Computer Tech Support Issues

With new advancements in technology and computer tech support services are available for all computer related problems , users and customers have also become wiser and more aware. Before making a purchase for a new computer, everyone makes sure that they have set their eyes on a good computer tech support service which can provide good tech support as well.

This makes more sense when a user is on the look-out for computer systems which can serve businesses, since the machines will be the best tool for administrative needs. Choosing and selecting for the best tech support services is trciky and needs careful analysis before a user zeroes in on one. Most companies with tech support usually subscribe to a single product and there is always the chance of having to purchase an additional product when assistance is asked for. This makes the user bear some extra cost.

There is the need for good tech support services created by leading computer tech support individuals who are experts in the field. The experts should have good knowledge of what goes into many different types of computers and should have a thorough understanding of the way that all models of these computers will function. Technical glitches, irrespective of what computer you have, should be fixed quickly and efficiently by tech support specialists.

These experts should have complete understanding of the most complex of issues releated to computers in order to give you the computer tech support that a user or a customer will need. They should be referred to in order to find the best method to ensure that all technical issues are dealt with at the right time. When running a business, one cannot afford to have a computer which has been lying dormant for a long time.

Computers are vulnerable to technical glitches and so getting the right computer tech support to fix the issue without putting the computer into any further risk is very essential.

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Microsoft Office 2010 With Sharepoint 2010

One of the remarkable features in the new Microsoft Office 2010 is the Sharepoint 2010. Like the other applications, it also has a ribbon UI, which makes the document-hosting tool likely to Microsoft’s flagship products, like Word. A lot of features has been enabled in Sharepoint which comes with Microsoft Office 2010. One thing is that from now the authors of documents can be easily tagged and sharing of documents and files have been simplified. The software giants added that its browser versions have been tested on all the big browsers apart from Internet Explorer, including Firefox and Safari. Microsoft Office 2010 is still undergoing fine tuning and modifications to enable it to work alongside Chrome. Microsoft said that it is bringing down the number of Office editions from eight to five.

Office Web applications can now be accessed in three variant ways. Firstly, with Windows Live, consumers will have access to Office Web applications for free, and then with on-premises versions and via Microsoft Online Services, now users can make purchases for a subscription of MS Office. Microsoft Office 2010 will be made availlable from the first half of 2010.

The free, browser-based versions of Microsoft’s high-demand Office products play the key roles here. The software developers expect the browser tools to be easily absorbed by students, but enterprises will be attracted by the web-based applications. Security precautions should not be ignored and should be kept in mind while putting documents in a safe part.

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Windows 7 - Certain limitation regarding security

Windows 7 users got a nice surprise on Tuesday, Nov 10, 2009 when Microsoft released its first set of security patches since unveiling Windows 7 last month. It will focus on the Windows 7 security outfit.
When Microsoft launched Windows 7, it was billed as the company's best secure release ever -- the result of a nine-year "Trustworthy Computing" effort to shore up a product line that had been riddled with major security holes.
But does stress-tested windows 7 how to software really matter to Microsoft's customers, seemingly besieged by more online attacks than ever before? Microsoft had years to improve Windows XP, but the Conficker worm, which began spreading last year, has till date infected more than 7 million Windows machines. And for every Windows bug that gets squashed, hackers seem to get new problems in the software that runs on top of latest Windows7-- Flash Player, QuickTime and Java.
No doubt Windows 7 is definitely by far the most secure operating system, said Dave Aitel, chief technology officer with Immunity, a security company that spends a lot of time finding the latest software bugs. But the question that everybody is asking right now is will it be sufficient?
The man behind Microsoft's Trustworthy Computing initiative, Chief Research and Strategy Officer Craig Mundie, says the industry still needs to improve.
This is Microsoft's conundrum. Windows may be safer, but cyber-criminals still have plenty of other places to attack. And when you can target hundreds of millions of customers with a single attack, why change the game plan? So most of the worst attacks today still target PCs running Windows, whether the OS itself is safe or not.
Consider spear-phishing. Attackers are so efficient at sending these highly customized e-mail messages, complete with malicious attachments, that the underlying security of Windows 7 is almost irrelevant.
According to Alan Paller, director of research for the SANS Institute, a security training company, the problem with the targeted attacks is that there's so much money that they can actually trump the security. Hence the governments and large industrial crime groups have to spend huge amount of money to trump any of the defenses.
In a report released last month for a congressional advisory panel, Northrop Grumman analysts detailed exactly how this happens. Looking at known attacks, the report found that targets are carefully selected, and then sent very believable e-mails with maliciously encoded attachments that exploit bugs in a product such as Adobe Reader -- something that's outside of Microsoft's control. The victim opens the .pdf and suddenly attackers have a foothold on the network.
Microsoft has taken initiation step in this direction with its Windows CardSpace identity management software. This will make people to check any fraud while online dealing.

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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.

- Optimised 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 Optimisation.

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

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IYogi Press Release: iYogi Acquires Clean Machine Inc.

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.ca.

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.

CONTACT:

iYogi Contact
Vishal Dhar
President Marketing
iYogi Inc.
Phone: 212 229 0901
Email: vishal@iyogi.net

The Press Release is available at its source: iYogi acquires Clean Machine Inc.

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