http://www.microsoft.com/TechNet/servsup/program/technet/study.htm (PC Press Internet CD, 03/1996)
The results are in: TechNet saves you money, when compared to other support options, such as online services, hardcopy documentation, consultants, and advice from colleagues. Burke Marketing Research Group recently completed an independent study revealing that subscribers save, on average, over $12,000 per year. And with an annual cost of only $299(US Dollars), the investment in TechNet makes sound business sense.
A random sample of 200 qualified users were asked to participate. We wanted to focus on typical users, so the researchers screened for subscribers who have had TechNet for more than three months and use it at least twice a week.
The participants logged ten tasks using TechNet over several weeks. They recorded the time spent doing the tasks, the types of tasks, and how they reached the needed information.
One factor in determining the value of TechNet is the number of times you need to use it to recover the cost of the subscription. Burke Research discovered that the break-even point occurs after using TechNet for only 3.4 weeks. This number came from comparing the cost of a TechNet subscription, and the time spent using it, to alternative methods (phone support or online services) and the time spent using them.
The majority (93%) of respondents said they experience a cost savings of $36 per task by using TechNet over other methods.
We learned more about our user base through the research results, including finding out that our users often do more than just one job.
TechNet users who described their positions as helping with system implementation, integration, and troubleshooting make up the main group of the respondents (64%), followed by those who provide technical support (50%) and those who analyze business problems and user requirements (40%). The most common tasks TechNet is used for are troubleshooting tasks, then planning and design.
We discovered that customers who had used the TechNet CD for one year or longer tended to use it more often each week than new users. The majority of respondents (71%) use TechNet up to six times a week, while the remainder use it more than seven times a week.
Over 40% of the respondents work for a large company (over 2,000 employees), while 30% work for medium-sized companies, and 29% work for small companies.
We were also interested in finding out how TechNet users felt about the value of the TechNet program, so we asked the following questions to determine whether TechNet has secure customers. The "Secure Customer Index" determines if a customer has all three of the following characteristics:
While these are wonderful results, we also realize that we can continue to improve the value of TechNet and will continue to do so. To those of you who participated in the Burke Research Study, thank you for your time.
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