Support.com 2011 Annual Report Download - page 5

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Various amounts and percentages used in this Form 10-K have been rounded and, accordingly, they may not total 100%.
We own or otherwise have rights to the trademarks and trade names, including those mentioned in this Form 10-K, used in conjunction with
the marketing and sale of our products.
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Support.com is a leading provider of online care for the digital home and small business.
Our technology support services and software products help install, set up, connect, secure, repair and optimize personal computers, printers,
tablets, smartphones, digital cameras, gaming devices, music players, servers, networks and other technology. We offer one-time and subscription
services, and licenses of our software products.
Our Personal Technology Experts® (PTEs) deliver our services to customers online and by telephone, leveraging our proprietary cloud-based
technology platform. Most PTEs work from their homes rather than in brick and mortar facilities. Our software products include tools designed to
address some of the most common technology issues including computer maintenance, optimization and security.
We market our services through channel partners and directly. Our channel partners include leading retail, Internet service provider, and
technology brands. We market our software products directly, principally online, and through channel partners. Our sales and marketing efforts
primarily target North American customers.
Support.com was founded in 1997 under the name SupportSoft, Inc. as an enterprise software provider focused on technical support
organizations. In 2007 we launched our consumer services business, and in 2008 began reporting two operating segments, Enterprise and Consumer.
We used this segment reporting structure for all of our publicly filed financial statements beginning January 1, 2008. In June 2009 we sold our
Enterprise business, changed our name to Support.com, Inc. and focused our efforts purely on the consumer and small business market. We added the
Sammsoft family of software products to our business in December 2009 through our acquisition of substantially all of the assets of Xeriton
Corporation (“Xeriton”), and obtained the anti-malware product SUPERAntiSpyware® through an acquisition of substantially all the assets of
SUPERAntiSpyware.com (“SAS”) in June 2011. In January 2012, we expanded our small business capabilities through the acquisition of
RightHand IT Corporation, a managed service provider for small businesses.
As a result of the sale of the Enterprise business in 2009, our audited consolidated financial statements, accompanying notes and other
information provided in this Form 10-K reflect the Enterprise business as a discontinued operation for all periods presented. After reclassifying the
Enterprise business to discontinued operations, our continuing operations consist solely of our remaining segment, which includes our support
services and software products for consumers and small businesses.
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Technology has become an essential feature of the modern home and office. Products such as personal computers, printers, tablets,
smartphones, digital cameras, gaming devices, music players and servers have become ubiquitous. Each year, these products become more feature-
rich, offering many new capabilities. Consumers and small businesses now depend on such technology for “must-have” information, communication
and entertainment.
In addition to changes in individual devices, technology has become increasingly connected, with networks becoming commonplace in the
home as well as the office, and online social networking platforms such as Facebook and LinkedIn achieving increasing prominence. At the same
time, technology has become increasingly mobile, with anytime, anywhere access to voice, data, video and applications becoming the standard.
While these advances offer many benefits, consumers and small businesses face increasingly complex challenges in managing ever-changing
products, networks and applications. Each new wave of functionality can cause new problems, and each use of the Internet can expose consumers to
the rapidly growing universe of malware and other security threats.
Many consumers and small businesses lack the technical skill or time to overcome technology challenges. While suppliers may offer support
for their products, this support is typically limited to the device in question, and often fails to address connections between devices or malfunctions
caused by the user’s environment or usage. As a result, the market for premium technology services (non-warranty services paid for separately from
the products themselves) is growing rapidly. Parks Associates, a research firm focused on emerging consumer technology products and services,
projects that the market for consumer and small and medium business technical support services will double from $16 billion in 2011 to approximately
$32 billion by 2015.
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