May 10, 2012

Parks Associates and Waterstone Management Group identify new cloud-based service and support strategies at special session at CONNECTIONS™ at TIA

Parks Associates research indicates cloud-based solutions will greatly expand the service market for U.S. small and medium businesses (SMBs), where currently only 21% use offsite data backup, 16% have used technical support, and 9% use virtual server solutions. Parks Associates and Waterstone Management Consulting will address market growth, new business models in SMB managed services, and the impact of the cloud during a special networking event, "SMB Cloud Services: New Revenues & Opportunities," at CONNECTIONS™: The Digital Living Conference and Showcase at TIA 2012.

CONNECTIONS™ at TIA, June 5-7 at the Gaylord Texan, is the leading event for service providers, device manufacturers, and advanced technology companies working on solutions for the connected consumer. The agenda features special research sessions on new growth markets and several sessions focused on consumer tech support, including insights from executives at Sutherland Global Services, Comcast, Support.com, and Jungo.

"Opportunities in SMB are growing alongside the consumer tech market, but the current SMB service market is fragmented,“ said Kurt Scherf, VP, Principal Analyst, Parks Associates. “Outside of the efforts of AT&T and some major computer OEMs, few national programs are in place to provide services to the SMB environment. This fragmentation, combined with the emergence of cloud-based solutions, presents an opportunity for players with nationwide scale – particularly retailers and communications/data service providers – to enter this market and establish a lucrative leadership position.”

The special invitation-only event will be held June 6 from 6:30-8:00 p.m. and includes research and strategy presentations on the migration of SMB tech services into the cloud, including case studies, research trends, and best practices to develop new services and offerings.

"There is a large and rapidly expanding market for cloud services specifically designed to meet the needs of SMBs," said Singu Srinivas, partner at Waterstone Management Group. "Successful penetration of this market requires an understanding of the unique technology needs and behaviors of the SMB customer. Building a capability to help SMBs make sense of their available choices and clarifying how SMBs can leverage new cloud-based services for business advantage are critical for broadband, OEM, and technology retailers who want to monetize this market .”

CONNECTIONS™ at TIA 2012 sponsors include CEA, IBM, Hitachi, Actiontec, Affinegy, Allegro Software, Digitalsmiths, F-Secure, Jungo Software Technologies, PacketVideo, Quatrro, Sutherland Global Services, Verizon, Waterstone Management Group, Arrayent, Irdeto, Sigma Designs, and HomePlug Powerline Alliance.

More information about this special event and CONNECTIONS™ at TIA can be found at www.connectionsconference.com.

About CONNECTIONS™

Parks Associates' 27th annual CONNECTIONS™: The Premier Connected Home Conference features an in-person conference on May 23-25, 2023 and multiple virtual sessions hosted throughout 2023. The event focuses on the adoption of technology including smart home, security, connected health, energy, and home automation.

Bringing together more than 1,500 senior executives, CONNECTIONS™ provides networking opportunities combined with visionary keynotes and virtual sessions. The Parks Associates analyst team leads all conference sessions, which are focused on technology innovations, consumer adoption and trends, product and service forecasts, and the evaluation of new business strategies, partnerships, monetization opportunities, and value-added service design.

Throughout the event, sponsors offer demos during networking events, spotlighting new technology innovations and services for the entertainment, mobile, and smart home market segments.

CONNECTIONS™ 2023 features an in-person conference on May 23-25, 2023, with virtual sessions on March 2, July 20, and October 5. For more information, contact [email protected], call 972-490-1113, visit www.connectionsconference.com.

About Waterstone Management Group

Waterstone Management Group is a boutique strategic advisory firm. The firm’s clients span the technology and service industries and range from technology-focused private investment firms to Fortune 100 technology companies. Working collaboratively with client senior management, Waterstone professionals use an expert-led model to address issues such as market share improvement, revenue growth, value creation, and operational performance. Founded in 2003, Waterstone operates out of offices in both Chicago and San Francisco. www.waterstonegroup.com