Office Depot Enters On-Site Repair Market, Nationwide

Tech Depot Services. Get used to seeing that brand name a lot in the future.

In a move that is sure to generate buzz in the channel, Office Depot announced today that it will now offer "PC support and network installation that provides customers with in-home, in-office and retail support for their everyday technology needs."

Specifically, Tech Depot will provide services such as PC tune-ups and repairs, wireless network installation, new software installation, TV installation as well as data protection, to name a few. According to the press release, "all repairs and installations are completed by professional technicians, with services being performed either in an Office Depot store, remotely through a secure Internet connection with the customer, or on-site at a customer's home or office, depending on the service." [emphasis added]

Here's a more detailed run-down of the new service.

You can read the entire press release here.

-- Protection and Performance: The Protection & Performance service installs, updates and configures McAfee Virus Scan Plus and enhances your operating system to provide increased data security. Additionally, unwanted programs are removed to help speed up computer performance.

-- Diagnostic and Repair: The Diagnostic and Repair service determines what type of computer problem(s) a user is experiencing and fixes non-hardware problems, including removal of viruses.

-- Software Installation: Installation of a single title or suite of software.

-- PC Tune Up: Reviews and helps optimize over 100 settings on a PC in an effort to improve speed and performance of the system.

-- Data Protection: The Data Protection service installs software on a computer and creates an automated backup plan for use with a secondary drive. The plan defines the applicable data for backup as well as schedules a convenient time to run the backup on a regular basis.

-- Network Installation: A technician will arrive at a customer's home or office and install a wireless router, set up a secure network, and connect two PC's or a single PC and one other device to communicate wirelessly.

I dare not speculate as to how the channel will react to this news, but I will certainly keep my eyes and ears open.