The primary objective of Sun Soft is to outsource such a project were the peculiar demands of the developer community, which cannot be addressed by the traditional product support centers and whose requirements are not big enough to be classified as consulting opportunities. Developer support while being complex needs a mix of Engineering, Troubleshooting and Customer Interaction Skills.

	Reducing headcount
	Freeing Engineering from Developer Support Interrupts
	Infrastructure limitations and Ease of Ramping up/down
	Manpower requirements for running special projects like early access programs, beta testing, beta support channels etc.

Orbit attends to customer queries in the areas of Solaris Internals, Networking, Graphics, Kernel core debugging, Developer tools etc. Calls are received over email, fax and through toll free numbers. Calls are assigned based on expertise/skill requirements and logged using a call tracking/management system. Calls are tracked to closure, Call statistics like call load, call response time, call closure duration, call distribution, call spread etc are reported to Sun.

Because of the nature of developer support problems and the involvement in developing technologies, Orbit interfaces with engineering and is the single point of contact for the developer. Problems in customer code/application are filtered and solutions or workarounds given. Problems reported on Sun products are entered in the engineering bug database along with test cases and information on simulating the problem. Depending on the severity of the problem, Orbit assigns priority and follows up with the relevant groups for fixes/patches. Patches/Fixes/Workarounds are screened before being passed out to customers as solutions.

Access to all engineering databases like source code, design documentation, Developer tools etc are provided to Orbit. Orbit has access to Sun’s internal documentation on FAQ’s (frequently asked questions), Symptoms and Resolution database, training manuals, white papers on Developing Technologies etc. Orbit has access to SWAN (Sun’s Wide Area Network), making it available all needed resources over Sun’s Intranet.

Benefits

	Developers get focused support.
	Globalization of Developer support
	Improved communication between ISV Developers and Engineering
	Because of a good job rotation program, a very charged and motivated team staffs Orbit.
	Faster ramp ups
	Ability to run special projects
	Specific support programs for large customers
	Increased support manpower during launches of new products
	Customization Needs
	Depth of Technical Expertise
	Lower over-all cost of operations

In conclusion, the model of “Outsourcing a call center” was fruitful and resulted in a healthy partnership between Sun and Wipro. Nine consecutive years of continuous operations bear testimony to a successful outsourcing project.