Article-afterhours

Specialist solutions integrator three6five has seen threefold growth in the customer base using its Network Operating Centre (NOC), an afterhours call centre that manages IT services on behalf of its customers’ support desks. 

“The customers using the service are mainly in the IT industry and using the NOC for their internal networks, and in the last year we have seen significant uptake of our services,” says Kerileng Tlabakoe, services and support manager at three6five. “Although most of these customers are in the medium to large business environment, the service can scale to suit any size of business.”

Tlabakoe attributes the growth of this service division to the cost savings that customers experience when using it. “Using our NOC means that you will have maximum availability of managed network services, without having to pay for a full-time support team on site,” she says. “We have created bespoke solutions for customers, which range from support on a 24-7-365 basis through to after hour service only; from a full-service offering including engineer dispatch, to ticket management.”

In addition, Tlabakoe notes that dwindling technical competence in the industry as a whole has led to more customers taking advantage of the high level of technical skills available via three6five’s NOC. Based at three6five’s head office in Midrand, Gauteng, Tlabakoe estimates that her team currently fields around 380 calls a day, with the ability to scale up as required. Sophisticated call reporting software means that customers will receive reports that show average time to answer and number of calls per day, which means that the customer can quantify the value they receive from the NOC.

Aimed at organisations of all sizes that do not want to incur the costs of full-time, 24/7 support staff, three6five’s NOC offers services such as call handling, engineer dispatch management, management and reporting on service requests, and the management of ticket system queues of incoming customer requests.

Service options also include quality checks and dispatch on open requests, and three6five can provide engineering resources for customers needing an onsite technical resource where they do not have one of their own. Depending on network visibility, three6five’s NOC also provides customers with regular reporting on the support provided, on a weekly, quarterly and monthly basis.

The implementation of a disaster recovery centre is also on the cards, which will add to the appeal of the company’s support service.

“One of the main advantages of the NOC is that it is completely seamless – the user has no idea that they are talking to a three6five engineer, rather than one based at their own organisation,” points out Tlabakoe. “As a result, several of our existing customers are keen to explore an increase in the services they use, further reducing pressure on their own support teams.”