EAST GREENBUSH, NY March 17, 2008 - Autotask Corporation, the leading provider of hosted business management software for IT service companies, today announced that its customer community portal already has more than 5,000 registered users who have driven more than 30 product enhancements into the product in less than four months since the site was first launched.
Named “Autotask CommunITy,” the portal is accessible only from within Autotask’s web-based IT business automation solutions. In addition to involving Autotask users directly in the product development process, the Autotask CommunITy allows customers to leverage each others’ experience with Autotask through discussion boards, blogs and polls. It also gives customers a real time way to ask questions and provide feedback to the company about Autotask solutions
“There are two things that really set our CommunITy apart from other user communities,” said Bob Vogel, chief marketing officer, Autotask Corporation. “First, the CommunITy is a closed peer-to-peer resource that enables customers to share information, ideas and opinions with each other. People trust each other to give accurate advice and practical information, and as a result, in a short time it has become a hugely popular area of the product.
“Second,” Vogel said, “Since all Autotask customers have access to the CommunITy, we listen hard to what is said there. There are six Autotask employees who monitor forums, five of whom also blog on specific topics including marketing and training.”
Examples of ways that customers are leveraging CommunITy include:
• Customers recently supported one another on a request to change the color of internal notes for service tickets. Autotask incorporated the change within two weeks.
• A “guest” user posted product questions during a trial period to which several customers responded. That guest is now a customer.
• Customers participated in a feature request poll so that the company could determine what priority to give the request.
• Based on the input of other users, a customer realized the way he was entering time could be streamlined, which resulted in more time to serve customers
• When a customer resolved his own issue, he posted the solution for the benefit of other Autotask users.
The company, already known for its frequent product-upgrade cycle, has devoted a number of its weekly minor releases to product enhancements based on CommunITy postings. To date, more than 30 such product enhancements have been made. Autotask uses an area called the “Drawing Board” to gather input on planned major feature enhancements. The Drawing Board is also where topics that have generated the most user interest are relocated in order to fully flesh out opinions and feedback.
“CommunITy is one of the most significant tools that Autotask customers can use to realize the entire realm of product benefits,” said Mark Crall, President, Charlotte Tech Care Team. “My team and I have leveraged its value several times already through the blogs and discussion boards.”
Accessed only through the Autotask product user interface, the CommunITy attracts an average of 50 new registered users a day.
“As a fairly new Autotask customer, CommunITy is a place where I can get real time advice from others in my business on how they use Autotask to integrate with their processes,” said Jeffrey Sherman, Warever Computing. “Plus, the high level of activity I’ve seen on CommunITy is not universal. I’ve spent plenty of time on other vendors’ forums and have found that they don’t all participate or pay any attention to the posts the way Autotask does.”
For more information about CommunITy or Autotask products, please visit www.autotask.com or call 518-720-3500.
About Autotask Corporation
Autotask is the leading provider of innovative, web-based business solutions that allow IT solution providers to run their businesses more easily and more profitably. Accessible via any PC, at any time without any downloads, Autotask Pro and Autotask Go! help professionals intuitively manage the key operations for any service business and integrates seamlessly with MS Outlook, QuickBooks, and a number of Managed Services software applications. For more information on Autotask Pro and Autotask Go! visit http://www.autotask.com or call 518-720-3500.
