Network Performance Management Customer Service - InfoVista

2011 Global Network Performance Management Customer Service Leadership Award 

InfoVista 

2011 Global Network Performance Management 

Customer Service Leadership Award 

© 2011 Frost & Sullivan 1 “We Accelerate Growth” 

2011

Frost & Sullivan’s Global Research Platform 



Frost & Sullivan is in its 50th year in business with a global research organization of 1,800 analysts and 

consultants who monitor more than 300 industries and 250,000 companies. The company’s research 

philosophy originates with the CEO’s 360 Degree Perspective, which serves as the foundation of its 

TEAM Research methodology. This unique approach enables us to determine how best-in-class 

companies worldwide manage growth, innovation and leadership. Based on the findings of this Best 

Practices research, Frost & Sullivan is proud to present the 2011 Global Customer Service Leadership 

Award in the Network Performance and Monitoring Market to InfoVista S.A. 

Significance of the Customer Service Leadership Award 

Key Industry Challenges 

Frost & Sullivan independent research consistently shows that the network performance monitoring and 

management solutions market is highly fragmented, with several market participants offering its users a 

wide range of service solutions. Although a large number of network performance monitoring and 

management products are presently available in the market, many manufacturers offer similar services 

in terms of performance. This makes it quite difficult for users to differentiate the quality and features of 

competing service solutions and represents a major challenge for network performance monitoring and 

management vendors. 

The network performance and monitoring services suppliers face several obstacles while trying to 

increase their customer base. The ability to meet the growing demand for high-quality, high-availability 

services enhances provider's chances of attracting new clients while gaining loyalty with current 

customers. Leading players in the market cannot rely on the solutions alone, they must be able to offer 

these solutions coupled with services efficiently than their competitors. 

Considering this scenario, a key challenge in terms of services quality is to potentially be flexible and 

responsive to new market trends and conditions. A real-time approach will allow companies to 

complement their network and performance technologies with best practices such as training, educating 

and providing integrated expertise to secure efficient operations and provide optimum value to enduser’s 

business. 

Several leading players in this market offer a wide range of support services at the expense of being 

innovative. This is a challenge for smaller and midsize players that are trying to compete with well 

established companies to provide the consumers with high quality solutions coupled with a desired level of 

support and at the same time being innovative. Those providers who excel at their price performance ratio 

for this kind of services can succeed in this highly competitive market. These challenges provide an 

opportunity for a company to truly stand out in the market, differentiating its quality services offering 

from the competition. This approach can easily enable a company to garner market share over the next 

few years. 

© 2011 Frost & Sullivan 2 “We Accelerate Growth”



Impact of Customer Service Leadership Award on Key 

Stakeholders 

The Customer Service Leadership Award is a prestigious recognition of InfoVista’s accomplishments in 

the Network Performance Management Market. An unbiased, third-party recognition can provide a 

profound impact in enhancing the brand value and accelerating InfoVista’s growth. As captured in Chart 

1 below, by researching, ranking, and recognizing those who deliver excellence and best practices in 

their respective endeavors, Frost & Sullivan hopes to inspire, influence, and impact three specific 

constituencies: 

� Investors 

Investors and shareholders always welcome unbiased and impartial third-party recognition. 

Similarly, prospective investors and shareholders are drawn to companies with a wellestablished 

reputation for excellence. Unbiased validation is the best and most credible way to 

showcase an organization worthy of investment. 

� Customers 

Third-party industry recognition has been proven to be the most effective way to assure 

customers that they are partnering with an organization that is leading in its field. 

� Employees 

This Award represents the creativity and dedication of InfoVista’s executive team and 

employees. Such public recognition can boost morale and inspire your team to continue its 

best-in-class pursuit of a strong competitive position for InfoVista. 

Chart 1: Best Practices Leverage for Growth Acceleration 




Key Benchmarking Criteria for Customer Service Leadership 

Award 

For the Customer Service Leadership Award, the following criteria were used to benchmark InfoVista’s 

performance against key competitors: 

• Quality of Service 

• Timeliness of Service 

• Impact of Service on Customer Value 

• Cost of Service to Customers 

Decision Support Matrix and Measurement Criteria 

To support its evaluation of best practices across multiple business performance categories, Frost & 

Sullivan employs a customized Decision Support Matrix (DSM). The DSM is an analytical tool that 

compares companies’ performance relative to each other with an integration of quantitative and qualitative 

metrics. The DSM features criteria unique to each Award category and ranks importance by assigning 

weights to each criterion. The relative weighting reflects current market conditions and illustrates the 

associated importance of each criterion according to Frost & Sullivan. Fundamentally, each DSM is 

distinct for each market and Award category. The DSM allows our research and consulting teams to 

objectively analyze each company's performance on each criterion relative to its top competitors and 

assign performance ratings on that basis. The DSM follows a 10-point scale that allows for nuances in 

performance evaluation; ratings guidelines are shown in Chart 2. 

Chart 2: Performance-Based Ratings for Decision Support Matrix 

This exercise encompasses all criteria, leading to a weighted average ranking of each company. 

Researchers can then easily identify the company with the highest ranking. As a final step, the research 

team confirms the veracity of the model by ensuring that small changes to the ratings for a specific 

criterion do not lead to a significant change in the overall relative rankings of the companies. 




Chart 3: Frost & Sullivan’s 10-Step Process for Identifying Award Recipients 

Best Practice Award Analysis for InfoVista 

The Decision Support Matrix, shown in Chart 4, illustrates the relative importance of each criterion for 

the Customer Service Leadership Award and the ratings for each company under evaluation. To remain 

unbiased while also protecting the interests of the other organizations reviewed, we have chosen to 

refer to the other key players as Competitor 1 and Competitor 2. 

Chart 4: Decision Support Matrix for 

Customer Service Leadership Award 

Measurement of 1–10 (1 = lowest; 10 = highest) Award Criteria 

© 2011 Frost & Sullivan 5 “We Accelerate Growth” 

Quality of Service 

Timeliness of Service 

Impact of Service on 

Customer Value 

Cost of Service to 

Customers 

Relative Weight (%) 25% 25% 25% 25% 100% 

InfoVista 9 9 9 9 9 

Competitor 1 9 9 8 8 8.5 

Competitor 2 8 8 8 7 7.7 

Criterion 1: Quality of Service 

InfoVista has an exceptional customer service support program that is one of the value added services 

that differentiates it from its competitors. The company’s customer solutions have an integrated suite of 

professional services covering the entire life cycle, from the design of the solution through maintenance 

and optimization. InfoVista’s service portfolio includes auditing, consulting, software engineering and 

development, technical assistance, onsite support services, and the management of performance and 

Weighted Rating



configuration. InfoVista has the true understanding that relying on the network product offer alone is no 

longer sufficient. What customers require is an overall solution that extends beyond a specific technology 

and provides the right and comprehensive solution for the customer’s unique needs. The company’s key 

differentiator of its customer service program is illustrated by not only the ability to offer any of the services 

individually but also in combination to provide to define a comprehensive approach for delivering the best 

customer experience from their performance management solution. 

Some of the unique features of InfoVista’s solution are worldwide basis Remote or On Site Administration 

of their InfoVista platform. This allows its clients to pass on to InfoVista the Administration of the installed 

platform, supported remotely by highly experienced InfoVista consultants through standardized 

administration procedures using the company’s Best Practices. For the last 9 months, this activity is 

developing at a fast pace, as its customers see tremendous benefits to free up internal resources and 

reduce time spent on supporting activities. In addition, they benefit from the latest innovations in the 

monitoring of the Platform without spending on additional training costs. 

InfoVista specialists manage daily proactive tasks including Service Availability, Service Performance and 

Workflow Maintenance and Monthly tasks including ‘hotfix’ installation, sizing and solution capacity 

planning. Specialists also interface directly with InfoVista Support in case of InfoVista fault and resolve 

platform issues without customer involvement and provide monthly reporting to the customer, including 

recommendations for performance improvements. The company has developed this program as an easy 

to use tool with powerful support where more than 25% of its workforce dedicated to InfoVista Global 

Services. 

Criterion 2: Timeliness of Service 

On a regular basis the company conducts customer satisfaction surveys to see what the customer 

satisfaction levels are with their products and services. Upon Support case closing, a satisfaction survey is 

systematically sent with 7 criteria's, ranked from 1 (Unacceptable) to 5 (Excellent). Timeliness of service is 

one of the seven criteria and Infovista’s results are an average 4.45 out of 5 for the timeliness criteria for 

the past 4 quarters. This is an automated survey process, sent by the company’s Supportforce CRM 

platform. Moreover, systematic follow up take place by the InfoVista regional Support managers, when 

one of the 7 criteria receive a grading below 3/5. Results are published monthly and analyzed by the 

company’s monthly executive committee analysis. 

InfoVista really understands that leading players in the market cannot rely on the network product alone; 

they must be able to offer services as a solution as well efficiently and more rapidly than their competitors. 

In order to support these solutions, a regional network of three global centers provides unlimited access to 

the Customer Support Organization for all technical questions on InfoVista Software 24 hours a day, 7 

days a week. InfoVista knowledgebase is continuously updated for most current and accurate information. 




Criterion 3: Impact of Service on Customer Value 

InfoVista has a strong dedication to guarantee that its practical service assurance solutions are performing 

at their best. The company supports its client base to make the most of their technology investment and 

attain the business value they seek. Customers who access the services program solution take 

advantage of its training, consulting and support to have faster and more successful implementations, and 

learn best practices by working together with InfoVista experts. The company delivers a wide customer 

service program with unlimited access to its Support Centers 8x5 or 24x7 . Online access to technical data 

to maximize efficiencies, e-Delivery Self service Website and Software releases, maintenance updates, 

latest rollups are all included in the program. Moreover to add value to the product offerings, InfoVista 

initiated a remote access (via webex) to reduce the mean time of troubleshooting. Several leading players 

in the market have not yet reached InfoVista’s customer service program level of flexibility and 

accommodation for their global customers. The company´s largest customers have received Technical 

Account Manager for Single point of responsibility for all services.. Some of the feedbacks of its client 

clearly reflect that InfoVista expertise is helping them to shorten the deployment time to launch new 

services and acquire new customers. The company understands that all companies are unique and 

require a specific personal approach for by demonstrating flexibility to deliver the right solution at the right 

time. 

Criterion 4: Cost of Service to Customers 

Customers are looking for security and trust in the products that purchase. In that sense, InfoVista plans 

and initiates efforts to build a stronger brand image worldwide by providing solutions that are much 

integrated with network equipment at a reasonable price in order to meet client’s ever changing needs. 

InfoVista offers a regional network of three global centers to provide unlimited access to the Customer 

Support Organization for all technical questions on InfoVista Software 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The 

access to this program requires a mission critical program contract. With this contract, customers of all 

sizes have access to the complete range of services. 

Conclusion 

InfoVista’s Customer Service Program is one of a kind offering that provides a high quality service that is 

committed to proactively help end users with the right solution. With different customer services competing 

in the network performance monitoring market, InfoVista customer solutions have demonstrated how to go 

beyond technology and make the most of their technology investment. 

Based on the aforementioned criteria, Frost & Sullivan is proud to present the 2011 Frost & Sullivan 

Global Customer Service Leadership Award in Network Performance Monitoring to InfoVista. 




The CEO 360 Degree Perspective TM - Visionary Platform for 

Growth Strategies 

The CEO 360 Degree Perspective model provides a clear illustration of the complex business 

universe in which CEOs and their management teams live today. It represents the foundation of Frost & 

Sullivan's global research organization and provides the basis on which companies can gain a visionary 

and strategic understanding of the market. The CEO 360 Degree Perspective is also a “must-have” 

requirement for the identification and analysis of best-practice performance by industry leaders. 

The CEO 360 Degree Perspective model enables our clients to gain a comprehensive, actionoriented 

understanding of market evolution and its implications for their companies’ growth strategies. 

As illustrated in Chart 5 below, the following six-step process outlines how our researchers and 

consultants embed the CEO 360 Degree Perspective into their analyses and recommendations. 

Chart 5: How the CEO's 360 Degree Perspective Model Directs Our Research 


Critical Importance of TEAM Research 



Frost & Sullivan’s TEAM Research methodology represents the analytical rigor of our research process. 

It offers a 360 degree view of industry challenges, trends, and issues by integrating all seven of Frost & 

Sullivan's research methodologies. Our experience has shown over the years that companies too often 

make important growth decisions based on a narrow understanding of their environment, leading to 

errors of both omission and commission. Frost & Sullivan contends that successful growth strategies 

are founded on a thorough understanding of market, technical, economic, financial, customer, best 

practices, and demographic analyses. In that vein, the letters T, E, A and M reflect our core technical, 

economic, applied (financial and best practices) and market analyses. The integration of these research 

disciplines into the TEAM Research methodology provides an evaluation platform for benchmarking 

industry players and for creating high-potential growth strategies for our clients. 

About InfoVista 

Chart 6: Benchmarking Performance with TEAM Research 

InfoVista enables managed service providers, mobile operators, broadband operators and enterprise IT 

organizations to ensure the availability and quality of the services they deliver at the lowest possible 

cost, empowering these organizations to successfully make the transformation from infrastructure 

providers to service providers. Its customers rely on InfoVista’s proven solutions for service and 

infrastructure performance management to successfully launch new and high performance services, 

foresee potential service issues before they impact end users, reduce customer churn, and invest 

appropriately. 


About Frost & Sullivan 



Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, enables clients to accelerate growth and achieve 

best-in-class positions in growth, innovation and leadership. The company's Growth Partnership Service 

provides the CEO and the CEO's Growth Team with disciplined research and best-practice models to 

drive the generation, evaluation, and implementation of powerful growth strategies. Frost & Sullivan 

leverages 50 years of experience in partnering with Global 1000 companies, emerging businesses and 

the investment community from more than 40 offices on six continents. To join our Growth Partnership, 

please visit http://www.frost.com. 

Emily Bailey 

Frost & Sullivan 

DDI: +44 (0)20 7915 7869 

Email: emily.bailey@frost.com 

www.frost.com

Network Performance Management Customer Service - InfoVista

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?