Verizon Business Positioned in Leaders Quadrant in North American Help Desk Outsourcing Services Magic Quadrant

BASKING RIDGE, N.J. - Verizon Business announced Thursday (March 6) that it has been positioned by leading industry analyst firm Gartner Inc. in the Leaders Quadrant of its report, "Magic Quadrant for Help Desk Outsourcing Services, North America, 2008."¹

According to Gartner, "Leaders are performing well, have a clear vision of market direction and are actively building competencies to sustain their leadership positions in the market."

Nancy Gofus, Verizon Business senior vice president and chief marketing officer, said, "We believe this placement confirms our help-desk outsourcing expertise and our world-class services and tools, as well as our understanding of how to deliver top-notch support to end-users in the enterprise.  Help-desk outsourcing services are among our many solutions offerings that enable organizations to outsource specific IT functions to a trusted industry leader. These services are especially beneficial for companies moving to a single-source provider for both IT and networking services."

In the report, Gartner analyzed 24 leading providers of help-desk outsourcing services with more than $15 million in help-desk revenue from North American clients - which handle technology issues and queries from employees at client companies - based on each provider's completeness of vision and ability to execute.

Gartner criteria for completeness of vision include market understanding, offering strategy, business model, innovation and geographic strategy.  Criteria for ability to execute include product/service capabilities, customer experience, market responsiveness and track record, overall viability, and operational attainment. 

To view the Gartner report, click here.

Verizon Business handles an average of more than 2.5 million help-desk calls annually and supports hundreds of thousands of users. In 2007, its business continued to expand, with help-desk service contracts increasing 38 percent over 2006.  

Verizon Business offers complete and cost-effective Help Desk Services that can be customized to meet an organization's specific IT support goals and objectives, helping to facilitate enhanced end-user satisfaction.  As the basis for its delivery of IT Service Desk offerings, the help-desk quality management system is ISO 9001:2000 certified - for the tenth consecutive year - and employs best practices defined by Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL).

About the Magic Quadrant
The Magic Quadrant is copyrighted 2007 by Gartner Inc. and is reused with permission. The Magic Quadrant is a graphical representation of a marketplace at and for a specific time period. It depicts Gartner's analysis of how certain vendors measure against criteria for that marketplace, as defined by Gartner. Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in the Magic Quadrant and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors placed in the Leaders quadrant. The Magic Quadrant is intended solely as a research tool and is not meant to be a specific guide to action. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

About Verizon Business
Verizon Business, a unit of Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ), is a leading provider of advanced communications and information technology (IT) solutions to large-business and government customers worldwide.  Combining unsurpassed global network reach with advanced technology and professional service capabilities, Verizon Business delivers innovative and seamless business solutions to customers around the world.  For more information, visit www.verizonbusiness.com.

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¹ Gartner Research: "Magic Quadrant for North American Help Desk Outsourcing, North America, 2008," Richard T. Matlus and William Maurer, February 28, 2008.