"tech support" articles

By now, many have heard about the highly publicized Heartbleed bug—a vulnerability to Internet security, which threatens to expose confidential information transferred online. The bug allows access to encryption keys, leak of memory content and access to usernames and passwords. Heartbleed affects secure http servers, and in particular, those that use Open SSL (Security Sockets Layer) versions 1.0.1 through 1.0.1f and is said to have been caused by some bad code being introduced into...

Parks Associates research predicts that comprehensive technical support will remain the most relevant service as the market continues to grow and evolve. Published in the firm's 4Q 2013 research report, The Evolution of Tech Support: Trends and Outlooks , analysts find that 55% of smartphone owners want a service that protects their device from viruses and identity theft, and approximately 50% want a service that repairs or replaces their device if accidentally damaged. Short...

A recent SMB Tech Support Services report by Parks Associates shows that small businesses are looking to cloud services for data storage, security, and backup. Antivirus and antispyware programs are among the most used programs, and security and backup services are used more often in SMBs with 10 or more employees. Companies with 20 or more employees tend to be the most optimally sized for cloud applications and services, the report finds. These data points are significant when...

The webinar that Parks Associates is giving on Thursday, February 20 ( Supporting the Connected Home: Preventing The Internet of Broken Things ) has some very interesting topics. I’m particularly intrigued by areas such as new innovations and tools for customer support. As I study the technical support/call center space, I think that these areas are of critical importance, as they will determine how satisfied customers are with the support they receive AND they will determine the...

Parks Associates has relesased a new market focus, Support Services for Mobile Devices . This research analyzes the market for technical support services for smartphones and tablets. It begins by exploring and number and types of problems consumers experience and how they resolve these problems. Next it analyzes subscription support services including current and previous adopters as well as the demand for such services. Finally, it gauges the use of support apps and their role in...

Parks Associates and Support.com are hosting a complimentary webcast, “Evolving Technical Support for the Connected Home” on November 19 at 1 PM CST. The digital landscape of consumers’ homes, enabled by the Internet of Things, is growing rapidly more complex as home automation and security, medical monitoring, and mobile devices join traditional computing and entertainment devices on home networks. Technical support services, free and paid, are playing an...