NetQoS Builds and Deploys Force.com Apps to Drive Growth and Success

Challenge

• NetQoS, which provides network and application performance management software and services that improve application delivery across the world’s most complex networks, required a system to track customer history and interactions.
• The company had outgrown existing Excel and ACT!-based systems used for quoting and wanted to automate the process.
• NetQoS also needed a platform it could extend and build upon to handle commissions, contract management, evaluations, order management, and more.
• Other key requirements included time to value, ease of integration, and the ability to build additional functionality to support the growing business.

Solution

• NetQoS selected the Force.com platform over J2EE and .NET for its cloud-computing model, innovation, and ease of development.
• Using S-controls, the company built a custom quote application. The tool replaces Excel spreadsheets by automating print and customized quote functions with a wizard, enabling users to easily and quickly generate quotes.
• The company also automated its product evaluation process, including the initial product distribution and retrieval process. Mashups allow users to track UPS and FedEx shipments directly from Salesforce CRM.
• A maintenance renewal app tracks what each customer owes, all serial numbers, and customer interactions related to maintenance.
• From AppExchange, the company downloaded and installed cloud-computing applications such as the Apttus Contract & Proposal Management Suite from Apttus, and Xactly Corp.’s Xactly Incent for commissions. Salesforce.com partner Open Air consulted on the integrations. 
• NetQoS deployed Salesforce CRM Partners and Salesforce CRM's partner portal to manage and push leads to its partners. Dashboards provide real-time views of the status of those leads.
• The company also implemented Salesforce CRM's call center and customer portal to improve the customer service provided by its support engineers. Workflows ensure questions are routed to subject matter experts, while the self-service portal allows customers to look up answers on their own.

Results

• NetQoS now submits over 50 quotes a week to customers, a 100% increase compared to when salespeople relied on Excel spreadsheets to create quotes.
• With a 40-to-50% growth rate year after year, the company credits Salesforce CRM and Force.com for much of its success.
• In 2008 NetQoS saw a 44% increase in sales revenue from using Salesforce CRM.
• Even with just one employee dedicating 5% of her time to developing on Force.com, NetQoS has quickly and easily built many applications that align with its business processes.
• Force.com apps have made Salesforce CRM the “center of the universe” for salespeople at NetQoS.