Parks Associates (www.ParksAssociates.com) has announced a new report that reveals U.S. small businesses (SMBs) with more than 10 employees spend on average more than US$3,000 per year on tech support. The research firm notes only 28% of these SMBs report having a support subscription but tech support spending among all SMBs will increase over the next several years as they adopt more devices and cloud services and deal with an increasingly virtual workforce.

"Small businesses are traditionally conservative with their tech support spending, but new technology products and services are increasingly complex and promise increased functional capabilities," says Patrice Samuels, research analyst,Parks Associates. "This year, SMBs will spend nearly $400 million for computer and network setup and installation services. Their need for support will continue to increase as new devices enter the workplace and as use of telecommuting and cloud-based services continues to grow."

The Parks Associates report examines the business models and channel strategies being used to sell support services in both consumer and SMB markets. It analyzes the evolution of provider business models in the face of current market challenges and assesses the market size and revenue opportunity of premium technical support services in both markets.

"There is a significant cost to growth among SMBs," Samuels said. "Companies with more than 10 employees spend more than five times as much on support services than do business with fewer than 10 employees. Every new person increases the technological complexity of operating a business."

According to Parks Associates:

° U.S. businesses with 10 or fewer employees spend less than $1,000 per year on a combination of subscription and one-time support services.

° Fewer than 15% of U.S. SMBs are willing to purchase monthly subscriptions, even at low price points such as $9.99.

° Among SMBs, 37% are highly interested in support services that automatically fix problems before they occur; 31% are highly interested in services that routinely tune up their devices and make sure these devices are working optimally.