WHITE PAPER Computer Industry Software and Hardware HDI INDUSTRY BENCHMARK REPORT SERIES Bomgar Corporation. Al Rights Reserved bomgar.

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1 Computer Industry Software and Hardware

2 OVERVIEW Each year, HDI releases the HDI Practices & Salary Report based on the results of more than 800 surveys submitted by support centers worldwide. The published report provides IT support professionals with a benchmark against which to measure their support centers performance. In addition to the published report, HDI has made available previously unpublished supplemental survey results that provide additional benchmark data on the performance of IT support services in 2010 in the computer industry, including both hardware and software. The data presented in the 2010 HDI Practices & Salary Report, as well as these previously unpublished survey results, is a valuable tool for IT support executives and managers. You can compare your current business performance metrics to the average in your industry or review key performance indicators (KPIs) other markets are leveraging to determine the best metric for your team. These reports are updated yearly as new data becomes available. 2

3 Table of Contents HDI Industry benchmark report series Page 4 Executive Summary Page 5 Telephone SuppORT: First-Call Resolution Rates Page A Bottleneck in SuppORT Center Operations? Page 7-9 The Right Tools at the Right Time for the SuppORT Center Page 9 CONCLUSION Page 10 Next Steps 3

4 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The worst global recession in eight decades positions 2011 to see mild spending growth in the computer industry. Global enterprise information technology spending in 2011 will total some $2.5 trillion, or a 3% increase over the expected $2.4 trillion in 2010, with emerging markets outperforming mature sectors, according to figures compiled by Gartner Inc. By 2014, Gartner Inc. predicts worldwide enterprise spending on IT to rise 16% to $2.8 trillion. 1 Rather than a setback, this economic scenario creates an opportunity for computer industry support centers that, despite the dip in overall IT spending as a percentage of revenue, experienced an increase in incidents in 2010 due primarily to customer growth, over one-and-a-half times the industry average, 36% vs. 23%, respectively. Driving productivity under cost constraints, while continuing to pursue innovation, requires continuous optimization and ongoing scrutiny of best practices and benchmarks to ensure that support centers in the computer industry continue to play a strategic role long into the future. The findings of the HDI data suggest that while KPIs for support centers in the computer industry either meet or exceed most averages across all industries, they are still struggling to meet many of the expectations their industry has placed on them. However, the 2010 survey results validate the idea that the computer industry is the creator and/or earliest adopter of new technologies, as 35% of support centers now utilize chat as a support channel compared to the industry average of only 20%. Support centers in the computer industry have great potential when it comes to meeting the increasing demands of clients. The HDI survey results show 64% of computer industry support centers have seen an increase in incidents, compared to the industry average of 67%. As previously stated, despite the recession, customer growth stands out as the primary cause for the increase in incidents in 2010, nearly one-and-a-half times the industry average, 36% vs. 23%, respectively. Product quality also emerged as a reason for an increase in incidents, results showing 6% of incidents in the computer industry are due to product quality vs. the industry average of 2%. Why most support centers have seen an increase in their number of incidents Computer Industry % All Industries % Infrastructure or product changes: upgrades, conversions, installations Expanded service offerings by the support center More customers Increased awareness of the support organization 2 5 Lack of customer competency 4 3 Product quality Kass, D.H., Tepid Growth Expected for 2011 Global Enterprise IT Spending, Researcher Says. IT Channel Planet, October 19,

5 Telephone Support: First-Call Resolution Rates One of the most important metrics for measuring optimal efficiency is First-Call Resolution or First-Contact Resolution (FCR). A term borrowed from the customer service call center industry, FCR has migrated into the technical support world. 2 FCR, also known as First-Contact Resolution (telephone only in the HDI survey) is a quality metric that strongly impacts customer satisfaction. As FCR rates rise, so will customer satisfaction scores. The HDI survey results show that an overwhelming majority (96%) of computer industry support centers receive incidents by phone. With this in mind, it is discouraging to find that average FCR (61%) for these support centers lagged behind the industry average of 65.6%. Computer industry support centers also fell behind the industry average on the average target FCR, 56.4% vs. 61.5%, respectively. At least 49% of computer industry support centers met their target FCR, compared to 51% across industries. Altogether, this category merits attention as, according to ICMI, an average FCR of 71% is considered low, leading to lower customer satisfaction scores. 3 First-call resolution rate (telephone only) Average First Call Resolution Rate Average Target First Call Resolution Rate % Who Make Their Target Computer Industry 61.0% 56.4% 49 All Industries 65.6% 61.5% 51 In two related metrics, computer industry support centers surpassed industry averages in the category of telephone support: in hitting target rates for average speed to answer, 74% vs. 69%, respectively, and the percentage hitting their target abandonment rate, 57% vs. 52%, respectively. Despite this strong performance in telephone support relative to industry averages, overall FCR remains low. Given that the bar is set high for customer satisfaction, which is inherently tied to FCR, other channels may prove more efficient, productive and cost-effective in the long-term. Percent of support centers who make their Average Speed-to-Answer Target Computer Industry 74% All Industries 69% Percent of support centers who make their Abandonment Rate Target Computer Industry 57% All Industries 52% HDI Practices & Salary Report. 3 Zbikowski, Erik. The Essential Call Center KPIs, Customer Management Insight. 17 April

6 A Bottleneck in Support Center Operations? A majority of support centers in the computer industry (85%) have established as a support channel, according to the 2010 HDI survey results. Similar to telephone support, there is a correlation between response time and customer experience. That correlation may represent a strong business case for process improvement, as 46% of computer industry support centers responded to in under an hour, compared to 42% across industries. Almost 36% of incidents reported through were responded to in 1 to 4 hours, which was equal to the industry average of 36%. The HDI data also shows that 7% of computer industry support centers averaged more than 8 hours to respond to an incident, potentially pushing an early morning support incident to the following business day. Average time for an agent to respond to a customer about and incident reported through < 15 min 15 min to 1 hour 1 to 4 hours 4 to 8 hours 8+ hours Total Computer Industry 10% 36% 36% 12% 7% 100% All Industries 11% 31% 36% 13% 9% 100% Taken as a whole, the data suggests that may prove to be a bottleneck for support centers in the computer industry, especially when considering the average number of exchanges it takes to resolve an incident via . Here the HDI data shows that several exchanges [where one exchange equals one receive plus one send] may be required to resolve an issue through . This subtracts from the productivity advantages that support promises at first glance for the computer industry. In fact, more than one-third of incidents received by require at least three exchanges. Only 12% are resolved in the first exchange, compared to the industry average of 19%. Most surprising, however, is that computer industry support centers reported 10% of incidents received by require five exchanges, compared to 2% across all industries. In this category, support centers in the computer industry are falling behind the averages reported by many other sectors. This begs the question, in an economic climate devoted to worker up-time and efficiency, of whether clients will continue to find this gap in incident-resolution time acceptable. Average number of exchanges it takes to resolve an incident via (1 exchange = 1 receive + send) Computer Industry % All Industries % More than

7 as a support channel does not always function on its own. Instead, a large percentage of incidents initiated through end up escalating to telephone support. Computers beat the industry average: 25% of computer support centers convert 10% or less of incidents to phone for resolution, equal to 25% across all sectors. However, 23% of computer support centers convert 10% - 20% of incidents to phone for resolution, exceeding the industry average of 17%. Another issue this data reveals is the trade-off between number of exchanges and escalation to phone. For computer industry support centers, the inclination appears to be toward a greater number of exchanges rather than more escalation to phone. Since, as will be discussed later, is less expensive per incident than phone, the preference for multiple exchanges may be financially driven. Regardless of how the incident is finally resolved, the fundamental question is whether adding as the first step in a two-step process lengthens or shortens the overall support process for these support centers. Percent of incidents reported through converted to telephone support before being resolved Computer Industry % All Industries % Less than 10% % - 20% % - 30% % - 40% % - 50% % - 60% % - 70% % - 80% % - 90% % - 100% 8 7 The Right Tools at the Right Time for the SuppORT Center Support centers across all industries recognize the vital role that technology plays in reducing support costs as well as delivering world-class service. The data indicates that support centers in the computer industry, as noted earlier, recognize the importance of staying ahead of the technology curve. When asked by the HDI survey what tools are essential to an effective support center, a clear discrepancy emerged between actual use and perceived optimal use. For instance, while 36.5% of respondents in the computer industry considered online chat an essential component of an effective support center (compared to an industry average of 42.9%), only 43% of computer industry support centers were using online chat. While the adoption rate of chat was higher in 2010 than other industries, there is still some discrepancy. Similar deviations held across other tool categories as well, such as knowledge management and remote support tools, demonstrating that support centers in the computer industry strongly believe that there are still gains to be made through the use of technology. 7

8 An effective support organization must have this tool Computer Industry % All Industries % Incident Management Software Customer Satisfaction Tool Knowledge Management Software Remote Monitoring/Support Tools Self-help Tools Online Chat Percent of Support Centers NOT Currently Using These Tools Incident Management Software Remote Monitoring/Support Tools 9% 11% 15% 22% Customer Satisfaction Tool Knowledge Management Software 22% 31% 24% 33% Self-help Tools Online Chat 34% 51% 57% 68% All Industries Computer Industry The data also highlights opportunities to leverage new solutions that will equip computer industry support centers to compete globally while continuing to achieve optimal, yet cost-effective support. As previously stated, online chat is not used by 57% of support centers in the computer industry, but it may offer the lowest fully burdened cost per incident. Averages across all industries show that median per-incident cost with chat one-quarter less than that of phone incidents and equally as expensive as incidents. This also signals why support centers in the Computer Industry rely more on trading efficiency for cost than phone for incident resolution. However, not only is phone more expensive, Gartner Inc. s Magic Quadrant for CRM Customer Service Contact Centers finds a new generation of customers has a deep resistance to telephone-based customer service. 4 Finding alternatives to the phone and may be not only cost-effective, but also timely. 4 Michael Maoz, Magic Quadrant for CRM Customer Service Contact Centers (Gartner Inc., April 2010). 8

9 Cost per Incident (U.S. Data Only) Walk Ups $21 Phone $20 $15 Chat $15 All Industries Median in US Dollars Another potential opportunity is the convergence of online chat with remote support and monitoring tools. The HDI data suggests that these two technologies are being used separately, but current solutions combine these two channels in a way that enables seamless escalation from chat into remote diagnostics and remote support. CASE STUDY The convergence of online support is crucial to improving response rates and driving down fully burdened costs. Companies that learn to manage online effectively will have the competitive advantage as seen by a major enterprise software vendor. After implementing Bomgar, the vendor reported a 30% increase in support tech productivity by transitioning support from a primarily phone-based model to one that begins with the web using chat and escalates into remote diagnostics and remote support. This transition was accompanied by a 10% increase in customer satisfaction. CONCLUSION The information in the 2010 HDI Practices & Salary Report, along with this supplemental data, indicates that while support centers in the computer industry outperform their peers in many measurements, they have great potential for leadership and innovation due to the changing nature of the market. By exposing the current challenges in support, the data also reveals opportunities for optimization, preparing the support organization for the imminent demands of tomorrow and beyond. Are you prepared? 9

10 NEXT STEPS If you are interested in learning more about how other support centers in the computer industry and other industries have been able to improve their core metrics, improve customer satisfaction and reduce support costs, please contact Bomgar to see if you qualify for an individualized value assessment for your organization. About HDI HDI is a global IT service and technical support membership association and the industry s premier certification and training body. Guided by an international panel of industry experts and practitioners, HDI is the leading resource for IT service and technical support emerging trends and best practices. HDI provides members with a vast repository of resources, networking opportunities and the largest industry event, the HDI Annual Conference & Expo. Headquartered in Colorado Springs, CO, HDI offers training in multiple languages and countries. For more information, visit or call HDI is a registered trademark of United Business Media LLC. HDI is a part of UBM TechWeb, a division of United Business Media LLC Bomgar Corporation. All rights reserved. Bomgar and the Bomgar logo are registered trademarks of Bomgar Corporation. All other brands and products referenced herein are acknowledged to be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. 10

11 ABOUT BOMGAR Bomgar is the worldwide leader in secure, appliance-based remote support solutions. The company s award-winning solutions enable organizations to improve IT support efficiency by securely accessing and managing virtually any system Windows, Mac, Linux, BlackBerry, Android, the iphone, ipad and most versions of Windows Mobile, regardless of their location. More than 5,500 companies around the world have deployed Bomgar s enterprise-class solutions to rapidly transform their IT support functions and significantly improve operational efficiency and customer satisfaction while dramatically reducing costs. Bomgar is privately-held with offices in Jackson, Atlanta, San Francisco, Washington D.C., Paris and London. In 2010, Bomgar was named one of the fastest-growing technology companies in America by Deloitte. Contact Bomgar info@bomgar.com Bomgar Corporation Corporate Headquarters 578 Highland Colony Parkway Paragon Centre, Suite 300 Ridgeland, Mississippi Atlanta Johns Creek Parkway Suite 200 Johns Creek, GA San Francisco 1686 Union Street Suite 212 San Francisco, CA Paris Avenue Hoche Paris France 33.(0) EMEA Headquarters Oakridge House Wellington Road High Wycombe HP12 3PR United Kingdom 44 (0) Washington D.C Freedom Drive Two Fountain Square, Suite 588 Reston, VA Bomgar Corporation. All Rights Reserved bomgar.com