technical assistance/support

English translation: help with the technical side of doing something / help when something does not work

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
English term or phrase:technical assistance/support
Selected answer:help with the technical side of doing something / help when something does not work
Entered by: Michael Powers (PhD)

10:14 Jul 10, 2009
English language (monolingual) [PRO]
Tech/Engineering - Computers (general) / technical support/assistance
English term or phrase: technical assistance/support
I'm currently working on a text for a major computer services company in Spain and was happily translating "asistencia técnica" as "technical support" until I came across "soporte técnico", which is clearly "technical support", therefore I've changed the former to "technical assistance". My question is therefore, what's the difference between "technical assistance" and "technical support" in the computing world?

Thanks in advance for your help and comments
Dr. Andrew Frankland
Spain
Local time: 13:28
installation, operation, and maintenance / all the ins and outs at a deeper level
Explanation:
technical assistance
Also found in: Acronyms, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.03 sec.
Sponsored links
IT Service & Support
Comprehensive IT Support For Small Businesses- 10-100 Users
www.AllCovered.com
The providing of advice, assistance, and training pertaining to the installation, operation, and maintenance of equipment.
Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms. US Department of Defense 2005.

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technical assistance - definition of technical assistance by the ...
Definition of technical assistance in the Online Dictionary. Meaning of technical assistance. Pronunciation of technical assistance.
www.thefreedictionary.com/technical assistance - Cached - Similar -


ome > Solutions > Encyclopedia > tech support


PC Magazine encyclopedia
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Definition of: tech support

Technical assistance from a hardware manufacturer, software publisher, internal help desk, educational institution or third-party support company. The most important thing to understand about getting help from tech support people is the amount of detail you need to supply them.

Technical support Definition from PC Magazine Encyclopedia
technical support Definition from PC Magazine Encyclopedia.
www.pcmag.com/.../0,2542,t=technical support&i=52647,00.asp - Cached - Similar -

Be At the Computer
Unless you have a question that has nothing to do with a specific problem you are having with your computer, be sure you are sitting at your computer when you call the tech support line or help desk. Also, have the application running and on screen if at all possible. This is a very precise business (a misplaced comma in a router's table once caused thousands of Internet customers to be down for days).

Write Exactly What It Says
Whenever you get an error message, be sure to write down exactly what it says. "I don't quite remember" will generally not help you get your problem solved. In addition, these people may take hundreds of calls every day and may have little patience with you if you cannot describe your circumstances in exact detail. Be patient with them too, because they must have an unbelievable amount of patience to help people with their problems.

Intermittent problems are extremely difficult to resolve. If you cannot recreate the problem on screen, there may be very little a tech support person can do to help you. See help desk analyst.

Types of Tech Support
Free support is generally by e-mail or a long wait on the phone on your nickel. Go to the vendor's Web site and look for the "Support" option.

E-mail responses generally take from one to three days. Waiting on the phone takes a couple minutes until you run out of patience.

There are premium services where you pay in advance by the year or some other period, and there is typically a per-incident service. For a flat fee usually in the range of $25 to $50, the company agrees to solve a single problem over the phone no matter how long it takes. See how to find a good computer book.

echnical support
Definition

User-friendly assistance for individuals having technical problems with electronic devices. The technical support team is composed of individuals that are familiar with the ins and outs of a device. With this knowledge, they are able to troubleshoot most problems that a user experiences. Information on how to reach technical support is usually provided with the packaged materials included with a device. Technical support may be provided over the phone, through email, or with a live-chat interface.


technical support definition
technical support - definition of technical support from BusinessDictionary.com: User-friendly assistance for individuals having technical problems with ...
www.businessdictionary.com/definition/technical-support.htm... - Cached - Similar -

Mike :)
Selected response from:

Michael Powers (PhD)
United States
Local time: 08:28
Grading comment
Thanks Oliver, very succinct summary of the two concepts.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



SUMMARY OF ALL EXPLANATIONS PROVIDED
3 +4see my comments
Oliver Walter
4 +2Technical support is normally given by the dealer/producer. Assistance can be given by anyone.
Egil Presttun
4 -1installation, operation, and maintenance / all the ins and outs at a deeper level
Michael Powers (PhD)


  

Answers


12 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): -1
installation, operation, and maintenance / all the ins and outs at a deeper level


Explanation:
technical assistance
Also found in: Acronyms, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.03 sec.
Sponsored links
IT Service & Support
Comprehensive IT Support For Small Businesses- 10-100 Users
www.AllCovered.com
The providing of advice, assistance, and training pertaining to the installation, operation, and maintenance of equipment.
Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms. US Department of Defense 2005.

Search Results

Results include your SearchWiki notes for definition "technical assistance". Share these notes
Copy and paste this link into an email or IM:

See a preview of the shared page
1.
technical assistance - definition of technical assistance by the ...
Definition of technical assistance in the Online Dictionary. Meaning of technical assistance. Pronunciation of technical assistance.
www.thefreedictionary.com/technical assistance - Cached - Similar -


ome > Solutions > Encyclopedia > tech support


PC Magazine encyclopedia
Search: Browse the index

Definition of: tech support

Technical assistance from a hardware manufacturer, software publisher, internal help desk, educational institution or third-party support company. The most important thing to understand about getting help from tech support people is the amount of detail you need to supply them.

Technical support Definition from PC Magazine Encyclopedia
technical support Definition from PC Magazine Encyclopedia.
www.pcmag.com/.../0,2542,t=technical support&i=52647,00.asp - Cached - Similar -

Be At the Computer
Unless you have a question that has nothing to do with a specific problem you are having with your computer, be sure you are sitting at your computer when you call the tech support line or help desk. Also, have the application running and on screen if at all possible. This is a very precise business (a misplaced comma in a router's table once caused thousands of Internet customers to be down for days).

Write Exactly What It Says
Whenever you get an error message, be sure to write down exactly what it says. "I don't quite remember" will generally not help you get your problem solved. In addition, these people may take hundreds of calls every day and may have little patience with you if you cannot describe your circumstances in exact detail. Be patient with them too, because they must have an unbelievable amount of patience to help people with their problems.

Intermittent problems are extremely difficult to resolve. If you cannot recreate the problem on screen, there may be very little a tech support person can do to help you. See help desk analyst.

Types of Tech Support
Free support is generally by e-mail or a long wait on the phone on your nickel. Go to the vendor's Web site and look for the "Support" option.

E-mail responses generally take from one to three days. Waiting on the phone takes a couple minutes until you run out of patience.

There are premium services where you pay in advance by the year or some other period, and there is typically a per-incident service. For a flat fee usually in the range of $25 to $50, the company agrees to solve a single problem over the phone no matter how long it takes. See how to find a good computer book.

echnical support
Definition

User-friendly assistance for individuals having technical problems with electronic devices. The technical support team is composed of individuals that are familiar with the ins and outs of a device. With this knowledge, they are able to troubleshoot most problems that a user experiences. Information on how to reach technical support is usually provided with the packaged materials included with a device. Technical support may be provided over the phone, through email, or with a live-chat interface.


technical support definition
technical support - definition of technical support from BusinessDictionary.com: User-friendly assistance for individuals having technical problems with ...
www.businessdictionary.com/definition/technical-support.htm... - Cached - Similar -

Mike :)

Michael Powers (PhD)
United States
Local time: 08:28
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 4
Grading comment
Thanks Oliver, very succinct summary of the two concepts.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
disagree  Kim Metzger: After trying to make sense of your massive references, I still don't see an explanation of the difference between technical assistance and technical support.
10 hrs
  -> The first definition of 'technical assistance" is from Wikipedia (first reference) and I attempted to summarize it in the answer. - Mike :)
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

16 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +4
see my comments


Explanation:
I wouldn't say there is much difference, but if you want to distinguish between them, I would expect them to mean this:
Technical assistance is help with the technical side of doing something, and technical support is help provided when something doesn't work. Example of support: a few days ago, I was unexpectedly unable to access any of my files on a
certain drive on the company network. I needed support and it turned out to be an incorrect setting of access privileges, done when a server was replaced.
Technical assistance could be to show me how to put an icon on the desktop that starts Windows Explorer looking at a specific folder within a drive.
I imagine the distinction is between (a) curing a problem or fault and (b) helping with a technical matter that isn't something gone wrong. To me, they are so close that the definitions could even be interchanged, and the source document may simply be wanting to distinguish between them.
HTH
Oliver

Oliver Walter
United Kingdom
Local time: 12:28
Works in field
Native speaker of: English

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Demi Ebrite
10 mins

agree  Yasutomo Kanazawa
36 mins

agree  Marianna Tucci
59 mins

agree  Kim Metzger: Helpful explanation.
10 hrs
Login to enter a peer comment (or grade)

27 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +2
Technical support is normally given by the dealer/producer. Assistance can be given by anyone.


Explanation:
You get technical support from whoever/wherever you have bough the device.

Technical assistance can be given by anybody. It could be a company that offers technical assistance (which you pay for), or it could be a teenager next door who is friendly.


Egil Presttun
Norway
Local time: 13:28
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Norwegian
PRO pts in category: 4

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Yasutomo Kanazawa
25 mins
  -> Thank you!

agree  Gary D
23 hrs
  -> Thank you!
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