Parks Associates released a new white paper, "The Opportunity for National Brands in SMB Technical Support Services," forecasting growth opportunities in the tech support market for small and medium businesses.The U.S. market will exceed $20 billion by 2015, according to Parks Associates, which notes the 2008 launch of AT&T's Tech Support 360 as a significant milestone in this market because this service was the first to integrate communications, data services, and technical support on a nationwide level.

Written in cooperation with PlumChoice, a pioneer in the delivery of remote technical services in the next-generation Service 2.0 model, the white paper draws on data from SMB Demand for Technical Support Services, a survey of owners, managers, and IT support decision makers from U.S. SMBs. SMBs' technological needs are getting increasingly complex, with mobile devices creating new challenges and the cost-benefit ratio tilting toward professional technical support. The cloud, virtualization, and greater flexibility via remote access are all key trends driving this market. National service providers, with their existing footprint, are in a prime position to seize this market opportunity.

Parks Associates' research found that more than 35% of SMBs have used professional technical support for server issues, the most problematic area for SMBs. However, new mobile technologies are starting to command more support attention. SMBs lose approximately 3.2 hours per month troubleshooting mobile phone issues, while they lose 3.4 hours to server issues. As a result, more than 30% of SMBs desire remote technical support for their company mobile phones.