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Tech Support to Increase Due to Consumer Demand for Remote Services

By Anuradha Shukla
TMCnet Contributor

Parks Associates (News - Alert), an internationally recognized market research and consulting company specializing in emerging consumer technology products and services, found out that the progress of online solutions will add to the growing premium tech support industry, counting service providers and retailers.

The development of online solutions will complement the growing premium tech support industry by providing enhanced marketing channels and improving automated and live support services.

The research firm predicts U.S. revenues in consumer-oriented technical support services to reach $5 billion by the year 2014. Approximately 50 percent of the revenues are expected to come from remote technical support services.

According to two reports,"Service Providers and Support Services: Analysis and Forecasts" and "Retailers and Support Services: Analysis and Forecasts" from the international research firm, the development of remote services all throughout a range of channels, counting Internet security vendors, PC OEMs, broadband providers, and CE retailers, will help meet the demand for premium technical support services.

Kurt Scherf, vice president and principal analyst at Parks Associates, stated that the firm’s research has time after time found that assistance with home technologies, counting, home networks, PCS, and AV equipment, is the top value-added services that can be provided by a broadband provider.

The desire of consumers for attached support, which equates to additions like setup and configuration, delivery and installation, and extended warranties and protection plans, can also help retailers add income to the sale of a diversity of CE. A consistent and proactive form of technical care services is provided by aftermarket care in the form of PC tune-ups as well as troubleshooting.

The reports "Service Providers and Support Services: Analysis and Forecasts" and "Retailers and Support Services: Analysis and Forecasts," which combine the results from over 50 industry interviews and Parks Associates’ main consumer data, examine the markets for US consumer technical support services.