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Preethi J.

`One click fix' will be here in a few years

Bangalore May 13 If the computer is so intelligent, why do I have to deal with the Blue screen of death, asks a PC user. Why can't it fix itself? Soon, it probably will. With automatic technical support in the form of software programmes that will identify errors, run through an array of possible issues, narrow it down to the correct one, diagnose it, offer the solution and get you back to where you left off within minutes.

The US-based SupportSoft recently launched a Web site — www.support.com — that offers PC users a `one click fix'. Citizens in North America are currently using the service, which was developed by a 103-people team in India. It is expected to arrive in India in a few years, when broadband usage matures.

Some of the modules developed by the Bangalore centre are Vista advisor, security audit, malware control and a tune-up service that checks your PC health and tweaks it so that performance is optimal.

The Web site charges between $29 to $100 to fix problems for PC users in the US.

Saving on time

Minor issues are fixed within two minutes. Complex ones solved using the self-help route take less than eight minutes to solve. If the problem is still not fixed, the helpdesk fixes it within 14 minutes.

This site gives power to the user and allows him to solve the issues within a few clicks and with no outside help. "This has an advantage over the current technical support requests, which are people intensive and require you to spend more than two days in getting a solution," Mr Shahnawaz Kadavil, Country Manager, SupportSoft India, told Business Line recently.

Customer support of consumer PCs across the globe is a $50-billion market and is mostly dominated by unorganised third-party tech support firms, he added. The emergence of such one-stop technical support companies comes as a boon to the tech-illiterate PC user.

Automated support

In India, SupportSoft offers automated tech support software for enterprises and digital service providers (of broadband Internet-Ethernet and the upcoming WiMAX). "The pace of adoption of automated technical support software has started picking up in the enterprise segment in India," said Mr Kadavil.

Common problems reported are password-loss, configuring email, accessing applications and simple troubleshooting in large enterprises. These can be taken care of by software, instead of your IT administration.

With such software, the Virtual Private Network connectivity issue that you face when you are travelling cannot stonewall your productivity anymore.

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