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Support More Users on More Devices

Mobile devices are no longer used solely by top executives -- road warriors, field service professionals and "corridor warriors" also rely on smartphones.

With LogMeIn Rescue, you can help elevate your service levels by remotely resolving issues and training users on their BlackBerry smartphones.

And did we mention it works on PCs, Macs and Windows Mobile and Symbian devices, too? Try it free for 14 days and see how easy it is to support more devices across your entire organization.

IBM to Buy SPSS for $1.2 Billion
International Business Machines Corp. agreed to buy SPSS Inc. for $1.2 billion, further expanding into analytics and information-on-demand software. Chicago-based SPSS develops statistical software for survey and scientific research along with marketing, government and educational purposes. The all-cash offer is $50 a share, a 42% premium to SPSS's closing price Monday. The deal is expected to close by year-end. IBM said it is expanding its focus on business-analytics technology and services to meet a growing client need to cut costs. According to IDC estimates, the world-wide market for business analytics software will grow by 4% to $25 billion this year. Source: WSJ

ASP Announces "Best Web Support Sites of 2009"
The Association of Support Professionals (ASP) has just published a new 166-page book that offers a unique, behind-the-scenes look at how ten leading technology companies have developed world-class Web support sites. Based on the ASP's annual "Ten Best Web Support Sites" awards competition, the book looks at the ten companies that the ASP's judges selected as market leaders in online support. Each profile includes a discussion of how the site developers overcame a major challenge in site design, customer interaction, internal politics, resource management, technology implementation, or other issues. In addition, each profile provides an illustrated walk-through of three key features of the site.
Copies of "The Ten Best Web Support Sites of 2009" are available directly from the ASP for $95 (member price $60). site: http://www.asponline.com/awards.html

Elementool Updates Software-as-a-Service Help Desk CRM Tool
Elementool Inc., a developer of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) project management software, has released Help Desk version 5.1, an update to Elementool's customer relationship management (CRM) tool. Help Desk 5.1 brings adds depth to the original tool with a more dynamic interface. Forms can be customized for specific projects or accounts by dragging and dropping fields, allowing relevant information to be presented where and when it is needed. In dealing with customers, the most recent request is not always the most urgent. For that reason, Elementool has added customization to report queries, including sorting and the ability to drag and drop fields. Help Desk 5.1 also has new filtering options on the Welcome page, to further organize the summary of important details, notices, customer queries and status updates.

InQuira Enhances Web Self-Service and Contact Center Support for Blue Coat Systems
InQuira, Inc., a provider of enterprise knowledge solutions for web self-service, contact center support and knowledge intranets, announced that Blue Coat Systems, Inc., a provider of Application Delivery Networking, is deploying InQuira's enterprise knowledge solutions for its online and contact center customer support. The new knowledge management system enhances the BlueTouch(TM) Online portal and is part of BlueCoat's ongoing investment in service and support capabilities.

How to Tell Anyone Anything: Coaching Your Service Team to Success

Wednesday, August 26 at 11:00am /2:00 pm

If you manage people, the single biggest factor in your morale, turnover, and customer satisfaction levels is your ability to give feedback that really changes performance, without getting people defensive. Based on recent principles from strength-based psychology, this webinar will teach you a new, step-by-step process for truly effective coaching and feedback, based on the speaker's new nationally-published book How to Tell Anyone Anything: Breakthrough Techniques for Handling Difficult Conversations at Work.

Register today!

Survey Points to Positive Software Spending in 2010
Although organizations are continuing to drive down their total IT budgets in 2009 from 2008, in 2010 worldwide software budgets will increase, according to a survey by Gartner, Inc. The survey showed that organizations plan to increase their software budgets on average 1.53 percent in 2010.

Gartner surveyed approximately 1,000 IT professionals worldwide during April and May 2009. Respondents were asked whether they expected their 2010 IT budget to be below, be the same as or exceed the IT budget for 2009. Thirty percent of companies in Asia/Pacific, 28 percent in North America, and 25 percent in Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) said they expected their 2010 IT budget to increase.

With regard to spending expectations for software by region, North America is still expected to decline 2.06 percent, and EMEA is only slightly positive at 0.45 percent for 2010 compared with 2009. Software budgets in Latin America will rise 2.54 percent, and in Asia/Pacific, software budgets will increase 4.34 percent, showing a very positive trend in increasing their software spending in 2010. Gartner analysts said this is a reflection of the relative maturity of the markets. Generally, the survey found software spending to be holding ground, and consequently, Gartner recommends that vendors work toward helping clients know where they can cut costs and better utilize resources to allow new budgeted dollars to go further.

Gartner has the following recommendations for software vendors:

- Vendors must be able to differentiate with key integration technologies, vertical-market and line-of-business solutions/specialization, and diversified customer base.

- Vendors need to improve on their abilities to strengthen relationships with IT and lines of business, build trust, and deliver true business-enhancing results.

- Align go-to-market functions with the maturity of the demand. Tactics in an emerging or high-growth software market are not appropriate in consolidating or maturing markets.
Analysts said that although infrastructure spending (telecom, networks, PCs and help desk, and their maintenance) still accounts, on average, for 37 percent of the IT budget, savings in the infrastructure area are being used to fund "frontier applications" that drive innovation and provide competitive edge.
More...

Accessing files slows off-site workers
A majority of workers say they concentrate better working off-site than in the office, but many say loading files and software remotely slows them down and affects their productivity, a survey said last week.

Nearly half the workers questioned said they work off-site more often now than two years ago, and 40 percent said they would do so more often if business files or software loaded more quickly, said the survey conducted for Riverbed Technology Inc RVBD.O, an information technology company based in San Francisco.

Two-thirds of those surveyed said they would like to be able to work off-site more than they do now, it found.

Fifty-four percent said they concentrate better working off-site compared with being in the office, it said.

But 33 percent said accessing business files or software remotely negatively affected their productivity.

Working off-site can mean working from home, a hotel, another company location, coffee shop or other places, it said.

The online survey was conducted for Riverbed by Harris Interactive in late March and early April among 4,391 adults, 910 of whom were employed full time, normally work on-site and access business files or software stored on an employer's server, network or drives from off-site.
More...

Cautious Optimism Will Define Second Half of 2009 for Communications Industry
Yankee Group predicted 2009 would be a watershed year for the communications industry. After six months of economic anxiety, declining consumer confidence and widespread industry pessimism, Yankee Group expects communications spending to tick up in early 2010. Recent Yankee Group survey data supports this, with 68 percent of respondents planning to maintain or increase spending in the next three months.

A new report, "Yankee Group's 2009 Predictions ... Reloaded," revisits Yankee Group's top 10 predictions for 2009 to explore the remarkable changes that have already taken place and provide an outlook for 2H 2009 and beyond. Highlights of the predictions include:

--Wired switch port sales will decline for the first time in history. Wireless LAN (WLAN) is transforming into a primary source of connectivity for many enterprises. In 2006, 57 percent of enterprises offered WLAN access in the office. Yankee Group survey data reveals that number has jumped to 89 percent in 2009.

--Sunny skies are ahead for cloud computing. Cloud computing continues to grow as enterprises seek zero-capex solutions. According to a recent Yankee Group survey, more than 75 percent of IT decision-makers are considering a SaaS application for customer relationship management or sales automation.

--Desktop virtualization will replace PC replacement. New Yankee Group survey results show that 64 percent of enterprises currently have some form of a production deployment of desktop virtualization. This is a dramatic shift from 2008 when Yankee Group surveys revealed only 10 percent had the technology deployed.
More...

Employees: The Direct Route to Customers' Hearts
The link between employee engagement and business outcomes has been well established: employees that are more engaged in their work and with their companies are more likely to stay, more likely to recommend the company and its products, and more likely to go the extra mile to get the job done. But employees can also be a window to customers, and more importantly, a barometer for their satisfaction with your company's products and services.
Full Article...

It's All About The Customer
The barometer of enthusiasm is currently rising when it comes to customer empowerment. Businesses, as they realize that customers use the Internet to comment on them and even suggest new avenues for them, are learning to form and tap the creativity of customer communities.
Full Article...

Don't Trade Customer Satisfaction for Call Center Efficiency
Cost-cutting in the contact center doesn't have to involve a painful trade-off. In fact, improving efficiencies through automation can benefit employees, increase revenue, and improve customer satisfaction, transforming a call center into one of an organization's most valuable departments.
Full Article...

Defeat The Hidden Enemy of CRM Projects: Scope Creep
Any big software project is vulnerable to the evils of scope creep. Project estimates are wrong, new requirements are added, and the next big bang release falls farther off schedule and out of budget. What are the specific tactics that can lower the impact of scope creep in CRM systems?
Full Article...

Scripting a Better Work Environment for Your Agents
Attitudes about message scripting differ in the call center industry.  Some call center managers and business owners want to make sure each call is scripted so tightly that there is no room for agents to make mistakes, but others don't want to limit their agents' ability to make decisions and deal with unusual situations.
Full Article...

Take Their Breath Away: How Imaginative Service Creates Devoted Customers
by Chip R. Bell, John R. Patterson

Take Their Breath Away shows you how to create exuberantly devoted customers by providing peerless, mind-blowing customer experiences that leave them stunned. Like casting a magic spell, inventive customer experiences transform people from simple buyers into faithful brand advocates. In an era when value-added has gotten way too expensive, value-unique can provide a fresh approach to getting bottom-line impact.

Using real examples, this provocative guide shows you how the best brands create unique, customer-endearing practices that lead to irrational loyalty. The book reveals twelve amazing and imaginative strategies, explaining how they work and how to implement them. Whether you operate a giant corporation, a small business, or the department down the hall, these strategies will amaze you and surprise customers.

Click here for more information on this book.

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.

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Check it out today

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