Remote managed services are gaining a lot of attraction these days. Companies are looking to outsource the maintenance and monitoring of their IT infrastructure to a third party to improve efficiency and save costs. BizTech2.com caught up with Uday Challu, founding partner and CEO, iYogi, to see what the company has to offer in this space.
As far as Enterprise and SME customers are concerned, which verticals are you focusing on?
Our focus will mostly be on small companies with around five to 100 users and also firms that have multiple small branch offices like travel agencies, retail stores etc.
What kind of support services do you provide to your customers? What is the Green PC service?
iYogi provides the next generation of remote computer support services for consumers and businesses. For consumers, our live 24/7 support extends to technologies we use everyday, including hardware, software applications, devices, peripherals and networking equipment. iYogi also offers a full range of business IT solutions including managed monitoring, managed services, set-up and installation services, and incident-based services.
Green PC Service
With the current state of the global climate and increasing dependency on the computer, iYogi helps PC users reduce their carbon footprint and save money at the same time. iYogi’s Green PC service is the first in the independent computer support industry to offer customers a way to save money, conserve energy and protect the environment by optimising their PC’s efficiency. Consumers and businesses can save up to $200 per year, per desktop, in energy costs with iYogi’s Green PC application. This green application makes the computer environmentally friendly by reducing power consumption by almost 50 percent.
Our Green PC dashboard helps customise power settings and calculate power savings in kWh (kilowatt hour). The Green PC dashboard also gives a status on the reduction of CO2 and how responsible usage will benefit the environment by saving trees. A customised service that increases the energy efficiency of computers, undertakes the below-mentioned three primary initiatives:
- Computer assessment, analysing settings and PC energy use
- Customised efficiency planning geared specifically to the individual’s usage patterns
- Implementing setting changes to maximise the computer’s energy use
What are the technologies that allow you to offer 24/7 support and ensure there is no downtime at the client site?
We have invested significantly in developing a comprehensive monitoring and management tools stack. This enables us to manage and monitor all devices in the office network as well as for branch offices and mobile users. Our tools continuously monitor the customer’s network and notify our NOC (Network Operations Centre) in case of problems. Based on the set of events, tickets are automatically generated and escalated to corresponding teams. Over and above our proactive approach, the customer always has an option to call our 24X7 support line for issues that are not identified via the monitoring tools.
Please throw some light on your proprietary iMantra technology.
iMantra is a CRM system, which is tailor-made to suit the emerging business needs at iYogi. It allows for the formation of individualised customer relationships with the aim of providing personalised services to each subscriber. This tool is built on the latest java technology with a layered architecture that makes it scalable and secure. This architecture provides a seamless workflow and independent channels for various business needs: sales, support, quality and customer service. The entire system can be exposed in the form of secure APIs and Web services, which makes it a re-usable entity.
Your business model is similar to BPOs in India providing technical support to offshore customers. What unique values do you bring to this ecosystem that would help a potential client choose you over a competitor?
iYogi’s business model is different from traditional BPOs. Some key factors that differentiate iYogi include:
- Direct-to-consumer and -small business: iYogi delivers technical support services directly to consumers and small businesses and is a global technical support brand based out of India. Unlike traditional BPOs in India, iYogi does not provide any private label support and/ or work on behalf of large OEMs or software publishers.
- Optmised Processes: iYogi has developed proprietary processes for consistently delivering on a resolution rate of 87 percent, which is among the highest published benchmarks in the support industry, where averages hover in the range of 50 percent.
- Comprehensive technology platform: iYogi’s global delivery platform, iMantra, gets smarter with every customer interaction. It documents every problem, the solution and relevant hardware and software aspects, while capturing each customer’s demographic information and creating a behavioural profile. All of this information is at the fingertips of iYogi’s Global Tech Experts. This set-up combines a knowledge base with a comprehensive set of tools and technology expertise. iYogi offers a range of tools that complement its remote support services for helping customers maintain technology at peak performance levels. iYogi’s products include iYogi Smart PC Scan, iYogi Support Dock, iYogi Green PC and iYogi PC Optimization.
How do you plan to move up the value chain in the times to come?
The growing use and penetration of the Internet and new Web-based applications has consequently opened the door to threats and vulnerabilities, which affect the system performance and ultimately lead to degrading performance. If the threats are diagnosed early on, the impact on efficiency can be minimised considerably. Currently, a user only realizes that he needs technical support once the damage has occurred and reactive methods of support are used to recover from the loss.
At iYogi, we are developing our capabilities to not only provide support when demanded, but to also monitor, pre-empt and fix threats before they can cause any damage to the computer. This will be possible only by combining technology with processes that are capable of re-defining the way technical support is delivered today.
What is your India strategy?
Technically, we are capable of servicing any geography including India. At this stage, we are looking for the right kind of partners to find access to potential customers and provide them a consolidated, 360-degree solution and services for issues relating to hardware, software, network etc. We aim to launch our India services in the coming six to eight months. Our services will offer clients a one-stop solution for all their business needs.
Source : BizTech2.com
Showing posts with label Business News. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Business News. Show all posts
iYogi Acquires Clean Machine Inc.
Larry Gordon, Founder of Clean Machine appointed as President Global Channel Sales at iYogi
New York, NY, May 11th, 2009 : iYogi, a global direct to consumer and small business remote technical support provider, today announced it’s acquisition of Clean Machine Inc, a provider of remotely administered PC security and performance management services. Clean Machine will operate as a separate brand under the iYogi services umbrella along with the recently lunched Support Dock (www.supportdock.com) and its comprehensive range of 24/7 technical support services for computers, printers, MP3 players, digital camera, routers, servers and more than 100 software applications. Larry Gordon, Founder of Clean Machine is appointed as the President of Global Channel Sales for iYogi.
iYogi will integrate technology and innovation that Clean Machine Inc. has developed for delivering an enhanced service experience by proactively managing the health and security for PC's and Apple Computers. This acquisition also broadens iYogi's access to key markets through Clean Machine's existing partnerships. Larry Gordon's past experience and successful track record will accelerate iYogi's expansion through his focus on global alliances.
Commenting on the acquisition of Clean Machine Inc., Uday Challu, CEO & Co-founder of iYogi, said,
"This acquisition will help iYogi to enhance our customer experience and extend our market reach to the millions of consumers that are challenged by the increasingly complex technology environment. Clean Machine's proactive maintenance and management of PCs in home and small business environment will be our launch platform for building the next generation of managed services for consumers."
"We are delighted to have Larry spearheading partnerships and global alliances for iYogi. His incredible experience in marketing, sales and building global alliances will help forge partnerships with retailers, multiple service operators, software publishers, original equipment manufacturers (OEM) and other such companies that are at the frontlines for managing tech support issues for consumers and small businesses",added Challu.
With more than 20 years of experience, Larry Gordon has played a variety of strategic roles in marketing, sales and building alliances. Larry was the Executive Vice President at Capgemini and Kanbay. He was also VP of Global Marketing for Cognizant (Nasdaq: CTSH), a leader in global IT services and Director of Marketing for New York based Information Builders.
"I am excited to join a company that shares a common mission to Clean Machine in creating a global brand for delivering the best technical support to consumers and small businesses. We also share a common approach of utilizing highly skilled talent with leading edge tools, thereby delivering services at incredible price-points, with high margins for our partners",said Larry Gordon, the newly appointed President of Global Channel Sales at iYogi.
ABOUT IYOGI
Headquartered in Gurgaon, India with offices in New York, USA, iYogi provides personalized computer support for consumers and small businesses in United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia. IYogi's 24/7 phone and remote technical assistance, spans across a comprehensive range of technologies we use every day from a wide range of vendors. Utilizing its proprietary technology iMantra , and highly qualified technicians, iYogi delivers amongst the highest benchmarks for resolution and customer satisfaction. iYogi is privately held and funded by SAP Ventures, Canaan Partners, and SVB India Capital Partners. iYogi was recently awarded the Red Herring Global 100 Award, recognizing it as one of the 100 most innovative private companies driving the future of technology. For more information on iYogi and a detailed list of technologies supported, visit: www.iyogi.net.
ABOUT CLEAN MACHINE
Clean Machine Inc. is a NJ-based and incorporated company that helps consumers and small business owners easily manage and protect their computing environments safely and cost effectively. The company is has a unique, powerful and inexpensive PC concierge service. Specifically, each customer is assigned a highly-trained tech concierge who remotely examines their computer system on a scheduled and very secure basis. The PC concierge will immediately fix software-based problems and prevent new threats to the customer's computing environment including offensive pop-ups, browser redirects and slow performance, and then provides a detailed report. Clean Machine's proprietary Radar(TM) technology (Remote Access Detection Audit and Repair) allows its expert technicians to remotely resolve any problems, eliminating the need for customers to go through the frustrating process of speaking with a tech support expert, and still having to do the work themselves. In other words, the Clean Machine PC concierges do it all. For more information on Clean Machine please visit www.pccleanmachine.com.
iYogi Awarded Red Herring Top 100 Global Company
Recognizing the first, global, direct to consumers and small business technical support service from India
New York, January 21st, 2009 - iYogi (www.iyogi.net), today announced that it has been awarded as one of the Red Herring Top 100 Companies. Red Herring Top 100 Global Companies are chosen from winners and finalists of the previous Red Herring Top 100 Companies from North America, Europe and Asia Red Herring Top 100 Companies. Winning and finalist companies from the previous three years are were eligible for this outstanding award. Out of 1,800 successful and highly eligible companies, the Red Herring editorial team deployed a detailed process to drill-down the best companies first to 200 finalists, then to the top 100 winners of this global award. Evaluations were made on both quantitative and qualitative criteria, such as financial performance, innovation, management, global strategy, and ecosystem integration. The announcement of the winners was made at the Red Herring 100 Global, which took place in San Diego from January 14-16, 2009. Present among the finalists were elite executives and venture capital leaders from around the world.
"We were so pleased to announce iYogi as a Red Herring Top 100 Global Company," commented Red Herring publisher Alex Vieux."
"iYogi has proven to be a company excelling in their industry and its ripples have turned into waves. It was difficult for us to narrow down, but we are pleased to have included iYogi in our list of promising companies. We look forward to the changes it makes to its industry in the future".
"iYogi set out to introduce a new kind of service that would change the way technical support is delivered to consumers and small businesses. We are proud to be recognized by Red Herring's editorial team for our innovation and dedication to solve everyday problems faced by millions of consumers who are challenged by the increasingly complex computing environment," commented Uday Challu, CEO, iyogi.
iYogi delivers technical support services directly to consumers and small businesses and is the first, global, technical support brand based out of India. The company offers its customers an unlimited, annual service subscription for $139.99 per desktop that includes support for a wide range of technologies, including PC hardware Microsoft Windows Operating System, software applications, peripherals and multifunctional devices. iYogi recently launched Support Dock, a comprehensive desktop application suite with PC recovery, data back-up, anti-virus and spyware removal , PC optimization, and home networking tools. Small businesses are serviced by iYogi's dedicated services group offering managed IT services enabling owners to increase productivity and maximize their return on investment.
About Red Herring
Red Herring is a global media company, which unites the world's best high technology innovators, venture investors and business decision makers in a variety of forums: a leading innovation magazine, an online daily technology news service, technology newsletters and major events for technology leaders around the globe. Red Herring provides an insider's access to the global innovation economy, featuring unparalleled insights on the emerging technologies driving the economy. More information about Red Herring is available on the Internet at www.redherring.com.
About iYogi
iYogi delivers live, comprehensive, 24/7 technical support services directly to consumers and small businesses and is the first, global, technical support brand based out of India. Providing an annual unlimited subscription to technical support, iYogi now boasts of more than 50,000 customers. The company employs 600 professionals servicing customers in the U.S., U.K., Canada, Australia and fast expanding to 12 new geographies across the globe. iYogi's resolution rate of 86 percent and customer satisfaction rate of 95 percent are amongst the highest published benchmarks in the industry. For further information, please visit - www.iyogi.net.
iYogi Contact:
Vishal Dhar
iYogi, Inc.
Phone: 212-229-0901
Email: vishal@iyogi.net
Red Herring Contact:
Anam Alpenia
Red Herring, Inc.
Phone: 650-428-2900
Email: aalpenia@redherring.com Yvonne Caprini
Logistics Manager
Red Herring, Inc.
Phone: 1 650 428 2900 x 410
Email: ycaprini@redherring.com
New York, January 21st, 2009 - iYogi (www.iyogi.net), today announced that it has been awarded as one of the Red Herring Top 100 Companies. Red Herring Top 100 Global Companies are chosen from winners and finalists of the previous Red Herring Top 100 Companies from North America, Europe and Asia Red Herring Top 100 Companies. Winning and finalist companies from the previous three years are were eligible for this outstanding award. Out of 1,800 successful and highly eligible companies, the Red Herring editorial team deployed a detailed process to drill-down the best companies first to 200 finalists, then to the top 100 winners of this global award. Evaluations were made on both quantitative and qualitative criteria, such as financial performance, innovation, management, global strategy, and ecosystem integration. The announcement of the winners was made at the Red Herring 100 Global, which took place in San Diego from January 14-16, 2009. Present among the finalists were elite executives and venture capital leaders from around the world.
"We were so pleased to announce iYogi as a Red Herring Top 100 Global Company," commented Red Herring publisher Alex Vieux."
"iYogi has proven to be a company excelling in their industry and its ripples have turned into waves. It was difficult for us to narrow down, but we are pleased to have included iYogi in our list of promising companies. We look forward to the changes it makes to its industry in the future".
"iYogi set out to introduce a new kind of service that would change the way technical support is delivered to consumers and small businesses. We are proud to be recognized by Red Herring's editorial team for our innovation and dedication to solve everyday problems faced by millions of consumers who are challenged by the increasingly complex computing environment," commented Uday Challu, CEO, iyogi.
iYogi delivers technical support services directly to consumers and small businesses and is the first, global, technical support brand based out of India. The company offers its customers an unlimited, annual service subscription for $139.99 per desktop that includes support for a wide range of technologies, including PC hardware Microsoft Windows Operating System, software applications, peripherals and multifunctional devices. iYogi recently launched Support Dock, a comprehensive desktop application suite with PC recovery, data back-up, anti-virus and spyware removal , PC optimization, and home networking tools. Small businesses are serviced by iYogi's dedicated services group offering managed IT services enabling owners to increase productivity and maximize their return on investment.
About Red Herring
Red Herring is a global media company, which unites the world's best high technology innovators, venture investors and business decision makers in a variety of forums: a leading innovation magazine, an online daily technology news service, technology newsletters and major events for technology leaders around the globe. Red Herring provides an insider's access to the global innovation economy, featuring unparalleled insights on the emerging technologies driving the economy. More information about Red Herring is available on the Internet at www.redherring.com.
About iYogi
iYogi delivers live, comprehensive, 24/7 technical support services directly to consumers and small businesses and is the first, global, technical support brand based out of India. Providing an annual unlimited subscription to technical support, iYogi now boasts of more than 50,000 customers. The company employs 600 professionals servicing customers in the U.S., U.K., Canada, Australia and fast expanding to 12 new geographies across the globe. iYogi's resolution rate of 86 percent and customer satisfaction rate of 95 percent are amongst the highest published benchmarks in the industry. For further information, please visit - www.iyogi.net.
iYogi Contact:
Vishal Dhar
iYogi, Inc.
Phone: 212-229-0901
Email: vishal@iyogi.net
Red Herring Contact:
Anam Alpenia
Red Herring, Inc.
Phone: 650-428-2900
Email: aalpenia@redherring.com Yvonne Caprini
Logistics Manager
Red Herring, Inc.
Phone: 1 650 428 2900 x 410
Email: ycaprini@redherring.com
RED HERRING AWARDS IYOGI FOR THE 2008 RED HERRING ASIA AMERICA 100
Award Recognizes the 100 “Most Promising” Asian Companies Driving the Future of Technology
Silicon Valley, CA, Dec 9th, 2008— Red Herring today announced that iYogi is a winner of the Red Herring 100 Award, a selection of the 100 most innovative private technology companies based in Asia.
iYogi delivers technical support services directly to consumers and small businesses and is the first, global, technical support brand based out of India with more than 50,000 customers. The company offers consumers an unlimited, annual subscription service for $119.99 per desktop that includes support for a wide range of technologies, including PC hardware, Microsoft Products Support, Windows Operating systems,Computer Support ,Software applications, MP3 players, Networking devices, Digital camera, Printers and scanners etc.
The Red Herring editorial board diligently surveyed the entrepreneurial scene throughout Asia and identified the top 100 out of more than 1,000 closely evaluated companies that are leading the next wave of innovation.
“Our winners and Finalists demonstrate that Asia is increasingly becoming a leader in innovation, contrary to common stereotypes", said Joel Dreyfuss, editor-in-chief of Red Herring. " It was tough to choose just the top 100 finalists from such a large list of excellent contenders, and we are very happy with the quality of the companies we selected as finalists."
“We believe consumers and small business owners should have low-cost access to the highest quality support available on the planet", said Uday Challu, CEO of iYogi. “We are thrilled that our innovative approach to solving everyday technology problems for consumers and our managed services for small businesses has been recognized by Red Herring’s keen-eyed leadership. We are continuously innovating in adding new services that includes PC recovery, anti-virus, anti-spyware, data back-up and PC optimization in providing the best tech support experience for our customers”, adds Uday.
The 100 winning companies have been announced at the Red Herring Asia event in Hong Kong. The CEOs of the winning start ups presented their innovative ideas and technologies to an audience of leading entrepreneurs, financiers, and corporate strategists at the event at the Hong Kong, JW Marriott Hotel earlier this week.
About iYogi
iYogi is the first direct-to-consumer and small business technical support service from India. Providing an annual unlimited subscription to technical support, iYogi now boasts of more than 50,000 customers. The company employs 600 professionals servicing customers in the US, UK, Canada, Australia and fast expanding to 12 new geographies across the globe. iYogi’s resolution rate of 87 percent and customer satisfaction rate of 93 percent are amongst the highest published benchmarks in the industry. For further information, please visit www.iyogi.net.
iYogi Contact
Vishal Dhar
President Marketing, iYogi Inc.
Phone: 212 229 0901
Email: vishal@iyogi.net
Silicon Valley, CA, Dec 9th, 2008— Red Herring today announced that iYogi is a winner of the Red Herring 100 Award, a selection of the 100 most innovative private technology companies based in Asia.
iYogi delivers technical support services directly to consumers and small businesses and is the first, global, technical support brand based out of India with more than 50,000 customers. The company offers consumers an unlimited, annual subscription service for $119.99 per desktop that includes support for a wide range of technologies, including PC hardware, Microsoft Products Support, Windows Operating systems,Computer Support ,Software applications, MP3 players, Networking devices, Digital camera, Printers and scanners etc.
The Red Herring editorial board diligently surveyed the entrepreneurial scene throughout Asia and identified the top 100 out of more than 1,000 closely evaluated companies that are leading the next wave of innovation.
“Our winners and Finalists demonstrate that Asia is increasingly becoming a leader in innovation, contrary to common stereotypes", said Joel Dreyfuss, editor-in-chief of Red Herring. " It was tough to choose just the top 100 finalists from such a large list of excellent contenders, and we are very happy with the quality of the companies we selected as finalists."
“We believe consumers and small business owners should have low-cost access to the highest quality support available on the planet", said Uday Challu, CEO of iYogi. “We are thrilled that our innovative approach to solving everyday technology problems for consumers and our managed services for small businesses has been recognized by Red Herring’s keen-eyed leadership. We are continuously innovating in adding new services that includes PC recovery, anti-virus, anti-spyware, data back-up and PC optimization in providing the best tech support experience for our customers”, adds Uday.
The 100 winning companies have been announced at the Red Herring Asia event in Hong Kong. The CEOs of the winning start ups presented their innovative ideas and technologies to an audience of leading entrepreneurs, financiers, and corporate strategists at the event at the Hong Kong, JW Marriott Hotel earlier this week.
About iYogi
iYogi is the first direct-to-consumer and small business technical support service from India. Providing an annual unlimited subscription to technical support, iYogi now boasts of more than 50,000 customers. The company employs 600 professionals servicing customers in the US, UK, Canada, Australia and fast expanding to 12 new geographies across the globe. iYogi’s resolution rate of 87 percent and customer satisfaction rate of 93 percent are amongst the highest published benchmarks in the industry. For further information, please visit www.iyogi.net.
iYogi Contact
Vishal Dhar
President Marketing, iYogi Inc.
Phone: 212 229 0901
Email: vishal@iyogi.net