How to Choose Between Caisey and Bomgar for Privileged Remote Access

Choosing the right privileged remote access tool is one of the most consequential decisions an MSP makes. You need something secure enough to satisfy auditors, flexible enough to support a growing client base, and efficient enough to keep your techs productive. Two names often come up: Caisey and Bomgar (now BeyondTrust). Both provide remote control and privileged access, but they take fundamentally different approaches. This post breaks down the key differences and gives you a decision framework to choose based on your actual operational needs.

Deployment Model: Cloud-Native vs On-Premises Legacy

Bomgar was built in an era when enterprises insisted on on-premises appliances. Many Bomgar deployments still run that way, requiring hardware or virtual machines, regular patching, and dedicated IT staff to maintain. That’s a heavy lift for an MSP that wants to focus on clients, not infrastructure.

Caisey is cloud-native. The control plane runs on Cloudflare Workers and Durable Objects, while the AI agent runs on enrolled endpoints. This means there’s no appliance to manage, no VPN to configure, and no version upgrade treadmill. You get a browser-based console that works from any laptop, phone, or tablet. For an MSP spinning up support for a new client, Caisey’s enrollment is self-service: you send an installer link, the client runs it, and the endpoint appears in your console. No network changes, no firewall rules, no waiting for a vendor engineer.

Approval Workflow: Per-Action vs Session-Based

Bomgar typically uses a session-based approval model. Once a tech is granted access to a machine, they have broad control for the duration of the session. That’s efficient but risky—a single misstep can cause damage, and the client has limited ability to intervene mid-session.

Caisey flips that model. Instead of granting blanket access, Caisey uses per-action approvals. Every privileged command—whether it’s opening a PowerShell prompt, installing a driver, or editing a registry key—requires explicit client consent. The client sees exactly what’s about to happen and can approve or deny it. This granular control is a game-changer for MSPs who want to build trust with clients and reduce the blast radius of mistakes.

For example, imagine you’re troubleshooting a printer driver issue. With Bomgar, you’d take over the session, open Device Manager, and start clicking. With Caisey, you’d run a diagnostic, then request permission to install the updated driver. The client approves that specific action, and you’re done. The audit trail shows exactly what was approved, when, and by whom. This level of transparency is hard to achieve with session-based tools.

Audit Trail and Session Records

Auditors love detailed logs. Bomgar provides session recordings and logs, but they’re often stored on the appliance and require manual export. Caisey goes further by preserving the entire conversation and context around each troubleshooting session. Because Caisey’s AI agent is involved, it records not just the commands but the reasoning behind them. You get a full transcript that includes the problem description, the diagnostic steps, the approvals, and the resolution.

These transcripts are shareable via public links, which is perfect for internal postmortems or client-facing reports. You can also search across sessions to find patterns—like recurring issues on a specific model of laptop or a particular software version. Bomgar’s session logs are more like a video feed; Caisey’s are a structured narrative that’s easier to analyze and audit.

Multi-Tenancy and Client Onboarding

MSPs live in a multi-tenant world. You have dozens or hundreds of clients, each with their own policies, permissions, and user bases. Bomgar offers some multi-tenancy through site partitioning, but it’s often complex to configure and manage. Caisey was designed with MSPs in mind. You can create client groups, assign different permission levels, and even let clients manage their own approvals through a simple interface.

Onboarding a new client with Caisey is a matter of minutes. You generate an installer link, email it to the client’s IT contact, and once they run it, the endpoint appears in your console. No on-site visits, no domain joins, no VPN credentials. For a quick remote troubleshooting session, that speed is invaluable. Bomgar typically requires more setup—either deploying an appliance or configuring a cloud instance, then installing agents on every machine.

Pricing and Total Cost of Ownership

Pricing is often the deciding factor. Bomgar is a premium product with enterprise pricing that includes licensing per technician, per endpoint, or both. The total cost can be substantial, especially when you factor in the hardware or cloud infrastructure, maintenance, and training. Caisey Business is $20 per technician per month and includes unlimited devices, so the subscription does not scale with endpoint count. Because there’s no appliance to manage, that infrastructure stays off the MSP’s servers. See /pricing.

But don’t just look at the sticker price. Consider the cost of a security incident. Caisey’s per-action approvals and detailed audit trails can reduce the risk of a rogue tech or a misconfigured command. That’s a form of insurance that’s hard to quantify but very real. Bomgar’s session-based model gives techs more freedom, which can be a liability in a regulated environment.

When Bomgar Still Makes Sense

There are scenarios where Bomgar is the right choice. If you have clients with strict compliance mandates that require on-premises data storage, or if you need to support legacy protocols like RDP over SSH tunneling, Bomgar’s maturity might be necessary. Also, if your team is already deeply invested in BeyondTrust’s broader privileged access management suite, integrating Bomgar might be simpler.

But for most MSPs, the cloud-native, approval-driven, and AI-assisted approach of Caisey is a better fit. It’s easier to deploy, more transparent, and more aligned with modern security practices.

Decision Framework

Here’s a quick table to help you evaluate:

| Criteria | Caisey | Bomgar (BeyondTrust) | |----------|--------|----------------------| | Deployment | Cloud-native, no infrastructure | On-prem or cloud appliance | | Approval model | Per-action, client consent | Session-based, broad access | | Audit trail | Full transcript with AI context | Session recordings and logs | | Multi-tenancy | Built-in client groups | Requires complex site setup | | Onboarding | Self-service installer | Manual agent deployment | | Pricing | Predictable subscription | Enterprise licensing + infra | | Best for | MSPs needing agility and transparency | Enterprises with legacy compliance |

Before you make a decision, try Caisey on your own endpoints. See how the per-action approvals feel in practice and how the audit trail helps you close tickets faster. You can also review our remote troubleshooting overview and dive into the approval-based remote support model to understand the mechanics.

In the end, privileged remote access isn’t just about controlling screens. It’s about controlling risk, maintaining auditability, and delivering support that feels secure to your clients. Caisey’s approach is designed for that world. Bomgar’s is a proven workhorse, but it’s showing its age. Choose the one that aligns with where your MSP is headed, not where it’s been.