Customer Interaction Solutions articles from May 2008

Customer Interaction Solutions archives from May 2008

Certification to take contact centers to the next level.(Publisher's Outlook)
May 1, 2008... Since June 1982, when this publication, in a pioneering act, laid the foundation for the telemarketing, call/contact center and CRM industries, there have been phenomenal changes in the technology, operation and management of contact centers....

CRM: open source and non-profit.(High Priority)
May 1, 2008... Customer relationship management is a very different animal than it used to be. Pick up an issue of any magazine, including this one, from about six to eight years ago and flip through for information about CRM, and you'll wonder if you're...

Study reveals chat underused on e-commerce sites.(ONLINE EXCLUSIVES)
May 1, 2008... A new survey commissioned by e-commerce chat company inQ and conducted by the e-tailing group assessed how 31 retailers and telcos that offer chat on their respective Web sites use the technology to sell. The results? Chat is underused. "One of...

Consumers relying on social media to share and research customer care experiences.(ONLINE EXCLUSIVES)
May 1, 2008... With more and more people turning to social media for both business and personal interactions, the use of this channel has now also become a platform on which consumers are sharing their personal experiences and opinions on companies and the...

Performance management drives efficiency in the contact center.(ONLINE EXCLUSIVES)
May 1, 2008... Performance management is often perceived as one of those buzzwords that corporate executives will use in order to drive efficiency within company departments. While such perception can encourage some to overlook the importance of the concept,...

Symon solution rated Avaya-compliant.(CUSTOMER INTER@CTION NEWS)
May 1, 2008... www.tmcnet.com/1914.1 Digital signage Provider Symon recently announced that its Symon Enterprise Software R9.2.01 (SES) is compliant with Avaya IQ 4.0, a reporting and analytics platform that consolidates real-time data from Avaya...

Cemaphore delivers SaaS e-mail solution for Gmail.(CUSTOMER INTER@CTION NEWS)
May 1, 2008... www.tmcnet.com/1915.1 Cemaphore Systems, Inc. has debuted a new way for people to manage and protect their e-mail content with the announcement of MailShadow for Google Apps (MailShadowG) that synchronizes e-mail, calendars and contacts...

Litescape and Spanlink announce reseller partnership.(CUSTOMER INTER@CTION NEWS)
May 1, 2008... www.tmcnet.com/1916. 1 Unified communications applications provider LiteScape Technologies, Inc. has announced that Spanlink Communications will resell LiteScape's Unified Communication (UC) applications. The partnership is expected to...

Salesforce.com releases customer satisfaction ratings.(CUSTOMER INTER@CTION NEWS)
May 1, 2008... www.tmcnet.com/l917.1 Salesforce.com has shared results from customer satisfaction surveys conducted by independent research firm CustomerSat. Of the over 4,100 Salesforce users from around the globe who responded to the surveys, a full 94...

Apatar intros open-source Address Verification solution.(CUSTOMER INTER@CTION NEWS)
May 1, 2008... www.tmcnet.com/1918.1 Apatar, a vendor of open source software tools for the data integration market, has announced the official release of its new StrikeIron US Address Verification connector for the Apatar Open Source Data Integration...

Mindshift Technologies acquires CRM vendor Collaboration Online.(CUSTOMER INTER@CTION NEWS)
May 1, 2008... www.tmcnet.com/l9l9.1 Mindshift Technologies, which sells managed IT and VoIP services, has acquired Burlington, Massachusetts-based Collaboration Online, a privately-owned vendor of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) products for small to...

CRM vendor Graham Technology acquired By Sword Group.(CUSTOMER INTER@CTION NEWS)
May 1, 2008... www.tmcnet.com/1920.1 Graham Technology has been acquired by international IT company Sword Group. "It is expected that the acquisition will help drive global uptake of Graham Technology's flagship customer interaction platform, ciboodle,"...

CRM vendor Autonomy named leader by Ovum.(CUSTOMER INTER@CTION NEWS)(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... www.tmcnet.com/1921.1 Analyst and consulting firm Ovum has placed CRM Autonomy as "the leader in the enterprise information access market," for "market position and breadth of functional scope and appropriateness for the enterprise" in a...

Study finds North American consumers want more Self-Service options.(CUSTOMER INTER@CTION NEWS)
May 1, 2008... www.tmcnet.com/1922.1 Self-service options are growing in popularity amongst American consumers, the latest research from NCR Corporation has found. Consumers are not only showing favoritism to businesses who offer "do-it-myself" options...

SpeechCycle announces 50 million automated calls with Rich Phone Applications.(CUSTOMER INTER@CTION NEWS)
May 1, 2008... www.tmcnet.com/1923.1 SpeechCycle has announced it automated more than 50 million natural language contact center interactions using its Rich Phone Applications (RPAs). SpeechCycle's Rich Phone Applications (RPAs) offer callers an advanced...

Verizon Wireless files lawsuit to stop unknown telemarketers from calling.(CUSTOMER INTER@CTION NEWS)
May 1, 2008... www.tmcnet.com/1924.1 Verizon Wireless announced that it has filed a lawsuit to stop unknown telemarketers from calling its customers and employees with an offer of an extended car warranty. The lawsuit claims that telemarketers have...

SynerG intros unified application and contact center solution.(CUSTOMER INTER@CTION NEWS)
May 1, 2008... www.tmcnet.com/l940.1 A new unified application has been launched by SynerG Software. This provider of enterprise-ready business mashup solutions for multiple lines of business launched this application in order to help organizations...

SugarCRM partner awarded for SugarCRM-SAP connector.(CUSTOMER INTER@CTION NEWS)
May 1, 2008... www.tmcnet.com/1925.1 Open source CRM solutions provider SugarCRM has announced that its partner, Kinamu, an Austrian provider of their solutions, was awarded the most innovative IT and communications solutions in the On-Demand category at...

Remote access "homeshoring" trend shows commitment to green technology.(CUSTOMER INTER@CTION NEWS)(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... www.tmcnet.com/1926.1 Companies in a variety of industries, including customer-facing call and contact center organizations, are looking for ways to leverage technology in new ways to lessen impact on the environment. Remote access systems...

Damaka introduces computer-telephony interface.(CUSTOMER INTER@CTION NEWS)(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... www.tmcnet.com/1927.1 damaka has launched its computer-telephony interface (CTI)-capable Personal Softswitch application. Satish Gunda-bathula, damaka CTO, said CTI is used to implement intelligent call routing and calls can be routed...

ClickFox takes customer experience analytics beyond the contact center.(CUSTOMER INTER@CTION NEWS)
May 1, 2008... www.tmcnet.com/1928.1 When people talk about the customer experience and customer satisfaction, they should be referring to the complete picture, from the moment a customer first enters a retail outlet or online market, not merely the...

Altitude software launches new partner program.(CUSTOMER INTER@CTION NEWS)
May 1, 2008... www.tmcnet.com/1929.1 Altitude Software, a global independent contact center solutions vendor, has announced its new Altitude Software Partner Network Program (ASPN). This new program is designed to offer increased benefits and improved...

Loquendo MRCP now rated Avaya compliant.(CUSTOMER INTER@CTION NEWS)
May 1, 2008... www.tmcnet.com/1930.1 Loquendo, a speech technology provider, has announced that its Loquendo MRCP Server, in its version Loquendo Speech Suite 7.0, is compliant with key, open standards-based Web self-service and Internet Protocol (IP)...

VoiceXML Forum certifies Verizon Business' hosted IVR platform.(CUSTOMER INTER@CTION NEWS)
May 1, 2008... www.tmcnet.com/1931.1 The hosted interactive voice response (IVR) platform from Verizon Business has now been certified by the VoiceXML Forum as compliant with the VoiceXML 2.0 standard and the latest release of the forum's VoiceXML 2.0...

Convergys turns to Configuresoft to maintain compliance.(CUSTOMER INTER@CTION NEWS)(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... Configuresoft, an enterprise server configuration management company, has announced that Convergys selected Configuresoft's Enterprise Configuration Manager (ECM) to help manage and maintain compliance with multiple regulatory and industry...

Genesys intros iCFD to transform customer service.(CUSTOMER INTER@CTION NEWS)
May 1, 2008... www.tmcnet.com/1933.1 Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories, an Alcatel-Lucent company, has introduced a new set of solutions designed to employ a business rules engine to shift call answering away from frustrating IVR menus and "voice...

Survey finds consumers demand quick e-mail response.(CUSTOMER INTER@CTION NEWS)
May 1, 2008... www.tmcnet.com/1934.1 Call centers throughout the world have realized the benefits that can be experienced through a multichannel platform. While such a strategy can appeal to customers who want more information anywhere and at any time,...

Impact 360 Workforce Optimization now Avaya compliant.(CUSTOMER INTER@CTION NEWS)
May 1, 2008... www.tmcnet.com/1935.1 Verint Systems has announced that its Impact 360 Workforce Optimization solution has been recognized by Avaya with a new compliant rating with key contact center solutions. The Workforce Optimization solution has been...

Hosted contact center software solutions fit for growth.(CUSTOMER INTER@CTIO NEWS)
May 1, 2008... www.tmcnet.com/1936.1 Rumors are flying that the U.S. is in store for a significant economic downturn. A simple stop at the gas station or local grocery store reveals signs of a recession. As consumers, we understand what such conditions...

Survey shows price is bigger factor in outsourcing negotiations.(CUSTOMER INTER@CTION NEWS)
May 1, 2008... www.tmcnet.com/1937.1 Although the global outsourcing market is showing significant growth, the threat of an economic downturn appears to be having a greater impact on outsourcing contracts than the promise of current growth. Now, client...

LiveOps On-Demand Call Center Platform now available on AppExchange.(CUSTOMER INTER@CTION NEWS)
May 1, 2008... www.tmcnet.com/1938.1 LiveOps, a virtual call center company, has announced the successful integration and certification of its On-Demand Call Center Platform with the Salesforce CRM application suite. This integration is set to provide...

Alcatel-Lucent enhances IP service routing portfolio.(CUSTOMER INTER@CTION NEWS)
May 1, 2008... www.tmcnet.com/1939.1 Alcatel-Lucent has announced extensive enhancements to its IP service routing portfolio. The company implemented these enhancements in order to help operators around the world meet the demand for higher bandwidth and...

Unica enhances Affinium suite to optimize marketing across multiple channels.(CUSTOMER INTER@CTION NEWS)
May 1, 2008... www.tmcnet.com/1941.1 Unica Corporation, a global provider of enterprise marketing management (EMM) solutions, has announced enhancements to its Affinium suite. These enhancements are expected to improve marketers' abilities to optimize...

8x8 intros SalesForce.com CRM integraion for Packet8 VoIP.(CUSTOMER INTER@CTION NEWS)
May 1, 2008... www.tmcnet.com/1942.1 In the race among service providers to differentiate IP communications offerings, some competitors are targeting the customer relationship management (CRM) market. Integration with CRM systems is common in large...

Nortel's customer experience 2.0.(CUSTOMER INTER@CTION NEWS)
May 1, 2008... www.tmcnet.com/1943.1 Perhaps one of my most interesting vendor meetings as of late was with Nortel, during which David Murashige, VP and general manager of Multimedia Applications, and Debora Glennon in Multimedia Applications Marketing,...

Jake - the home agent.(Cartoon)
May 1, 2008... JAKE... I CAN'T TALK HONEY; I'M ON THE PHONE WITH A CUSTOMER. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ... AND JUDGING BY THIS LADY'S INEPTITUDE SO FAR, IT'S GOING TO BE A VERY LONG CALL... WHEN YOU GET OFF WORK, YOU ARE IN SO MUCH...

Increase retention with employee panels.(Innovative SOLUTIONS)
May 1, 2008... Communities have long emerged as critical tools for building and maintaining customer loyalty and satisfaction. Such communities can be equally effective as tools to improve employee retention. Building a thriving employee community promotes a...

Listening to agents: a radical concept.(Innovative SOLUTIONS)(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... No one knows your customers like your agents do. Pushing decisions onto them from the top down, without listening to their suggestions and needs, makes about as much sense as buying new software for the call center without bothering to...

The home agent model is (finally) ready for its close-up.(CRM, BPO & Teleservices)
May 1, 2008... The home agent model, for the past several years, was the call center equivalent of the "video phone." It was always the next "up and coming thing," not quite ready yet for its close-up, and many privately doubted that it ever would be, except...

Leveraging contact center technologies to optimize your business.(Innovative SOLUTIONS)
May 1, 2008... Highly productive agents, minimal employee turnover and well-defined processes are just a few of the factors that tend to separate a successful contact center from an unsuccessful one. However, by leveraging the right technology, your business...

Fairness: an underestimated principle in the call center.(Innovative SOLUTIONS)
May 1, 2008... As a call center manager or supervisor, you may pride yourself on your fairness. You understand that treating agents with an evenhanded and equal approach is important. However, it's not your perception that matters: If your agents' ideas about...

Making the complex simple: efficient and effective contact center growth.(CALL CENTER Technology)
May 1, 2008... In an ideal world, contact centers would run with clockwork predictability. Calls would come in with perfect regularity, and omniscient agents would answer every inquiry quickly and accurately. The real world is a much more complicated place,...

Case study: Nobel Peace Prize Winner's mission gets help from Pitney Bowes' Customer Communication Management.(CALL CENTER Technology)(Company overview)
May 1, 2008... Founded by Muhammad Yunus, the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize Winner, Grameen Bank has created a new category of banking by granting millions of small loans to poor people with no collateral. While originally established as a village bank (Grameen in...

Microsoft's call center push.(CALL CENTER Technology)
May 1, 2008... There is a level of excitement in the call center space I haven't witnessed since VoIP began transforming the call center into the contact center. Over the years, we have seen technology after technology change the way contact centers work, and...

Tips for judicious selection of contact center solutions for SMBs.(CALL CENTER Technology)
May 1, 2008... It's no secret that catering to the needs of small to medium-sized businesses (SMB) is a growth area for providers of contact center solutions and services. Though these smaller companies' end goals are the same as those of large companies...

Oh no! not Southwest Airlines!(CRM, BPO & Teleservices)
May 1, 2008... Those of us in the CRM world have long had a few superstars, and we use them the way English teachers use The Great Gatsby or Macbeth--companies that you could always trot out to support any point you're trying to make on proper customer...

Implementing hosted speech solutions.(Innovative SOLUTIONS)
May 1, 2008... Almost every inbound contact center could benefit from the use of a speech automation solution. Historically, only large and well funded contact centers could even consider implementing speech automation due to the complexity and the high...

Speech within your reach.(Innovative SOLUTIONS)
May 1, 2008... Who doesn't remember the first time he or she interacted with a speech recognition engine? Sure, it felt a bit odd to be speaking to a computer, but it also felt so progressive and futuristic. As an end user of the technology, it was exciting....

Americans leery of shopping online.(From The Analysts' Desks)
May 1, 2008... Making purchases online has long been perceived as a risky endeavor for many, as they lack the knowledge needed to fully understand if their information is protected on a certain site or not. This lack of knowledge does present the greatest...

Labor shortages in global market impact offshoring decisions.(From The Analysts' Desks)(Industry overview)
May 1, 2008... The viability of the offshore market continues to be under scrutiny as organizations are feeling the economic crunch and turning to alternative solutions in order to drive down costs without sacrificing service. XMG (www.xmg-global.com), a...

Yahoo's voice Search ambitions.(from the TMCnet[TM] BLOGS)
May 1, 2008... In his VoIP blog, Rich Tehrani writes: Yahoo has just invested $20 million in vlingo, a voice recognition company specializing in the mobile market. Yahoo!, leveraging this relationship, announced the launch of a voice-enabled version of...

Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online.(from the TMCnet[TM] BLOGS)
May 1, 2008... In her "Call Center/CRM" blog, Tracey Schelmetic writes: Microsoft recently announced, somewhat informally, that it is changing the name of its software-as-a-service CRM solution from Dynamics CRM Live to Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online. The...

OCS-enabled contact center.(from the TMCnet[TM] BLOGS)
May 1, 2008... In his Hyperconnected Enterprise blog, Tony Rybczynski, Director of Strategic Enterprise Technologies for Nortel, writes: Microsoft and Nortel jointly announced their commitment to deliver transformed solutions in the contact center space...

ESolutions and Salesforce.com.(from the TMCnet[TM] BLOGS)(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... In his "First Coffee" blog, TMCnet's David Sims writes: ESolutions Force has announced a partnership with Salesforce.com covering the Middle East region at their recent CRM Essentials Workshop. ESolutions officials say the company can...

Xangati helps front line agents.(from the TMCnet[TM] BLOGS)(Brief article)
May 1, 2008... In his VoIP Authority blog, Internet Telephony's Greg Galitzine writes: Xangati has announced Virtual Task Manager solution, a rapid problem identification application that can be deployed right to the front line support groups in either...

Customer Interaction Solutions' ninth annual CRM Excellence awards, Part One.(AWARDS & Recognition)
May 1, 2008... For the ninth consecutive year, the editors of Customer Interaction Solutions dared readers to prove that their companies have what it takes to win the coveted CRM Excellence Award. Below is Part One of the winners list--the companies that...

Customer service debacles "R" Us.(Last Call)
May 1, 2008... There are some customer service fiascos that make you want to bang your head against the wall. When they come to you courtesy of a mom-and-pop Internet business, all you can do is sigh, heave your shoulders and say "Well, that's my fault for...

Recovering from an embarrassing interaction.(Ask the EXPERTS)
May 1, 2008... Q Sorry for the lengthy question, but I recently had an interaction with a female customer (I'm male) that was rather embarrassing and I wasn't sure how to handle it. Here's what happened. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] I work for an ISP help...