iYogi: An Indian Outsourcing Firm On Growth Track

Most of the time, I write about IT outsourcing firms focused on serving the mid-size and large enterprises, and sometimes the smaller businesses. And looking at those firms’ recent financials, there are clearly a number of organizations large and small that need those firms’ services. But recently I had the privilege of talking with an outsourcing company that provides services to the average Joe, and Jane.

iYogi is a global services company that provides personalized computer support for consumers and small businesses in United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Australia. iYogi’s services rely on technicians – most of whom reside in India – but also leverage proprietary systems developed by iYogi to help provide consistent services to repeat customers. It’s a model that has been successful enough to attract the attention of resellers and high-tech companies who want to improve their own computer support services to customers.

Just last month iYogi reported that it will expand its roster of tech experts from 5,000 (that was the number in December 2010) to 10,000 by year’s end. It also announced that it will open a new delivery center in the Philippines (which will have 1,000 technicians on hand). The growth is predicated on iYogi’s revenue growth, new funding, and increasing numbers of customers. According to the company, its customer base has jumped from more than 100,000 consumers at the end of 2009 to nearly 400,000 at the beginning of this year. And it raised $30 million in funding round led by Sequoia Partners in December 2010.

In January, I spoke with iYogi CEO Uday Challu about the company. He says the cornerstone of iYogi’s success is that it is focused on being customer-centric. The company is only four years old, and started with only 32 core employees. Since opening, it has serviced more than two million customers around the world.

Customer satisfaction is a major metric at iYogi. According to Challu, customer satisfaction rates have hovered around 95 percent and resolution rates come in at about 87 percent. That is quite good, if you compare with industry averages. Back in December 2009 I wrote this blog based on a report that examined numbers in the Contact Center Satisfaction Index that revealed that offshore agents provide first call resolution (known as FCR in the contact center world) to only 42% of customers, whereas domestic agents do so to 68% of customers. Challu attributes his firm’s high satisfaction and resolution rates to a “combination of the unique processes we follow and support.” One such process: when an agent answers a customer call, that agent never transfers the call. If the agent can’t help the customer, he or she will bring into the call another agent that can help.

But another process that impressed me was how iYogi ties its satisfaction and resolution rates to salaries. Even Challu’s: 25% of his salary is based on customer satisfaction scores. Impressive.