December 14, 2010
Since 1987, Merit Network has provided world-class support through its network operations center (NOC), assisting Members with network issues 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Merit believes in providing superior value and service to its Members, and in recent years, Merit has introduced a number of new services, such as MeritMail and MeritVoice, and the Merit Services Desk.
As its suite of cloud-based services continues to grow, Merit is working to provide an even greater level of support to its Members by introducing the Merit Support Center (MSC).
Built upon the solid foundation of Merit’s NOC and Member Relations support staff, the MSC will offer 24×7 assistance to Members with network connection issues and questions related to services, including MeritMail, MeritVoice, Merit RADb, Merit Colocation, and others. In addition, the Merit Support Center will assist with new service inquiries and provide Erate support.
“The Merit Support Center will be Merit’s Member Advocate, providing a problem solving center as the communications hub for all Merit Services,” according to Don Welch, Merit Network’s president and CEO. “The Merit Support Center will be proactive in defining the support of each service with the focus on what Merit’s Member’s expect, need, and require. The Merit Support Center will be the power behind all Merit Services — it will be what Merit Members love about Merit!”
The Merit Support Center will be managed by Riva Milliken, who has previously served as a service associate and NOC analyst at Merit. Milliken has extensive engineering and managerial experience and has worked in support centers for Advanced Network and Services (ANS), UUNET, and MCI WorldCom, Inc.
“Our goal is to provide a world-class service, consistently adapting and looking for ways to improve service center operations productivity and add value,” Milliken said. “By combining the talents of the Merit Services Desk, Network Operations Center, and Member Support coordinators, this new center will realize increased efficiencies and effectiveness, enabling Merit to provide an extraordinary level of support and service to our membership. By supporting the entire Member experience from pre- to post-sale, the Merit Support Center will be able to provide our membership with a comprehensive high value-add information resource as well as a key problem-solving engine.”
Upcoming Merit Holiday Schedule
As part of Merit’s continued efforts to better serve its Members, Merit will keep its offices open between the holidays. Previously Merit had closed its offices between Christmas and New Year’s while continuing to provide 24×7 support through the Network Operations Center.
Beginning this year, the Merit Support Center will offer 24×7 support, and Merit’s office staff will assist with new service inquiries, provide renewal quotes, and perform other requests and duties to meet the needs of its Members and others. Members may continue to contact their Member Support Team for routine requests or the Merit Support Center for any service concerns or disruptions.
Merit wishes you a safe holiday season and a prosperous 2011. We look forward to working with you and serving your organization over the coming year.