Customer Interaction Solutions articles from June 2004

Customer Interaction Solutions archives from June 2004

American ingenuity at work: IP contact centers + advanced home agents = cost parity with offshore; The integration of IP contact centers and advanced home agents plus American innovation and experience means keeping more contact center jobs at home.(Publisher's Outlook)
June 1, 2004... IP Contact Center And Home Agent Technology And Management Background And A Review Of Offshore Outsourcing In recent years, offshore outsourcing gained popularity for two reasons, as follows: a. Extremely low labor costs, b....

Congratulations to the 2004 CRM Excellence Award winners!(Publisher's Outlook)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... I would like to take this opportunity to extend my sincere congratulations to all of the CRM Excellence Award winners featured in this issue. In past editorials, I have concluded that without appropriate CRM, no company can exist. Therefore,...

Letters to the Editor.(Letter to the Editor)
June 1, 2004... The following letters are in response to Rich Tehrani's May High Priority! column entitled, "Oil And Water: Verizon And Customer Service," (http://www.tmcnet.com/cis/0504/hipriority.htm). Dear Rich: Service costs money! Many companies...

Correction.(Correction Notice)
June 1, 2004... In the Fifth-Annual CRM Excellence Awards, Part I (May 2004), the write-up of winner Voice Log, LLC (www.voicelog.com/www.virtuallogger.net) contained an incorrect statement. The paragraph should have read, "It has been so easy for the...

Innovation returns to CRM and contact centers.(High Priority!)
June 1, 2004... I've complained recently that innovation has left the call center space due to a cycle of inactivity. As a refresher, the slowdown in spending during the last few years led to layoffs of engineering talent and smaller research and development...

2004 Teleservices outsourcing Recommended Vendor list: the TMC Seal of Approval.(Brief Article)
June 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 CCC Interactive Center Partners Creative Marketing...

2004 CRM/Contact Center Software/Hardware Recommended Vendor list: the TMC Seal of Approval.(Brief Article)
June 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 Aspect...

Pareto Systems launching beta testing program for paretoplatform.(New Products)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Pareto Systems, a consulting firm that offers business development, practice management and marketing solutions to the financial services industry, announced it has launched beta testing for paretoplatform, its Internet-based,...

Salesforce.com introduces Spring '04.(New Products)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Salesforce.com, a provider of ondemand customer relationship management (CRM) services, recently announced the immediate availability and deployment of salesforce.com Spring'04, a customizable CRM solution, to 9,500 customers and 140,000...

Phonetic Systems solutions available on Microsoft Speech Server 2004.(New Products)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Phonetic Systems, a provider of realtime speech recognition solutions, has announced the availability of PhoneticOperator and Phonetic Receptionist on Microsoft Speech Server 2004 to deliver automated attendant and information retrieval...

Ai-Logix upgrades latest CTI release.(New Products)(SmartWORKS 2.10 new call logging software from AI-Logix)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Ai-Logix, Inc., a manufacturer of advanced voice recording components, has announced its latest software release for call logging application development, SmartWORKS 2.10. SmartWORKS 2.10 features new analog and digital voice recording...

TMC honors industry visionaries.(New Products)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... At the recent Global Call Center Outsourcing Summit, held from May 3rd through 5th in St. Louis, MO, TMC and Customer Inter@ction Solutions[R] magazine held its gala 19th Annual Top 50/MVP Quality awards reception and dinner and celebrated its...

LAS introduces NameParser.(New Products)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Language Analysis Systems, maker of multicultural name recognition software, has announced availability of LAS NameParser, a new technology designed to help organizations parse ethnically diverse personal names from more than 200 countries into...

Talisma launches CRM Suite for Higher Education.(New Products)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Talisma, a provider of multichannel CRM solutions, recently announced the availability of the Talisma CRM Suite for Higher Education. The suite is a multichannel CRM solution designed to enable colleges and universities to manage the entire...

Extended Systems launches OneBridge Mobile Sales.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Extended Systems, a provider of mobile application solutions for the enterprise, recently announced the release of OneBridge Mobile Sales. OneBridge Mobile Sales is a packaged mobile sales application designed specifically for how the mobile...

Metaphor Solutions offers 20 packaged Speech IVR apps for Microsoft Speech Server 2004.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Metaphor Solutions, an independent software vendor (ISV) in Microsoft Corporation's Speech Partner Program (SPP), has announced the availability of 20 packaged applications for Microsoft Speech Server 2004 designed to break the cost barrier for...

Mercom releases version 1.4 of Mercom Interaction Quality.(New Products)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Mercom Systems, Inc., a provider of multimedia recording and performance evaluation tools for contact centers, has announced the release of Mercom Interaction Quality (MIQ) 1.4. MIQ allows users to monitor and evaluate the quality of...

HelpSTAR help desk software adds Active Directory integration.(New Products)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Help Desk Technology Corporation has upgraded its HelpSTAR help desk software to provide integration with Active Directory Services, plus an enhanced Web interface for end users that exploits the capabilities of Microsoft. NET to increase ease...

eAssist delivers version 6.5 of NetAgent Contact Center.(New Products)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... eAssist Global Solutions, a provider of customer service, support and marketing software, has announced the availability of eAssist NetAgent Contact Center 6.5, its application for multichannel customer interaction management. Developed...

Nuvio unveils residential and IP Centrex services.(New Products)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Nuvio has announced its new IP Centrex service, a full-featured, hosted voice over IP-PBX solution, available in 1,200 cities nationwide. NuvioCentrex was created to provide a full-featured business phone system like the old PBX days, but...

Empolis introduces enhanced Service Lifecycle Suite offering.(New Products)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... empolis, a provider of enterprise content and knowledge management solutions, has introduced new advancements in information logistics with its enhanced version of the Service Lifecycle Suite (e:SLS), Release 2.0. empolis is a subsidiary of...

EADS TELECOM announces Nexspan.(New Products)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... EADS TELECOM North America, a subsidiary of EADS North America, recently announced Nexspan, its next generation of voice over IP (VoIP). The new family of converged communications platforms was created to provide a foundation for an IP network...

Empirix launches OneSight for Contact Centers.(New Products)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Empirix Inc., a provider of integrated test and monitoring solutions for Web, voice and network applications, has launched OneSight for Contact Centers, an end-to-end voice application management solution. OneSight for Contact Centers allows...

Witness Systems adds to eQuality suite.(New Products)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Witness Systems, a provider of performance optimization software and services, has announced speech analytics technology, data-mining and trend-mining capabilities for analyzing customer interaction content. The eQuality CallMiner application...

Concer to acquires assets of CenterForce Technologies.(Happenings)(Concerto Software Inc.)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Concerto Software, Inc., a provider of contact center solutions, announced that it has acquired all assets and certain liabilities of CenterForce Technologies, a provider of contact center performance optimization and workforce management...

Onyx Software and KnowledgeBase Solutions form alliance.(Happenings )(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Onyx Software Corp., a provider of CRM, and KnowledgeBase Solutions, a provider of hosted and on-site knowledge management software, have announced an alliance to offer KnowledgeBase.net as part of the portfolio of products included within the...

ContactBabel releases report on UK attitudes toward offshoring.(Happenings)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... "Finding the Balance: The Effect of Offshore Customer Contact on Profit and Brand," a report by industry analysts ContactBabel, has found that UK companies are damaging brand and profit by their current use of offshore contact centers. The...

ICT Group acquires DPS Data Group.(Happenings)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... ICT Group, Inc., a provider of outsourced customer care and business services solutions, has announced it has acquired DPS Data Group, a niche-based supplier of back-office data capture, document imaging, mail processing and time-sensitive...

Convergys offers "lead-to-cash" solution through acquisition of WhisperWire.(Happenings)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Convergys recently announced the acquisition of WhisperWire, Inc., a move designed to better enable its clients to succeed in their effort to reach enterprise subscribers. The combination of Convergys' Infinys software, a convergent business...

Epixtar acquires Philippines-based call center.(Happenings)(I-Call Global Services Corp)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Epixtar Corp, has announced that it has completed the acquisition of the assets of I-Call Global Services Corp.'s Manila, Philippines-based call center. Since early September 2003, Epixtar, under a separate arrangement, assumed responsibility...

KANA and BearingPoint Team to offer new solutions.(Happenings)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... KANA and BearingPoint have announced they have teamed to develop Agent IQ and Customer IQ for Credit Cards. The solutions were created to provide automated self-service options for service representatives and customers, helping improve the...

AchieveGlobal names new CEO.(Appointments)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... AchieveGlobal, a $100 million international training and consulting organization, has named Sharon Daniels, a training executive with more than 25 years of experience in general management and sales leadership, as president and chief executive...

Dendrite forms services partnership with SAP America.(Partnerships)(Dendrite International, Inc.)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Dendrite International, Inc. has announced a services partnership with SAP America Inc. that will provide end-to-end support services to U.S. pharmaceutical companies deploying the SAP for Pharmaceuticals solution. Pharmaceutical companies that...

Sivox announces new appointments.(Appointments)(Sivox Technologies Inc)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Sivox Technologies Inc., developer of the SIVOX RealCall platform for creating interactive contact simulations for initial and continuous training, has announced the appointment of its new chief executive, Wade H. Baker, brought in to lead the...

Authoria merges with Advanced Information Management Inc.(Happenings)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Authoria, Inc., a provider of personalized, Web-based human resource communication, has announced it has entered into a definitive merger agreement to acquire Advanced Information Management, Inc. (AIM), a provider of enterprise performance,...

ComponentOne partners with KnowledgeBroker for help desk solution.(Partnerships)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... ComponentOne has announced a partnership with KnowledgeBroker (KBI) to offer an integrated self-service help desk solution. The partnership was created to enable help desks to implement a complete self-service solution with a robust knowledge...

ASC joins Avaya's DeveloperConnection program.(Happenings)(ASC telecom)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... ASC telecom, a provider of performance improvement solutions for contact centers, financial institutions and public-safety and government organizations, has joined Avaya as an Innovator Member of its DeveloperConnection program. ASC's...

Siemens chooses Verint ULTRA Express for HiPath ProCenter.(Happenings)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2004... Siemens Information and Communication Networks, Inc., a subsidiary of Siemens AG, announced the Verint Systems' ULTRA Express intelligent digital recording solution is now part of Siemens HiPath ProCenter portfolio of contact center solutions....

Home-based agents: a cost-saving alternative to offshoring? An insightful Q & A with west corporation.(Outsourcing)(Cover Story)
June 1, 2004... With concerns rising about offshore outsourcing in terms of quality and security, more companies are becoming interested in the costsaving benefits of using agents who work from their homes. This month, Customer Inter@ction Solutions spoke with...

Customer Inter@ction Solutions[R] magazine's Fifth-Annual CRM Excellence Awards: Part Two.(Customer Relationship Management)
June 1, 2004... For the fifth consecutive year, the editors of Customer Inter@ction Solutions[R] dared readers to prove that their companies have what it takes to win the coveted CRM Excellence Award. Below is Part Two of the winners' list. These are the...

Optimizing customer experiences: bridging front-office contact centers and back-office departments.(Call Center/CRM Management Scope)
June 1, 2004... Performance improvement throughout the customer service value chain has become one of the top priorities of leading companies around the world. As more organizations aspire to elevate customer service from an isolated part of the business to a...

Looking for reasons to record? Now there are more than ever.(Call Center/CRM Management Scope)
June 1, 2004... If you're a contact center manager, you probably have one of the toughest jobs on the planet. In many ways, your company's success rests on your contact center and the actions of your agents. Your contact center agents wield tremendous power....

Don't ignore your other workforce: the automated agent.(Call Center/CRM Management Scope)
June 1, 2004... Few would debate the importance of a customer's first impression of a contact center. Not only can that initial interaction impact the result of a particular call; a bad first impression can tarnish your company's brand, drive up costs and...

Making monitoring matter.(Call Center/CRM Management Scope)(performance management)
June 1, 2004... To effectively manage performance in a call center, the first step is to monitor the telephone performance of your representatives. By the very nature of this task, it can quickly become a numbers game. "Did you complete your number of...

Customer Inter@ction Solutions[R] has a chat with Cisco.(IP Contact Centers)(interview)(Interview)
June 1, 2004... The editors of Customer Inter@ction Solutions[R] magazine recently spoke with Barry O'Sullivan, VP and GM of the Customer Contact Business Unit of Cisco Systems. ********** CIS: Please discuss Cisco's latest contributions to solutions...

Educate your agents and reduce turnover: can e-learning help? There's growing consensus that training is effective in reducing turnover, even in the "revolving-door" environment of the contact center. The questions, however, are: "What type of training can be most effective in the contact center?" and "Will all training methodologies produce comparable results?".(Cutting-Edge Technologies for the Contact Center)
June 1, 2004... Managers in organizations of all types and sizes have grappled for years with the question of the value of training for "revolving-door" organizations with high employee turnover, such as contact centers. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] With...

TMC[TM] Labs review.(Siemens HiPath ProCenter Agile )(Product/Service Evaluation)
June 1, 2004... Customers are the lifeblood of any organization. As a result, keeping your customers happy is critical. Implementing technology to ensure good customer service is one of the best investments a company can make. Unfortunately, what often happens...

The basics of calculating call center staff.(Managing by the Numbers)
June 1, 2004... Sharpen your pencils. Dust off the calculator. It's time for a math lesson. Running a successful call center operation means managing by the numbers. And the most important number of all is the number of bodies in seats each hour to...