TBR T EC H N O LO G Y B U SI N ES S R ES EAR CH, I N C.

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1 T EC H N O LO G Y B U SI N ES S R ES EAR CH, I N C. A RETROSPECTIVE ANALYSIS OF DELL SERVICES CUSTOMER SATISFACTION Dell Services Sets the Industry Standard for Support Services Value by Anticipating Client Needs Executive Summary DELL SERVICES KEEPS PACE WITH CHANGING CUSTOMER REQUIREMENTS BY EXECUTING CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMS Dell Services has dominated s SERVICE & SUPPORT WEIGHTED SATISFACTION SCORES THROUGH Internal Support Organizations HP Services Corporate Service & Support Customer Satisfaction Study over the past 10 years due to its inherent ability to quickly adapt to customers changing needs. Nothing underscores this more than the company s reaction to recent challenges that allowed its competitors to catch up in s survey during 2H08. After making several adjustments, Dell Services showed its adaptability and resilience by returning to a number one ranking (shared with competitors) in. Dell Services then established itself as the sole number one vendor in. Dell Services held the number one positions within the server support and desktop/notebook support segments of the study in. Dell stood alone as in the x86 Server Support segment, bolstered by its exceptionally competitive performances in on-site response time, overall services pricing/value and replacement parts availability. Dell shared its number one ranking for Desktop/Notebook Support while maintaining a competitive advantage in phone support. Overall, Dell Services has achieved a number one ranking in 28 of the 36 reporting periods since the inception of s Corporate Service & Support Customer Satisfaction Study; more than any competitor. These findings are based on s retrospective analysis of the study results from the past ten years, including feedback from over 14,000 IT decision makers who either acquire Dell Services IGS/Lenovo Services SOURCE: CORPORATE SERVICE & SUPPORT CUSTOM ER SATISFACTION STUDIES. 8% 6% 4% 2% 0% -2% -4% -6% -8% Break/Fix PERCENT CHANGE IN MEAN SATISFACTION POSITIONS, to On Site Technical Expertise On Site Response Time/Commitment Telephone/ Help Desk Support Online Support Replacement Parts Availability Support Services Pricing/Value Hardware Installation/ Configuration Remotely Managed Support Dell Services HP Services IGS/Lenovo Services Internal Support Organizations SOURCE: CORPORATE SERVICE & SUPPORT CUSTOM ER SATISFACTION STUDIES. Overall Satisfaction Grand Mean support services from their OEMs or manage their own internal support teams on a daily basis. Within this whitepaper s retrospective analysis, culled from our historical customer satisfaction data, will describe what shaped Dell Services success todate. In order to best describe the ways in which Dell has responded to customers changing needs, interviewed numerous Dell executives. will relate our findings using the commentary from these interviews to help describe the services initiatives that best explain the consistently high Dell Services customer satisfaction ratings we have observed in our studies. TECHNOLOGY BUSINESS RESEARCH, INC. P: (603) pg. 1

2 A Successful Continuous Improvement Process Drives Dell Services to its Current No. 1 Placement While competitors satisfaction ratings stagnated or declined, Dell Services ratings improved across the board throughout 1H09. Note, in particular, that Dell Services overall satisfaction rating, the score that sums up the customer experience, was the only incidence of substantial improvement for that category in the study (up by a cumulative 4% from to ), while competitors ratings, including the in-house support teams, receded. sees this development as solid evidence that the results of Dell Services continuous improvement programs throughout 2008 and 1H09 have gelled in the minds of its customers to the extent that customer experience has more than caught up with the company s efforts to elevate customer confidence in its services initiatives. Based on our retrospective analysis, has identified four key areas that have contributed to Dell Services newfound momentum in our study results. The Four Key Elements of Dell Services Customer Satisfaction Success & Continuing Momentum in 2009: 1. Value Consistency, where Dell Services continues to keep pace with increasing customer demands for services options that are compatible with requirements for managing internal support costs. 2. Effective Delivery of Replacement Parts & Components, to address the need for rapid problem resolution through efficient diagnostics, coordinating that the correct part is delivered to the customer site to meet up with the field technician, and/or fast delivery of parts to self maintainers. 3. Flexible Phone Support Options designed with the flexibility to meet varying customer skill levels, including direct access to the most appropriate systems experts, managed by a single point of contact. 4. Coordinated On-site Field Services that meet customer requirements for both rapid response and timely resolution through expert field technicians. Key Principles Underlying Dell Services Success Involves Multiple Interconnected Factors SOURCE:. MOST SIGNIFICANT IT SUPPORT CHALLENGES Costs/Budgets Technical Expertise Staff Resources Hardware Infrastructure & Integration Complexities/Projects Specialized Knowledge OS Updates/Changes Availability Of Training From Systems Manufacturers Poly. (Costs/Budgets) 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30% 20% 10% 0% 1. Costs/Budgets 2. Technical Expertise 3. Staff Resources 1. VALUE CONSISTENCY AS CUSTOMERS STRUGGLE TO DO MORE WITH RESTRICTED BUDGETS, DELL SERVICES CONTINUES TO SET THE INDUSTRY STANDARD The growing requirement for efficiently managing support related costs among medium and large businesses increasingly overshadows all other concerns and is the only concern steadily increasing in relevance in today s IT environments. s study results show support-related costs were identified by nearly eight in ten customers as a primary concern, surpassing the secondary concerns around technical expertise and staff resources. The study also shows that customers are attempting to support their infrastructure with either stagnating (according to 70% of study participants) or shrinking (for 24%) budgets for managing support-related endeavors. Dell Services Maintains Value Consistency in Providing Quality Support Services A Retrospective Analysis October, 2009 TECHNOLOGY BUSINESS RESEARCH, INC. P: (603) pg. 2

3 DELL SERVICES SUPPORT SERVICES PRICING/VALUE ANALYSIS 2Q05 3Q05 4Q05 Poly. (Satisfaction) During the 36 quarters in which has been conducting its Corporate Service & Support Customer Satisfaction Study, Dell Services has earned competitive strength status 18 times for perceived support services value, compared to 0 such incidences among competitors. Dell Services has consistently kept pace with its customers expectations for support services pricing and value, maintaining full control over the situation even during hard times. In contrast, competitors have consistently lagged in delivering support services value that meets the needs of their customers. Note the sizeable gaps between expectation and satisfaction for support services delivered by Dell Services competitors, particularly widening during the past several reporting periods where expectations have risen substantially beyond what has been perceived as being delivered. All customers are looking for ways to keep repair costs in line with their budgets, yet only Dell Services has been able to maintain a strong sense of value among its customers on a consistent basis. sees this as evidence that Dell is better equipped to anticipate customer requirements and provide the types of services packages that meet those needs. Poly. (Importance) SOURCE: CORPORATE SERVICE & SUPPORT CUSTOM ER SATISFACTION STUDIES HPS/IGS SUPPORT SERVICES PRICING/VALUE ANALYSIS 2Q05 3Q05 4Q05 Poly. (Importance) Poly. (Satisfaction) SOURCE: CORPORATE SERVICE & SUPPORT CUSTOM ER SATISFACTION STUDIES. Dell Services Flexibility Enables the Organization to Adapt to Changing Customer Requirements spoke with Jan Uhrich, Vice President of Global Commercial Support Services, in order to obtain an understanding of what might be driving the consistent pattern of high customer satisfaction with the perceived value of Dell Services offerings. Uhrich explained that, during the past several years, Dell has been faced with some tough choices: How could Dell trim internal support delivery costs while simultaneously remaining true to its priority of maintaining high customer satisfaction? Dell managed to find a way to achieve both objectives by developing a globally consistent, simplified and proactive delivery infrastructure tied to flexible and configurable ProSupport offerings that meet the needs of its customers. By selectively buying just the ProSupport services they need from Dell (in terms of response times, levels of coverage, etc.), Uhrich feels customers are better able to manage their own internal support costs. Dell believes that flexibility is important to its success, allowing the company to manage costs, while at the same time quickly adapting to changing customer needs. Dell s global reach and direct support model provide a wealth of knowledge, best practices and skill sets within its delivery organization. The challenge was to harness these benefits and drive their global implementation. Some examples of how Dell accomplished this feat: Dell Services recently integrated support teams, which were previously regionally separated, into one global organization. By globalizing the team and processes into a single, unified structure customers have noted an improved sense of consistency in the support services they receive for both servers and client-based systems. Dell also simplified the services organization from one where structures were variable by region and where hierarchies were previously indirect and layer rich to one where Dell technicians are empowered with the ability to make their own decisions. Dell Services Maintains Value Consistency in Providing Quality Support Services A Retrospective Analysis October, 2009 TECHNOLOGY BUSINESS RESEARCH, INC. P: (603) pg. 3

4 Dell shifted from an organization with a high level of process duplication, inconsistent goals and measures of success, limited best practice-sharing and limited ability to leverage resources to a unified structure with minimized bureaucracy, shared best practices, the elimination of rework and errors, and a common goal. Dell implemented a standard practice to avoid making internal decisions that would adversely affect customers - a very thoughtful balance, developed through lessons learned. Dell strives to avoid making mistakes before they have a chance to occur, a policy that has proved to be successful in both avoiding the expense in correcting mistakes and in avoiding the lingering perception of a negative incident in the minds of customers. Dell benefits from a highly tenured staff of support technicians and invests in continued training and skill development. 2. EFFICIENT REPLACEMENT PARTS COORDINATION & DELIVERY DELL SERVICES HAS BEEN FAR BETTER ABLE THAN COMPETITORS TO MEET CUSTOMER REQUIREMENTS FOR DELIVERING REPLACEMENT PARTS Availability of replacement parts and components consistently ranks as one of the top customer requirements in s studies, addressing the need for rapid problem resolution where OEMs are required to correctly identify the part that is needed, while coordinating with both phone support and field technicians to get the part to the site regardless of SERVER REPLACEMENT PARTS AVAILABILITY SATISFACTION HISTORICAL ANALYSIS Dell HP IBM SOURCE: CORPORATE SERVICE & SUPPORT CUSTOM ER SATISFACTION STUDIES. obstacles in the supply chain. Dell Services has earned 10 competitive strength wins during the history of s Corporate Service & Support Satisfaction Study while competitors have earned none. Based on the results of s companion study (x86 Servers: Corporate Buying Behavior & Customer Satisfaction Study), it would appear Dell has embarked upon setting a new industry standard for parts availability satisfaction during the past three reporting periods. Dell Services Applies an Execution Excellence Approach to Delivering Replacement Parts with an Open Door Policy of Constant Communications with Suppliers, Internal Departments and Customers. When asked to describe what differentiates Dell s replacements parts model from that of the competition, Tom Maher s, Director, Americas Service Parts, response indicated a multitude of approaches tied together by a Dell cultural theme incorporating an attitude of urgency and customer commitment to every service engagement. With oversight over all dispatches, where people and parts work directly with product teams, accountability to Dell s customer base is secured. Accountability is further enhanced by handling customer communications directly; this allows Dell to proactively set expectations of when parts will arrive. Dell works closely on site with its parts suppliers, helping them to develop and execute best-in-class processes, and ensuring that partners adhere to the Dell model in order to improve efficiencies and enable continuity of purpose. Dell has institutionalized measuring every process across the supply chain to ensure that a culture of continuous improvement thrives throughout the organization. Dell tools for communications, process integration and management achieve efficiencies integrated within its services infrastructure. Dell Services Maintains Value Consistency in Providing Quality Support Services A Retrospective Analysis October, 2009 TECHNOLOGY BUSINESS RESEARCH, INC. P: (603) pg. 4

5 3. PHONE SUPPORT SERVICES UNIQUELY DESIGNED TO PROACTIVELY MATCH HIGH CUSTOMER EXPECTATIONS DELL SERVICES WAS FIRST IN THE INDUSTRY TO EFFECTIVELY CUSTOMIZE PHONE SUPPORT TO VARYING LEVELS OF NEED Dell Services customers have always voiced a very high reliance on the phone support mechanism, making it that much more difficult for Dell to keep on top of demand. s study results demonstrate that, in spite of continually high customer expectations, Dell Services has effectively managed to keep things under control. In s x86 Servers: Corporate Buying Behavior & SERVER PHONE SUPPORT SATISFACTION HISTORICAL ANALYSIS Dell HP IBM SOURCE: CORPORATE SERVICE & SUPPORT CUSTOM ER SATISFACTION STUDIES. Customer Satisfaction Study, Dell Services did meet some challenges in the past. However, in keeping with Dell Services reputation for resiliency, customer perceptions of the services show a marked increase in satisfaction since mid Note that Dell s ratings shot past those of its competitors and appear to be holding. This trend coincides with the time it generally takes in s studies for customer reaction to reach parity with our expectations, based on Dell s continuous improvement initiatives. In the past, customers had expressed the need for an efficient way to reach the technician with appropriate skills to solve their issues and a single point of contact to manage the process. The phone support technician also serves to coordinate parts replacement and on-site visits, thus acting as the glue that unites the various components of the support experience. Dell Services Relies on Team Structures and Detailed Performance Measurement to Drive Improvement Efforts throughout its Highly Utilized Helpdesk Support Infrastructure Monte Tomasino, Senior Technical Support Manager, explained to that Dell Services uses a dedicated staff of phone support technicians who work directly with product engineering teams. The responsibility of the phone support team members is to profile a customer case at a detailed level and share real-time feedback with the product teams. Additionally, Dell-badged agents within the Command Center structure sit alongside field service partners, working together to monitor and identify red flags, then develop plans to intervene in order to prevent failures. The approach is flexible enough so that when one service partner is overburdened, the Dell agent can quickly coordinate with another partner to fill in where required. These processes all support Dell s focus on improving its service delivery model. A plan to simplify a customer s support request was developed in early 2008, including: Dell s ProSupport offering of enhanced phone support services, designed with the guidance of Dell s extensive customer database, which informed the company it needed to tailor its helpdesk services to match the various skill levels of its customers. A continued focus on making it easy for the customer to procure support through either its helpdesk or its esupport model with ease of navigation as the key, where Dell customers rarely need to go through the IVR menu selection (which for some companies can be quite complex) as the call is typically expedited directly to a call director or bypassed with an Express Service Code. Remote troubleshooting methods are more efficient, saving customers time and effort by allowing the helpdesk coordinator to recognize things one would not see over the phone, like registry settings. Going forward, Dell plans to continue to move its services capabilities in the direction of the marketplace and will focus on things like more real-time case management capabilities and ownership, enhanced toolsets to identify opportunities and communicate effectively with customers when a delay is expected, and improved first contact resolution through improved diagnostics. When asked to describe what makes Dell Services phone support structure unique, Tomasino s response echoes back to the consistent topics has been hearing throughout its discussions with Dell support services directors. Dell is committed to ongoing improvement and has determined the most effective path to ensuring that services evolve at the speed of changing customer expectations is to rely on its cache of customer data input to drive that change. Dell obsessively measures every aspect of performance in order to accurately identify opportunities for improvement. Dell Services Maintains Value Consistency in Providing Quality Support Services A Retrospective Analysis October, 2009 TECHNOLOGY BUSINESS RESEARCH, INC. P: (603) pg. 5

6 4. ON-SITE FIELD SERVICES COORDINATED TO MEET REQUIREMENTS FOR BOTH RAPID RESPONSE AND EXPERT RESOLUTION DELL SERVICES RAPIDLY AND PROACTIVELY EXECUTES ON-SITE IMPROVEMENT PROGRAMS Customers who require an on-site maintenance visit expect a seamless experience in terms of correct diagnosis coordinated with rapid response and a speedy recovery. The perception of on-site response time is one of the key components of the support services experience HISTORICAL SATISFACTION TRENDLINE FOR ON-SITE RESPONSE TIME Dell Services & Partners IGS & Partners according to stated importance of the attribute in s Corporate Service and Support Study. During the past two reporting periods, Dell Services satisfaction ratings have increased substantially, exceeding those of the competition in and awarding Dell with a competitive strength standing. The expectation might be that the internal support organizations, with the home-team advantage and 24x7, on-site coverage, would consistently score higher than the third party support providers, such as Dell Services. Certainly, this has been the rule over time. However, in the study results, Dell Services matched the ratings of the inhouse group for the first time, suggesting that Dell is as effective at meeting customer expectations for timely response as are those customers who manage their own always-there, always-ready technical support staff. An Extensive Set of Performance and Training Metrics Unite Dell Services Employees and Field Services Partners in a Common Cause for Continuous Improvement spoke with Bob Feiner, Director, Americas Field Services, to discuss Dell Services strong response rate satisfaction rating in our studies. According to Bob, Dell s onsite service is subject to Dell s constant monitoring and ongoing improvement regimens. Field service resources are chosen based on their ability to integrate into Dell systems, geographic coverage, and capability. The resources are managed on a daily basis through a system of performance metrics that measure whether Dell is sending the right technician to the right place at the right time with the right set of skills. Dell s operational teams take this information and modify or shift business between resources based on the results. With respect to how Dell sees its field services as differentiated in the industry, it all comes down to performance measurement: Dell strongly believes that you can t manage what you can t measure and, subsequently, Dell Services measures performance right down to the individual technician level. This focus on detailed performance measurement is the engine behind the Dell culture, which is instilled throughout the company and across its service partner network as well. The Dell culture is described as an attitude of urgency and commitment to continuous improvement driven by a sense of ownership across all people and processes. Dell integrates its businesses, encouraging communications between phone support, on-site support and replacement parts responsibilities and views each not as separate silos but rather as an integrated organism, tightly linked and sharing data extensively. Dell has rigorous training requirements that go into effect before a service technician goes on site for a service call. HP Services & Partners Internal Support Organizations SOURCE: CORPORATE SERVICE & SUPPORT CUSTOM ER SATISFACTION STUDIES. SOURCE: Dell Services Maintains Value Consistency in Providing Quality Support Services A Retrospective Analysis October, 2009 TECHNOLOGY BUSINESS RESEARCH, INC. P: (603) pg. 6

7 SUMMARY: DELL EMPLOYEES, FIELD SERVICE PARTNERS, AND SUPPLIERS ARE UNIFIED IN THEIR COMMITMENT TO ANTICIPATING CUSTOMER NEEDS believes that Dell s success is rooted within its cultural history of nurturing strong customer relationships, ensuring that its employees and partners adhere to a sense of accountability and responsibility, and through its practice of measuring the details of its support infrastructure and applying lessons learned. These basic concepts come together in a consistent message noted throughout the interviews conducted with Dell services directors, emphasizing performance measurement as the means to the end, that of having the unique capability to identify every opportunity for services improvement. The culture that dictates this ability is a uniform concept that motivates all Dell employees, services partners and suppliers. This commitment on the part of the Dell family is corroborated in the consistent tone of its customers interviewed as part of s ongoing customer satisfaction programs. Dell Services leadership position in the studies, continuing to strengthen today, is a testament to the consistency of experience expressed by its customers. Going Forward, Sees Additional Opportunities for Dell Services to Differentiate Above all, sees the customer perception of support services value as the key to Dell Services recent success in our studies. With eight in ten customers focusing on how to reduce and control maintenance costs, it is significant that Dell Services has consistently maintained a solid grip on meeting customer requirements. This accomplishment is particularly significant during times where infrastructure complexities, and the associated need to keep costs under control, are driving customer perceptions of support services quality. During the reporting period, Dell Services recaptured its distinction as the only No. 1 ranked vendor-provided support provider in the study, bolstered by earning two competitive strength wins, in the areas of on-site response time and support services value. Looking ahead to the preliminary 3Q09 reporting period, sees Dell Services continuing to uphold its improved status in the study. The data suggests Dell Services will continue to maintain its competitive advantages in the areas of on-site response time and support services pricing/value, while potentially adding parts availability and phone support to the roster of areas where Dell Services has performed substantially better than the competition, including the internal support organizations. Dell Services performances during the past year of s study have exhibited sustainable momentum, against competitors static or declining positions. The continually improving state of customer satisfaction ratings offered up by customers in the study mirror the ongoing improvement efforts of Dell Services. This document is the result of research performed by that was underwritten by Dell, Inc. believes its analysis of the findings is objective and represents the most reliable interpretation of the data available at the time of publication (October 2009). About the Studies Through its Corporate Service & Support Satisfaction Study, has been tracking customer satisfaction with technical support services every quarter since 1Q01. The study covers customer experiences with Dell Services, HP Services, IBM Global Services (IBM servers), and IGS/Lenovo Services (laptops, desktops). These third-party support providers are measured against the experience of those who manage their own in-house support organization, the group serving as the yardstick against which measures third-party support providers. s product-related studies (x86 Servers, Corporate Notebooks, and Corporate Desktops) have been in existence since 1Q97, measuring customer experiences with products and solutions, of which technical support is a component. For vendors, distributors, large end-users and the investment community, s syndicated Customer Satisfaction Program has become the preeminent tactical tool for monitoring customer satisfaction from quarter to quarter. These studies have been designed to grow with the industry without sacrificing their basic integrity as dependable, objective tracking tools. Within each study, reports on the experiences of IT decision makers within North America based on interviews of 350+ managers pre-qualified for participation in each of the four studies. About specializes in providing in-depth and timely insights within the computer, software, telecom, mobility, and professional services industries. These critical insights can provide value to all levels of your organization: executive, sales, marketing, product and business development, finance, procurement, and others. We deliver this intelligence in a format that is uniquely responsive and tailored to your needs, and we do so as an objective source, which allows you to look at the market with a fresh, impartial perspective. Dell Services Maintains Value Consistency in Providing Quality Support Services A Retrospective Analysis October, 2009 TECHNOLOGY BUSINESS RESEARCH, INC. P: (603) pg. 7