Software support tech

Premium software support is one-time use only. Need more help? Expand your skills. Get new features first. Was this information helpful? Yes No. Thank you! Any more feedback? The more you tell us the more we can help. Can you help us improve? Resolved my issue. Clear instructions. When you report a scam, the FTC can use the information to build cases against scammers. Are you skeptical that reporting scams will make a difference? Watch this video to learn how your story could help the FTC stop scammers.

Now that you know how to recognize a tech support scam, share what you learned with someone you know. You might help them avoid a tech support scam. Federal Trade Commission Consumer Information. Search form Search. Share this page Facebook Twitter Linked-In. Tech support scammers want you to believe you have a serious problem with your computer, like a virus. The quality of support is one of the most important features of a tech support service.

Some people need constant help and immediate support, while smaller businesses or individuals only need occasional help. Computer owners can bring their devices to retail shops and receive help from tech experts.

Shops are a great support option for people who have infrequent computer issues. Their techs can access computers remotely and also offer help and support via chat, email and phone. These services offer both on-site and remote tech support. This ensures that the service can help consumers with any problems they encounter, whether remotely or with an on-site visit. Companies that offer remote IT support may charge by the hour or a flat rate. It generally costs less than on-site technical support.

Tech to Us offers support for both homes and businesses, with services ranging from computer tune-ups to business data backup, and everything in between.

All home support plans include support for unlimited devices and unlimited PC tune-ups. Businesses and organizations can customize a plan based on their specific needs, so you can get all the technical support your business needs. My Computer Works, Inc. They offer remote technical support for all types of devices to individuals and businesses. TechSupportExpert provides remote computer assistance IT support for residential customers and small business owners.

The company offers service for Microsoft and Apple software as well as hardware support for Macs, PCs, printers and routers. TechSupportExpert has been in business since and is part of E4site Inc. MyCleanPC is a downloadable tool that will find and repair or remove adware, file errors, registry errors and temporary files on your computer that might cause it to be slow. Bask has offered tech support for over 10 years and focuses on remote support. They also offer on-site support, which is slightly more expensive.

Run by Best Buy and well-known by consumers everywhere, Geek Squad is one of the most popular computer help services available. It is available in the U. My Nerds is an independent company that offers remote technical support for software, hardware and peripherals.

They specialize in network-enhanced remote desktop support. Colocation America provides tech support and IT services throughout America. It was founded in Los Angeles in and now serves all 50 states. They will tackle any tech issue, including PC optimization, diagnostics and repairs, device setup and installation, and virus removal.

Established in , Colocation America offers a range of services, including colocation space, dedicated servers and hour tech support. Founded in , ComputerSupport. The company offers a Founded in , FixNow. Information in this guide is general in nature and is intended for informational purposes only; it is not legal, health, investment or tax advice. Sign up to receive our free weekly newsletter. We value your privacy. Unsubscribe easily. Get Started. Learn More.

Want your company to be on this guide? Written by ConsumerAffairs Research Team. Why Trust ConsumerAffairs. Why trust ConsumerAffairs? Best Rated. Most Reviewed. Highest Rated. Show all. What to consider when choosing a tech support company Pricing Different tech support service companies have different pricing models based on what they offer. The AI-driven knowledge base approach of Agent.

This means you could outsource your help desk functions to a call center once you have the knowledge engine of the system correctly set up.

However, that approach would require a very comprehensive mapping of all the technical expertise in your IT support department. That encompasses not only the information on how to fix a problem but the process of decision making that derives the probable cause of a problem. In some instances, that can lead to very complicated paths. As most support technicians know, some problems are caused by an unexpected combination of errors, and it can be tough to isolate each contributing component.

The Agent. An effective support scenario implemented with Agent. This uses the Auto-pilot facility of Agent. The module asks questions of the user, successively narrowing down the problem to arrive at a solution. Once the solution phase begins, the Auto-pilot requests feedback from the user on the effectiveness of the suggestion. This process repeats until the problem is solved. The Auto-pilot can be dressed up to pose as a real person.

This can be achieved by implementing the utility through a chat window and giving it a human name. If no Auto-pilot solution works, the user should be passed on to a support agent and at this point, your ticketing system should kick in. Again, this contact can be performed through a chat screen , or it can be carried out over the phone.

The support agent has access to the other format of Agent. This facility uses probability to guide the agent through investigation and solution options.

This is probably going to be exactly the same path taken by Auto-pilot. However, the inclusion of the human element at this point can help improve the interaction between the user and the AI inference engine.

When all of these defenses fail, the ticket can then be passed on to an expert who, with the log of all of the facts unearthed during the Co-pilot stage, will already have much of the investigation taken care of. This investigation assistance will significantly reduce the time that each expert needs to dedicate to support tasks.

However, you will need to populate the knowledge base, and that task can take quite a long time. N-able MSP is a division of SolarWinds that focuses its efforts on providing support products for managed service providers. Each MSP can be expected to serve several companies simultaneously.

The service comes with a brandable customer portal , which enables the employees of the supported company to raise a support request ticket and receive feedback on the progress of the problem resolution. The portal is also accessible through a mobile app. Functions included in the N-able MSP Manager are a ticketing system , which creates access points for users into the support team through email or from the customer portal. The manager also queues queries form users and allocates them to technicians.

The time information that comes out of the ticket management system automatically flows through to a billing system. MSPs using this system can generate their invoices from within N-able MSP Manager, or export the data through to a specialist billing system.

N-able MSP offers a day free trial of MSP Manager so you can put the system through its paces before you commit to sign-up for the subscription service. This package can be used to support in-house departments or customers and their staff.

The dashboard of the service can be tailored so that you create different screens for different roles. This gives call center staff access to the same system as technicians and managers without revealing functions and data views that could compromise data security. The system copes with a range of communication channels including calls, email, chat, and web forms.

The agents who field initial calls can be given a searchable troubleshooting system that enables them to identify the problem. If a ticket needs to be allocated to a back-office technician, the system carries through records of contacts and actions that have already been performed. A deeper technical knowledge search facility is available for technicians that give access to corporate-wide applications. A troubleshooting option is specifically tailored to field agents.

Managers can allocate staff to support calls either in-house or out in the field. That allocation can also be automated.

In the automated task allocation scenario, you need to set up groups of competence so specific problems are allocated to members of specific groups. Managers get live metrics in the dashboard that show current activity in the IT Help Desk Department and tickets that are open but not currently being worked on.

You can set up workflows to set a path of actions and designate collaborators on a ticket. The progress along that critical path is visible in the management dashboard. Standard administration tasks, such as logging and archiving can be performed automatically. The system also has a library of standard reports that cover all of the metrics you are likely to need for presentations to executives.

It is also possible to create your own customized reports. The most expensive package is called Enterprise Contact Center and it includes a chat facility for communication with users.

Their software reach now also extends to customer service productivity tools and support. As the name suggests, this support system is delivered through the Cloud. Although the focus of this platform is to serve external customers, the software can also be used for an IT help desk or other in-house support services. The user contact with the IT help desk begins with a self-service portal. This can be used as a location for a troubleshooting guide, a FAQ page, and a searchable knowledgebase to encourage users to fix their own problems.

If the problem is higher than the user can cope with, they can use many channels to contact the IT help desk. The first of these lies in the self-service portal, where there is a ticket submission form. This portal also lists open tickets, progress, and any communications that were carried out on the ticket. Other channels for contact include phone, email, chat, and social media platforms. Back end functions for the IT help desk include ticket creation, allocation, and tracking. Tickets can be split into sub-tickets for shared efforts, and duplicate tickets can be merged.

The management dashboard provides another view on the ticket database, offering analysis functions on historical data as well as live reports on ticket statuses and team member workloads. SAP Cloud for Services charges on a subscription basis and it is pretty pricey.

You can request a free trial of the system. You are unlikely to change all of your hardware just so you can install the perfect IT Help Desk support software. There has been a strong move in the software industry over the past two years to provide software-as-a-service over the internet.

This development has led software vendors to charge for a subscription rather than a perpetual license. This pricing model creates more flexibility in the scale of provision and can help spread out the cost of the software. It would take a long time for you to investigate and assess every IT help desk solution, which is why we have created this guide to the top IT help desk tools.

They include examples of different support options. For example, some businesses manage to avoid providing any live support because they find that self-service systems are sufficient. It is important to also invest in network monitoring and error prevention system tools as well as effective help desk software. This combination of problem prevention and self-service tools drastically reduces customer support costs.

Do you already use an IT help desk system? Leave a message in the Comments section below to let the rest of the community know about your recommendations. One of those functions is the Help Desk. The Help Desk is the technical team that users contact when they have IT-related problems. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed. Comparitech uses cookies. More info. Menu Close. We are reader supported and may receive a commission when you make purchases using the links on our site.

We have investigated various support systems on the market and narrowed down the field and narrowed them down to the best IT help desk software and support tools. Stephen Cooper. Powerful IT asset discovery and management features. Try it free for days. SuperOps is a SaaS platform. Start a day free trial.

Start a free trial. Includes ticket management, knowledge base, and self-service platforms. This is a cloud-based platform. Freshservice A cloud-based service desk system that includes customer-facing web help features. Zoho Desk This tool is an industry leader in the Help Desk market. It is only available as a cloud-based subscription service.