Customer Interaction Solutions articles from October 2007

Customer Interaction Solutions archives from October 2007

Under exposure and over exposure in marketing ... So much for humility in marketing.(Publisher's Outlook)
October 1, 2007... I have always been extremely interested in sports because I feel that they offer not only a healthy mind, but also teach one about the importance of teamwork, determination, achievement, winning, losing and satisfaction. I feel there is a...

Correction.(Correction notice)
October 1, 2007... In September's feature, the "IP Contact Center Roundup," Interactive Intelligence was inadvertently left off the list. Customer Interaction Solutions regrets the omission of such an important IP contact center leader. For more information or to...

Virtual customer interactions.(High Priority)
October 1, 2007... On a blustery day at a Virginia Beach hotel a decade or so ago, a Group of call center decision makers gathered to hear me speak on the topic of evolving customer service and technology. During the presentation, I mentioned that companies...

Sage's ACT! Turns 20, Larry Ritter talks about Web 2.0.(Customer Inter@ction NEWS)
October 1, 2007... In a recent interview, Larry Ritter, senior VP of product management at Sage CRM Solutions, discussed ACT!'s 20th birthday and the company's plans for the product going forward. Ritter leads the Sage CRM Solutions product management teams for...

The greatest CRM fad you'll never need.(Customer Inter@ction NEWS)
October 1, 2007... Ever notice that most CRM and business books are much more useful for holding up a corner of your desk than putting new business on your desk? How many companies improved profits from studying Ernest Shackleford, a screw-up whose main...

UK contact centers struggling with training and customer service.(Customer Inter@ction NEWS)
October 1, 2007... Customer service provided by contact centers in the UK is strained by a growing training and support gap. As a result, nearly 6,000 contact centers are experiencing a decline in their customer service deliverables. These problems are...

British call center agents inept at handling calls from non-english speakers.(Customer Inter@ction NEWS)
October 1, 2007... Research was conducted by thebigwordGroup, a global provider of language services, to determine how the contact centers of British banks and insurance companies handle calls from customers with heavy foreign accents. Out of the 180 calls made...

Australian contact centers failing to capture effective customer feedback.(Customer Inter@ction NEWS)
October 1, 2007... The contact center is increasingly playing an important role in the organization, operating as the key interaction point between the organization and the customer. To ensure that the contact center is delivering the level of customer service...

Convergys, Telecom Egypt sign business process deal.(Customer Inter@ction NEWS)
October 1, 2007... Convergys Corp. has announced a new agreement to provide consulting services to Telecom Egypt, the largest fixed line provider in the Middle East and Africa serving over 11 million subscribers. As part of the agreement, Convergys will help...

Contactual now interoperable with Sylantro's Synergy platform.(Customer Inter@ction NEWS)
October 1, 2007... Contactual's on-demand contact center software is now compatible with Sylantro's Synergy platform. The deal means customers of both companies have the option of running Contactual's flexible, full-featured contact center solutions on the...

SAS announces Real-Time Decision Manager for CRM.(Customer Inter@ction NEWS)
October 1, 2007... SAS, a CRM business intelligence vendor, has announced the SAS Real-Time Decision Manager to help marketers "coordinate interactive marketing across multiple channels." The product, part of SAS' customer intelligence suite, uses analytically...

Global Telesourcing and Toptel to combine U.S. operations.(Customer Inter@ction NEWS)
October 1, 2007... Global Telesourcing, a provider of Spanish and bilingual call center services to companies targeting the U.S. Hispanic market, and Toptel SA de CV, a provider of outsourced contact center services, have entered into an alliance to deliver...

Verint announces enhancements to Impact 360 Workforce Management.(Customer Inter@ction NEWS)
October 1, 2007... Contact center software provider Verint Systems Inc. recently announced enhancements to its Impact 360 Workforce Management solution, which it acquired when it purchased Witness Systems earlier this year. The company considers Impact 360...

West Interactive receives two Market Leader Awards.(Customer Inter@ction NEWS)
October 1, 2007... West Interactive won two Market Leader Awards during the 13th Annual SpeechTEK Conference and Exposition held recently in New York. The company won the awards in the Self Service Suite and Professional Services categories. It is the only...

Voxify adds greater flexibility to self-service speech apps through "consolization".(Customer Inter@ction NEWS)
October 1, 2007... Voxify has "consolized" its speech-enabled self-service solutions: the company's "automated agents" are now fully configurable via a Web-based console, helping empower contact center managers and supervisors to make changes to speech...

Promero launches "Hosted Hybrid" model for Oracle's Contact Center Anywhere solution.(Customer Inter@ction NEWS)
October 1, 2007... Call center and CRM software reseller Promero is now offering a "Hosted Hybrid" hosted call center solution featuring Oracle's Contact Center Anywhere solution. This managed contact center service offers to medium-to-large call centers...

Avaya leads North America in unified messaging according to InfoTech.(Customer Inter@ction NEWS)
October 1, 2007... Avaya has been recognized as the North American market leader for unified messaging in InfoTech's InfoTrack for Converged Applications Messaging Report, 2006. Avaya is also recognized in this report as the leader in total messaging revenues....

Enkata collaborates with DMG Consulting to develop call center "first call resolution" guide.(Customer Inter@ction NEWS)
October 1, 2007... On-demand performance and talent management solutions provider Enkata announced that it has collaborated with Donna Fluss, founder and president of DMG Consulting LLC, to develop the "Call Centet First Resolution Guide." The white paper offers...

Gartner adds Interactive Intelligence to Magic Quadrant for Contact Center Infrastructure.(Customer Inter@ction NEWS)
October 1, 2007... Interactive Intelligence has been named to the leaders' quadrant in Gartner's Magic Quadrant for Contact Center Infrastructure, North America, 2007 report. The report provides an analysis of vendors in the market based on their ability to...

Envision Telephony announces Envision Analytics.(Customer Inter@ction NEWS)
October 1, 2007... Envision Telephony, Inc., a provider of software solutions for the contact center and the enterprise, has announced the availability of Envision Analytics, a Web-based platform-agnostic dashboard designed to consolidate, analyze and share...

Paraxip launches NetBorder to facilitate SIP-based solutions.(Customer Inter@ction NEWS)
October 1, 2007... Paraxip Technologies, a developer of connectivity products to empower the deployment of IP telephony, has launched its NetBorder Software Suite. The new suite is designed to facilitate deployment of SIP-based solutions in the contact center and...

Cincom partners with CallCopy.(Customer Inter@ction NEWS)
October 1, 2007... CallCopy Inc., a provider of quality management and call recording solutions for contact centers, and Cincom Systems have signed a partnership agreement that enables integration between Cincom's Synchrony contact center solutions and CallCopy's...

Intelecom launches OSS Platform to manage automated customer functions.(Customer Inter@ction NEWS)
October 1, 2007... InteleCom Inc. has announced the development of its Operation Support System (OSS) to monitor, control, analyze and manage all customer data. This OSS Platform was created to seamlessly manage all automated customer functions, including online...

Sitel gets top rankings in 'The Black Book of Outsourcing'.(Customer Inter@ction NEWS)
October 1, 2007... BPO firm Sitel has been rated "the most trusted contact center outsourcing provider" in the 2007 edition of "The Black Book of Outsourcing," an industry guide compiled annually by outsourcing gurus Doug Brown and Scott Wilson. The publication...

Genesys adds Voxify's Automated Agents to its hosted and managed offerings.(Customer Inter@ction NEWS)
October 1, 2007... Contact center software provider Genesys has teamed up with Voxify, a provider of speech-enabled self-service solutions, to deliver Voxify's Automated Agents self-service speech applications on the Genesys Voice Platform. The service will be...

CallCenterComics.com.(Cartoon)
October 1, 2007... YOU ARE AN "AT WILL" EMPLOYEE. THAT MEANS THAT I CAN FIRE YOU WHENEVER I WANT, AND THERE'S NOTHING YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] [c] 2006 By CallCenterComics.com WHATEVER... I QUIT. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ...

Aspect Software redefines optimization.(Customer Inter@ction NEWS)
October 1, 2007... For many companies with thousands of call center agents, the concept of optimizing contact center performance is akin to optimizing the U.S. government. In either case, you must ask yourself how you know when you are truly optimized and the job...

The hidden costs of understaffing your call center.(Practical Pointers for Call Center Management)
October 1, 2007... If your call center is being asked to tighten its belt these days, you're not alone. Many businesses are feeling the effect of a slowed economy and all departments, including the call center, are being asked to make the most of resources. ...

The remote agent model: not without challenges.(In The Queue)
October 1, 2007... The remote agent model continues to gain traction in the contact center as companies are increasingly discovering the economic and operational advantages of home agents. A report from analyst firm Datamonitor predicts the number of home-based...

Sitel: leading the pack in business process outsourcing.(The Boardroom Report)(Interview)(Company overview)
October 1, 2007... The Boardroom Report provides the CRM, customer interaction and call center industry's view from the top, featuring the sector's first in-depth, exclusive CEO-to-CEO interviews with leading executives regarding industry news, analysis, trends...

Going mobile with CRM: six experts offer guidance.(CRM)(Cover story)
October 1, 2007... If you have a mobile workforce, chances are it is a vital part of your business. Now that the vast majority of mobile devices can access the Internet, it's no surprise that a growing number of companies are looking to mobile CRM to increase the...

Sound choices: selecting the best headset solution for your contact center.(Innovative Solutions From The Headset Experts)
October 1, 2007... Since 1961, when a pilot in Santa Cruz, California conceived of an alternative to the bulky headphones of the day, lightweight communications headsets have been making people more comfortable and more productive everywhere from outer space to...

The workforce optimization roundup.(ROUND UP)
October 1, 2007... The contact center has, since its inception, been tasked with delivering effective communications while also meeting business goals. To achieve this, contact centers have constantly sought solutions to streamline enhance their operations. ...

The 2007 Customer Interaction Solutions TMC Labs Innovation Awards, Part Two.(CONTACT CENTER TECHNOLOGY)
October 1, 2007... Welcome to part two of the eighth annual TMC Labs Innovation Awards, where TMC's in-house testing lab honors products and services offering unique features that their competitors often lack. As pointed out in part one, the contact center has...

Speech analytics implementation: nine best practices.(SPEECH TECH)
October 1, 2007... Customer service has become one of today's top differentiators for enterprises across virtually every vertical market. As organizations struggle to balance customer satisfaction with the drive to increase revenue and minimize the cost of...

Retaining your customers to death.(Last Call)
October 1, 2007... This is one of those customer service stories that make you want to consider moving to a desert island and effectively removing yourself from the world as a consumer once and for all. Last year, I stopped using my regular small-town oil...

Security for IP communications.(Ask The Expert: A Special Editorial Series Sponsored By Interactive Intelligence)
October 1, 2007... Q: We're migrating our contact center to VoIP and know SIP is the way to go. However, we're concerned about security--mostly to protect our customers, but also for the IP-based communications solution we're implementing. What security measures...