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SupportIndustry.com to Publish the 2010 Service and Support Technology Showcase
Generate interest in your product or service by participating in SupportIndustry.com's 2010 Service and Support Technology Showcase.
Each participating company will receive a full page listing that includes information about your products and services, as well as 3 links back to your web site.
Deadline to participate is January 22, 2010. For more information, click here...
ATG Acquires InstantService
ATG, a provider of commerce solutions, announced that it has acquired Seattle-based InstantService, a provider of live chat services, for $17.0 million in cash. InstantService contributes innovative technology to ATG, including a rich chat agent console with a unique tabbed interface; integrated email response management and FAQ capabilities; open, flexible APIs for integrating with existing systems including pre-built data integration with Salesforce.com and IEX; and a new, mobile chat solution to help capture the emerging market for live help on mobile devices.
TeamSupport.com Introduces "Water Cooler", Social Networking For Support Teams
TeamSupport.com, a provider of SaaS-based customer service and help desk tools, announced the release of "Water Cooler," a communications and social networking enhancement for the company's flagship customer support application. The Water Cooler is an intra-company social networking tool, similar to Twitter, that gives internal teams a more effective way to share information and resolve customer issues. Like its physical H2O counterparts, TeamSupport's Water Cooler offers a virtual space for colleagues to connect and collaborate. It breaks down cubicle barriers and organizational obstacles to efficient, timely and effective problem solving.
Aspect buys Quilogy for contact center expertise
The plan is to use expertise from Quilogy to offer customers contact center collaboration tools via Microsoft SharePoint.. Previously, Aspect offered just its own contact center software that it could integrate with Microsoft's Office Communications Server. Aspect will apply SharePoint directly to contact centers, for example, enabling such services as expert search in which agents can find subject matter experts company-wide to answer callers' questions, Aspect says.
Nexidia Launches ESI-Quality Application for Contact Centers
Nexidia, a provider of audio search and speech analytics solutions, introduced Nexidia ESI-Quality, the newest component of the flagship Enterprise Speech Intelligence (ESI) software suite. With ESI-Quality, contact centers can now cost-effectively tap into 100 percent of recorded customer interactions and apply speech analytics to help measure and improve quality and agent performance. ESI-Quality leverages Nexidia's patented phonetic indexing and search technology to provide quantitative analysis of large, complete data sets, and coaching and performance management at all levels within a contact center organization. phonetic indexing and search technology to provide quantitative analysis of large, complete data sets, and coaching and performance management at all levels within a contact center organization.
Focus on the Customer -- Exclusive Event Series
Every customer dreams of problem-free technology, uninterrupted service and productivity unburdened by repetitive issues! When issues do arise, it's the customer support centers opportunity to make the best out of a bad situation.
In this economy, customer service can be a key differentiator in whether a company survives or thrives by satisfying, retaining and profiting from loyal customers. Today's support organizations must design their support strategy with the customer top-of-mind.
Please join FrontRange Solutions at one of the following complimentary events to learn how you can successfully implement a customer focused strategy.
1/20 - Atlanta, GA
1/26 - Irvine, CA
2/24 - Virtual Event
For more information or to register...
IT Spending To Rebound In 2010
After a dismal performance in 2009, the technology sector will see a recovery in 2010 as businesses and governments in the US and around the world begin spending again on information technology, according to a new report by Forrester Research, Inc. After declining 8.2 percent in 2009, US IT spending will grow 6.6 percent in 2010 to $568 billion. Global IT spending, which dropped 8.9 percent last year, will rise 8.1 percent in 2010 to more than $1.6 trillion. Software and computer hardware will see the greatest growth, as Forrester forecasts a new multi-year cycle of technology investment growth and innovation defined by Smart Computing.
With regard to sector growth, hardware and software will lead the charge. Measured in US dollars, global purchases of computer equipment will be up 8.2 percent, communications equipment buying will rise by 7.6 percent, software spending will increase by 9.7 percent, purchases of IT consulting and systems integration services will grow by 6.8 percent, and IT outsourcing services will be 7.1 percent higher.
On a regional basis, Europe will be the strongest performing region. Measured in US dollars, the strongest growth in 2010 will be in Western and Central Europe, where tech purchases will rise by 11.2 percent, boosted by the dollar's decline against the euro. IT purchases in Canada will grow by 9.9 percent, Asia Pacific by 7.8 percent, and Latin America by 7.7 percent. The weakest market will be Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, rising by just 2.4 percent. When measured against local currency, however, the US will actually post the strongest growth of all the regional tech markets.
More...
Gartner Highlights Key Predictions for IT Organizations and Users in 2010 and Beyond
Gartner, Inc. has highlighted the key predictions that herald long-term changes in approach for IT organizations and the people they serve for 2010 and beyond. Gartner's top predictions for 2010 showcase the trends and events that will change the nature of business today and beyond.
These predictions were selected from across Gartner's research areas as the most compelling and critical predictions. The trends and topics they address this year speak to the changing balance of power and focus in IT. Gartner analysts said last year's themes of shifting ownership and revenue flows continue, becoming more pronounced and more sharply focused. As the macro-economic environment adjusts to a new balance between supply, consumer demand and regulation, the focus of this year's top predictions has expanded to encompass shifts in the way that users interact with IT.
Gartner's top predictions for 2010 and beyond include
By 2012, 20 percent of businesses will own no IT assets. Several interrelated trends are driving the movement toward decreased IT hardware assets, such as virtualization, cloud-enabled services, and employees running personal desktops and notebook systems on corporate networks.
By 2012, India-centric IT services companies will represent 20 percent of the leading cloud aggregators in the market (through cloud service offerings). Gartner is seeing India-centric IT services companies leveraging established market positions and levels of trust to explore nonlinear revenue growth models (which are not directly correlated to labor-based growth) and working on interesting research and development (R&D) efforts, especially in the area of cloud computing. The collective work from India-centric vendors represents an important segment of the market's cloud aggregators, which will offer cloud-enabled outsourcing options (also known as cloud services).
By 2012, Facebook will become the hub for social network integration and Web socialization. Through Facebook Connect and other similar mechanisms, Facebook will support and take a leading role in developing the distributed, interoperable social Web. As Facebook continues to grow and outnumber other social networks, this interoperability will become critical to the success and survival of other social networks, communication channels and media sites.
By 2014, most IT business cases will include carbon remediation costs. Today, server vitalization and desktop power management demonstrate substantial savings in energy costs, and those savings can help justify projects. Incorporating carbon costs into business cases provides a further measure of savings, and prepares the organization for increased scrutiny of its carbon impact.
In 2012, 60 percent of a new PC's total life greenhouse gas emissions will have occurred before the user first turns the machine on. Progress toward reducing the power needed to build a PC has been slow. Over the course of its entire lifetime, a typical PC consumes 10 times its own weight in fossil fuels, but around 80 percent of a PC's total energy usage still happens during production and transportation.
Internet marketing will be regulated by 2015, controlling more than $250 billion in Internet marketing spending worldwide. Despite international efforts to eliminate "spam," marketing "clutter" is abundant in every marketing channel. Pressure for greater accountability means the backlash from annoyed consumers will eventually drive legislation to regulate Internet marketing. Companies that focus primarily on the Internet for marketing purposes could find themselves unable to market effectively to customers, putting themselves at a competitive disadvantage when new regulations take effect. Although experiencing high growth, vendors who focus solely on, and sell predominately to, Internet marketing solutions could find themselves faced with a declining market, as companies shift marketing funds to other channels to compensate.
By 2014, over 3 billion of the world's adult population will be able to transact electronically via mobile or Internet technology. Emerging economies will see rapidly rising mobile and Internet adoption through 2014. At the same time, advances in mobile payment, commerce and banking are making it easier to electronically transact via mobile or PC Internet. Combining these two trends creates a situation in which a significant majority of the world's adult population will be able to electronically transact by 2014.
By 2015, context will be as influential to mobile consumer services and relationships as search engines are to the Web. Whereas search provides the "key" to organizing information and services for the Web, context will provide the "key" to delivering hyperpersonalized experiences across smartphones and any session or experience an end user has with information technology. Search centered on creating content that drew attention and could be analyzed. Context will center on observing patterns, particularly location, presence and social interactions. Furthermore, whereas search was based on a "pull" of information from the Web, context-enriched services will, in many cases, prepopulate or push information to users.
By 2013, mobile phones will overtake PCs as the most common Web access device worldwide. According to Gartner's PC installed base forecast, the total number of PCs in use will reach 1.78 billion units in 2013. By 2013, the combined installed base of smartphones and browser-equipped enhanced phones will exceed 1.82 billion units and will be greater than the installed base for PCs thereafter.
More...
Thriving in 2010: Top 5 Priorities for Contact Center Managers
Congratulations. You've survived 2009, the most challenging year for business since the Great Depression. DMG expects 2010 to be a better year, and the economic indicators show that the recession has bottomed out, but we don't expect significant improvement for contact centers until Q4 2010. This is because, unfortunately, most contact centers are still cost centers and therefore less likely to benefit from quick budget relief and incremental investment dollars. The profit centers will come first, as they should. While exact goals and priorities may vary among organizations, this article presents the top activities for contact center managers to concentrate on during 2010.
Full Article...
The Call Center of the Future
Predicting the future of a business segment such as call centers is not magic -- it is simply a process of paying attention to trends and making calculated guesses on how those trends will continue or change in the future. One of the constants of our industry is change. We are continually being pushed by our clients to offer enhanced services to meet their unique business objectives. Clients don't care about the technology utilized to run our call centers as long as they feel that we'll be there when they need us. They're focused on the services we provide for them. That's where each call center has the opportunity to distinguish itself from the competition.
Full Article...
13 CIOs Describe Their Biggest Mistakes
In this article, CIOs discuss genuine mistakes--hold the sugar coating, with a side of lesson learned. They relive problems with vendor contracts, outsourcing, and project management. They lament letting a troubled project drag on. Many are intensely personal looks back on career missteps, including chasing dot-com riches. It's leadership by example.
Full Article...
Comparing and Contrasting Three Approaches to Home Agent Staffing for Call Centers
An ever-increasing number of contact centers are introducing home agent programs into their staffing models. According to the ICMI 2008 Contact Center Operations Report, one in five centers surveyed already use home agents to some extent, with three in four of those centers indicating that telecommuting has had either a "positive" or "very positive" impact on the center"s effectiveness.(Only one contact center reported a "negative" impact.) This article compares and contrasts the three most viable home agent staffing approaches, and aims to help you determine which one -- or ones -- are best for your organization.
Full Article...
Information Overload
As consumers deal with an increasing amount of information -- and as they embrace more mechanisms to engage with that information -- there comes a need to search out what’s important, or filter out some of the noise. Through this tidal wave of information, how can businesses manage to connect?
Full Article...
The Checklist Manifesto: How to Get Things Right
by Atul Gawande
We live in a world of great and increasing complexity, where even the most expert professionals struggle to master the tasks they face. Longer training, ever more advanced technologies -- neither seems to prevent grievous errors. But in a hopeful turn, acclaimed surgeon and writer Atul Gawande finds a remedy in the humblest and simplest of techniques: the checklist. First introduced decades ago by the U.S. Air Force, checklists have enabled pilots to fly aircraft of mind-boggling sophistication. Even in the immensely complex world of surgery, a simple ninety-second variant has cut the rate of fatalities by more than a third.
In riveting stories, Gawande takes us from Austria, where an emergency checklist saved a drowning victim who had spent half an hour underwater, to Michigan, where a cleanliness checklist in intensive care units virtually eliminated a type of deadly hospital infection. He explains how checklists actually work to prompt striking and immediate improvements. And he follows the checklist revolution into fields well beyond medicine, from disaster response to investment banking, skyscraper construction, and businesses of all kinds.
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2009 Service and Support Technology Showcase Now Available
SupportIndustry.com has released the 2009 version of our Service & Support Technology Showcase. This in-depth buyer's guide features the latest tools and technologies in the support services industry that enable support operations to deliver superior customer service.
To view the listings, click here.
2009 Service & Support Metrics Survey: The Results
This annual Supportindustry.com survey explores the state of enterprise service and support -- technology adoption rates and deployment plans, financial challenges, workforce issues, performance metrics and other industry trends. The results reinforce previous years' findings, highlighting support organizations' continued adoption of better-integrated and responsive technologies, efforts to improve processes, and growing recognition of the strategic role of service delivery in corporate growth. Key metrics to benchmark your support operation were also captured and discussed.
Get your copy of the results today!
Visit the SupportIndustry.com Blog
The SupportIndustry.com Blog is another way stay on top of the service and support industry. Our blog, updated at least once a week, is dedicated to covering the latest topics related to service and support, call center management, customer experience management, web-based support, help desks, workforce optimization and more.
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