Conference 7.286::digital

    rom:   FURFCE::ACCESS_MAIL   3-AUG-1994 09:52:06.79
    To:     BRLLNT::SCORRIGAN
    CC:
    Subj:   SALES_UPDATE_ARTICLE
    
                                                                     
    S51122.TXT
    
    MCS Announces Service-In-A-BOX User Support Service
    
    
    
    
    
    
    Contact
    Cheri Wesinger, DTN 297-5996, (508) 467-5996, MRO
    Julie Palmason, DTN 297-5371, (508) 467-5371, MRO
    
    HIGHLIGHTS
    
    o  For under $100, customers receive advice that supports their use of
       software, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
    
    o  Allows unlimited calls for one year on more than 400 PC software
       applications, operating systems, and utilities
    
    o  Available November 22 -- 1-800-PC-BY-DEC
    
    CUSTOMER PROBLEM
    
    The small office/home office segment is the fastest growing segment of
    the
    personal computer market and represents over 30% of all PC sales. 
    Personal
    computer users in the home and small business market typically have not
    purchased traditional support contracts from large maintenance
    suppliers.
    When a problem occurs, a user must determine which software product is
    affected and then contact that software vendor, which means the user
    must
    keep a list of vendor telephone numbers.  Previously, many vendors
    offered
    free telephone support, but the recent trend is for vendors to charge
    for
    support they provide.  The cost to receive support on multiple software
    products is becoming prohibitive.
    
    Customers may require support at any time, 24 hours a day, 7 days a
    week,
    while many vendors offer support only during business hours.
    
    DIGITAL SOLUTION
    ince customers purchase their systems and software in boxes, they
    should be
    able to purchase services in the same manner.  Service-in-a-BOX User
    Support
    Service is a packaging of the current User Support service offering
    designed
    with the individual PC user in mind.  This Service provides advisory
    telephone support and access to a bulletin board service, and is
    available
    24 hours per day, 7 days per week.  Answers are provided on how-to
    questions, available product features, and installation questions for
    over
    400 of the most popular PC software applications available today.
    
    CUSTOMER BENEFITS
    
    o  Telephone support can be conveniently purchased from a local
    computer
       store, PC Reseller, Distributor, or directly from Digital
    
    o  A single phone call for support on more than 500 industry-leading
       software and hardware products eliminates the fingerpointing that is
       common in multivendor environments
    
    o  Help identifying hardware problems and guaranteed labor rates is
    
                                FOR INTERNAL USE ONLY
    <FF>   available at over 150 Digital SERVICenters in the United States
    COMPETITIVE COMPARISON
    
    In addition to Digital, companies such as Corporate Software, H-P, and
    IBM
    offer single source support for multivendor applications support to
    corporate accounts.  H-P just announced a similar concept for PC
    hardware
    (peripherals) maintenance.  SupportPack from H-P is priced at 20% of
    the
    street price of the product that it covers (for example, a printer). 
    The
    company anticipates that the price will be in the range of $60-$100 for
    a
    three-year contract.
    
    PRICING/ORDERING INFORMATION
    
    Service-in-a-BOX User Support Service is ordered via Digital Desktop
    Direct
    at 1-800-PC-BY-DEC (1-800-772-9332). Service-in-a-BOX User Support
    Service
    is targeted to users who typically purchase their desktop computer
    products
    at a local computer store, PC Reseller or Distributor.
    
    Mass Merchants, Resellers, and Distributors are required to order a
    minimum
    of 50 boxes of Service-in-a-BOX User Support Service per order.
    
    Model No.      Description                        Price per unit
    
    Model No.      Description                        Price per unit
    
    QR-SMSIB-YB    Service-in-a BOX Reseller                    $ 75
    QR-SMSIB-YA    Service-in-a BOX End-User                      99
    
    RESOURCES
    
    o  For help in closing reseller opportunities, contact the MCS Helpline
    at
       DTN 297-7748.
    
                                FOR INTERNAL USE ONLY
    [SARA]
    

    See page 67 in the May 94 PC by DEC catalog.  The part number is
    QR-SMSIB-YA and it sells for $144.00  Basically it is a comprehensive
    advisory support service for PC software 7x24 coverage via a 1-800
    number.  We claim we support more than 450 third party applications in
    the Windows/DOS environment.  Comments I have heard from customers are
    that it is a very good service.
    
    For more info. you can call PC Direct at 1-800-722-9332.
    
    

    A condensed version of the previous memo is available via the
    Electronic Connection - Digitals online information and ordering
    channel. More info can be obtained also by calling the PC group at 
    800-210-1409.
    
    Barry 
    

    In a recent catalog from some 800-number outfile (Tiger?, PC
    Connection?) there was a page of DEC products - mostly printers, but
    including Service-in-a-Box.
    
    Visibility at last.

    $144 per year...unlimited? With an average cost of ~$40 per customer
    call (actual number from our CSC) it means 3 calls and your out...out
    of profit. But even taking an industry average of ~$25 per call
    (from Borland and Microsoft) it means 6 calls per customer and you make
    a loss. Do we trace P&L for such contracts?
    
    Guenther

Well, I'm glad to see this. This past year, I requested, and was
denied, permission to operate a part-time outside business
doing essentially this type of thing, for this market, on a low-cost
hourly basis. I saw the need to help the hapless home- or small
business-owner who had a PC, a stack of inscrutable manuals, and 
no idea where to turn, and certainly was not willing to engage
the services of a $75 or $100 an hour consultant. I saw it as
a commodity consulting market for commodity computing products.
I didn't expect to get rich from it, since it was just something
to do when I wasn't doing real work, but it is certainly a big
opportunity from a corporate level if done right. I hope Digital
can do it right.

    If anyone can find an on-line copy of the list of products that are
    supported I would like to see it.  I saw a photocopy of the list at
    the local Servicenter and it looks very complete.

    Ask your friendly service providing folks at the STOW place.  Unless
    they sold it to!  (and if they did, it would take three years for the
    rest of Digital to notice!)  ;^)
    
    They were in the process of finally addressing the commonly referred
    to, but never actually seen one, Supported Products List. 
    
    I'd start with a Gary Mayo.
    
    Parrot_trooper

    Re:              <<< Note 3299.8 by MPGS::CWHITE "Parrot_Trooper" >>>

    Wow, Chet, you want us corporate magicians in the glass house to know
    about every detail?!    (Besides  I don't want my boss to get tons of
    aditional messages, he's already overloaded :-)
    
    On the serious side, Service-in-a-box is a U.S.  only packaging  of a
    service offering (HelpDesk)  and  the  names  mentioned  in  previous
    replies  are  the right  contacts  to  find  out  what  products  are
    supported.
    
    What Chet was refering to is  that future SW support services will be
    based not product by product but on  a set of products better know as
    "Supported Products List" and we will have several of these depending
    on  the type of service contrated, but again, for  current  offerings
    contact the US Software Product Services (SPS) names mentioned.
    
    On  the  price  side,  it  is  a  per  user   charge  on  PC-type  of
    applications, so calls are only a few minutes in length, so $144 will
    cover the cost and margin of a larger number of calls.
    

    re: .0 and .1 and the price of Service-in-a-Box
    
    In the announcement memo the price was touted at "under $100" but in
    reply .1 it's listed as $144. Did we have a price increase? Did we just
    forget to tell the truth in the announcement? Did we forget how to add?
    
    Just curious.

    The announcement was correct at the time, it was $99.  The price is now
    $144.  The number of products has also grown to 450+, from the 300+ in
    the announcement.  

    Is this available with the Digital Employee 20% discount?

    FYI: Service in a Box is available at the Bluebell,Pa Servicenter.
         dtn 328-3527 

    Yes, you can buy if over-the-counter at your nearest Servicenter at 20%
    off.  You can probably also buy it from PCBYDEC with the same discount.

    VTX cs_policy has all the details, supported products list as well as
    service in a box information.
    Keith

Maybe you can find it, I can't.  I tried the VTX base mentioned in the last
reply and can't find any reference to Service in a Box.

    Maybe it's your local VTX server that's the problem?  I just tried 
    VTX CS_POLICY, chose 3 for What's New/Revised in CS_POLICY? and saw
    Service-in-a-BOX Agreement Terms as the first entry.  Of course, it's
    new now, maybe last week when you tried, David, it was being revised.

I looked last week and tried the various listings and search options and
came up blank.  I didn't try New/Revised, though - silly me.

					Steve

re .17, .18

I looked for it also, and found nothing. It's not placed where somebody
looking for it would find it.

--RS