TeamViewer Harris Survey: Nearly Two Thirds of Americans Using More Than One Computing Device

TAMPA, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--TeamViewer®, one of the world’s most popular providers of remote control and online presentation software, today announced the findings of its survey of over 2,000 Americans, conducted online by Harris Interactive. The survey found that 63 percent of Americans say they use at least two computing devices (defined as computers such as desktops, laptops, netbooks, tablets, smart phones and portable gaming devices) on a weekly basis, with 15 percent revealing they use four or more computing devices. In fact, 30 percent said they are now using more computing devices than in any prior year.

“TeamViewer keeps the office data just a secure click away. Security within our company’s data files is extremely important in the patent world and TeamViewer gives me that reassurance that all of our files can be accessed and still be protected.”

As Americans discover the convenience of using multiple computing devices, the problem arises of having information “on the wrong device” when needed, similar to having left their wallet in “the other jacket.” While there's not much to be done about leaving a wallet at home, now people can easily access office or home applications and data from any of their computers through a free and easy remote access capability from TeamViewer. Further, 83 percent of respondents believe people might want the freedom of remote access to their work or home computer, and some key scenarios where they see this to be valuable include:

While on vacation – 74 percent
While in bed – 48 percent
While shopping with a spouse – 36 percent
While at a sporting event – 29 percent
While on their honeymoon – 17 percent
While on a date – 11 percent

“These findings show that no matter what the situation, an overwhelming majority of Americans believe they should be able to remotely access all their devices, use applications and look for data anytime, anywhere,” said Holger Felgner, General Manager, TeamViewer. “TeamViewer gives people the freedom to access all their applications and data, no matter how many different devices they have. Whether people need to access their work computers to run an important application or open a document they were working on while they travel or simply pull up a favorite family photo from their home computer to show a work colleague, TeamViewer gives them the freedom they need.”

Tim DeBenedictis, 39, of San Francisco said he uses five computers regularly in a given week to run Southern Stars, the company he founded that produces the award-winning SkySafari planetarium app. “I often find that I’ve left data on a laptop at home when I’ve arrived at the office,” said DeBenedictis, “TeamViewer solves both problems in a faster, smoother, more elegant way than any solution I’ve yet found. I can even find data that I’ve left on my laptop at home from my iPhone three hundred miles away. Nothing out there works as smoothly as TeamViewer, and with the wide breadth of platform support that TeamViewer offers, don’t waste your time on anything else.”

According to the survey, DeBenedictis exemplifies this trend:

Men are more likely than women to say they use three to five computing devices (35% vs. 27%)
Men aged 35-44 are more likely than their younger counterparts (men age 18-34) to use this many (48% vs. 39%, respectively)
Men are more likely than women to believe someone would want to access their work or home computer while shopping with a spouse (41% vs. 31%) or while on a date (13% vs. 9%)

While men were more likely than women to say they use three to five computing devices, Melissa Ulrich, 35, of Austin, Texas, uses seven computers in any given week for J&M Patent Designs, the nation’s leading patent drafting firm she founded and serves as president. “TeamViewer allows me to access all of my firm’s computers when I am traveling on business,” she said. “TeamViewer keeps the office data just a secure click away. Security within our company’s data files is extremely important in the patent world and TeamViewer gives me that reassurance that all of our files can be accessed and still be protected.”

“With the proliferation of multiple computing devices, it is not surprising that so many Americans believe people want easy access to them all,” said Regina A. Corso, Senior Vice President, Harris Poll, Public Relations and Youth Research. “What is surprising is the one in ten Americans who believe people would want access to these on a date and the almost one in five who believe would want access on their honeymoon!”

Single people meanwhile are more likely than married people to believe someone might want to access their work or home computer while in bed (61% vs. 43%, respectively). That was also true of shopping with a spouse (41% vs. 35%), while at a sporting event (35% vs. 28%), and while at a house of worship (11% vs. 7%).

About TeamViewer

Founded in 2005, TeamViewer is fully focused on the development and distribution of high-end solutions for online communication and collaboration. Available in over 30 languages, TeamViewer boasts over 100 million installations in over 200 countries.

This press release as well as TeamViewer images are available at: http://www.teamviewer.com/

Survey Methodology

This survey was conducted by Harris Interactive on behalf of TeamViewer. All data collection was done online within the United States from May 24-26, 2011, 2010 among 2,309 adults ages 18 and older. Results were weighted for age, sex, geographic region, and race where necessary to align them with their actual proportions in the population.

All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probability sampling, are subject to multiple sources of error which are most often not possible to quantify or estimate, including sampling error, coverage error, error associated with nonresponse, error associated with question wording and response options, and post-survey weighting and adjustments. Therefore, Harris Interactive avoids the words “margin of error” as they are misleading. All that can be calculated are different possible sampling errors with different probabilities for pure, unweighted, random samples with 100% response rates. These are only theoretical because no published polls come close to this ideal.

All product and company names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners. To the best of our knowledge, all details were correct at the time of publishing; this information is subject to change without notice.