Parks Associates research shows SMB tech support spending to increase significantly in next four years

Parks Associates today announced the industry report Selling Support Services to Consumers and Small Businesses, which reveals U.S. small businesses (SMBs) with more than 10 employees spend on average more than $3,000 per year on tech support. The research firm notes only 28% of these SMBs report having a support subscription but tech support spending among all SMBs will increase over the next several years as they adopt more devices and cloud services and deal with an increasingly virtual workforce.

“Small businesses are traditionally conservative with their tech support spending, but new technology products and services are increasingly complex and promise increased functional capabilities,” said Patrice Samuels, Research Analyst, Parks Associates. “This year, SMBs will spend nearly $400 million for computer and network setup and installation services. Their need for support will continue to increase as new devices enter the workplace and as use of telecommuting and cloud-based services continues to grow.”

The Parks Associates report examines the business models and channel strategies being used to sell support services in both consumer and SMB markets. It analyzes the evolution of provider business models in the face of current market challenges and assesses the market size and revenue opportunity of premium technical support services in both markets.

"There is a significant cost to growth among SMBs," Samuels said. "Companies with more than 10 employees spend more than five times as much on support services than do business with fewer than 10 employees. Every new person increases the technological complexity of operating a business."

Report Highlights:

• U.S. businesses with 10 or fewer employees spend less than $1,000 per year on a combination of subscription and one-time support services.
• Fewer than 15% of U.S. SMBs are willing to purchase monthly subscriptions, even at low price points such as $9.99.
• Among SMBs, 37% are highly interested in support services that automatically fix problems before they occur; 31% are highly interested in services that routinely tune up their devices and make sure these devices are working optimally.

Parks Associates will discuss tech support, the Internet of Things, and the connected home at the upcoming CONNECTIONS™ Europe: Monetizing Strategies for the Connected Home, 18-19 November 2014, Amsterdam. Visit http://www.connectionseurope.com for more information. To request specific research or an interview with Patrice Samuels, please contact Holly Sprague at [email protected] or 720-987-6614.

About Parks Associates: Parks Associates, a woman-founded and certified business, is an internationally recognized market research and consulting company specializing in emerging consumer technology products and services. Founded in 1986, Parks Associates provides business intelligence and research services through its proprietary methodologies developed over decades, including quarterly surveys of 10,000 internet households.

The company's expertise crosses many industries: home security and smart home, streaming video, broadband and pay-TV services, digital media and platforms, gaming, Wi-Fi and home networks, connected health, support, consumer electronics, home control systems, energy management, and tech solutions for the multi-dwelling (MDU), small-to-medium business (SMB), and commercial building markets.

Each year, Parks Associates brings thousands of leaders together for its webinars and annual events. The firm hosts the annual executive research and strategy conferences CONNECTIONS™, Connected Health Summit, Smart Energy Summit, Smart Spaces, and Future of Video. https://www.parksassociates.com
 

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