Customer support is generally defined as service efforts from technology vendors and providers that focus on helping customers to use products and services correctly, efficiently and effectively. Many see this specific type of support as part of a larger category of customer service, but while customer support is often provided in response to customer demand, it is also part of intelligent planning for a wide variety of IT companies.

One of the core ideas around customer support in today’s IT world is that more complex or sophisticated products and services are often significantly more valuable when delivered with customer support. Because the best firms save clients time and money by acting as temporary consultants, helping to implement systems, and otherwise assisting customers in the field, many customers are starting to value customer support when shopping for IT products and services. Some examples where customer support is gaining ground include the general market for cloud-based software services to support industry-specific goals, as well as technology products like operating systems, applications and networking resources that may be more valuable to customers when they come with additional support.