Customer Interaction Solutions articles from January 2004

Customer Interaction Solutions archives from January 2004

Time to look at the crystal ball!! The state of the industry.(Publisher's Outlook)
January 1, 2004... WOW, What A Year 2003 Was! [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] As we begin a new year, it's time to assess the state of the industry by asking the following questions: In the aftermath of the DNC regulations,... Q. Where is CRM going?... The...

Exhibit, hotel space scarce at INTERNET TELEPHONY[R] Conference & EXPO.
January 1, 2004... Recent Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) initiative announcements by major telecom firms, coupled with increased attention from major media outlets, have made exhibit space and hotel rooms at INTERNET TELEPHONY[R] Conference & EXPO Miami...

Senior call center, CRM and teleservices executives offer their views on industry trends for '04 and beyond.(Publisher's Outlook)
January 1, 2004... CIS editors interviewed several high-ranking officials from leading call center and CRM software companies and teleservices agencies and asked them for their views on industry trends for 2004 and beyond. Here is what they had to say: ...

Letters to the editor.(Letter to the Editor)
January 1, 2004... Dear Mr. Tehrani: Before, during and after the October deadline for the FCC and FTC regulations, many in our industry were subjected to some wild and unsubstantiated claims. One vendor, in particular, seems to be bent on creating an...

Correction.(Correction Notice)
January 1, 2004... In Rich Tehrani's High Priority! column in the October 2003 issue of Customer Inter@ction Solutions[R], Intervoice Inc.'s solution, the Omvia Voice Framework (www.intervoicebrite.com/solutions/voiceframework), was inadvertently misspelled. We...

Even more in 2004: corporate stories worth telling.(High Priority!)
January 1, 2004... Economists forecast that 2004 will bring much improved business spending and much of that spending will have to do with new technology that helps boost productivity. I have decided to do my part in helping decision makers find the products that...

The CEO Spotlight.(Cover Story)
January 1, 2004... Customer Inter@ction Solutions[R] starts 2004 with a CEO Spotlight interview with Telephony@Work's CEO and chairman of the board, Eli Borodow. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] CIS: What is your company's specialty and mission statement? EB:...

The TMC Seal of Approval.(2004 Teleservices Outsourcing Recommended Vendor List)
January 1, 2004... The following Recommended Vendors have distinguished themselves by winning one or more of TMC's coveted awards, earning them the TMC Seal of Approval. West Corporation InfoCision Management Corporation StarTek, Inc. CCC...

The TMC Seal of Approval.(2004 CRM/Contact Center Software/Hardware Recommended Vendor List)
January 1, 2004... The following CRM/Contact Center Software/Hardware Recommended Vendors have distinguished themselves by winning one or more of TMC's coveted awards, earning them the TMC Seal of Approval. CRM/Contact Center Software Envision Telephony...

CTT's iceCube based on NMS Communications hardware.(New Products ...)
January 1, 2004... Computer Talk Technology (CTT), a provider of enterprise communications solutions, has announced that the latest version of its all-in-one solution, iceCube, will be based on hardware from NMS Communications. NMS' offerings are based on open...

ACCPAC CRM 5.6 released.(New Products ...)
January 1, 2004... ACCPAC International, Inc., a subsidiary of Computer Associates International Inc., has announced the launch of an upgrade to the company's customer relationship management (CRM) application for small and mid-size businesses (SMBs), ACCPAC CRM...

Altitude Software rolls out Altitude uCI 7.(New Products ...)
January 1, 2004... Altitude Software, an independent contact center vendor, has announced the general availability of Altitude uCI 7, a suite of customer interaction management solutions designed to deliver return on investment and improve operational...

ATG announces Web services support.(New Products ...)
January 1, 2004... Art Technology Group, Inc. (ATG), a provider of software applications for commerce and customer self-service, has announced plans to offer Web services support in its Commerce and Relationship Management products. ATG Web Services are designed...

GMT Planet version 9 released.(New Products ...)
January 1, 2004... GMT Corp. has announced the release of version 9 of GMT Planet, its workforce management software. This release adds full-featured, skills-based scheduling for single- and multi-site contact centers to Planet's set of features. GMT said Planet...

The Call Center School publishes Workforce Management book.(New Products ...)
January 1, 2004... The Call Center School (TCCS) has announced the publication of its latest book, Call Center Staffing--The Complete, Practical Guide to Workforce Management. The book is written by TCCS founding partner Penny Reynolds, with contributions by TCCS...

Salesnet sets OEM, vertical market and application syndication strategies.(New Products ...)
January 1, 2004... Salesnet, a provider of online CRM software specializing in sales process solutions, has announced details of its original equipment manufacturer (OEM), vertical market and application syndication strategies. Salesnet said it is the first...

Getronics announces lead management solution for retail banks.(New Products ...)
January 1, 2004... Getronics has announced a lead management solution for retail banks that use integrated CRM components from Onyx Software Corp. The pre-integrated solution allows banks to seamlessly track and manage leads across channels and product lines,...

E.piphany software suite upgraded.(New Products ...)
January 1, 2004... E.piphany Inc., a full-suite provider of customer relationship management (CRM) solutions, announced the general availability of the E.piphany 6.5 software suite. It was designed to enable businesses to quickly realize measurable business value...

TechExcel CRM suite gets an upgrade.(New Products ...)
January 1, 2004... TechExcel, Inc. has announced the general availability of TechExcel CRM 5.0, a high-end customer relationship management software suite including marketing, sales, Web forms, professional service and customer support solutions. Formerly...

Vertical Networks releases MultiSite Reporter.(New Products ...)
January 1, 2004... Vertical Networks has unveiled MultiSite Reporter, a new product designed to put store communications reporting on par with sophisticated reporting technology in other sales channels. The company has designed its product to give retailers the...

PeopleSoft releases EnterpriseOne CRM upgrade.(New Products ...)
January 1, 2004... PeopleSoft Inc. announced the general availability of PeopleSoft EnterpriseOne CRM 8.9. The company said the new release offers enhanced functionality for global deployments including support for five additional languages, multi-currency...

GalaxyPlus Credit Union Systems introduces Member Relationship Plus.(New Products ...)
January 1, 2004... The GalaxyPlus Credit Union Systems unit of Fiserv Inc. has introduced Member Relationship Plus, a Web-based call center system for credit unions that tracks issues of members and non-members, designed to allow credit unions to respond quickly,...

Salesforce.com Winter '04 released.(New Products ...)
January 1, 2004... Salesforce.com has announced the newest release of its on-demand CRM service, salesforce.com Winter '04. The fourteenth generation of salesforce.com, Winter '04 was designed to provide more than 1,000 CRM features, such as integrated...

Agent-less Interactive Notification System from Noble Systems.(New Products ...)
January 1, 2004... Noble Systems Corp. has introduced a new agent-less messaging system for its ATOMS contact center technology platform. The company said its Interactive Notification System is designed to help companies reduce the reliance on agent resources for...

Saxon Capital chooses Onyx Software.(Happenings ...)
January 1, 2004... Onyx Software Corp. announced that Saxon Capital Inc. has gone live with Onyx Enterprise CRM as its customer relationship management (CRM) solution for its operating subsidiaries, Saxon Mortgage Inc. and America's MoneyLine Inc. Saxon will...

Siebel Systems honored by Hong Kong Call Center Association.(Happenings ...)
January 1, 2004... The Hong Kong Call Center Association honored Siebel Systems with the Vendor Awards Best Supplier at the 2003 Call Center Awards. For the second consecutive year, Siebel Systems was recognized for its products and services, which are designed...

ADNOC Distribution selects CosmoCom.(Happenings ...)
January 1, 2004... CosmoCom announced its CosmoCall Universe customer interaction management system has been selected by ADNOC Distribution, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. CosmoCom said the all-IP multimedia solution will enhance...

Scala Business Solutions to merge with Epicor Software Corp.(Happenings ...)
January 1, 2004... Irvine, CA-based Epicor Software Corp. and Scala Business Solutions of Amsterdam have announced a merger proposal worth about U.S. $87 million in cash and Epicor common stock. The proposed merger will be effected by a public offer by Epicor for...

Amdocs to resell Kanisa's service resolution applications.(Happenings ...)
January 1, 2004... Kanisa has partnered with Amdocs to market and resell Kanisa5 for use with Amdocs ClarifyCRM products worldwide. Kanisa said its applications extend the capabilities of Amdocs ClarifyCRM products by optimizing service resolution across all...

enGenic appoints Jim Coulter CEO.(Happenings ...)
January 1, 2004... Vancouver, BC-based enGenic Corp. has appointed Jim Coulter to the position of chief executive officer. Coulter was most recently sales manager for McKesson's telephony group and senior product specialist for mobile computing. enGenic develops...

Influent opens Manila call center.(Happenings ...)
January 1, 2004... Citing an increase in business growth, Influent Inc. (formerly Interactive Teleservices Corp.) has launched its first off-shore call center in Manila, Philippines. The new facility, which offers 225 full-service inbound and outbound seats, as...

CosmoCom acquires Surf & Call.(Happenings ...)
January 1, 2004... CosmoCom announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Surf & Call Solutions Ltd. of Israel, one of the first companies to address the challenge of adding new forms of online human interactions to existing call centers. Like...

Case study: Reality Based Scheduling; Improving customer satisfaction and agent job satisfaction.(Advertisement)
January 1, 2004... SITUATION: Employee absenteeism negatively impacted service levels Meeting service level agreements (answering calls within a specified amount of time) has always been paramount for Center Partners and their clients. Because unscheduled...

GoToAssist 5.0 released by Expertcity.(New Products ...)
January 1, 2004... Experticity Inc. has unveiled GoToAssist 5.0, an upgrade to its virtual on-site support solution that the company said enables technical support, call center and help desk organizations to deliver superior service and cost-effective support for...

TeleDirect International releases Liberation 6000 enhancements.(New Products ...)
January 1, 2004... TeleDirect International announced it has released the latest upgrade of its Liberation 6000 call center software. Liberation 6000 v. 6.2.6 enhancements include FTC/FCC compliance and enhancements to simplify accurate tracking and reporting. It...

Sennheiser debuts office headsets.(New Products ...)
January 1, 2004... Sennheiser Communications has introduced five new models of office headsets for office or home office environments. The company said a key advantage to the new headsets is an ergonomic design that reduces user neck strain from holding a...

SupportSoft launches new software and upgrades.(New Products ...)
January 1, 2004... SupportSoft Inc. has announced the launch of the SupportSoft Real-Time Service Management (RTSM) software platform version 6.0, and four enhanced and new products that are designed for use with the platform. Knowledge Center Suite facilitates...

Contact center suite launch features advanced capabilities.(New Products ...)
January 1, 2004... Avaya Customer Interaction Suite can help contact centers manage compliance with state and national "do-not-call" registries and improve the scalability of self-service, according to Avaya, Inc. The company states that each of the suite's...

NEC America introduces advanced monitoring solution.(New Products ...)
January 1, 2004... NEC America Inc. has announced the availability of Global Navigator 5.0, a monitoring solution for tracking call activity and agent performance across single or multiple contact center operations. The application delivers enterprisewide call...

enGenic releases TeleFlow 2004 suite.(New Products ...)
January 1, 2004... enGenic Corporation announced the release of TeleFlow 2004, a voice application development suite that was designed to build simpler telecommunications solutions. TeleFlow Designer enables users to develop portable, reusable solutions designed...

RightNow 6.0 suite released.(New Products ...)
January 1, 2004... RightNow Technologies has unveiled RightNow 6.0, which consists of its next-generation multichannel RightNow Service suite and RightNow Outbound, a permission-based e-mail solution designed to proactively address service and support issues and...

Creating your branded customer experience.(Customer Relationship Management)
January 1, 2004... Close your eyes for a moment and imagine that you are traveling far away from your desk. Your to-do list is complete, your projects are current and your calendar is clear for the week. You're on your way to the exclusive Avocado Spa in Arizona....

Hosted IP solutions are key to next-generation contact centers.(Customer Relationship Management)
January 1, 2004... Today, customer relationships are more important than ever before, and state-of-the-art contact centers are a critical tool for building these relationships. Today's customers want to communicate via a variety of channels including voice, the...

Three wishes for the call center manager.(Outsourcing)
January 1, 2004... When the call center genie pops out of the bottle and offers to grant three wishes, most of us would be tempted to wish away two of our problems and reserve the third wish for the granting of three more wishes. After all, most of us have more...

Surviving the sales and marketing Ice Age: how to diversify for your survival.(Outsourcing)
January 1, 2004... In my opinion, all the excitement and fear around do-not-call regulations is stimulating... it's about time everyone got a kick in their lazy marketing butts. If you rely on telemarketing to source your latest prospects, then it's time to...

Customer Inter@ction Solutions' 2003 Product of the Year awards.(Call Center/CRM Management Scope)
January 1, 2004... Each year, Customer Inter@ction Solutions[R] magazine bestows its Product of the Year awards on companies that have demonstrated excellence in technological advancement and application refinements. These are products and services that have gone...

Protecting agents from costly cold calling fines: how to ensure successful compliance.(Compliance Technologies & Solutions)
January 1, 2004... Telephone prospecting remains among the most effective and efficient business generation tools available, particularly for banks, mortgage brokerage firms and insurance companies that conduct proprietary calling campaigns from lead lists, or...

TMC[TM] Labs review.(TMC[TM] Labs)
January 1, 2004... Remote desktop sharing is nothing new, and without a doubt it is one of help desk/support technicians' favorite tools in their arsenal. However, one of the problems is that it traditionally required the software to be pre-installed on the...

Considering Costa Rica.(Re: Locations)
January 1, 2004... Whether you need as little space as 590-square feet or as much as 10,826, ULTRAPARK says it has an ideal location in Coast Rica for your offshore customer service center. Operating under Costa Rica's free zone law, ULTRAPARK is one of the...