This IDC study presents a five-year forecast for the worldwide clientless remote support software market for 2008–2012. The worldwide market for clientless remote support services tools is expected to grow from $126.1 million in 2007 to $335.7 million in 2012 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 21.6%. Key growth drivers for this market include the proliferation of remote workers in the enterprise, the expansion of the small and medium-sized business (SMB) and small office/home office (SOHO) market and its increasing dependence on IT, and the need for a cost-effective way to support the consumer market. The key target markets for clientless remote support solutions include the enterprise (for internal help desks), IT vendors that need to support their customers, and third-party IT support services providers that may be supporting enterprise implementations, SMBs/SOHOs, or the consumer market.

"Clientless remote support tools provide support professionals the ability to remotely control a device without first having to install any software," said Matt Healey, research manager from IDC's Software and Hardware Support Services program. "Because of this, the support professional can more effectively provide services for any device that has an Internet connection. This technology has the ability to dramatically increase customer satisfaction with support services."