With contact centers in India plus a center under development in North Dakota, NetHertz offers both onshore and offshore support—plus other services from VoIP support to colocation.

by Jeff Goldman [January 21, 2004]

NetHertz was founded in 1998 as an offshoot of the hardware supply company, PCHertz. According to Sanjay Patel, the company's President and CEO, the original aim was to start an Internet service provider that would support the growth of PCHertz by providing dialup and high speed access to the hardware company's customers.

At the same time, Patel also had IT support and IT services companies in India which he wanted to use to support both companies in the U.S. As NetHertz's support capabilities grew, Patel says, he decided to sell the ISP and focus on support.

NetHertz Voice: (888) 647-9697 info@nethertz.com

NetHertz now provides not only technical support but a wide range of additional offerings from colocation to VoIP services. In addition, NetHertz can provide just about any contact-center solution, including both inbound and outbound calling as well as e-mail and chat.

The company currently uses its contact centers in India to provide support, but will soon be opening a center in North Dakota that will allow it to offer both onshore and offshore support options.

NetHertz's U.S. operation also provides ground services and engineering support, particularly for wireless access. For both phone companies and ISPs, Patel says, NetHertz has done site analysis and has helped to manage wireless deployments. The company can also provide an end-to-end solution for an ISP, including bandwidth, equipment, and colocation.

The offshore option
Despite some ISPs' concerns about using offshore support, Patel says that most potential clients are impressed by NetHertz's wide range of services, along with the 30 to 50 percent discount that comes with switching to offshore support. A significant portion of NetHertz's business, he adds, also comes from providing wholesale support to other outsourced helpdesk companies.

Training for NetHertz's agents is a key focus for the company. "For our support services in India, we've hired Americans who have moved from the U.S. to India to train and manage the support centers," Patel says. "We keep training our people not to be different than U.S.-based people. We bring them here to see how things operate. We've been doing that for the last few years, and it's been successful for us."

Once they're comfortable with NetHertz's support services, Patel says that many clients also choose to colocate their servers with the company, in order to make use of NetHertz's network monitoring services and to simplify management of both equipment and customer support. "Everybody needs to keep their servers somewhere," he says.

NetHertz also provides a VoIP solution that can be offered to customers as a value added service. "Many ISPs are now providing IP-based telephony services to increase their profit margins, and they need some engineering support for that," Patel says. "We have our own IP-based telecom network—hubbing in Miami and New York—that is connected worldwide."

Choose your pricing
Pricing for services is flexible, and can be structured per call, per minute, per hour, or per user. A dedicated option is also available. In addition, ISPs can choose from three levels of support, including offshore, near-shore, and onshore. The offshore prices, Patel says, are usually 30 to 50 percent lower than comparable onshore pricing. "Our job is to provide them with what they need," he says.

In structuring the agreement, Patel says, he prefers to charge per user. "Most ISPs like the per-customer option because they know what dollar amount it costs them to maintain the support," he says. "What I've seen is that when people charge per incident, they have tended to answer questions as briefly as possible. And if they charge by the minute, they want to elongate the conversation as much as they can."

Charging by the user, he says, allows NetHertz's support agents to take the time necessary to solve problems, and still provides a predictable level of activity for the company. "It's been working great for us," Patel says. "We don't hurry up the call. If the customers says, 'I need more help,' then we're here to help."

Ultimately, Patel says the company's strongest selling point is its aggressive approach to new technology, from wireless to VoIP. "We try to look forward to upcoming technology as much as we are supporting the current one," he says. "We try to stay on the edge that way, securing newer technology and optimizing our processes as a leading company rather than a follower."

— End

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