Is PC repair a dead business?

[kagman]

The cloud is here. It's here . Now what.

 

[donnakamla]

Half my business is in support, all this new crap will need supporting too. There is a big difference between support and repairs .

I agree. My Father's business was electronic repairs, and that business is disappearing, certainly very few businesses repairs TVs or monitors anymore. When I started in PC repairs 10 years ago, the business I worked for were just starting to move away from monitor repairs.

PC's are slightly different in that they are modular, comprised of components which can be upgraded, so there is still a market for techs to manage upgrades and system setup.

This is what I see eventually happening with 'computers'.

Computer hardware will become very very powerful and cheap.
Cheap, huge internet pipes with on demand HD 3D movie streaming, with parallel high quality video voice communications and 1 second 20 gb data transfer speed.

Communications will converge into computers; Skype services, telecommunications, voice and video etc all transported over TCP/IP.

Entertainment will converge into computers; television sets will simply be huge HD screens connected to your computer box with a permanently connect fat internet pipe.
Movies will downloaded in seconds, in 1920×1080 HD quality. Television channels will become website portals, with a world wide audience, no longer restricted to local broadcasting infrastructure.

Operating systems will become adaptable, multitasking and also able to perform specialized tasks very well.
By specialized I mean instead of buying an XBOX or Playstation, your PC will be able to run virtual instances of an XBOX or Playstation game machine piped out to another monitor of your choice anywhere in the home.
Microsoft and Sony will build and sell their game machines as virtual machines, downloaded to your PC in seconds. No more hardware for these companies to support, all software.
The same goes for games, all downloadable over the ubiquitous and always on internet.

The money won't be in the hardware, it will be in having the knowledge to know how to manage, configure, and setup these fantastic services.
Who will support all these systems? We will, the tech specialists.

 

[kagman]

I have said it before and will say it again, we are in the SERVICE business. As with anything we all will need to change and adapt with the changing times. If you have the knowledge to do something that others lack then they will pay you for your service and skills. Look how Apple is moving away from their Macintosh computers and move into the consumer electronic space. Look at google with all their web based stuff. I could go on and on but you all get the idea.

 

[Morrison5891]

Are you kidding me? As computers advance so do our skills. The only way you will be left out of this as a computer tech is if you don't continue your education. There will ALWAYS be a need for a computer tech, network support, etc, etc ...

This is like saying that Automobile Techs will be out of a job in the coming years. Wont happen.

 

[ATTech]

Are you kidding me? As computers advance so do our skills. The only way you will be left out of this as a computer tech is if you don't continue your education. There will ALWAYS be a need for a computer tech, network support, etc, etc ...

This is like saying that Automobile Techs will be out of a job in the coming years. Wont happen.

I think the original post was more concerning the need for residential computer repair. The declining prices of computers, and the continuous move towards cloud computing, can theoretically spell the end of the "computer technician" as we know it.

There will always be a need for IT, but eventually, to a much different extent than our understanding of it now. The typical residential tech, who spends his/her time removing viruses, replacing hard drives and installing software, will eventually vanish.

 

[Morrison5891]

I think the original post was more concerning the need for residential computer repair. The declining prices of computers, and the continuous move towards cloud computing, can theoretically spell the end of the "computer technician" as we know it.

There will always be a need for IT, but eventually, to a much different extent than our understanding of it now. The typical residential tech, who spends his/her time removing viruses, replacing hard drives and installing software, will eventually vanish.

Again, there will ALWAYS be a need for us. Computer techs are here to stay. doesnt matter what type of new technology comes out... someone will need us.

 

[ATTech]

Again, there will ALWAYS be a need for us. Computer techs are here to stay. doesnt matter what type of new technology comes out... someone will need us.

Again, their will NOT ALWAYS be a need for the typical residential tech, removing viruses and replacing hard drives.

There WILL however, ALWAYS be a need for computer technicians in whichever way we understand that to be at that point in time.

 

[Morrison5891]

Again, their will NOT ALWAYS be a need for the typical residential tech, removing viruses and replacing hard drives.

There WILL however, ALWAYS be a need for computer technicians in whichever way we understand that to be at that point in time.

So computers in the future wont have cpus, ram, hdd, power supplys? Hmm that should be interesting... I guess in the future there wont be any need for wireless networking/networking. Oh yea... I guess they wont have DVD burners or Blu-Ray drives either. Can't wait to see your version of the future PC. I build and install Custom Media Center PCs - about 4 a month on average... guess that wont be around anymore either in the future.

btw, I hope there isnt a need for a typical residential tech... I'm far from typical as my services are and WILL evolve as technology does. A "typical tech" to me, is ... someone that can insert a CD and hit a few keys on the keyboard and install Windows. ANYONE can do that... making'em a typical computer user.

 

[ATTech]

So computers in the future wont have cpus, ram, hdd, power supplys? Hmm that should be interesting... I guess in the future there wont be any need for wireless networking/networking. Oh yea... I guess they wont have DVD burners or Blu-Ray drives either. Can't wait to see your version of the future PC. I build and install Custom Media Center PCs - about 4 a month on average... guess that wont be around anymore either in the future.

Wow, where to start.

First off, computers are becoming less and less modularized. Does that mean they won't have the basic components? No, the basic components will be there, but they won't be as simple to replace as they are now. Couple that with the cloud computing trend which diminishes the amount of software issues that a residential client would deal with, and you no longer have much need for a residential computer tech.

Secondly, the technology is there for physical, optical media to become obsolete. That will happen eventually.

Lastly, I'm glad you think so highly of yourself. However, the overall narrative of your post and "modest" comments you make, make it seem like your still trying to convince yourself that you will always matter. That's just my pizza psychology "2 cents."

 

[hondablaster]

Part of me thinks the only thing the cloud will be good for is off site storage. I've been messing with it for a while and I can't see it being reliable or as fast as a PC. You will get some APPs that will be hosted and processed remotely. Like a word document or something quick and to the point. But as far as entire desktop and all the hassle that comes with it...... I doubt it. *fingers crossed* most of my cloud stuff is flaky and slow.... And lots of times I cant access my entire storage.

EDIT: I've been lurking around various forums and reading the thoughts of other people who are also concerned. And many are saying that a wide scale cloud is not profitable for the long haul. Success of the cloud depends on the willingness of people to pay for these services and to what extent is it profitable? Lots of competition out there...... Think if tomorrow night Windows 7 sold for only $30 a pop.

Dot.COM boom #2?

 

[bdoggman]

interesting topic, Im not rich but its paying the bills.

 

[brandonkick]

interesting topic, Im not rich but its paying the bills.

The biggest problem with this is that there are incredible differences in what people call "making it/paying the bills" or "rich". There are even some pretty huge differences on this forum alone.

You may consider knocking down 45K a year to be "paying the bills" but there are others on here who wish they made that kind of money and others who couldn't survive on it.

 

[callthatgirl]

dang, this thread was one of the first ones I posted in when I joined in 2010. Cloud is not hype anymore, it's serious and staying put.

Is our industry dead? Not yet. Hardware is needed to run the cloud.

Is the cloud helping our industry from the lack of hardware repairs? You betcha. I have found my business since 2011 has been flourishing with cloud services...mostly because if I didn't support the cloud, I would have no business.

 

[AndyM]

At the end of every cloud connection, there's a piece of hardware that can and will go wrong!

Andy

 

[NETWizz]

At the end of every cloud connection, there's a piece of hardware that can and will go wrong!

Andy

Yes, and that piece of hardware will soon be completely throw-away/disposable for about $200.

 

[commodore64]

Alot of posts saying the business of computer repair is going to die due to the cost on new pcs. I'll admit I do less mobo and cpu replacements, but those turn into data transfer and set up of new pc. I still get customers every day that will put money into a 10 year old pc before buying a new one, and for many of those customers, its not the cost of new holding them back, they just like what they have. In just the last 10 years I've been doing this, pcs have gone from $2000 to $200 and yet my business does better each year.

Cloud usage may be the future, but right now, i cant find many residential clients eager to use it, they all say they want their data in their hands locally. They see it as a backup solution, nothing more. Most people are slow to change, notice how many 10 year old xp boxes you fix every day.

 

[cyabro]

We just had our best month ever, in the 7 or so years we've been going, in terms of workshop repairs.
That's repairs on desktops, laptops and macs but also screen repairs on iPads and iPods are increasing.
People are still going to need a device to access the cloud and I think pcs will be around for a while yet.

 

[Martyn]

Today alone I've sold 2 Synology NAS drive systems. Time moves on and we have to adapt. The last couple of weeks I've connected smart tvs and boxes, iPhone email, AirPrint devices. I think the urgency has gone out of repairs because people can get by with smart phones, email, web browsing etc. but the repairs do come back when they realise some things need a PC.

 

[Pants]

Is PC repair a dead business?

Yes



______________________
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.Here lies computer repair.

.....RIP 1980 - 2013......

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[Krynn72]

PC repair may be dying out, but Mac repair will be going strong Can't find a new macbook for $250, and they're getting more popular by the day.