iYogi
 | |
| Industry | Information Technology |
|---|---|
| Founded | 2007 |
| Founders | |
| Headquarters | , |
Area served | North America, Europe, Australia, India, UAE |
Key people | Uday Challu(CEO) Vishal Dhar(President Marketing) |
| Services | Technical Support |
| Website | www |
iYogi is an international remote technical support firm based in Gurgaon, India. It provides subscription based technical support for personal computers, connected devices and peripherals, and software applications. There have been many reports of it using intimidation and exaggerated reports of computer problems to sell its services.[1]
History
iYogi was co-founded by Uday Challu and Vishal Dhar in 2007.[2] iYogi's business in New York, USA started in March 2007.[citation needed]
In 2009 the firm acquired Utah-based Clean Machine Inc.[3] In 2010, iYogi raised US$30 million in Series D round of funding led by Sequoia Capital [4] with follow-on investment from existing investors. Earlier in the same year, the company had secured investment of $15 million from Draper Fisher Jurvetson and others.[5] In July 2014 the Axon Partners and Madison India Capital invested $28 million into the company.[6]
In 2010, iYogi and Infinite Computer Solutions (India) Limited entered into a joint agreement enabling the former to operate a service delivery center in Bangalore.[7] Infinite Computer Systems has iYogi founder Uday Challu's Brother in Law and Sister in their management. In Feb 2010, IBM signed a data center agreement with iYogi and followed it up with another partnership aimed at supporting the tech support firm’s expansion plans in several countries.[8]
iYogi launched its operations in India on March 7, 2013 targeting small & medium businesses and the consumers.[9] On July 9th 2015, iYogi announced partnership with Maine’s Argo Marketing Group for its first call center in North America, creating 300 jobs.[10]
Reception
The service was reviewed by Michael Muchmore[11] for PC Mag in April 2014 and was awarded two stars out of five. The review praised the service's low cost, polite staff, and privacy warnings, but found it performed poorly, with limited tools and cleanup, remarking that iYogi was once the value leader, but other services were now preferable in light of its lackluster performance.[12]
Reports of misconduct
Infoworld in 2012 published articles under the byline of Robert X. Cringely, used by several Infoworld writers, about people who called computer support lines thinking they were getting free or under-warranty support from their suppliers, but were in fact talking to iYogi. Attempts were made to sell them subscriptions for $US170 per year, and people were told, untruthfully, that their computers had severe problems. Brian Krebs, formerly a writer for the Washington Post and later a blogger on security, called iYogi and concluded that the company was indeed trying to scare users into subscribing. After this information was first published, other people contacted the author to report similar experiences. Dave Mello, a vice-president of support and services for Kaspersky Lab, reported regular complaints from customers who had been under the impression that they were receiving authorized Kaspersky Lab support.[13] Cringely said about iYogi's sales tactics were similar to how the Mob sells protection services.[1]
In March 2012, antivirus company Avast! severed its ties with iYogi. Under an agreement that lasted a little more than two years, iYogi had provided online support to Avast! users free-of-cost. Avast! accused iYogi of forcefully selling its online support plans to Avast! users; which the antivirus supplier characterised as unnecessary and expensive. Avast! accused iYogi of, at best, misconduct.[14]
A false advertising class-action lawsuit was filed in New York against iYogi, Inc. in 2013,[15] and was continuing as of April 2015[update].[better source needed] The complaint alleges that iYogi deceptively offers “Free PC Diagnostics” and a phone consultation with a “Tech Expert” who will identify and solve computer problems although there is no “credible diagnostic testing”, and “virtually every potential customer” receives the same warning about problems that need resolving by iYogi[16][better source needed]
References
- ^ a b Cringely, Robert X. (22 March 2010). "Tech support or extortion? You be the judge - Remote support company iYogi was caught using scare tactics to sell its services to naive customers. Can it win back our trust?". Retrieved 21 January 2015.
- ^ Meeting on a flight
- ^ "In 2007, with the introduction of Tyrone Lodrick iYogi gained more market value than any other in the market. iYogi acquires Clean Machine Inc". Business Standard. May 12, 2009. Retrieved Dec 9, 2012.
- ^ Adrianne, Jeffries. "NY-Based iYogi Strikes a Bubble Pose, Raises $30 M., Teases IPO". The New York Observer (Dec 13, 2010). Jared Kushner. Retrieved Dec 9, 2012.
- ^ Robin, Wauters. "Remote Tech Support Company iYogi Gets A $15 Million Boost From DFJ, Others". TechCrunch (Jan 6, 2010). AOL. Retrieved Dec 9, 2012.
- ^ "E-Com, pharma attract lion's share of PE funds". Business Standard. July 2, 2014. Retrieved August 1, 2014.
- ^ Infinite to set up iYogi support centre in Bangalore
- ^ IBM, iYogi ink deal for state-of-the-art data centre
- ^ Lison, Joseph. "iYogi turns to India after US success; company targeting at least 15% of the local market". The Economic Times (07 March 2013). The Times Group. Retrieved 13 March 2013.
- ^ iYogi picks Lewiston company for customer service center
- ^ PC Mag: Michael Muchmore
- ^ PC Mag: iYogi, 22 April 2014, accessed 24 April 2015
- ^ Cringely, Robert X. (28 March 2010). "The downward (dog) spiral: iYogi exposed". Archived from the original on 20 November 2014. Retrieved 21 January 2015.
{{cite web}}: Unknown parameter|deadurl=ignored (|url-status=suggested) (help) - ^ Nichols, Shaun. "Avast halts support service over claims of iYogi misconduct". The New York Observer (Mar 16, 2012). V3 UK. Retrieved July 1, 2013.
- ^ Burton et al v. iYogi, Inc., Case No. 13-cv-6926, S. D. NY. Details and refusal to dismiss, 16 March 20115: [1]
- ^ Truth in Advertising:iYogi’s Computer Support Services, 22 April 2015