Technology

Business Support: Software Support for WordPress, Shopify, and More

Technical support has been a business card for millions of contractors for more than 20 years.

Like auto mechanics in the 20th century, they exist to support the millions of users of IT systems, many of whom have little or no support provided by the manufacturer.

While various services have been around for many years, with companies like GeekSquad providing 24/7 support, there is one problem that most of these providers won’t help with: software.

Lack of software support

Everything from web hosting, DNS, cloud email, and even systems running the web infrastructure (WordPress, etc.) require constant maintenance, assistance, and support.

This is generally not covered by the large technical support providers, leading a number of “smaller” providers to fill the gap.

The scope is simple: If you have a problem with WordPress, Microsoft Azure, Exchange, Office, Photoshop, or any other software service provider, there are several ways to get the fixes provided by a support company.

The difference is that the most of the support companies DO NOT deal with the code, only superficial level problems that can usually be solved by consulting online tutorials. In fact, it is not uncommon to find companies that simply trust others. [third party] information to help solve customer problems.

To this end, if you are having trouble installing and customizing WordPress themes, managing inventory in Shopify, fixing Javascript errors, ensuring web servers are configured correctly, troubleshooting domain names, etc., currently * no * providers that provide this. level of granularity, even at a cost.

This is where various “software” focused support providers began serving, giving businesses and individuals the opportunity to make their entire digital infrastructure run as seamlessly as possible with the provision of support at the underlying software level. .

How does it work

The basis for all of this is that there is a “gray zone” between where many “support” companies operate and what customers end up needing.

This gray area has only grown in the last 5 years or more, due to the greater importance of different technologies focused on the “cloud”, especially the advancement of Microsoft with Azure and the services that accompany it.

The “technology” business is going through a period of change. Soon, the “software” will ALL be considered “services,” meaning you will have apps for Amazon, YouTube, and Evernote right on your desktop, reducing the web browser’s need for a “do-it-all” tool to just one device. information consumption.

While this does not matter, what it shows is that the “market” is moving towards a completely software / services centric model.

In this way, we get a series of companies that end up in a curious position.

They may need your digital infrastructure managed, maintained and supported … but they currently have no vendor in a position to help.

It may sound trivial … but things like how to configure Evernote in the most effective way, design and implement effective systems with Zapier, or create a robust spreadsheet for startups in Google Docs … no vendor has the ability to do everything. Do everything possible to ensure that companies are running their digital infrastructure as smoothly or efficiently in the “new” era of the cloud.

  • The “older” vendors are too focused on hardware implementation / “infrastructure” level issues … the newer vendors generally focus on menial issues with iPhones, Android, and other tools.
  • The “software” centric vendor gives users the ability to maintain this infrastructure as effectively as possible, essentially providing a shoulder for many businesses / consumers to lean on if they have * any * problems with their systems.

Both providers work in a similar way (providing “online” support staff, who can be contacted by email, live chat, or phone, and “offline” support dealing with localized fixes), the difference is in the effectiveness they bring to work.

Software-centric vendors generally have much more experience with different software tools for users. For example, they may have a particular way of setting up WordPress, or some Photoshop trick to guarantee the best work.

This is what has led many companies to start looking at them as a means to ensure their growth.

Meaning

Ultimately, “software” support companies provide a more cost-effective method of receiving code-centric fixes for many different bugs that both “traditional” vendors won’t fix and “software developers” who won’t want to get involved with. .

The main competition for many of these service providers is actually the software developers themselves … many of whom would gladly provide $ 40 fixes at companies like Upwork or Freelancer.

Personally, I have a lot of clients who need a HUGE amount of fixes, but we ended up doing these fixes for free (because they weren’t a big deal). Add conversion tags from Google Analytics, remove menu items in WordPress, automatically add products in Shopify, manage CRM issues, etc.

The point is that the “software” support provider typically charges a monthly, quarterly, or annual fee to give users the ability to contact them at any time of the day or night and receive a response directly or pass the request. to an expert who has specific expertise in the area of ​​interest.

While many businesses don’t need the service right away, it’s a HUGE time saver and a great safety net for people who can trust their website to operate, but have no one to provide immediate support if it fails.

For example, a “WordPress blog” that receives more than 50,000 visitors per day may have ZERO support infrastructure in case it crashes or experiences speed issues, etc. Who would you pay in such a situation?

Programmers generally charge by the hour and most of them don’t have much experience with high-traffic websites. This is the kind of situation where software-level support excels.

What providers exist

In terms of providing “software” support, there are several vendors that have appeared on the scene in recent years …

  • Bask (.) Com – NOT focused on software – services provided to consumers + businesses. Recurring income model that actually works relatively well. Unfortunately, very little software support
  • GeekSquad, NOT focused on software, attached to BestBuy, GeekSquad is recognized for a decent quality of service. Unfortunately, they are not very well versed when it comes to software related issues.
  • PCFixes (.) Com – software centric – new service launched in 2018 to provide software centric support – gives users the ability to get specific fixes / help for WordPress, Shopify, Photoshop, Office, Outlook and more

The current state of the industry is that it is growing rapidly and several of the above providers are in a very strong position to help various companies stay operational.

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