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What is Netsurfer's main expertise?
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Netsurfer develops subscriber connectivity software to make the Internet easy and to help broadband and dial-up providers maximize subscriber profitability through rapid provisioning, client-side diagnostics and support, and easy delivery of new services.
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When was Netsurfer founded?
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Netsurfer developed the first version of MindSpring's self-provisioning software in 1994. Since that time, Netsurfer's solutions have been sold to 500 Internet access providers in over fourteen countries worldwide with over 5,000,000 product licenses sold.
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What are the unique strengths of the Netsurfer management team?
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Our company is led by people who built their careers in Internet access, software development and e-commerce. We have walked in service providers' shoes: We have served on the management teams of cable companies, ISPs, and technical support organizations. We have upgraded networks and launched new services. We understand the service provider's world and the challenges they face in building long-term, profitable relationships with every subscriber. We never forget our mission: To make the Internet easier for everyone-and more profitable for service providers.
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Is Netsurfer public or private?
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Netsurfer has been a privately-held company since its inception in 1994. Because we are internally funded, our focus has always been on our customers and our employees.
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Who are some of your clients?
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Representative customers in both broadband and dial-up markets include Cablevision Systems Corporation, Knology, Inc., NTT DATA Corporation, McCleodUSA Incorporated, and Americatel Corp.
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What exactly does your technology do?
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Service providers rely on Netsurfer technologies to maximize the ROI of connecting and supporting a variety of services for new and existing subscribers. Service providers use our software to slash provisioning and customer support costs, and as a result; cut churn, strengthen brands, generate new revenue, and enhance subscribers' network experiences.
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What is the name of your solution? How is it delivered?
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Our solution is the Netkit® Subscriber Connectivity Management Suite. Netsurfer offers two Subscriber Connectivity Management Suites: NetKit Broadband 6.0 and soon, NetKit Dial Up 6.0. Each includes these components:
- NetQualifier - Verifies the computer configuration, monitors the CPE operation, and monitors connectivity.
- Expert Provisioner - Installs and configures required software, creates multiple e-mail accounts, configures all accounts settings and customer premise equipment, and facilitates activation.
- Self-Care Technician - Provides online help and "self-healing" tools, resets lost connectivity, and delivers service updates.
- NetPortal - Provides an intuitive, custom-branded interactive desktop portal with targeted messaging and links to favorite applications.
- SoftCastDirect - Provides the connectivity for delivering targeted subscriber messages, marketing messages, client updates, and third-party software downloads.
- SoftCastMonitor - Maintains a continuous communication link with the subscriber, providing a foundation for remote support management and QoS metrics to improve the subscriber experience.
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What makes Netsurfer different?
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Netsurfer has seven major competitive advantages, all directly tied to making the Internet easy and to increasing subscriber profitability.
- Emphasis on ease of use. The foundation of everything we do is to make connectivity easy for service providers and their subscribers. With software that is easy to install, easy to use, and easy to integrate with existing systems, service providers are tearing down the major obstacles to subscriber profitability.
- Pay-as-you-go licensing. We don't force service providers to buy licenses for the entire subscriber base up front.
- Client-side emphasis. Netsurfer's approach, which focuses on modular client-side software with some server-side configuration, doesn't require service providers to invest heavily on server-side software, equipment and programming.
- Retention of existing systems. Netsurfer's Subscriber Connectivity Management Suite is agnostic and configured to work with the customer's back-office systems without replacing or overhauling them.
- Streamlined addition of new services. Netsurfer's SoftCastDirect is a built-in platform for adding new revenue-generating services.
- Rapid ROI. The solution more than pays for itself- at installation, and again and again throughout the subscriber life cycle-because each saved customer service call, each update, and each new service can potentially recapture all or most of the installation investment.
- Built-in diagnostics. The post-provisioning service desk costs are reduced and in many cases eliminated.
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What are the primary benefits to operators who use your software? End users?
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Broadband and dial-up Internet access providers use Netsurfer's sixth-generation technologies to maximize subscriber profitability through rapid provisioning, online diagnostics and support, and easy delivery of new services. This enables them to:
- slash sign-up costs
- cut churn
- accelerate revenue, and
- enhance subscriber life cycle management
The primary benefits for end users or subscribers are ease of use and a better Internet experience. We make Internet account sign-up and configuration extraordinarily intuitive. Subscribers can quickly have access to multiple Internet applications - including browser, chat and email. With Netsurfer monitoring of connectivity, checking CPE performance, and automatically diagnosing and resolving some problems, subscribers will demonstrate greater loyalty. Of course, that translates into less churn and greater penetration with new service offerings.
So our claim — making the Internet easier for operators and subscribers — is well founded.
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Do you have any metrics that underscore the value of your software?
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Yes. Our customers are reporting or projecting:
- 95% success rate in self-installations
- 75% reduction in installation time
- Installation about five days sooner-resulting in more revenue and lower "not-activated" rate
- 55% reduction in churn rate
- 68% reduction in operational problem calls
- Up to 97% reduction in hold time for operational problem calls
- Slashed installation costs, averaging 42%, for broadband service providers
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Do you have client-side and server-side solutions?
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Netsurfer's Netkit Subscriber Connectivity Management Suite focuses on modular client-side software with some server-side configuration. We believe that this approach benefits service providers immensely, as they do not have to invest heavily on server-side software, equipment and programming. In addition, they can utilize a variety of existing back-office applications according to their needs.
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What is Softcast?
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At the core our product is SoftCast, Netsurfer's proprietary, Web-based technology. SoftCast is the bi-directional communications link between back-offfice systems and the end user's computer. This enables the qualification, installation and configuration phases of the client and is active whenever the Desktop Application is running.
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How does your experience in dial-up translate to cable?
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Netsurfer's expertise has been demonstrated in all sectors of the Internet access market. Companies using Netsurfer's technologies to make Internet access easier for subscribers and for their own organizations include Cablevision Systems Corporation, Knology, Inc., NTT DATA Corporation, McCleodUSA Incorporated, and Americatel Corp.
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