Customer Demand Drives CONNECT Web Site
With the variety of product options available to the enterprise IT market, an increased emphasis is being placed on customer satisfaction. Following suit, Sterling Commerce (Dallas) is adding to its customer support services options with the implementation of CONNECT Tech E-solutions, an interactive information resource Web site for CONNECT users worldwide.
"We developed this Web site because of customer requests," says Greg Dietz, VP of customer service for Sterling Commerce's communications software group. "Customers wanted more information and wanted to be able to get in on the Web site. This opens up a lot of possibilities and gives the customers another option for communication."
The Web site provides the following service offerings: E-solutions Database, which allows users to access a centralized electronic database of knowledge about CONNECT products; E-solutions Tech Fix Information, which enables users to download information about product fixes, release notes and installation information; CONNECT Us, for utilizing any protocol supported by CONNECT, users can move diagnostic information to Sterling's support center and retrieve schedules and other information by support center personnel; E-solutions Product Documentation Library, which allows users to access latest product documentation; and E-Solutions Subscriber, where users can subscribe to e-mail notification when critical information, such as product enhancements, is posted to the site.
CONNECT, Sterling's e-commerce solution, has three products that run on the AS/400 platform: CONNECT:Direct, CONNECT:Express and CONNECT:Mailbox.
Although the Web site is only for CONNECT users, Dietz says there are plans to develop a Web site for users of Sterling's other product families. "We're at different stages of development, but we are going to eventually have a Web site for every product line," he says.
-- J. Martin