NetPulse provides outsourced support from centers in both Canada and India, along with a range of additional services for ISPs including user software support.

by Jeff Goldman [June 7, 2006]

NetPulse Services was founded in 2003 to provide outsourcing and software development services to three market segments: ISPs, small to medium sized companies, and large corporations. "We have a number of fairly large customers for whom we do order processing, customer support, card authorizations and technician dispatch," says company President Ashok Kalle.

NetPulse has two locations, one in Canada and one in India. "That lets us offer companies a number of options," Kalle says. "If they want work to be performed here in Canada, we can give it to them at one price; if they need it performed in India, we'll give it to them at a different price, because our cost structure is lower."

NetPulse Services 105 Commerce Valley Drive West, Suite 500, Markham, Ontario, Canada, L3T 7W3 Voice: (905)-326-7667 mailto: sales@netpulse-services.com

In addition to providing outsourced technical support, the company also offers a solution called MySmartOffice, designed to give small and medium sized companies a complete suite of outsourced IT services. "It includes desktop support, remote backup, server monitoring, things like that," Kalle says.

NetPulse is an offshoot of Canadian ISP Pathway Communications, which also recently created a VoIP startup called Teliuvo. "The three cornerstones of Pathway Communications are VoIP, Internet services and outsourcing," Kalle says. "From a strategic perspective, they dovetail very nicely. We can offer a whole range of services on a wholesale basis as well as a retail basis."

And for NetPulse, Kalle says, the value proposition is simple. "We give you a rock solid SLA, we will make sure that we save you money, and we'll give you reports. That way, you can concentrate on the marketing, the front end, the selling and so on," he says. "And if we don't perform, just kick us out!"

Customized support
When providing outsourced helpdesk services for an ISP, Kalle says, NetPulse can offer Tier 1, Tier 2 and/or Tier 3 support as needed. "We've got one company that we deal with here in Ontario for whom we only do Tier 3 work," he says. "They've said, 'We'll handle Tier 1 and Tier 2, but we will pay you (a) to clean up our network, and (b) to be on call if we have a complex network-related issue in the middle of the night.'"

Kalle says outsourcing agreements are customized for each ISP. "We go in, we do an assessment, we try and work out what their existing processes are, we give them a price, and then we'll come up with a plan to migrate them to us," he says. "Then their calls are switched over to us, and our staff answers the calls saying, 'We are XYZ Company,' as opposed to being Netpulse."

NetPulse can work directly with an ISP's established CRM or ticketing system as needed, accessing the ISP's system remotely via a VPN. Every call, Kalle says, is recorded for reference, and all records are available to the ISP as needed. "If there's a particular customer whose record they want to check, we can make that available to them on demand," he says.

In addition, reports are delivered to the ISP on a regular basis. "We send a weekly report to our customers which details the total number of calls, what the abandon rate was, what the talk time was, what the first call resolution was, and all that stuff," Kalle says. "We agree up front what the report will look like and how often it'll be sent."

Pricing for the service can be structured per call, per minute (or other time interval), or per FTE (Full Time Equivalent). "There's a whole host of options available to ISPs," Kalle says. "And if you want it done from here, we'll give you a certain price; if you want it done from India, we'll give you a different price."

An ISP can choose to handle its own support during the day and just outsource to NetPulse for overnight support, and Kalle says ISPs can also combine onshore and offshore support as needed. "You can follow the sun," he says. "When it's night here, it's daytime in India, so it's very convenient for everybody."

Additional services
Kalle is quick to point out that Pathway's other offerings are also attractive to ISPs. "ISPs need to increase their average revenue per user, and the way to do it is by layering on more and more services," he says. "And there's a limit to what you can offer on the internet itself. You're going to offer webhosting, you're going to offer virus scanning, spam control, intrusion detection—what else are you going to do?"

The logical next step, Kalle suggests, is an outsourced small business support offering like MySmartOffice. Instead of refusing to handle helpdesk calls about the user's hardware or software problems, ISPs can take advantage of that need. "We've flipped that problem on its back," he says. "We've said, fine, no problem: you want us to fix your desktop problems? We'll be happy to do that, but pay us for it."

And if an ISP wants to partner with Pathway to offer MySmartOffice to its small and medium sized business customers, Kalle says, that can open up an entirely new market for them. "All the dirty work is done by us," he says. "You bundle it, you market it, you sell it, and we give you one invoice. Everybody's happy."

Additional services like MySmartOffice, Kalle says, help NetPulse stand out in an increasingly crowded marketplace. "These innovative services give you one source for all your helpdesk requirements—for your own, as well as for your customers'," he says. "There is nobody out there that's really offering this on a sustained basis to the segments that we're going after, and it's a real need."

And NetPulse's outsourced helpdesk services for ISPs, Kalle says, have their own strengths as well. "We are one of the few companies, I believe, that are in a position to offer you near-shoring as well as offshoring opportunities, backed by an ISO certified SLA," he says.

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Related articles:
	[Dec. 27, 2002]	We Need Cheap Overnight Tech Support
	[Jan. 22, 2001]	When Your Help Desk is Distant
	[June 2, 2000]	Building an ISP Business Plan Part 4: Operating & Organizational Plans

Online resources:
	Outsourced Customer Support Directory
	Quick Reference Chart