Technology On-DEMAND

Digital Service Cloud has a proven capability to increase customer lifetime and value, and can generate operating income between USD 15 and USD 20 for every customer interaction. By using Digital Service Cloud telcos, technology retailers, OEMs and global service providers or BPO companies can not only use support as a channel for new revenues, but also expand their business by adding tech support services, the market for which is estimated at USD 100 billion globally and at least INR 20,000 crore in India.

SME WORLD in a recent interaction with Vishal Dhar, President Marketing and Co-founder � iYogi, discussed the changing demands and expectation of computing for consumer households and SMEs and the evolving scenario for cloud-based services.

Vishal was the CE O of the Friday Corporation, the largest information services provider in India and was also the MD of Text 100 India, a specialist PR firm focused on the technology industry.

What are the unique offerings of iYogi?

iYogi is the first company in India to offer one-stop on-demand service support for a wide range of technology products including smart phones, tablets, laptops, traditional desktops, personal music players, printers, scanners smart TVs. Initially supporting 32 software applications, iYogi now provides support for over 500 software and cloud applications.

iYogi's services for the SMB market include comprehensive remote and on-site technical support for the widest variety of computing devices and software in the country, which it provides through its robust proprietary cloud platform � the Digital Services Cloud. With each customer interaction, the platform gets smarter � documenting every problem, solution and relevant hardware and software specs while capturing each customer's demographic information and creates a behavioral profile. All this information helps deliver quality tech support any time of the day and any time of the year. Due to its unique offerings, the company has witnessed rapid growth and currently generates over 20,000 service requests every day across 10 countries. With over two and a half million users, iYogi has managed over 13.5 million incidents since its inception. iYogi now also offers its Digital Service Cloud, as a hosted solution, to OEMs, Telcos, Retailers and Global Service Providers in order to help their contact centers enhance customer resolution metrics through comprehensive support automation, superior customer engagement, knowledge management, and generation of new service revenues.

Who is your target segment?

iYogi's target audience includes consumer households, SMBs and enterprises. For consumers we offer apps, self-help tools and videos and comprehensive support on a subscription and incident basis. For SMB's we have a flexible solution that would fit an organization of any size. Advance IT support services offer managed services and support for collaboration and mobility. Digital Service Cloud for enterprises helps them in automating support delivery, while enhancing customer engagement and driving new revenues.

How do iYogi's' offerings help resolve existing problems of SMEs?

With the rapid adoption of technology by the SMEs, they are facing many technology related problems that need fast and efficient solutions. iYogi is equipped to help resolve the various problems of SMEs with its flexible, on-demand solutions delivered through its proprietary platform. iYogi offers the Business Non Stop Plans (Pro, Pro Plus, and Pro Premium) under which SMEs get comprehensive technical support. Starting from just INR 249/- per month, the plans provide holistic remote and on-site support for tech problems of SMEs and are suitable for organizations with as few as 5 PCs. iYogi is also ersifying its portfolio to provide digital marketing solutions for small businesses. Under the Business Nonstop Marketing Services, iYogi will help SMBs create, manage and optimize online advertising campaigns efficiently and cost effectively.

Lastly, for SMEs who are closer to enterprise scale, we offer our Digital Services Cloud platform which helps drive service innovation through support automation and customer experience management. With iYogi's DSC, telecom companies, OEM's, technology retailers and BPO companies can address new opportunities and generate revenue, while enhancing customer experience and reducing costs.

Digital Service Cloud has a proven capability to increase customer lifetime and value, and can generate operating income between USD 15 and USD 20 for every customer interaction. By using Digital Service Cloud telcos, technology retailers, OEMs and global service providers or BPO companies can not only use support as a channel for new revenues, but also expand their business by adding tech support services, the market for which is estimated at USD 100 billion globally and at least INR 20,000 crore in India.

How intense is the competition in this category? Who are your main competitors?

Although there are some players in the tech support space � their model of service delivery is very different. The tech support market in India is highly fragmented with users having to go to multiple sources, depending on the product they require support for, and no one addresses SME needs in a holistic manner. With regards to SMEs in particular, there is a palpable gap in the market � the consumer market is addressed by product vendors directly; and the enterprise space is being addressed by the larger, more established system integrators such as IBM. SMEs have traditionally been ignored and this is a gap that iYogi seeks to address and fill.

What is the future of cloud computing in India? What are the main obstacles in unleashing its full potential? How can service providers alleviate the issues? Cloud computing in India is likely to be India's next success story. According to the International Data Corporation, the Indian cloud market grew by 70 percent last year (2012), and is expected to exhibit a 50 percent growth rate for the next three years. Gartner expects that from 2013 through 2017, $ 4.2 billion will be spent on cloud services in India, of which $ 1.6 billion will be spent on SaaS (Software as a service).

Clearly, cloud computing is here to stay. India has a legacy of jumping technology curves, as seen earlier in the telecom sector, and it is expected to follow the same pattern when it comes to the cloud.

Data security and lack of control on the IT environment are the key challenges that might limit the full potential of cloud computing in India. Being a transformational initiative, it also faces internal challenges as it seeks to change the makeup of IT organizations. Cloud changes the way IT departments buy, use and deploy applications. Adoption of cloud also raises questions of data sovereignty, licensing regulations, and governing becomes difficult as the IT functions get outsourced to the cloud.

Service providers can alleviate the issues by using better technology, creating more secure systems, and using cloud based applications which are trustworthy and can be integrated with existing systems including ERP, telephony and analytics.