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Conquer the Mobile Workforce Challenge
If you've got branch employees, field workers and telecommuters who work on a variety of devices, like PCs, Macs and smartphones -- you're not alone. Your helpdesk should be equipped with the right tools to support an increasingly mobile workforce. If you're still using tools like VNC and RDP, you may be hindering both your helpdesk and the mobile employees you support.
See how easy it is to support anytime, anywhere workers with LogMeIn Rescue.
SoundBite Communications Extends the Benefits of Mobile Messaging to the Contact Center
SoundBite Communications, Inc., a provider of on-demand, multi-channel proactive customer communications, announced the release of its Contact Center Text Messaging Solution. This solution enables an organization to communicate with consumers using a seamless combination of automated and agent-assisted interactive text messaging. Unlike traditional voice-based support, text messaging enables agents to simultaneously support multiple consumer interactions, which increases agent productivity. Texting also frees consumers from long hold times waiting to speak with an agent. Consumers simply send a private text message and look forward to a quick response.
Ryla Inc. Using Varolii To Automate Contact Center Workforce Communications
Varolii Corporation announced Ryla Inc. is deploying Varolii Contact Center Agent, the first automated communications application specifically designed for workforce management communications within contact center and customer service environments. Using Varolii Contact Center Agent for automated workforce communications over voice, email and SMS text messaging channels, Ryla can interact with more than 2,000 contact center representatives in mere minutes, replacing the costly manual process of managing hundreds of daily schedule changes, avoiding service level disruptions and sending other urgent communications.
GWI Software Announces the Release of Its Latest IT Service Management Solution, iSupport(r) 9.0
GWI Software had announced the release of iSupport 9.0, an integrated, ITIL v3-compliant help desk/service desk solution. Building on an existing robust feature set, iSupport 9.0 delivers a new Configuration Management Database (CMDB) module, Service Catalog functionality, Service Contract capabilities, multi-browser support, graphical and ad-hoc approval enhancements, SNMP asset scanning, and much more.
ManageEngine Integrates Twitter With Customer Help Desk Software
ManageEngine, makers of a suite of cost effective network, systems, applications and security management software solutions, announced a new version of ManageEngine SupportCenter Plus, the company's web based customer help desk suite, designed to increase the productivity of customer support professionals and decrease the time-to–incident resolution for the customer. The new version of ManageEngine SupportCenter Plus uniquely targets and integrates relevant conversation taking place on the social networking and micro-blogging service, Twitter, allowing support technicians to identify instances of customers Tweeting about a company or its products.
Check out TeamSupport
TeamSupport is an increasingly popular SaaS based customer service, product management, and bug tracking solution. The well integrated software addresses the very real need for better communication between manufacturers, their customers, and key client focused teams within their organizations. Scalable from a simple help desk assistant to an enterprise wide issue, bug, feature and customer management system, TeamSupport breaks down barriers to the exchange of information, letting all share a common knowledge base. The result: Better products and happier customers.
Amid the Downturn, Firms Look to Information Technology to Restore Strength
A majority (72 percent) of business and information technology (IT) executives say their organizations place greater value on the IT function today than they did before the economic crisis. What's more, they view IT as an important part of their economic recovery efforts, according to the findings of a global study released by Accenture and produced in cooperation with the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).
Consequently, executives expect technology spending to increase in their organization either selectively (47 percent) or across the board (10 percent) in the next 12 months. Further, and perhaps surprisingly, non-IT executives appear even more bullish than those directly responsible for IT, as 61 percent anticipate technology spending boosts.
Confidence appears to be highest in the United Kingdom and Ireland, where 63 percent of respondents overall expect increased investment, with nearly as much momentum shown in the United States, Spain and Italy. The survey was conducted in the United States, United Kingdom, Ireland, Germany, France, Spain and Italy.
The need to invest in technology notwithstanding, the study also shows that companies will keep a close eye on the returns delivered by IT. Accordingly, the vast majority (81 percent) of executives across all geographies say they are under increased pressure to deliver projects that incorporate more flexibility than was previously required. In the United States, 87 percent of respondents agree with this statement, while in Europe this pressure is felt most acutely in France, the United Kingdom, and Ireland.
The survey of more than 550 executives highlights that cost savings and control remain a key driver when it comes to IT investment decisions. The respondents identified three measures as most effective in reducing the cost of implementing IT projects: Ensuring the stability and business relevance of project requirements; the replacement or rationalization of existing systems; and movement to open platforms.
In terms of specific areas of investment, IT leaders have a much clearer idea than their business counterparts with regard to priorities for new projects over the next year. By far the most pressing priorities of IT chiefs are for server virtualization and consolidation (44 percent), whereas business managers in general rank virtualization as important as customer relationships and service. While acknowledging the importance of customer relationships and service, IT chiefs are also expecting significant funding for e-business (32 percent) and service-oriented architecture (SOA) projects (31 percent).
Technology performance metrics and clearer definition of risks are also taking on greater importance. Over three-quarters of executives at global firms now use either financial, productivity or progress metrics to measure the performance and benefits of their technology investments. Additionally, 27 percent of IT executives now use a specific methodology or governance framework to assess the business impact of their IT investments. However, in around half of cases of those surveyed, metrics are still only partly implemented. In about one-third of the firms surveyed, metrics are still not being used at all.
US contact centers predict return to growth in 2010
New research published by ContactBabel reveals that there has been a significant drop in employment within the US contact center industry, which employs around 3.6% of the nation's working population. In 2009, headcount declined by 3.9%, equating to a net loss of just over 200,000 jobs.
This year, both Opex and Capex budgets have been cut, with 43% of respondents decreasing their Opex and 39% their Capex. Few have been able to increase their budgets by anything more than a small amount, and the tightening of Opex has meant that there has been a significant decrease in headcount as well.
The Manufacturing, Finance, Insurance, Retail and Healthcare sectors were all hit harder than average, with more than half of respondents from these sectors experiencing a drop in headcount. However, the majority of Services and Technology/Media/Telecoms (TMT) contact center respondents posted headcount increases.
The next 12 months is expected to see a large rebound in agent figures, with respondents to the survey stating an average expected headcount growth rate of 5.7%, equating to a net gain of 290,000 jobs US-wide. Public Sector and Insurance respondents are least bullish, but the Services, TMT and Outsourcing sectors all expect significant increases in headcount.
IDC Predicts Recovery and Transformation in 2010 -- Modest IT Spending
Two themes will dominate events in the IT and Telecommunications markets in 2010: recovery and transformation. With a global economic recovery widely anticipated, modest growth in IT and telecommunications spending is expected. But the industry is entering this recovery year with an ambitious agenda, making transformation the more interesting theme of IDC's predictions for 2010.
In terms of the recovery, IDC predicts that worldwide IT spending will grow by 3.2% in 2010, returning the industry to 2008 spending levels of about $1.5 trillion. In broad terms, hardware, software and services spending will each grow in the 2-4% range, with hardware experiencing the most notable gains after a particularly difficult 2009. Emerging markets will drive more than half the new IT industry growth in 2010, with IT spending up 8-13% in the BRIC countries of Brazil, Russia, India, and China. Telecommunications spending will experience respectable growth of 3%, driven by a rebound in the IP and data segments in mature markets and strong growth in the mobility sector in emerging economies.
With IT spending returning to pre-recession levels, IDC believes that transformation will impact every corner of the industry in 2010. The most important transformational force in the IT market will be the continuing build-out and maturing of the cloud services and consumption model. The emergence of "enterprise-grade" cloud services will be a unifying theme in this area, with a battle unfolding in cloud application platforms -- the most strategic real estate in the cloud for the next 20 years. Significant opportunities will also unfold for public IT cloud services, private clouds, cloud appliances, and hybrid cloud management tools, while cloud APIs will emerge as the new determinant of the cloud partner/solution ecosystem.
Mobile devices will also exert a powerful transformational force on the industry as they increasingly compete with PCs as the primary client platform for developers and users alike. By year end, IDC expects more than 1 billion mobile devices will be accessing the Internet, boosted by the growing popularity of smartphones and the arrival of Apple's iPad tablet computer. And the growth in mobile devices will ignite an explosion in mobile applications, with the number of iPhone apps tripling to 300,000 and Android apps surging by a factor of five or more. This same phenomenon will also play out in the netbook market, where new software ecosystems will emerge to optimize the performance and usability of these popular devices.
The expansion of cloud services, the explosion of mobile devices and mobile applications, the growing popularity of video applications, and more, will all put greater demands on public networks in 2010. IDC expects industry players will accelerate their migration toward converged IP platforms, expand their managed services footprints, and transform their service delivery platforms and business models to support the growing wholesale, connected devices, and machine-to-machine (M2M) opportunities.
Other IDC predictions for 2010 include:
- A new, mashed-up generation of business applications will emerge that leverages social and collaborative networks and derives insights from them. These "socialytic" apps will not only bring new capabilities to customers and new growth to suppliers, but also new competition and threats to traditional leaders.
- A renewed focus on reducing CO2 emissions, at both the national and international levels, will present opportunities for IT solutions to help reduce greenhouse gases while challenging the industry's energy use and disposal costs.
- Other industries will emerge from the recession with their own transformation agendas, and will look to IT as an increasingly important means for achieving the new objectives.
- Finally, the transformation agenda will drive a fresh round of mergers, acquisitions, and partnerships as vendors pursue profitable IT and business solutions and power positions in the cloud.
What to Expect in 2010 [Contact Center]
Even with the recession, DMG expects to see many system enhancements find their way into contact centers in 2010, particularly emerging analytical solutions -- speech and real-time analytics, customer experience analytics, desktop analytics and possibly even predictive analytics. Contact center managers all over the world are demanding solutions that are easy to implement and use, applications that are actionable and deliver rapid results; some of the vendors are actually listening and delivering.
Full Article...
Call Center Buying Habits that Work
Making a big purchase for your call center is never an easy task. There's the excitement at the prospect of major improvements for your business. There's the fear that you might make the wrong decision. And, of course, there is the cash you have to front for the purchase. So how can you make purchasing a positive experience? This article presents a collection of lessons learned -- the trials and tribulations of purchasing in the call center world.
Full Article...
The Best CIOs Are Two-Faced
The secret to being a good CIO that you need to find a way to simultaneously live in two completely different worlds: you're going to need to lead the IT team and you're going to need to be a member of the senior management team. If you had to pick which one of these sides of your CIO personality was more important, I'd bet that you'd be torn: the old people that you've know or the shiny new people that you want to know? It turns out that your relationship with your IT team is probably more important -- they are the ones who are going to allow you to actually get things accomplished.
Full Article...
Training Virtual Agents - It's a Different Dynamic. Or Is It?
Today, the convergence of adult learning theories and distance learning technologies are enabling companies to create training programs that empower and engage people like never before. As more companies adopt the use of virtual training, however, it's important to realize that it's not enough to just make classroom materials available to online learners. Virtual training requires a new way of thinking about - and delivering - training. This article presents three tips based on the learner-centered approach that will help companies of all types implement a more successful virtual training program for call center workers.
Full Article...
How Cloud Computing Changes IT Organizations
Today, cloud computing looks a lot less like some catch-all concept in the distance and more like a very real architecture that your data center has a good chance of being connected to in the near future. If that happens, more than the technology must change. The IT organization, and how IT works with business units, must adapt as well, or companies won't get all they want from cloud computing. Putting part of the IT workload into the cloud will require some different management approaches, and different IT skills, from what's grown up in the traditional data center.
Full Article...
The Project Success Method: A Proven Approach for Achieving Superior Project Performance in as Little as 5 Days
Clinton M. Padgett
The ability to execute projects successfully has become an unparalleled source of competitive advantage and a vital business competency in a highly competitive, dynamic marketplace. Intended for project managers in any industry or field, The Project Success Method is designed to make planning and controlling projects simple and successful -- and fast. For over twenty-five years, this proven methodology has been used successfully by a diverse group of companies in more than twenty-five countries on six continents.
Author Clinton Padgett, a project management expert, uses real-world case studies to identify and explain the core elements of great project management, providing the missing links between strategy and implementation. Padgett also clearly identifies and explains the essential core elements of project management, and how to plan and control projects successfully.
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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.
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