Kayako Version 4

You may be aware that Kayako have been developing a major upgrade to their suite of help-desk software solutions, and they have finally released version 4. ReZolve have been part of the beta evaluation programme and our help-desk has been running on version 4 for more than 5 months.

This e-newsletter contains some useful information about the new version and how this may effect the Kayako hosting and support services that ReZolve provide for you.

New Product Names

Version 4 introduces new names for each of the three main products:-

kayako resolveeSupport becomes Resolve

Resolve is Kayako's comprehensive help-desk solution that helps you manage tickets and email, reduce clutter and automate tedious tasks, allowing you to get on with customer support.

 

kayako engageLiveResponse becomes Engage

Engage is Kayako's comprehensive help-desk, live chat and visitor monitoring solution that enables organisations to go beyond traditional support paradigms and deliver real-time support

 

kayako fusionSupportSuite is now Fusion

Fusion is Kayako's flagship customer support solution, the union of Kayako Engage and Kayako Resolve, bringing all of your communications and support channels together in one place: tickets, email, live chat, self-service, calls and remote desktop support.

 

Main New Features

Here a few highlights from the new versions

  • New, simple, intuitive user interface
  • Intelligent ticket routing that learns over time (Bayesian)
  • Staff-only knowledgebase
  • Visual GeoIP mapping with Google maps integration
  • Integrated VoIP phone and click-to-call
  • Integrated remote desktop administration (OnSite)
  • Screen-shot sharing
  • Manager (observation) mode
  • Proactive chat
  • Build rich customer profiles
  • Group customers by organisation
  • Custom reporting engine
  • Customer satisfaction surveys and ratings

Support for Version 3

Kayako have committed to providing security and bug fixes for version 3 for 12 months until December 2011, followed by 6 months security fixes to June 2012.

ReZolve will continue to host and support version 3 at least until December 2012 and mostly likely well beyond that.

Pricing - Software Licences

The initial costs for buying Kayako software have increased considerably and are now based on the number of staff supported, with a licence for a 10-user version of Fusion priced at $999.

However, existing licences will continue to support unlimited staff users even after upgrading to version 4, so there will no additional licence cost if and when you choose to upgrade.

Pricing - Hosting & Support

Our hosting and support prices for version 3 will remain unchanged until at least September 2011.

Our version 4 hosting prices are slightly higher than for version 3 (around 10% higher). For example, one year of Resolve/Engage hosting is £275 p.a. instead of £250. This is to reflect the fact the version 4 demands more server resources than version 3. However, we have increased the maximum allowed disk space for version 4 from 1Gb to 2Gb.

Pricing - Upgrades Renewal Cover

Kayako have also increased the cost of keeping up to date with the latest version of the software, from $50 to $65, and made the minimum period 12 months. This means that the cost of renewing your cover through us will be approx £85 for 12 months cover. However, you only need to take out cover when you need it. If it lapses, you can start again at any time. You will need upgrade cover in place to upgrade to version 4, and we can handle this as part of our version 4 upgrade offer (see below).

So, if you don't have upgrade cover in place, you'll have to pay $49 and will then have 6 months cover on version 4 and have to pay $130 per year as and when you need it.

ReZolve Version 4 Upgrade Offer

We have invested in a new platform to support version 4 hosting and this is now available. Our standard price for upgrading eSupport, SupportSuite or LiveResponse is £280+VAT but for orders before the end of April 2011 the price is £210+VAT* - we will also continue your current annual hosting at version 3 prices after you upgrade, until your next renewal date.

* Heavily modified systems will take longer to upgrade because all template changes will need to be re-applied from scratch. We'll let you know in advance if this is the case.

More Information

For more information about the new features that version 4 offers, visit Kayako's website at http://www.kayako.com. You can also see the new look at our version 4 support centre.

If you want to order an upgrade to version 4, or discuss the options in more detail, please contact us via the help-desk or using our sales email address enquiries@rezolve.co.uk.

Some technical information about the upgrade process in available here in the Knowledgebase.

 

Richard Zealley

 

ReZolve. East Grange House, Scruton, Northallerton, North Yorkshire, DL7 0RD
Copyright ReZolve I.T. Ltd 1998-2011. Registered in England No. 3576841