails to process credit cards. The technician suspects a failed API call in the application logs. Here's how Caisey handles it:

1. The technician opens Caisey in their browser, searches for the POS endpoint by client group, and sees its machine card—OS version, last seen, pending updates.
2. They send a command to check the application log for error codes. Because the endpoint is in a PCI-DSS group, the approval gate triggers: the store manager sees a prompt on their screen asking to approve the log inspection.
3. The manager approves. The command runs, and the output appears in the Caisey console. The technician identifies a TLS certificate mismatch.
4. They send a remediation command to update the certificate. Again, approval is required. The manager approves.
5. The fix is verified, and the session is closed. The entire interaction—commands, outputs, approvals—is recorded in a durable session history.
6. The technician generates a public reviewed transcript share and emails it to the compliance officer for audit evidence.

With Bomgar, the same scenario would require the manager to install a Bomgar client or use a web launch, the session would be screen-shared (slower, more bandwidth), and the audit trail would be a video file that needs to be stored and reviewed manually. Caisey's headless approach is faster and produces a more structured audit record.

Cost and Deployment Comparison

| Feature | Bomgar (BeyondTrust) | Caisey | |---|---|---| | Deployment model | On-premise appliance or cloud subscription | Cloud control plane (Cloudflare Workers), no appliance | | Licensing | Per-technician, often $2,000+/year per tech | Per-endpoint, lower cost for small fleets | | Session recording | Screen recording (video) | Structured transcript (commands, outputs, approvals) | | Approval model | Session-level approval | Per-command configurable approval gates | | Audit trail | Video files, SIEM integration | Durable session history, shareable transcripts | | Network requirements | Appliance must be reachable; often requires VPN or port forwarding | Endpoint outbound connections only; no inbound ports | | Setup time | Hours to days (appliance configuration) | Minutes (enroll endpoints via installer) |

For an SMB with 10 endpoints and 2 technicians, Bomgar's per-technician licensing and appliance maintenance can cost $5,000+ annually. Caisey's per-endpoint model is typically a fraction of that, with no appliance to maintain.

When Bomgar Still Wins

Bomgar remains the right choice for large enterprises with complex network segmentation, requirements for full remote control (mouse/keyboard), or integration with enterprise SIEM and IAM systems. If your SMB has a dedicated security team and a budget for compliance infrastructure, Bomgar's maturity and feature set are hard to beat.

But for the majority of SMBs—those with a few POS terminals, a single IT person, and a need to pass an audit without breaking the bank—Caisey offers a lighter, more flexible path to compliance. The browser-coordinated console and durable session history give you the audit trail and approval controls you need, without the overhead of a dedicated appliance.

Conclusion

PCI-DSS compliance for remote support doesn't have to mean a six-figure appliance and per-technician licensing. Caisey's browser-coordinated model meets the core requirements—session logging, approval gates, access control, and tamper-proof audit trails—with a fraction of the cost and complexity. For SMB IT directors who want to stay compliant without the baggage, Caisey is a practical alternative worth evaluating.