SupportIndustry.com - TrendWatch

People Metrics
10 Steps to Tech Employment
Putting the 'Self' in Self-Service 2.0
Improving Agent Retention
Take Charge of Your Customer Dynamics
How to Assure Adherence
How to Not Go Out of Business
Can You Really Hear the Voice of the Customer?
7 CSR Behaviors on the Desktop that Could be Costing you Millions
Enhancing Your Call Center's Relationship with -- and Value to -- the Rest of the Organization
Five Things I Hate about Corporate IT
Environmentalism Collides with Cost Reductions in the Contact Center
Three Reasons to Add Face-to-Face Reviews to Your Customer Feedback Efforts
Leadership Practices That Drive Results
Train to Retain Top-Performing Agent

IT Market Is Still Recovering, But Cloud Lingers Over Europe
Worldwide IT spending has rebounded strongly from the Great Recession, as many businesses take advantage of the general economic recovery to catch up with overdue spending on critical hardware infrastructure. Market data from International Data Corporation shows capital spending on PCs, servers, storage, and network equipment soaring in recent quarters, producing strong year-over-year growth comparisons with the lowest period of the recession. Meanwhile, consumer spending on smartphones has continued to accelerate.

According to a new forecast from IDC, worldwide IT spending is set to increase by 3.8% this year at constant currency, to $1.47 trillion. Hardware will lead the way, with growth of 6.4% at constant currency, while software and services spending will increase by 3.1% and 1.5% respectively. Based on exchange rates from the first quarter of 2010, growth in U.S. dollars this year would be higher at 5.6%. This follows the decline in worldwide IT spending of 4.2% in constant currency last year (a decline of 7.3% in U.S. dollars).

Vertical Market IT Spending Will Grow 4.1 Percent in 2010
Worldwide enterprise IT spending across all industry markets is forecast to surpass $2.4 trillion in 2010, a 4.1 percent increase from 2009 spending, according to Gartner, Inc. Industries are returning to growth after a difficult year in 2009 when IT spending by vertical market totaled $2.3 trillion, a 5.6 percent decline from 2008. Banking and securities, and communications, media and services will experience the greatest growth through 2014, growing at 2009-2014 compound annual growth rates (CAGRs) of 5.2 percent and 4.6 percent, respectively. Manufacturing and natural resources, and wholesale trade will experience the weakest growth through 2014, growing at 2009-2014 CAGRs of 3.0 percent and 3.1 percent, respectively.

Gartner recommends that technology and service providers execute business and marketing plans for 2010 based on a 4.1 percent annual growth rate, but prepare contingencies to mitigate the downside risk of a slow-growth scenario or a "double dip" recession, based on uncertainties in the economic environment.

Customer Support Megatrends and Next Practices: 2010 Update

As mobility, online communities and social networks collide with globalization, support organizations find themselves in the eye of the storm. This white paper discusses the eight megatrends transforming customer support organizations today, and best practices to make the most of the unique opportunities each megatrend presents.

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Measuring and Managing First Contact Resolution: Challenges & Techniques
Thursday, August 5 at 11AM PDT/ 2 PM EDT
First contact resolution, or FCR, is the key to superior support and operational efficiency for an organization. Get is right, and you win with customers, but get it wrong and it wreaks havoc across the company. So how do you effectively measure and manage this crucial metric in order to grow your success? Learn why FCR should be a top priority and how to accurately assess and measure.

How to Give GR8 Service & Have Your Followers ‘Like’ You in All Social Channels
Customers are increasingly turning to social media to air their service issues - especially when they feel companies could give a tweet about them through other channels. In the process, your service reputation is now out in the open for everyone to see. But some companies are leading the charge to use services like Twitter, Facebook, and virtual communities to brand their 21st century service identity. This webinar will show you how to leverage social media for better service if you're new to it, and how to sharpen your virtual service image if you're an old pro.

Carenet Selects Communications-as-a-Service from Interactive Intelligence
Jul-25-2010
Facebook Selects Salesforce.com
Jul-25-2010
Study: Cloud Computing Confidence Expected to Drive Economic Growth
Jul-25-2010
More than Half of Large, Downsized U.S. Businesses Plan to Rebuild their Workforces to Pre-Recession Levels by 2012
Jul-25-2010
Your Next IT Budget: Six Ways to Support Business Growth
Jul-25-2010
Frontiers of Collaboration: The Evolution of Social Networking
Jul-25-2010