[Littleton tour]
Hi all,
Even tho this is a down day and probably not many are interested in such relatively obscure odds and ends as these, figure I had better get something posted on the visit before Sector loses his patience.. ;) .. so here goes:
Right on schedule, last Thursday, KLH and I were given, what turned out to be a red carpet tour of Nbase-Xyplex in Littleton, MA. Had heard we might get a chance to have a word or two with management, but certainly didn't expect an hour meeting with the CEO (of Xyplex) / VP Global Support & Service / VP of Engineering and R&D, which is how our visit started out.
Of course the first thing they wanted to know was what our SI "names" were, and what curious sequence of cyber circumstances had brought us to their doorstep. After introductions were made and chat room escapades relived (China), we settled into a lively discussion of the wide wonderful rocky MRV world of start-ups, Optical Access, Zuma and last but not least Nbase-Xyplex. And since after all that's where we were sitting, the conversation kept coming back to Red-C, currently a major focus of Nbase-Xyplex new product development. A product, which (to my uneducated eye) looks like it has a real shot at potentially one of the sweet spots of what is gonna be a monsta market.
Next up was a personally guided tour of the complete facility including the new lab: PISTOL (for Product Integration Staging Test Operability Lab) and Global Support Operations.
It was in PISTOL that we were able to see the-not-yet-painted-red Red-C going through it's paces. Interesting product, and one that we long term MRVites should keep an eye on. In a nutshell it looks like Red-C OSS will have the edge over the Redback product in openness and scalability. It also has a web based graphical interface and is designed to offer greater opportunities for the addition of value added services such as security and multiple QoS options. And last, but not least looks like it will be superior in port density.
Btw, Nbase-Xyplex has a new stand alone VoIP gateway going to Beta. During the tour we were able to meet the designer, but unfortunately were not able to get a spec sheet, as they have yet to be printed up. It's possible that this feature will be added to the Red-C OSS product at some point in the future, but this has not been decided yet.
The Global Support Operations (GSO) area was pleasant, organized and professional. There were a couple of overhead monitors providing status updates on current calls (response time etc). In general it felt like things were in control and staff were simply taking care of business.
Software automation and experienced staff seem to be the key. This site (Xyplex) was the first customer of Clarify. Clarify software was running in '92/93 and it's running now. The main GSO man on the floor (Dan) has been been with 'em from from day 1 with the Clarify system. It was pointed out several times to us that it takes time and experience to run such an operation, and am inclined to agree.
GSO infonuggets: Average service call answered in 12 seconds/ Currently processing 10,000 calls per month.
Also it should probably be noted that Optics (OA) supports its component products
directly through the various relationships and introduction plans for support for the new product ventures such as CW, NA and Zuma have yet to be prepared. It was noted that complementary support capability for those ventures will be provided where required and needed.
Some relevant quotes from this January's GSO infogram:
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"Introduction
NBase-Xyplex Networks is strengthening its commitment to its customers and channel partners by providing continuing enhancements to its Customer Service and Support operations world-wide. NBase-Xyplex has established its new Global Support Operations (GSO) headquarters at its enhanced state-of-the-art facilities in Littleton, MA. NBase-Xyplex GSO delivers world class ISO 9001 certified technical support services for its combined catalog of NBase and Xyplex products engineered by its complement of six research and development centers.
Organizational Changes
Prior to the establishment of GSO, two separate and distinctly different customer support infrastructures were operating independently to satisfy the NBase and the Xyplex customer demand. The Xyplex Customer Support operation was poised to deliver the global support required by the strengthened NBase-Xyplex organization.
GSO is the strategic global re-organization of both new and existing technical and engineering resources designed to consistently meet the expectations of its growing and diverse customer base while keeping pace with its aggressive delivery schedule of new high-speed networking products and technologies.
As of this announcement all technical support issues and inquiries from all customers, including the global NBase-Xyplex field sales organization and its channel partners will be supported by the NBase-Xyplex Global Support Operation.
Major Benefits
Every customer call into the NBase-Xyplex GSO is professionally handled by a well trained and highly accountable staff, around the clock, 24 x 7 x 365. Every customer service and support action is also performed in compliance with ISO 9001 quality standards. Every inbound telephone call, email, and fax message is routed through our Customer Response & Management system. A case number and case history is assigned to all calls which are tracked from time of creation through closure using a state-of-the-art service management technology. Operational performance metrics and real-time monitoring reports are generated and analyzed by the management team to measure responsiveness, identify potential trends, and implement corrective actions.
Every member of the GSO organization is well trained and well prepared. Technical Support and Product Support Engineers attend regular hands-on certification training for every product and technology for which they are responsible. This training is delivered by a combination of R&D Engineers, New Product Introduction Engineers, Product Support Engineers, Educational Services Instructors, and local universities.
NBase-Xyplex GSO support engineers deliver world-class support based on at least (3) years of NBase-Xyplex technology and product expertise and (10) years of industry specific standards knowledge and experience.
Technical Support calls are prioritized and dispatched based on customer support contract entitlement where they are accepted by a Technical Support Engineer (TSE) with the appropriate skill set. Cases that are considered to be "usage" related are resolved by the TSE group in excess of 95% of the time.
Cases that are considered by the TSE group to be a possible "quality or defect" issue are escalated to the Product Support Engineering (PSE) group where they are owned until a resolution is found and the customer is satisfied with the resolution measures.
International corporate field offices, distributors, and preferred channel partners have immediate access into this PSE escalation group upon request once an incident case has been created....
What to Expect When You Call
All calls placed to the NBase-Xyplex Global Support Operation (GSO) Center are answered within seconds. Our Call Administration staff will promptly create an incident report for your issue in our technology rich Service Management System and provide you with the case reference number. A product serial number, hardware type, and site identification number are required on the initial call. Serial numbers are used to identify and track all products to ensure that your call is properly routed to the most qualified NBase-Xyplex resource.
All NBase-Xyplex customers are quickly routed to our Logistics Administration group if product warranty assistance is required. Reseller Partners and AdvantEdge Support Contract customers may request priority technical assistance which immediately routes them to our Technical Assistance Center and to a Technical Support Engineer with the knowledge, skill set, and experience to assist them with their particular product situation. For Non-Contract customers, access to the Technical Assistance Center is available on a time and materials basis when you call. For your convenience, AdvantEdge Support can be ordered any time during normal weekday business hours through NBase-Xyplex Contract Services.
Service Management System
NBase-Xyplex invests heavily in state-of-the-art Service Management Technology which allows for quick and consistent delivery of personalized service that customers have come to expect and deserve. As *Clarify's first commercial customer, we were instrumental in the application design and functionality to meet our requirements and service standards. Our integrated system notifies all responding technical support engineers of your site history and criticality of your call. Call priority is based on contract entitlement. A case number is assigned to your call and tracked through to closure while under 100% constant ownership.
*Clarify ™ is a leading provider of automated, customer-centric business management software solutions.
Technical Assistance Center (TAC) Prioritization
Our TAC center provides technical assistance with product usage, configuration, or diagnostic troubleshooting of NBase-Xyplex products. Assistance is delivered within (30) minutes ( if not immediately ) by an experienced, highly-trained and certified Technical Support staff for Priority Support customers and Reseller Partners.
Every effort will be made to assign calls of a critical nature immediately to a Technical Support Engineer or directly to NBase-Xyplex Management. Priority Support contract customers are always given the highest priority for any call placed to the Customer Support Center.
Reseller Partners are forwarded into a separate queue so they can be quickly identified as a valued NBase-Xyplex Reseller Partner and are given prioritized engineering level support.
Non-Contract customers will be placed in a lower priority queue and will receive a call within 24 hours after the call is received.
Product Support Engineering
In the unlikely event that a case cannot be resolved by the Technical Support staff within a reasonable period of time, Priority Support customer and Reseller Partner calls will be escalated to our Product Support Engineering (PSE) for final resolution and closure. Escalation may result for any reason such as interoperability, compatibility enhancement request, software patch requirements, or problem severity as viewed by the customer.
Company "Executive" Management
For Priority support customers and Reseller Partners, critical calls which are considered to have major impact to your company will be escalated to NBase-Xyplex management. Management continually reviews the activity and status of all critical cases on a daily basis..."
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Many thanks to MRV for taking time for us... and hope some out there find some of this info useful/encouraging (I do)... was invited back for a formal presentation on Red-C and am gonna take 'em up on it...
see ya
s |
