I'm glad to see that a Symantec/Systemsoft retail product has finally come into existence:
May 2, 1998 Symantec, SystemSoft offer consolidated fix-it product
By Dan Briody
Symantec and SystemSoft last week announced that the two rivals will bundle their software products in a joint marketing agreement to create a call-avoidance, problem-resolution software package.
To curb end-user calls to OEM technical support and IS help desks, Symantec will bundle PC Handyman with SystemSoft's SystemWizard 1.1 into one product to be used for self-diagnosis and common PC problem repair.
SystemWizard offers VoiceView technology, which lets a technical-support person perform end-user tasks at the PC itself. PC Handyman detects viruses and corrects many hardware and software problems.
"[Technical support] can cost about $1 a minute, averaging 10 to 20 minutes a call, and some OEMs are taking more than 8,000 calls a day," said Greg Neal, a senior product marketing manager at SystemSoft.
The problem-resolution process has four steps.
In call avoidance, the software automatically fixes the situation.
In call deflection, the problem is referred to an OEM server containing the latest fixes.
In call efficiency, the end-user is referred to a technical-support person using VoiceView.
In call resolution, the OEM logs calls, surveys results, and adds fixes to the problem-solving
server and the software products.
SystemSoft and Symantec hope to have the product ship in June priced at $50.
SystemSoft Corp., in Natick, Mass., can be reached at systemsoft.com. Symantec
Corp., in Cupertino, Calif., is at symantec.com.
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