173 lines
8.5 KiB
Plaintext
173 lines
8.5 KiB
Plaintext
LAKE OSWEGO, ORE., January 1992 -- The first independent "hot line" to
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diagnose and resolve Novell NetWare technical-support problems is starting
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its third year of operation, and calls for help to 1-900-PRO-HELP" are
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increasingly complex as network users, administrators, value-added
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resellers, systems integrators and MIS managers move to larger,
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corporate-wide enterprise networks built around three or four servers and
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300 to 400 users.
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1-900-PRO-HELP and its related 1-800-YES-4TEC and 503-NET-HELP hot lines --
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all operated by 900 Support Inc. of Lake Oswego, Ore. -- are also taking
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more calls from users asking for help in connecting NetWare to a growing
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array of systems and multi-tasking environments.
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Today's diverse mix includes Windows, UNIX, IBM SNA (System Network
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Architecture) and SAA (System Application Architecture) and the Apple
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Macintosh.
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The calling trends indicate a marked shift away from the virtually
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homogeneous networking environment that the certified NetWare engineers
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staffing 1-900-PRO-HELP encountered at the hot line's launch in December
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1989. Smaller networks were prevalent at that time, typically configured
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with no more than 20 nodes operating almost exclusively under MS/PC-DOS.
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"The trends point to network users in the process of 'right-sizing,"' said
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Danton Mendell, president of 900 Support.
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"Right-sizing' is the migration from older, obsolete mainframes to a
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networked personal-computer environment, and multiple file servers. The
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corporation is replacing its centrally-located mainframe with an
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enterprise-wide network that links PCs," said Mendell.
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"It's a matter of economics. A LAN-based environment fosters competitive
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flexibility and improves productivity. A mainframe-based structure
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increases maintenance costs even as it frustrates the ability of a company
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to lead or adapt to changing markets and customer needs."
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The 900 Support hot lines counter the widening gap between the technical
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support that network users need and what is widely described as a crucial
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lack of responsive, affordable, expert support.
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Information Week, an industry publication, recently reported a survey by
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market-researcher Dataquest of 500 information-systems managers that
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showed widespread dissatisfaction with support from network operating
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systems vendors.
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"The 900 Support hot lines ensure that callers receive priority support.
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Callers don't have to wait for answers. It's the $50 solution to the
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$50,000 network problem, even with the changes underway in networking,"
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said Mendell.
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The three hot lines provide callers with instant access to certified
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NetWare engineers -- around the clock and seven days a week -- for just
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$2.99 a minute.
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"That's a clear alternative to annual contracts for unlimited support that
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may cost $15,000, and high, fixed fees for service that may or may not be
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needed," said Mendell.
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"The 900 Support hot lines also eliminate the all-too-typical long waits on
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hold or waits for a technician to call back -- if the technician calls
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back. Instead, 900 Support provides callers with immediate access to
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expert help, which is critical when the network is down, employees aren't
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working and the company is losing sales and money."
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The pioneer service, 1-900-PRO-HELP, bills calls directly to the caller's
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telephone number. 1-800-YES-4TEC and 503-NET-HELP bill calls to a
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corporate account or credit card.
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After operating 1-900-PRO-HELP for almost a year and a half, 900 Support
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opened toll-free 1-800-YES-4TEC in April 1991 for corporations and
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government agencies that block access to 900-number-based telephone
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services.
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900 Support opened 503-NET-HELP in August 1991 for international network
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users, administrators and engineers unable to dial the 800-and-900
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number-based services from outside the United States.
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Overall, the volume of calls to all three hot lines is up 200 percent from
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the prior year. 1-900-PRO-HELP posted the biggest year-to-year gain, with
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1991 calls up 300 percent over 1990 volume. Calls to the newer hot lines,
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1-800-YES4TEC and 503-NET-HELP are up 60 percent.
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The big gain in 1-900-PRO-HELP calls reflects convenience, said Mendell.
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"Customers gain immediate access to the expert services they need, and the
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call is charged to the caller's telephone bill. That's simple and easy.
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The 1-800YES-4TEC and 503-NET-HELP hot lines provide an alternative
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convenience, where calls are charged to a corporate account or a credit
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card."
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Two categories comprise an almost equal 50 percent share of the calling
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volume -- first, end users and LAN administrators, and, second,
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value-added resellers and systems integrators that market, install,
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configure and maintain networks.
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The hot lines also receive calls from management information systems
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executives confirming system specs and proposals from consultants hired to
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build or expand a network.
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A typical call now takes 12 minutes, up from 10 minutes during the first
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year, reflecting the shift to more complex networks, said Mendell.
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Calls during the day continue to be simpler, relating to operation and
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maintenance of the network. Evening, night and weekend calls focus on
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upgrades, troubleshooting and new installations, an indication that
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callers do not tackle the most difficult problems during standard business
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hours.
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However, the mix of off-hours calls now includes more operation and
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maintenance questions as international callers make use of 603-NET-HELP.
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More than 95 percent of all problems are solved in one call. A problem that
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is not resolved typically requires the caller to perform a lengthy
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operation off line.
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"A caller may need help with a disk upgrade, for example," said Mendell.
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"In the course of investigating you discover they have not yet done a
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backup, so you instruct them to perform the backup off line, then do steps
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x, y and z, and to call back if they encounter any problems. You certainly
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don't want to keep the customer on line while waiting for the backup to
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complete."
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Printing and upgrades to NetWare 386 from NetWare 286 generate a lot of
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calls. Questions about NetWare Lite, introduced in late 1991, are
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increasing, and represent about 15 percent of the calling volume.
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Network printing is one of three surprises noted by 900 Support during the
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first two years of operation, according to Mendell.
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Network printing capabilities have increased. So have printing complexities
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-- "which is generating more calls for support than before Novell made
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network printing facilities more powerful," said Mendell.
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"For example, what was a stand-alone printer is now shared. That introduces
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complexity. The applications may not be aware they are running on a
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network. More complexity. The shared printer at the file server is now
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located at the file server or the workstation. Still more complexity. And
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NetWare must properly trap all the formatting and fonts at the
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workstation, for example, for transfer into the printing queue. "
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The second surprise is the number of large businesses and government
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agencies using the hot lines.
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"We targeted smaller and medium-sized businesses that couldn't afford an
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annual service contract," said Mendell. "Yet even the companies that can
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afford contracts are calling, which says they are not satisfied with the
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technical-support they are otherwise getting"
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The third surprise is the poor market share of Microsoft's LAN Manager.
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"Trade journals report Microsoft's LAN market share at less than two
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percent. Calls to the hot line confirm that. This may change as Microsoft
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moves to a new release that is reported to be competitive."
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Oregon-based 900 Support Inc. is today's pioneer in cost-effective,
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responsive, 24-hour customer support for users of personal computers and
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personal-computer networks.--
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900 Support Inc
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15820 SW Upper Boones Ferry Rd, Lake Oswego, OR 97035
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503-684-2826
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+---------------------------------------------------------------+
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| From the America On-Line & PC-Link New Product Info Services |
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+===============================================================+
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| This information was processed with OmniPage Professional OCR |
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| software (from Caere Corp) & a Canon IX-30 scanner from data |
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| provided by the above mentioned company. For additional info, |
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| contact the company at the address or phone# indicated above. |
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| All submissions for this service should be addressed to |
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| BAKER ENTERPRISES, 20 Ferro Drive, Sewell, NJ 08080 U.S.A. |
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+---------------------------------------------------------------+
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