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"Dell Computer Corp. is taking the lead by bringing its online Resolution Assistant to the enterprise. The software/service, which was developed for the manufacturer's server and consumer base, will be enhanced to be scalable and robust for corporate-level help desks."
zdnet.com.
PC makers push self-help
Big PC makers are bolstering their online services to cut back on tech support costs.
By John Madden, eWEEK
May 8, 2000 12:00 AM ET
Hardware vendors have heard the call: Corporate customers would rather turn to the Web than pick up the phone when it comes to PC and server support.
With that in mind, major PC makers are moving to increase online support capabilities with tools ranging from knowledge databases to remote diagnostics. The goal is to eliminate or reduce calls to tech support.
Customer satisfaction is only part of the equation. As the number and the cost of service calls increase, hardware vendors scramble to lighten the load.
Dell Computer Corp. is taking the lead by bringing its online Resolution Assistant to the enterprise. The software/service, which was developed for the manufacturer's server and consumer base, will be enhanced to be scalable and robust for corporate- level help desks.
Gary Cotshott, vice president of services at Dell, in Round Rock, Texas, said the company has committed to expanding Resolution Assistant to its entire client base by year's end. The product was introduced in August 1997 for servers, then expanded to consumers; next quarter, it will be rolled out to large enterprise customers across Dell's product line.
The tool includes remote diagnostics, operating behind a company's firewall, that allow users or corporate help desks to identify and correct problems. The Resolution Assistant works in conjunction with Dell's other support offerings, such as its Premier Pages Web sites for 40,000 of its larger customers and its www. support.dell.com site.
Retro Studios Inc., of Austin, Texas, a video game maker, tested the product in its Dell environment, which includes 10 types of servers. George Thomas, the company's IT director, said the tool creates e-mail alerts?sent to him and Dell support?if problems arise. In addition, Thomas said that if he needs to call Dell, the diagnostic tools will forward information on problems in a "snapshot" to Dell technicians before the two parties make contact.
"I like the idea that I don't have to get into lengthy phone conversations and that I don't have to go through the 10 idiot questions" detailing the problem with technical support, Thomas said.
He added that his organization benefits from Resolution Assistant simply by cutting drastically the time that he has to walk around "with the phone to my ear."
Ana Volpi, an analyst at International Data Corp., in Framingham, Mass., said that while all PC vendors are making strides in online support, Dell seems to stay slightly ahead of its competitors by "continually refining [its] offering and adding things to it."
Houston-based Compaq Computer Corp. has a comparable offering in Carbon Copy, a Web-based tool for remote diagnostics on desktops. It has been shipping its Insight Manager suite of remote management tools for several years and offers large corporate customers Active Answers customized Web sites. Compaq said more self-help-focused tools are coming later this year.
IBM, meanwhile, offers Online Assistant, an online database to help customers resolve problems. The Armonk, N.Y., com pany also allows customers to enter IT profiles to give technical support personnel an idea of their environment.
Dermot O'Loghlin, program director for IBM's U.S. service and support in Raleigh, N.C., said he expects the company by the end of the year to come out with a "cocktail of what we believe are some of the best tools out there" for diagnostics and remote support.
Hewlett-Packard Co., of Palo Alto, Calif., earlier this year introduced its Instant Support online service, which remotely detects problems on HP hardware using software from Motive Communications Inc. HP also unveiled its IT Resource Center, replacing two Web-based support services with en hanced offerings.
Gateway Inc., of San Diego, recently launched its Gateway @Work program to promote its business services and products. Earlier this year it launched its eSource personalized Web pages to provide online support for enterprise customers.
But there's more to the online support movement than a desire to keep customers happy.
Industry forecasts show PC support needs skyrocketing in the next few years, and PC makers would rather concentrate on developing robust Web-based support instead of adding costly call center agents and technicians, said Doug Chandler, also an IDC analyst.
"The ability to hire enough talented people, even if you wanted to do it, is a tall challenge, to put it mildly," said M.L. Krakauer, vice president of global services fulfillment at Compaq.
Dell estimates that the number of support incidents will jump from 1.4 per Dell technician to 3.0 by 2003. IBM's O'Loghlin said IBM over the past few years has cut the number of call centers from 40 to 14 to increase efficiency and lower internal costs.
In addition, with cutthroat competition in the PC market, vendors are using online support to flag customers' attention.
"Support is the last bastion where you can differentiate your product," said IDC's Volpi.
Recent television commercials from Gateway that tout the services that accompany its PC, rather than the PC itself, are just an example, Volpi said. "A couple of years ago, you never heard them talk about this," she said. "Just the fact that you see a commercial focusing not on the attributes of the product but the service?I think that's pretty compelling."
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