05.14.2008 — Fielding phone calls from confused clients is part of the job for control system installers. Sometimes, though, busy installers probably wish there was some sort of tech support filtering system -- one that answers clients' easy questions and lets installers focus on the hard stuff.

Litera's Lifestyle Portal, while not marketed as integrators' "first line of defense" for home system tech support, can do just that, according to Litera CEO Douglas Ralston.

The Lifestyle Portal is essentially a Web portal that allows homeowners to access and control all low-voltage systems that can be hooked up to the Internet -- movies, audio, digital surveillance, photos, etc.

With the Web portal in place, Litera's tech support system springs into action. The company has a 24/7 tech support group trained not only to support the Litera's Lifestyle Portal but all the low-voltage components connected to it.

For instance, if a Control4 control system is connected to a Lifestyle Portal, Litera will have tech support staff trained to answer basic Control4 questions and offer "first-level" support, according to Ralston.

Litera began by offering this support to developments that use Lifestyle Portal in their homes.

"We now provide 24/7 support for anybody who has our portal interface or software," Ralston says. "We make sure we understand what systems they are using and our support staff is trained on them.

"The beauty for an installer is anything that's connected to the network is supported by us and we'll troubleshoot and find out what the issues are. It's almost like Onstar for your home.

"If the Internet connection goes down, we are notified and depending on what system the person has and how the contract is set up we'll proactively call them and tell them what's going on."

Ralston makes it clear that Litera doesn't claim to offer full-scale tech support for low-voltage integrations.

"We're a first-level call, but it often saves them [integrators] a truck roll."

Right now Litera is providing its Lifestyle Portal and tech support through builder partners and their integrators. It's not actively pursuing integrator partners.

"We tried early on," Ralston explains. "Our original plan was to go to all the trades and get them to understand what we're doing and how we did it.

"It never really penetrated because they [integrators] felt like we're a competitor to them. We didn't have any luck early on forging partnerships with trades."

Ralston, however, says Liltera's Web portal and tech support can complement an integration business.

"There seems to be a big gap because they're great installers but they're [constantly] out installing at homes. When somebody calls, how do they manage them? Who's tracking them? That's where many companies fall down."

From Shea's point of view, the tech support has been "extremely well received," Peterson says.

"For our customers, it's really nice because if they have simple questions Doug's team takes care of it. It's that peace of mind, simple convenience."

The cost of the Web portal and 24/7 support varies from builder to builder, Ralston says. Some build it into the home's purchase price, while others roll it into technology packages which they sell as options.