Press Release - Support.com

  Directory
    Suppliers
    Associations
    Publications
    Stock Index
    News Search
    Home

  Calendar of Events
     Find event | Submit event

  Career Corner
     Find job | Submit job

  RealMarket Today!
    Past Issues
    Subscribe
    Unsubscribe

Company Profile
Company Web Site

TIOGA BECOMES SUPPORT.COM, STRATEGIC FOCUS ON $14B eSUPPORT MARKET

Internet Support Infrastructure delivers web-based technical support for eBusiness IT, ISPs, and PC Vendors

New York, October 7, 1999 - Tioga Systems, Inc., a market leading provider of eSupport solutions, today announced the change of its name to Support.com (www.support.com) to clearly reflect its strategic focus on addressing the convergence of technical support and the Internet. The company's Internet support infrastructure is used by businesses and support providers - such as Enterprise IT, PC vendors, and ISPs - to support any computer user automatically and via the Web. Bear Stearns, CompuCom, Micron Electronics, Excite@Home, and Albertson's are among the companies that have already deployed Support.com's solution to their customers, employees, and partners.

In a separate release at Internet World today, Support.com announced it has teamed up with Excite@Home to create a support portal for Internet users to receive automated PC support. This announcement expands the company's relationship with Excite@Home, which previously selected and has begun to deploy a Support.com solution to customers of its @Home network.

Data released by International Data Corp. today projects that spending by enterprise IT, IT outsourcers, ISPs and PC vendors on externally provided eSupport products and services will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 46% from 1998 through 2003. The report estimated that worldwide spending on eSupport solutions will grow from $3.1 billion in 1999 and reach more than $14 billion by 2003.

"The Internet holds the promise of changing the entire technical support landscape, in part through its ability to accommodate a rapidly growing number of mobile and networked computer users with robust electronic service and support tools and capabilities," explained Christopher Hoffman, Director of Software Services, International Data Corporation. "Support.com is a defining vendor of eSupport, uniquely possessing both the vision and the ability to deliver what will lead customers through the transition of technical support from the phone to the Internet."

The growth of eSupport is driven by two major trends. First, the need to meet rising demand for technical support without increasing costs or falling behind in productivity is driving organizations toward automated support solutions. Second, trends in eBusiness are transitioning support from the historic position of a post-sales cost center to a revenue generator. With business on the web, the loss of a customer is only one click away. eSupport increases customer satisfaction, retention, and repurchase rates by optimizing their post-sales experience.

"We are laser focused on web-enabling technical support, collaborating extensively with our customers and partners to define the compelling customer support experience," said Support.com President and CEO Radha Ramaswami Basu. "With Support.com companies can take advantage of an exciting new generation of eBusiness opportunities through technical support - to dramatically increase customer satisfaction, to generate more revenue, and to save billions of dollars in the process."

Support.com solutions span the complete spectrum of technical support, including self-healing™ software that prevents problems from occurring in the first place, active self-service capabilities that allow users to quickly resolve problems themselves, and automated assisted service so support professionals can remotely gather information and immediately diagnose and automatically resolve problems. At the core of Tioga's solution is its patent pending DNA Probe technology, which automatically determines all of the components and dependencies of any software application or operating system component.

Support.com tightly integrates this technical support spectrum into an organization's support process management architecture, and partners with leading help desk and customer relationship management, communications, and knowledge management solutions, including Remedy, Clarify, Peregrine, Computer Associates, Tivoli, and ServiceWare. Because of this comprehensive approach, Support.com is the only eSupport solution that can easily fit into an existing support infrastructure and be rapidly deployed for maximum ROI.

Businesses can quickly and easily build Support.com functionality into a wide range of their own eSupport solutions, including Web-enabled call centers, self-service support sites, and support portals. Support.com solutions can be hosted within a customer's environment or by Support.com.

Support.com also provides comprehensive service offerings in the areas of support process improvement, system deployment, education, and technical support.

"At Bear Stearns we can't afford to experience downtime or go through a waiting period for support if there is a PC problem," said Bob Garbarino, senior managing director, Bear Stearns. "Support.com helps us to dramatically reduce the escalation of calls to Level 2 Support. We chose their Internet support infrastructure across our intranet and extranet to support our employees and customers after a rigorous evaluation of potential solutions."

About Support.com (Formerly Tioga Systems, Inc.)
Support.com is a market leading provider of eSupport solutions. The company's Internet support infrastructure enables businesses and support providers - such as Enterprise IT, PC vendors, ISPs, and ASPs - to support any computer user automatically and via the Web. Support.com pioneered and patented DNA Probe™ technology which uniquely reduces the inefficiencies of traditional technical support. Leading edge companies like Excite@Home, Bear Stearns, Hambrecht & Quist, Micron Electronics, Albertson's, and CompuCom are using Support.com to drive down support costs and gain a competitive advantage in their markets through the combination of problem prevention, active self-service, and automated assisted service. For more information about Support.com's Internet support infrastructure, call us at 650-556-9440 or visit our Web site: www.support.com.

Editorial Contact:
Bruce Fienberg
PR21
415-439-8385
bruce_fienberg@PR21.com

top of page