<s>
Technical	B-General_Concept
support	I-General_Concept
(	O
abbreviated	O
as	O
tech	B-General_Concept
support	I-General_Concept
)	O
is	O
a	O
call	O
centre	O
type	O
customer	O
service	O
provided	O
by	O
companies	O
to	O
advise	O
and	O
assist	O
registered	O
users	O
with	O
issues	O
concerning	O
their	O
technical	O
products	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Traditionally	O
done	O
on	O
the	O
phone	O
,	O
technical	B-General_Concept
support	I-General_Concept
can	O
now	O
be	O
conducted	O
online	O
or	O
through	O
chat	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
At	O
present	O
,	O
most	O
large	O
and	O
mid-size	O
companies	O
have	O
outsourced	B-Architecture
their	O
tech	B-General_Concept
support	I-General_Concept
operations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
companies	O
provide	O
discussion	B-Application
boards	I-Application
for	O
users	O
of	O
their	O
products	O
to	O
interact	O
;	O
such	O
forums	O
allow	O
companies	O
to	O
reduce	O
their	O
support	O
costs	O
without	O
losing	O
the	O
benefit	O
of	O
customer	O
feedback	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
With	O
the	O
increasing	O
use	O
of	O
technology	O
in	O
modern	O
times	O
,	O
there	O
is	O
a	O
growing	O
requirement	O
to	O
provide	O
technical	B-General_Concept
support	I-General_Concept
.	O
</s>
<s>
Many	O
organizations	O
locate	O
their	O
technical	B-General_Concept
support	I-General_Concept
departments	O
or	O
call	O
centers	O
in	O
countries	O
or	O
regions	O
with	O
lower	O
costs	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Dell	O
was	O
amongst	O
the	O
first	O
companies	O
to	O
outsource	B-Architecture
their	O
technical	B-General_Concept
support	I-General_Concept
and	O
customer	O
service	O
departments	O
to	O
India	O
in	O
2001	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
has	O
also	O
been	O
a	O
growth	O
in	O
companies	O
specializing	O
in	O
providing	O
technical	B-General_Concept
support	I-General_Concept
to	O
other	O
organizations	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
businesses	O
needing	O
to	O
provide	O
technical	B-General_Concept
support	I-General_Concept
,	O
outsourcing	B-Architecture
allows	O
them	O
to	O
maintain	O
high	O
availability	O
of	O
service	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
For	O
businesses	O
needing	O
technical	B-General_Concept
support	I-General_Concept
assets	O
,	O
outsourcing	B-Architecture
enables	O
their	O
core	O
employees	O
to	O
focus	O
more	O
on	O
their	O
work	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
maintain	O
productivity	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
also	O
enables	O
them	O
to	O
utilize	O
specialized	O
personnel	O
whose	O
technical	O
knowledge	O
base	O
and	O
experience	O
may	O
exceed	O
the	O
scope	O
of	O
the	O
business	O
,	O
thus	O
providing	O
a	O
higher	O
level	O
of	O
technical	B-General_Concept
support	I-General_Concept
to	O
their	O
employees	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Technical	B-General_Concept
support	I-General_Concept
is	O
often	O
subdivided	O
into	O
tiers	O
,	O
or	O
levels	O
,	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
better	O
serve	O
a	O
business	O
or	O
customer	O
base	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
number	O
of	O
levels	O
a	O
business	O
uses	O
to	O
organize	O
their	O
technical	B-General_Concept
support	I-General_Concept
group	O
is	O
dependent	O
on	O
the	O
business	O
's	O
needs	O
regarding	O
their	O
ability	O
to	O
sufficiently	O
serve	O
their	O
customers	O
or	O
users	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
common	O
support	O
structure	O
revolves	O
around	O
a	O
three-tiered	O
technical	B-General_Concept
support	I-General_Concept
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Remote	O
computer	O
repair	O
is	O
a	O
method	O
for	O
troubleshooting	O
software	O
related	O
problems	O
via	O
remote	B-Protocol
desktop	I-Protocol
connections	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Technical	B-General_Concept
support	I-General_Concept
specialists	O
in	O
this	O
group	O
typically	O
handle	O
straightforward	O
and	O
simple	O
problems	O
while	O
"	O
possibly	O
using	O
some	O
kind	O
of	O
knowledge	O
management	O
tool.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
includes	O
troubleshooting	O
methods	O
such	O
as	O
verifying	O
physical	B-Application
layer	I-Application
issues	O
,	O
resolving	O
username	O
and	O
password	O
problems	O
,	O
uninstalling/reinstalling	O
basic	O
software	B-Application
applications	I-Application
,	O
verification	O
of	O
proper	O
hardware	O
and	O
software	O
set	O
up	O
,	O
and	O
assistance	O
with	O
navigating	O
around	O
application	O
menus	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Tier	O
II	O
(	O
or	O
Level	O
2	O
,	O
abbreviated	O
as	O
T2	O
or	O
L2	O
)	O
is	O
a	O
more	O
in-depth	O
technical	B-General_Concept
support	I-General_Concept
level	O
than	O
Tier	O
I	O
and	O
therefore	O
costs	O
more	O
as	O
the	O
technicians	O
are	O
more	O
experienced	O
and	O
knowledgeable	O
on	O
a	O
particular	O
product	O
or	O
service	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
If	O
a	O
problem	O
is	O
new	O
and/or	O
personnel	O
from	O
this	O
group	O
cannot	O
determine	O
a	O
solution	O
,	O
they	O
are	O
responsible	O
for	O
elevating	O
this	O
issue	O
to	O
the	O
Tier	O
III	O
technical	B-General_Concept
support	I-General_Concept
group	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Tier	O
III	O
(	O
or	O
Level	O
3	O
,	O
abbreviated	O
as	O
T3	O
or	O
L3	O
)	O
is	O
the	O
highest	O
level	O
of	O
support	O
in	O
a	O
three-tiered	O
technical	B-General_Concept
support	I-General_Concept
model	O
responsible	O
for	O
handling	O
the	O
most	O
difficult	O
or	O
advanced	O
problems	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
common	O
scam	O
typically	O
involves	O
a	O
cold	B-Protocol
caller	I-Protocol
claiming	O
to	O
be	O
from	O
a	O
technical	B-General_Concept
support	I-General_Concept
department	O
of	O
a	O
company	O
like	O
Microsoft	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
scammer	O
will	O
instruct	O
the	O
user	O
to	O
download	O
a	O
remote	B-Protocol
desktop	I-Protocol
program	O
and	O
once	O
connected	O
,	O
use	O
social	O
engineering	O
techniques	O
that	O
typically	O
involve	O
Windows	B-Application
components	O
to	O
persuade	O
the	O
victim	O
that	O
they	O
need	O
to	O
pay	O
in	O
order	O
for	O
the	O
computer	O
to	O
be	O
fixed	O
and	O
then	O
proceeds	O
to	O
steal	O
money	O
from	O
the	O
victim	O
's	O
credit	O
card	O
.	O
</s>
