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Speaking at the ATA next week
April 18, 2006
Yes I am on my way to Louisville, Kentucky to speak on VoIP to a group of hundreds of resellers and next week I get the privilege of addressing a different group altogether – contact center executives. What I like about seeing and meeting with such disparate groups is that I see the different perspectives of the market. I also thoroughly enjoy talking with service providers like I did recently at the Voice Peering Forum in Miami recently.
If anything, addressing different groups keeps me on my toes and the content as fresh as can be. I am always tweaking and trying to find the absolutely most relevant yopics for my presentations.
Here is a release that will hit the wires soon:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For More Information, Contact:
Kristyn Emenecker
Co-President, ATA NY Metro Chapter
Mercom Systems, Inc.
(201) 507-8800 x. 1158
IP Telephony Expert Rich Tehrani to Keynote Upcoming ATA NY Metro Technology Forum and Expo
Annual contact center event to focus on IP Telephony, Risk Management Technologies and Technology Beyond the Telephone
Annual contact center event to focus on IP Telephony, Risk Management Technologies and Technology Beyond the Telephone
New York, NY, April 18, 2006 – The New York Metro Chapter of the American Teleservices Association (ATA; www.ataconnect.org) today announced the group of industry thought leaders who will lend their experience, research and expertise to the discussion of contact center technology at the Chapter’s second annual Technology Forum and Supplier Exposition. The event will be highlighted by a keynote address from Rich Tehrani, president of communications media company and Customer Interaction Solutions Magazine-publisher TMC and founder of Internet Telephony, SIP and IMS Magazines. The ATA will hold the event, a popular educational and networking draw for local contact center professionals, at the Doral Arrowwood Conference Resort in Rye Brook, NY on Tuesday, April 25, 2006.
“We are thrilled to have Mr. Tehrani, the premier voice for IP Communications today and someone who understands the unique technology needs of the contact center, as the keynote speaker at this year’s technology forum,” stated Suzanne Ronner, Co-President of the ATA New York Metro Chapter. “The diversity and experience of all of the industry leaders which will be participating in this year’s event demonstrate the ATA New York Chapter’s strong commitment to providing excellent educational content and unparalleled networking opportunities to local contact center professionals across all industry segments.”
Mr. Tehrani’s keynote address will focus on technology trends in the contact center space and specifically the future of IP Telephony. “I am thrilled to once again be working with the ATA to help educate the contact center market. Technologies like VoIP and SIP are rapidly changing the way call centers operate, making them more efficient and a more integral part of the enterprise.” explains Tehrani.
His speech sets the stage for a number of other speakers who will focus on the business challenges facing contact center leaders today and the technology available to meet those challenges. These sessions include plain-language presentations on cutting-edge technology offerings in the realms of risk management (in light of increasing business regulation, privacy and security concerns), and technology beyond the telephone (addressing customer contact by such channels as email and webchat). Real-life case studies and interactive session components will allow attendees to view the technology themselves and have all of their questions answered.
These additional moderator and presentation contributions will be provided by Steve Fagan of NCO Customer Management, Lisa Welsher of Innovative Management Solutions, Michael Antonucci and Donna von Lipsey of Voice Verified, Paul Friedman of Mercom Systems, Joe Sanscrainte of Bryan Cave Law Firm, Frank Fuhrman of American Customer Care, Paul Kole of Kowal & Associates, Dave York of Genesys, Paul Cullen of Avaya and Greg Blackman of RightNow Technologies. Case studies will be provided by Frank Rand of Audible.com, the Call Center Director for a leading New York-based healthcare insurer and a prominent Maine cataloger.
About Rich Tehrani
Mr. Tehrani is an IP Communications industry expert, visionary, author and columnist. He founded the first magazine focused on VoIP in 1998 and, as President of TMC, is the owner of the registered trademark for the term Internet Telephony. He further launched the best attended VoIP show in the world, Internet Telephony Conference & Expo and the most popular communications/technology portal in the world, TMCnet.com. More recently he launched TMC's two newest titles, SIP Magazine and IMS Magazine. Tehrani also runs Customer Interaction Solutions (CIS) Magazine. Launched in 1982, CIS is the first publication in the world to cover call centers and CRM. Tehrani further serves as an expert witness and has been quoted in such prestigious publications as the Economist and New York Times.
About the American Teleservices Association (ATA) New York Metro Chapter’s Second Annual Contact Center Technology Forum and Supplier Exposition
The ATA NY Metro Tech Forum is the premier local New York area event highlighting technology solutions to business problems faced by area contact center professionals. The day-long event is designed for contact centers, their partners and interested organizations to discover the latest developments in contact center technology, to explore new ways of using that technology and to network with industry leaders. The conference is organized by the ATA’s New York Metro Chapter Board of Directors, which is comprised of volunteer contact center professionals from New York, New Jersey and Connecticut. The Technology Forum became an annual event following the strong response of 2005’s pilot event, and will be held this year on April 25 at the beautiful Doral Arrowwood Conference Resort in Rye Brook, NY (Westchester County). For more information see http://www.ataconnect.org/chapters/nymetro/events.htm.
About the American Teleservices Association
The American Teleservices Association (ATA) is a nonprofit group representing the call centers, trainers, consultants, and equipment suppliers that initiate, facilitate, and generate telephone, Internet, and email sales, service, and support. Call centers offer traditional and interactive services that support the e-commerce revolution, provide specialized customer service for Fortune 500 companies, and generate annual sales of more than $500 billion. For more information see http://www.ataconnect.org/.
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IMS Party at GlobalComm
April 18, 2006
We are about to announce details of our annual Supercomm – whoops – GlobalComm party that we put on with the IPCC. This is now the third year of this party. Last year it was at Sears Tower, the year before on a cruise ship and now it is bigger and better - at Chicago Landmark Soldier Field.
There is a new theme this year and you cannot miss this event.
It will now be an IMS party co-sponsored by the IMS Forum –formerly the IPCC. It will also be sponsored by TMC's new IMS Magazine and IMS Expo. The entire IMS market will be represented. If you are a service provider or vendor to the industry you must be present to rub elbows with the financial community, your peers and the most important vendors in the space.
It will be at the Cadillac Club at Soldier Field right next to the Chicago’s McCormick Place Convention Center. TMC's Web team is creating the site and registration form as we speak. I'll post the address in an entry later this week.
Located on the east side of the stadium and adjacent to the historic colonnades, the Upper Level of the Cadillac Club is an impressive area. Floor-to-ceiling windows offer magnificent views of Lake Michigan. The crescent shaped room is a unique space and ideal for smaller to medium sized receptions.
The date is Monday, June 5, 2006.
There is a new theme this year and you cannot miss this event.
It will now be an IMS party co-sponsored by the IMS Forum –formerly the IPCC. It will also be sponsored by TMC's new IMS Magazine and IMS Expo. The entire IMS market will be represented. If you are a service provider or vendor to the industry you must be present to rub elbows with the financial community, your peers and the most important vendors in the space.
It will be at the Cadillac Club at Soldier Field right next to the Chicago’s McCormick Place Convention Center. TMC's Web team is creating the site and registration form as we speak. I'll post the address in an entry later this week.
Located on the east side of the stadium and adjacent to the historic colonnades, the Upper Level of the Cadillac Club is an impressive area. Floor-to-ceiling windows offer magnificent views of Lake Michigan. The crescent shaped room is a unique space and ideal for smaller to medium sized receptions.
The date is Monday, June 5, 2006.
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Buying a car
April 18, 2006
If you are going to buy a car ever in your life or are interested in how the sales process works in some companies, you must read this article titled Showroom Turncoat Comes Clean which was in the May 2006 issues of Car and Driver Magazine.The last page is something called How to Avoid Getting Screwed which is also a must-read.
You will learn many of the tricks the salespeople in the auto industry use. If half of this article is true, it does not bode well for the ethics of the industry as a whole.
But I am not here to pass judgment but if you read this and learn how not to get taken by any salespeople ever then I will be happy.
Thank you Michael Feyen for writing this article. It is well-done and kind of scary.
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Veoh
April 18, 2006
The WSJ is reporting that Michael Eisner is joining the board of Veoh Networks a company that is going to stream TV over the Internet. Mr. Eisner said Veoh is one of five or six media investments he has made since setting up a limited liability company, or LLC, called Tornante Co. He said Veoh is the only investment he has disclosed to the public
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Speaking to resellers this week for TechData
April 18, 2006
Tomorrow I am going to be in Louisville, Kentucky speaking to a group of primarily resellers about the benefits of VoIP and IP communications. I was reminiscing on all my speaking over the past decade or so and I believe I have educated over 10,000 resellers if you add up the aggregate crowds over the years.From 1995-2000 the communications reseller market really peaked as the interconnects of years past learned to become converged resellers. Not all of them made it and those that didn’t were replaced by traditional computer/networking VARs embracing communications as a way to improve their shrinking hardware margins.
I am speaking for Tech Data and more specifically their TechSelect division which does a great deal of training around the country.
A vibrant and growing reseller market is essential for the growth of the IP communications space. There are so many new and interesting companies coming into the industry and without resellers there is no industry. I literally do anything and everything I can to educate this market because without them we would have a bunch of small VoIP companies trying to figure out how to sell things.
If you are interested in coming and hearing me or participating in the seminar please go to the TechSelect website and register.
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JetBlue
April 18, 2006
I was recently on a jetBlue flight and guess who was on the flight with me? David Neeleman the founder of the company. He acted as part of the flight crew and handed out drinks and snacks.Perhaps nothing impresses me more about company than the humility of its top management. Arrogant managers are the worst thing for a company's image.
David Neeleman should be commended and nominated as CEO of the year for this act alone. Thanks Dave!
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Yahoo! Enhanced Services
April 18, 2006
Yahoo! Enhanced Services
We often talk about enhanced services as a way to get service providers to make more money. Perhaps this is why it is ironic to see the following statement at the bottom of Yahoo! E-mails:
Talk is cheap. Use Yahoo! Messenger to make PC-to-Phone calls. Great rates starting at 1¢/min.
Yahoo! uses voice as a way to generate enhanced service revenue from e-mail.
We often talk about enhanced services as a way to get service providers to make more money. Perhaps this is why it is ironic to see the following statement at the bottom of Yahoo! E-mails:
Talk is cheap. Use Yahoo! Messenger to make PC-to-Phone calls. Great rates starting at 1¢/min.
Yahoo! uses voice as a way to generate enhanced service revenue from e-mail.
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Oracle and Asterisk
April 18, 2006
Oracle is buying software companies at a rapid clip and has also embraced open source and SIP. So if you combine acquisition with open source and VoIP you get Digium as a takeover candidate. Right? A the open source PBX leader Digium would be a perfect company to put in the portfolio of Oracle companies. What do you think?
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Made it
April 18, 2006
Yesterday I woke up and felt like I was going to change the world. Unfortunately I decided to close my eyes for a few seconds and fell asleep. In case you were wondering – I did not change the world yesterday but at least I got the taxes out. Also, if you wake up feeling like you are going to change the world, I have learned you should start right away as it is a big world and I get way too much e-mail.
This morning too I woke up and knew I was going to change the world. Shortly thereafter I wondered why it was so dark. Turns out it was 4:00 am. I tried to sleep for an hour or so more but didn’t get much. I got into work early and am working on changing the world. Look out.
This morning too I woke up and knew I was going to change the world. Shortly thereafter I wondered why it was so dark. Turns out it was 4:00 am. I tried to sleep for an hour or so more but didn’t get much. I got into work early and am working on changing the world. Look out.
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