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Featured Webinar: First Contact Resolution - The Metric That Matters!
Thursday, July 30 at 10 AM PDT/ 1 PM EDT
In this live webinar, narrated with industry insight and analysis, Peter McGarahan, President of McGarahan and Associates, and Jeff Moloughney, Senior Product Marketing Manager, GoldMine Division, will share proven techniques and specific examples of how you can improve First Contact Resolution in your organization. Attendees will be able to benchmark their own organization against best practice levels and see how others in the industry are performing.
**Bonus: Attendees will also receive a free white paper entitled "First Contact Resolution - The Metric That Matters!".
LogMeIn Announces Pricing Initial Public Offering
LogMeIn (Nasdaq: LOGM), a provider of on-demand, remote-connectivity solutions to small and medium-sized businesses, IT services providers and consumers, announced the initial public offering of 6,666,667 shares of its common stock at a price to the public of $16.00 per share. According to the Wall Street Journal, the company's stock hit $20 a share on its first trade on the Nasdaq, up from its initial public offering price of $16 a share. A total of 6.7 million shares sold at the high end of its expected price range, which was set by underwriters J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. and Barclays Capital, the investment banking arm of Barclays PLC.
Microsoft Limits Free Windows 7 Upgrades
In a blow to businesses that need to purchase more than a handful of new computers between now and Windows 7's Oct. 22nd release date, Microsoft has limited the number of machines that can be upgraded to its new operating system for free to 25. Microsoft has made little mention about the limit, which is drawing heat from some notable industry watchers. Gartner analyst Michael Silver on Friday published a research note provocatively titled, "Enterprises Should Demand Windows Upgrade Option."
source: InformationWeek
KANA Introduces KANA 10
KANA Software, Inc., a provider of customer service solutions, announced availability of KANA 10, the industry's first service experience management (SEM) platform for managing the entire customer service experience. Developed in conjunction with IBM and KANA customers, KANA 10 is a Web services-based solution that fuses the IBM service-oriented architecture (SOA) portfolio with KANA's decade of experience in knowledge management and messaging with new 'experience flow' functionality, all in a Web 2.0 platform. This new solution has been selected by online travel service provider priceline.com.
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IT Salaries Fall - Demand Down for IT Professionals
Janco released its 2009 Mid Year IT Salary Survey which shows that overall pay has declined for IT Professionals in the past 18 months. Janco also found that demand is down for IT Professionals.
The most striking observations are:
http://www.ejobdescription.com/images/SalarySurveySummary.gif
- Many companies have instituted hiring and spending freezes in addition to laying-off of staff. This has been augmented by extensive outsourcing, bonus reductions, and elimination of IT contractors -- which has decreased the demand for IT professionals and in some cases lowered wages, with higher priced positions being eliminated.
- Layoffs have focused on middle management and IT support staff.
- Many mid-sized enterprises have stopped hiring all together.
- There are over 200 IT professionals in the Metro New York are who earned well into six figures that are looking for work due to mergers, bankruptcies, and layoffs
- Companies are continuing to reduce the benefits provided to IT professionals. Though benefits such as health care are available, IT professionals are now paying a greater portion of that cost.
- Flexible hours and work schedules are now not as available as they were before the recent economic conditions changed.
- With outsourcing, lower bonuses, and the recent layoffs there has been a slight decrease in the mean compensation paid to IT professionals. In addition, with the fall in the Janco Benchmark it is shows that hiring "new staff" has significantly declined.
- There now is a surplus of seasoned IT professionals available. For the second time in less than ten years, retirements are being put off because of the downturn in the stock market and the resultant reduction in savings available to support IT professionals as they retire. Added to this is an influx of retirees who are looking to get back into the job market due to of the massive reduction in their investment portfolio.
Forrester Updates Outlook For Global And US IT Purchases In 2009
Global purchases of IT goods and services by businesses and governments in 2009 are projected to decline by 10.6 percent when measured in US dollars, compared with the 3 percent decrease previously projected at the beginning of the year by Forrester Research, Inc. The latest quarterly update of Forrester's IT spending outlook also projects a 5.1 percent decline in the US annual IT market, compared with the 3.1 percent decrease previously forecast. New data about large declines in business technology investment during the first quarter prompted Forrester to update its forecasts for technology spending. On a positive note, Forrester still expects growth in US IT investment to resume in Q4 2009, and 2010 is expected to bring a revival of IT buying in other markets as well.
Forrester uses several metrics to determine the health and size of the US IT market quarterly and of the global IT market on an annual or as-needed basis. The data in the new Forrester forecast report focuses on IT purchasing -- how much computer and communications equipment, software, IT consulting and integration services, and IT outsourcing that businesses and governments buy from technology vendors.
Looking at the 2009 global IT spending outlook by sector, Forrester anticipates lower investment than previously expected across all categories. Forrester projects purchases of computer equipment to be down by 13.5 percent, communications equipment buying to drop by 12.4 percent, software spending to decline by 8.2 percent, and purchases of IT consulting and outsourcing services to be 8.6 percent lower.
More...
Gartner Highlights Five Attributes of Cloud Computing
As cloud computing begins to move beyond the pure hype stage and into the beginning of mainstream adoption, Gartner, Inc. has identified the five attributes of cloud computing. By using these attributes, it is possible to see how strongly a cloud solution (or service) adheres to the cloud computing model.
Gartner defines cloud computing as a style of computing in which scalable and elastic IT-enabled capabilities are delivered as a service to external customers using Internet technologies. This is a slight revision of Gartner's original definition published in 2008. Gartner has removed "massively scalable" and replaced it with "scalable and elastic" as an indicator that the important characteristic of scale is the ability to scale up and down, not just to massive size.
The five attributes of cloud computing are:
Service-Based: Consumer concerns are abstracted from provider concerns through service interfaces that are well-defined. The interfaces hide the implementation details and enable a completely automated response by the provider of the service to the consumer of the service. The service could be considered "ready to use" or "off the shelf" because the service is designed to serve the specific needs of a set of consumers, and the technologies are tailored to that need rather than the service being tailored to how the technology works. The articulation of the service feature is based on service levels and IT outcomes (availability, response time, performance versus price, and clear and predefined operational processes), rather than technology and its capabilities. In other words, what the service needs to do is more important than how the technologies are used to implement the solution.
Scalable and Elastic: The service can scale capacity up or down as the consumer demands at the speed of full automation (which may be seconds for some services and hours for others). Elasticity is a trait of shared pools of resources. Scalability is a feature of the underlying infrastructure and software platforms. Elasticity is associated with not only scale but also an economic model that enables scaling in both directions in an automated fashion. This means that services scale on demand to add or remove resources as needed.
Shared: Services share a pool of resources to build economies of scale. IT resources are used with maximum efficiency. The underlying infrastructure, software or platforms are shared among the consumers of the service (usually unknown to the consumers). This enables unused resources to serve multiple needs for multiple consumers, all working at the same time.
Metered by Use: Services are tracked with usage metrics to enable multiple payment models. The service provider has a usage accounting model for measuring the use of the services, which could then be used to create different pricing plans and models. These may include pay-as-you go plans, subscriptions, fixed plans and even free plans. The implied payment plans will be based on usage, not on the cost of the equipment. These plans are based on the amount of the service used by the consumers, which may be in terms of hours, data transfers or other use-based attributes delivered.
Uses Internet Technologies: The service is delivered using Internet identifiers, formats and protocols, such as URLs, HTTP, IP and representational state transfer Web-oriented architecture. Many examples of Web technology exist as the foundation for Internet-based services.
More...
Speech Analytics in the Call Center: Making the Right Decisions in a Still-Growing Market
The potential gains from speech analytics have peaked call center professionals' interest. This article presents some considerations that can help any call center put current speech analytics offerings into perspective and, possibly, meet the challenges and see those potential gains.
Full Article...
"Our Customer Did Not Leave" Is Not A Customer Strategy
There are several reasons why customers can become captive. One reason is the result of customers' delight from an amazing customer experience -- a total value proposition that is so attractive that they will have no reason to shop for competing products and services. The second reason bears no semblance to the first. Customers are often held captive as a result of monopolistic industries and unfriendly business regulations. The utility industry is a classic example of a monopolistic industry where the absence of competition leaves customers at their providers' mercy and prevents them from defecting to a competitor. The belief that customers are captive frequently leads companies to mistreat the very people who keep them in business. These companies operate under the mistaken belief that mistreating customers is free. Mistreating captive customers comes with a price -- a hefty price.
Full Article...
Understanding Tomorrow's CIO
Tomorrow's CIOs will be more than just technology evangelists and visionaries. The new world of globalized business demands that the CIO be a business driver who uses IT to make the business more competitive in the rapidly changing business environment. No longer will the CIO wait to be told what needs to be done. More often, the CIO will see the way forward and choose the correct technology path to get there. Software companies must revise their game plan in order to connect with Tomorrow's CIO.
Full Article...
What's Your Appetite for Risk?
Cutting IT security spending, unthinkable a couple of years ago, is officially on the table. Just a year ago, even with a recession taking hold, only 6% of companies planned to trim security. This year, 19% are cutting, InformationWeek's Strategic Security Survey finds, while only 27% are increasing spending on IT security, down from 40% who were a year ago. At the same time, CEOs desperate to make their quarterly numbers may enter new businesses or find ways to trim expenses with less concern for the impact on data security. If you thought you had a handle on your organization's appetite for risk, chances are the economy has changed the dinner portions.
Full Article...
Why CIOs and IT Need a Vacation
When the economy finally recovers, workplace stress will only rise. CIOs should set a good example for their staff and rest up with a week off, now.
Full Article...
More Loyal Customers: 21 Real World Lessons To Keep Your Customers Coming Back
by Kevin Stirtz
Keep your customers coming back again and again! If you want to grow your company, the best way to start is by increasing customer loyalty. According to one study, a 5% growth in customer loyalty can lead to a growth in profits of anywhere from 25% to 95%. So increasing customer loyalty makes sense. This book gives you real-world examples, tips, tools and advice on how to get started. It's fast-reading but packed full of valuable ideas and suggestions you can use right away.
2009 Service & Support Metrics Survey: The Results
Supportindustry.com conducts an annual survey designed to explore the state of enterprise service and support -- technology adoption rates and deployment plans, financial challenges, workforce issues, performance metrics and other industry trends. This year's survey highlights 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. At the same time, however, these organizations continue to battle the ongoing challenges that have come to characterize the service function. Key metrics to benchmark your support operation were also captured and discussed.
Get your copy of the results today!
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.
White Paper: Using Web-based Support Tools to Improve Customer Service
Each web visit presents the business with the opportunity to impress and influence existing and potential customers. This new white paper from SupportIndustry.com examines the latest trends and technologies in using Web-based support tools to improve customer service.
Get the full white paper here!
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.
Check it out today
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