Research house Gartner says Internet-based service portals are reshaping the equation of customer service value delivery.
Gartner continues: "Web-based service and support are increasingly being selected by end-users as a preferred means to receive higher value and lower cost service experiences."
In line with this trend, Sun Microsystems SA's new Online Support Centre (OSC) enables end-user enterprises, service providers and solution integrators to efficiently and cost-effectively manage service events online so that they can focus resources on their core business.
"We now offer a Web-based support environment that provides our customers with 24x7 access to a comprehensive set of services and tools for managing Sun hardware and software products," says Brian Perrins, regional manager of Sun Microsystems' support services division in the Middle East and Africa region (MEA).
Perrins continues: "By providing a single point of entry to a range of tools and online technical support, customers can work with Sun to manage their Sun products via a portal accessible anytime, anyplace, and from any device."
Streamlined access to support and training gives customers the ability to bypass the phone in favour of the Internet-based OSC. "The real-time visibility into the progress of service events also better enables the customer to make informed decisions and provide proactive information to the end-user," says Perrins.
"Customers can now effectively provide front-line technical assistance and deliver Sun support to their end-users when necessary," he adds.
Other benefits of the OSC include:
a. Online contract management: customers can view their support contracts, replace lost licences, and request information regarding software subscriptions
b. Ability to log service calls online: SunSpectrumT contract holders can log service tickets online to receive help on technical issues directly from Sun Support engineers
c. Downloadable Patches, Software, and Documentation: users can proactively download patches, free software updates and beta releases and also access Sun product documentation including technical documents, manual pages and guides
d. Access to knowledge bases and communities: news and discussion groups, FAQs, and knowledge bases help customers locate specific technical expertise, developer support and self-help resources
e. Tools to predict and monitor Sun environment events: SunT Remote Services (SRS) Net Connect equips customers with pre-emptive monitoring and reporting tools and services that identify and address problems before they occur
f. Interactive training and education resources: users can access the SunT Web Learning Centre as well as participate in online chats discussing a wide array of technical topics
Gartner says: "People can now anticipate that the increasing customer adoption of Internet-based services will in turn spark wave after wave of new offerings from IT vendors that will be very innovative, highly useful and as wonderfully economical to purchase as they are to deliver."
Perrins believes the OSC is a giant leap towards achieving this. "The OSC is part of a cohesive, end-to-end lifecycle management solution that centralises the service process to better meet the growing needs and expectations of our global network of customers, partners and service providers."
Future enhancements to the OSC will focus on further integration of existing features such as online discussion groups, developer support resources and e-commerce capabilities, to achieve the highest level of customisation that addresses individual end-user requirements.
Sun Microsystems' OSC is available at http://www.sun.com/service/online and a demo of the Online Service Centre is available at http://www.suneducationalservices.com/osc/demo.swf.
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Since its inception in 1982, a singular vision - The Network Is The Computer - has propelled Sun Microsystems, Inc (Nasdaq: SUNW), to its position as a leading provider of industrial-strength hardware, software and services that power the Internet and allow companies worldwide to take their businesses to the nth. With $18.3 billion in annual revenues, Sun can be found in more than 170 countries and on the World Wide Web at http://sun.com.
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