Technical Support to Universities

Three Rivers Systems Uses WebInteractive PC Remote Control Software and WebDemo to Save Time for Customers and to Delve into Technical Problems Quickly and Efficiently

The Situation:

Three Rivers Systems, Inc., based in St. Louis, MO, was launched in 1985 to bring reasonably priced, cutting edge technology solutions to the higher education sector. The company’s Comprehensive Academic Management System (CAMS) fully automates the breadth of administrative tasks of these institutions, increasing productivity and enabling quicker completion of administrative duties.

The software company found that its customers wanted the ability to access customer support whenever and wherever there was difficulty with the CAMS solution. To meet this demand, Three Rivers set a goal to establish a means for customers to "show" where help was needed, enabling its support staff to immediately recognize and correct problems or issues with the Three Rivers system. By offering customers the ability to directly connect to any of Three Rivers’ 10-member technical support staff, the company hoped to reduce support times and increase Service Level Agreement (SLA) response

The Solution:

Initially, Three Rivers had used pc remote control software, which allowed technical support staff to do some types of hands on troubleshooting via taking "control " of the customer’s computer and fixing the problem remotely. However, the pc remote control software had a number of major drawbacks. In order to access the benefits of the pc remote control capabilities, the end customer had to have pc remote control client software installed on the workstation and be at the PC to allow for the transaction.

In addition, Three Rivers’ technicians found that they were wasting twenty to thirty minutes on each service call just getting connected with the necessary workstation. "It took too long to link with the customer, and it was inconvenient, since it restricted our troubleshooting abilities," said Chris Moreland, Senior Systems Engineer/CIO at Three Rivers Systems. "We couldn’t go to each machine and server to track down the problem."

After looking around for potential pc remote control software solutions, Three Rivers knew that it wanted to use an Internet-based remote support tool so that clients could readily and clearly demonstrate their issues to the support staff for a quick resolution. The company decided that Linktivity’s WebInteractive, a real-time pc remote control software tool that lets support reps view a user's screen, and then diagnose problems by remotely taking control of the user's desktop. After consideration of various solutions available, the company felt the WebInteractive pc remote control software would allow them to accomplish their goals at the most affordable price.

In fact, although Three Rivers had allocated $50,000 in their budget for a pc remote control software solution, the company ended up spending substantially less and getting more capabilities than they expected, said Moreland. "Although cost was certainly a consideration, the consistency of the pc remote control software product was the main item on our list," he said. "We found that with competing pc remote control software products we didn’t get a consistent environment—and since we are using the pc remote control software to troubleshoot or demo our own products. We use a lot of cutting edge technology in our products, and when things don’t work well, it becomes a direct reflection on us."

In addition to purchasing the WebInteractive pc remote control software, the software company also decided to implement another Linktivity solution, WebDemo, which enabled Three Rivers’ to train its customers remotely, via the Internet. "Our enterprise product is Web-based and WebDemo allows us to get 15 or 20 people on the conference line and train them to use our product using their site and their data," said Moreland. "We have had many positive responses to how we are doing support and training now… our customers love it and tell us it is a huge improvement."

The Results:

According to Three Rivers, the benefits offered by the WebInteractive pc remote control software were almost immediate, with a return on investment seen in just three months. Customers reported that they were saving time and appreciated having more immediate solutions to their technical queries. Three Rivers’ SLA levels went from an average of seventy percent to an astounding ninety-eight percent over a course of five months. In addition, the overall cost of both internal and product support staff dropped by 30 percent.

"Using the WebInteractive pc remote control software definitely puts us ahead of the pack compared to competitive products in terms of customer support," said Moreland. "Clients and potential clients are blown away with the ease of accessing support technicians and by the ability they have to address any technical issues that arise. "

Three Rivers intends to continue to look for other ways to leverage Linktivity’s technology to increase its customer support and service. "We plan on forging a tighter relationship with Linktivity," said Moreland. "Since our Enterprise product is Web-based, we intend to integrate some of the capabilities to make customer support even more seamless."

About Linktivity
Linktivity, a 20 year-old Tucson, Arizona-based division of Converging Technologies Inc., provides server-based communications and control products that enable person-to-person interactions through a browser window. Linktivity products include WebDemo, a Web-based, real-time conferencing and collaboration software tool, and WebInteractive, a real-time software tool that gives support professionals an efficient way to manage and resolve online support requirements for personal computers. For more information, please visit www.linktivity.com.