Understand Your Resources
In the 90s we had to keep our webpages slim to accommodate dial-up modem speeds. Today as the quality of content increases we must keep our bandwidth and processing in check. Caching and load balancing can mitigate issues but I’ve also found notifications and analytics useful. Notifications alert me when something is going on, whereas analytics can help me understand and trend where and how my bandwidth and computing resources are being used. In your network, this information can help you plan expansions and ensure that you are running the hardware you need.
Graceful Degradation
Web standards support has always been fragmented across web browsers and voluntary upgrades have kept many users stuck in the past. To achieve an as-consistent-as-possible experience across browsers (and operating systems), the technique of graceful degradation was introduced. The idea that the website could fall back to a working state — minus the bells and whistles — has meant that fewer users are left in the dark. For service providers, this means finding what your market wants you to support. Do not accept the limitations that your vendor imposes.
Complementary Services
One of the more daunting tasks when running a website is moving it to a different host. This involves making a copy of the files, databases and configuration, and setting it up your new home. The more services that I have running on my box, the more complex this process becomes. Adding new services that complement your existing ones can lead to an increase in ARPU as well as further entrench users into your ecosystem.
Serve and Connect
All the complementary services in the world would not stop me from cancelling my service if uptime was unacceptable. A hosting service is very much like a data service. It has to be online 24/7. When trouble starts, it needs to be identified and resolved quickly. A dedicated and knowledgeable team of support engineers can go a long way to ensure maximum uptime and customer satisfaction.
Empower Your Users
Tools like content management systems enable me to let others to manage content with minimal technical background because there are no files to edit nor code to sift through. Likewise, you shouldn’t have to hold your subscribers’ hands every step of the way. You want to empower them with features and tools like self-activation and self-management portals. And by making these tools easy to use, you minimize the impact on your support team, allowing them to focus on more pressing tasks. At the same time, you can empower your customer service representatives (CSRs) with interfaces that expedite tasks. A simpler system not only makes for happier workers, it also cuts down on training requirements and costs.
How Can Your Software Provider Help?
Your vendor should be able to meet your specific needs in an ever-evolving industry — regardless of your size or access network. If you’re interested in finding out how Incognito can help you quickly and easily provision, activate, and manage your resources, visit our solutions page for more details.
Submit a Comment