Are you a programmer with "coder's block"? An IT sales person tired of hearing, "We're going open source from now on"? A technology writer lamenting a slow news day with nothing to blog about?

Luxury.

Try training squirrels. Try being Steve Vedmore, the man who trained 40 squirrels and their associated stand-ins for the new "Charlie & The Chocolate Factory" film.

Apparently, squirrels are one-trick ponies. Err...rodents. There are acting squirrels, posing squirrels, good nut-crackers, good hoppers and supermodel diva squirrels. (Do they throw nuts in their trailers when their Evian doesn't arrive on time?)

Says Vedmore, "The placid ones are good to handle and other ones are aggressive, so we use them as runner animals if we can run them from [point] A to [point] B because they're not good for human contact. They bite."

You don't say.

The full article from BBC News (with photos) can be viewed at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/4702653.stm

TES

Today on the AP Wire: "Canada, Denmark Clash in Google Ads."

"Canada and Denmark have taken their diplomatic tussle over a lump of Arctic rocks to the Internet with competing Google ads claiming sovereignty over Hans Island. Some Canadians have called for a boycott of Danish pastries the way Americans disdained french fries when Paris declined to join the coalition forces in Iraq."

In the same manner that the U.S. "boycott" was misguided (French fries not being French, and all), it got me wondering. Are Danishes Danish? I've never been to Denmark, but I've been to Sweden and Finland, and don't recall anyone serving sticky, white-flour, carbohydrate-laden monstrosities filled with prune and glazed with...who knows what. Shellac?

Sounds like the only people who will suffer from this boycott are the stockholders of Sara Lee.

TES

We recently met with FrontRange in our offices here at TMC and were given an excellent preview of some of the products that can be expected out of FrontRange in the near future. We heard about version 5.0 of the company's IP Contact Center (IPCC) product, which was formally announced today.

Version 5.0 was created with improved integration into existing business applications in mind, and offers optional access to FrontRange's quality management (call recording) module. Version 5.0 was designed for very fast implementation/installation, and for easy interoperability with FrontRange's other popular solutions, desktop integration between ITSM, GoldMine and HEAT

The full release is below.

TES

FrontRange Solutions Delivers Enhanced IP Contact Center Solution

FrontRange Solutions USA Inc., a global leader in service management, CRM, and voice application solutions for the growing and distributed enterprise markets, announced the availability of IP Contact Center 5.0 (IPCC) to the Communication Management solution family.  The new version of FrontRange's Voice Over Internet Protocol-based (VoIP) software suite features Quality Management and integration with other FrontRange product families, including the company's award-winning HEAT®, GoldMine® Corporate Edition, and the new IT Service Management (ITSM) modules.

As contact center managers continue to scrutinize and manage costs meticulously, IPCC's integration to industry leading business applications reduces implementation as well as ongoing costs. FrontRange IPCC 5.0 enables users to train staff more effectively with features like the optional module Quality Management with which a supervisor can record calls with  server based recording and call rating.

"FrontRange IPCC 5.0 is a major step forward in supporting the convergence of voice and service applications and enabling businesses of all sizes to easily and quickly gain the benefits of an integrated contact center solution," said Kevin J. Smith, FrontRange Vice President of Products.  "Our rapid deployment and reduced implementation costs are key benefits. Customers want a solution that is easy to use without sacrificing power and flexibility."

IPCC 5.0 enables users to increase customer satisfaction while lowering costs by providing seamless access to information from FrontRange applications. Upgrades begin at the IPCC 5.0 Dashboard with its desktop integration between ITSM, GoldMine and HEAT. Additional highlights include:

-Quality Management: The new Quality Management module allows the assurance consistent service quality by means of monitoring and recording of live calls. Monitoring provides supervisors options of one-way listening, coaching agent without customer hearing it or conference participation. Recording can be activated by schedule, call scenario or upon supervisor request. Recordings can be rated to provide information for agent performance reviews and agent training.

-Business Application integration:  Because IPCC is a native FrontRange Solutions application and an integral part of the FrontRange solutions mix of products, serviced and supported by the same company, the requirement for complex middleware applications, and highly complex and costly Professional Services is reduced or not required.

-Languages: New localizations include Russian and German
-Reporting: Interaction reporting, Application reporting 
-Agent Productivity: Desktop Fax, Agent to Agent Messaging and Desktop buffered recording

With IPCC 5.0 and its complementary products, Smith believes FrontRange is poised to take advantage of major market trends.  As evidence, he referred to recent comments by Forrester Vice President and Research Director John Ragsdale.

"While the technical landscape for service management, both IT service desks and external customer call centers, continues to become more complex, the majority of clients [are taking] a back-to-basics approach to doing things more simply: buying software that meets but does not exceed requirements, fostering internal collaboration for problem solving instead of complex knowledge capture and training initiatives," Ragsdale wrote in a May 2005 research report entitled Simplicity Theme Appeals To Service Management.  "Catalysts for this trend range from enhanced compliance and governance to learning from earlier, failed projects, and the outcome is good news for the business: more focused, clearly defined, and better executed initiatives to meet and exceed customer expectations."

About FrontRange Solutions
FrontRange Solutions develops award-winning software and solutions used by more than 130,000 companies and over 1.2 million users worldwide to manage a wide variety of business relationships and provide exceptional service. FrontRange product families, designed specifically for small-to-medium-enterprise (SME) and distributed enterprise organizations include: GoldMine® for business relationship management, team-based contact management and sales force automation solutions; IT Service Management (ITSM) with HEAT® and ITIL standards-based modules for complete service management; Communication Management including IP Contact Center (IPCC) for reduced telephony costs and increased agent productivity, streamlined customer service and communications; and Infrastructure Management, which provides the ability to optimize the full lifecycle of a company's assets. Customers representing 44 percent of the Fortune 100 and 76 percent of the FTSE 100, include Coca-Cola, Shell Oil, Prudential Securities, Électricité de France, Mack Trucks, Campbell Soup, Avaya, Bechtel Corp, Bank of America, and Turner News Network. For more information, call (800) 776-7889 or visit www.frontrange.com.

In the August issue of Customer Interaction Solutions magazine, look for an exclusive, in-depth interview with Conerto CEO Jim Foy about the recent Concerto/Aspect mega-merger. Written by CIS Executive Editor Glenn Kalinoski, the article covers the blending of the two companies' technologies, what will be available from the merged company in the future, how the two corporate cultures will combine and what the new company management structure might look like.

TES

In case you want to know, at any given moment, where the space shuttle is in relation to you (or in relation to Peru, Cleveland or your Auntie Millicent), you can view it in real-time on the NASA Web site, here: http://science.nasa.gov/realtime/jtrack/Spacecraft.html

TES

Seattle-based Envision Telephony has reason to celebrate today: the company has just announced very strong positive results for the second quarter, with a 44 percent revenue increase over the second quarter of last year. (Workforce optimization...it's the hot spot.) The company should also be proud to have won Frost & Sullivan’s 2005 Global Excellence in Technology of the Year Award. The company was also recognized by Washington CEO magazine as one of Washington’s Best Places to Work for. Congrats to Envision.

TES

Envision Announces Second Quarter Results

Workforce Optimization Leader Sustains Record Growth

Seattle — July 27, 2005 — Envision Telephony, Inc. today announced a 44 percent increase in second quarter revenue for 2005 over the same period in the prior year. Revenues for the first half of 2005 exceeded 2004 by 49 percent. Total revenue for the last twelve months increased more than 40 percent over the preceding twelve months. Envision is a privately held, Seattle-based leader in contact center recording, coaching, workforce optimization and business intelligence software.

During the second quarter of 2005, the company added twelve new customers, spanning the globe and several industries including retail, outsourcing, utilities and telecommunications. Envision also secured major expansion orders from one of its signature branded customers in the financial industry as well as one of the world’s largest software companies.

In addition to its business growth in the second quarter, Envision won Frost & Sullivan’s 2005 Global Excellence in Technology of the Year Award. Frost & Sullivan presented this award to Envision for its commitment to technical superiority and innovative work in the call center solutions space. Envision was one of nine companies recognized by Washington CEO magazine as Washington’s best companies to work for.

“Our team at Envision is continuing to experience phenomenal success in the market,” said Rodney Kuhn, Envision CEO. “Our customers are seeing the benefit of our integrated workforce optimization suite and the returns which can be achieved. The results of this strategy can be seen in our financial success and our growing market share."

About Envision
Envision is a leading provider of software solutions that empower businesses to produce profitable and enduring customer relationships. Since its founding in 1994, Envision has focused on improving the effectiveness and performance of contact center agents to create measurable value for the enterprise. In 2004, Envision introduced a new suite of applications to provide business intelligence and analytical tools to the enterprise for achieving “The Superior Customer Experience.” The company’s scalable, integrated products are used by some of the world's most customer-focused companies in a variety of industries, including financial, utilities, telecommunications, software and insurance. Envision has offices in Seattle, Australia, Atlanta, UK and Amsterdam. For more information, call 206.225.0800, ext. 500, or visit http://www.envisioninc.com.

This just in: Poor Customer Service is Top Reason Customers Switch Service Providers. In other news, the sun rose in the east this morning. I'll issue a full report about it later in my blog: you can download it for $1,995.

I wish the analyst community wouldn't keep shocking us like this. It's bad for the heart.

TES

This article today posted on TMCnet is interesting: http://www.tmcnet.com/usubmit/-digital-cell-phones-analog-federal-communications-commission-fcc-/2005/jul/1166816.htm because it mirrors and experience that I've had fairly recently.

Two years ago, I bought an all-digital phone, replacing my old phone, which had analog capabilties.

My parents live part-time in the mountains of South Central Vermont, up a dirt road, past a charming old inn, take a left at the little white church. (Sounds like all directions in Vermont.) With my former cell phone, I had few problems getting a signal. Some days were weaker than others, but I always had the ability to make a basic connection.

With the digital phone, forget it. Not a hint of a signal. Nada. When I arrive at the house in Vermont, I turn the phone off and toss it in the glove compartment. It becomes a paperweight for the weekend. My mother's cell phone still has analog capabilities; my parents rely on it for their primary phone coverage, since Vermont telecom prices are criminally high. I haven't yet had the heart to tell her about the FCC's initiative to move all-digital, at which time she'll be back in the realm of $60 land line phone bills, just to have a dial tone on the wall.

Has the FCC forgotten that most Americans live in rural areas?

TES

There is news this morning that San Mateo-based Contactual (formerly White Pajama) has found a distributor in Japan, Vitstage, to distribute the Contactual solution to the Japanese market. You'll recall that Contactual was one of the first hosted-delivery contact center solutions available to the market. (Vitstage plans to co-market and co-brand the Contactual solution with its own product, inspirX.) This makes Contactual's second international licensing agreement.

Both companies seem to be banking on the increasingly popularity of the hosted delivery method for contact center software. The full release is below.

TES

CONTACTUAL ONDEMAND CONTACT CENTER LICENSED FOR

VITSTAGE’S CONTACT CENTER PLATFORM SERVICE “keepa” IN JAPAN

Contactual and Vitstage Work Together at Rapid Pace to Launch a Co-branded Product in Japan

San Mateo, Calif. and Tokyo, Japan  – July 26, 2005 – Contactual, Inc., a leading provider of on-demand contact center solutions, and Vitstage, a Japanese leader in information technology solutions for contact centers, today announced that Vitstage will be hosting, selling and managing a hosted contact center, licensed from Contactual.  The co-branded “keepa” contact center application will be connected with the Vitstage inspirX solution, already known in the Japanese marketplace. 

“We are very pleased to announce this non-exclusive relationship – Contactual’s second International licensing agreement in the first half of 2005,” said Mansour Salame, Founder and CEO, Contactual. “Vitstage is clearly an IT trend-setter in Japan.  Introducing our co-branded product into the Vitstage business product line has been remarkably smooth, and Vitstage has proven to be especially nimble and adept at learning the nuances of the hosted call center business in America.”

Today’s announcement comes as Contactual and Vitstage wrap up market-entry strategic planning and intra-company engineering development in Japan and Silicon Valley.  Both companies are optimistic about the growing worldwide demand for hosted contact centers.  Contact center industry analysts expect the worldwide market for hosted contact center services to grow to several billion dollars by 2008.  According to Vitstage, the decision to license the Contactual OnDemand Contact Center was based on the platform’s business fundamentals.  

“Contactual has built a VoIP and SIP based hosted contact center from the ground up, using industry-standard hardware, and leveraging open source technologies.  These attributes are critical from a licensing standpoint,” said Hayato Maruyama, President, Vitstage.  “After reviewing the business fundamentals at Contactual, we realized that the potential for this product is strong in Japan, and worldwide.  And, after working with Contactual on a business knowledge-share, we believe that the recent Contactual US market success could be emulated in Japan.” 

Vitstage will reveal feature and functionality details of the contact center platform service “keepa” by Contactual along with distribution and availability information in July 2005.

About the Contactual OnDemand Contact Center

Over the past five years, Contactual has developed a feature-rich on-demand contact center application that leverages state-of-the-art technologies, like VoIP, SIP and Linux.  Contactual has identified the key features that any call center needs, and delivered, without impacting Contactual’s industry-leading standards for reliability, scalability and ease-of-use. Feature examples include, but are not limited to:

·         Multimedia Interaction Router/ACD

·         Multimedia switch

·         Real-time reporting and monitoring

·         Call recording and monitoring

·         Interactive Voice Response (IVR)

·         Computer Telephony Integration (CTI)

·         Chat

·         Co-browsing

·         Knowledge Base

·         Self Help

·         Web Administration

About Vitstage

Vitstage Co., Ltd. was founded in 2000 as the information technology solution provider for customer relationship management. The company is a member of Virtualex group that provides a mixed business model of consulting, outsourcing, and information technology. Vitstage provides various software packages and system integration/system management services with the specialty of contact center operation and the state-of-the-art technology.

About Contactual

Contactual was founded in 2000 as White PJ, Inc., with the goals of reducing costs and eliminating the risks companies face when deploying customer service automation solutions by creating the best hosted contact center solutions. The White PJ customer service automation center quickly established itself as an award-winning solution for small and medium call centers. In 2004, White PJ executives grew the business through an expanded product distribution strategy that leverages the product’s key advantages of scalability and reliability to sell through global licensees, wholesalers and telco partners, as well as direct sales.  With hundreds of companies using the Contactual OnDemand Contact Center, the company has matured and emerged as the leader in on-demand contact centers for in-bound contact center deployments.  To match the new business strategy, a new company name (Contactual) was selected in the fall of 2004. For more information, visit www.contactual.com

Calling all teleservices organizations: don't forget to take a few minutes to submit your listing for the "Who's Who In Teleservices" listing, which will be published in the October issue of Customer Interaction Solutions magazine.

Visit this link now and submit your information: http://www.tmcnet.com/call-center/whoswho.aspx

TES

It's been a long time since anyone referred to call centers as "boiler rooms," but this was, in fact, a very apt description of them in the early 1980s. Call center work was a job one took when the alternative was starving. "Technology" meant push-button phones rather than rotary dials, and when a call center worker was asked at parties what he or she did for a living, the better response was, "I break legs for loan sharks." It sounded more desirable.

Things are, obviously, much different nowadays. Call centers provide meals, transportation, day care, entertainment and ergonomic work environments. Many compete with one another to be the better workplace...in the 1990s, someone figured out that if you treat your call center employees well, you keep the good ones, and eliminate the enormous costs associated with turnover.

The Contact Center Employer of Choice (CCEOC) organization is a research group which oversees call center certification and consulting. Canadian company Neteller has announced today it has secured the Contact Center Employer of Choice gold-level award for call center excellence for providing an "outstanding work environment" to call center employees.

Full release is below.

TES

NETELLER Awarded Prestigious "Contact Center Employer of Choice™" Certification... First CALGARY Call Centre to achieve designation

(Calgary, Alberta, TBD, 2005) Neteller, a global on-line funds transfer service provider is pleased to announce it has achieved the prestigious Contact Center Employer of Choice™ (CCEOC) Gold level award for its Calgary based customer service centre. This award distinguishes the Neteller customer service centre as one of the best contact center operations to work for in North America.

“This is Neteller’s first attempt at achieving the Contact Center Employer of Choice™ designation. Attaining the Gold (second) level on the first assessment is an outstanding accomplishment and a testimonial to the hard work, dedication and commitment to excellence exhibited by all front line, support staff and management personnel,” said CCEOC President Jeff Doran.

Colleen Boyer, Manager, Customer Service, added: “We care passionately about our company, our employees and our customers. We want to provide the best quality service and we work together as a team to make sure that happens. This award validates the fact that we are an outstanding work environment, gives recognition to the employees, and positions us for substantial growth over the next few years.

"The CCEOC assessment methodology was practical and very effective” says Ms. Boyer. “The detailed reporting is excellent. It will allow us to objectively analyze our operation and work on the areas of employee satisfaction that will have a long lasting affect on our organization. We also like the value added extras like the quarterly Peer 2 Peer Education Exchanges. These sessions are great for connecting to other call centers that are dealing with the same issues we are.”

Neteller participated in the CCEOC program to gain industry-wide recognition as a great place to work, to improve their ability to attract the best talent, to identify areas of opportunity to improve employee satisfaction, and to elevate the performance of its operations.

The CCEOC Award is fast becoming an industry standard for recognizing people-centric contact centers. The Award enables call centers to enhance public perception, promote exceptional work environments, and attract, retain and engage high-performing, culturally-aligned employees.

About Neteller

NETELLER, one of the leading service providers in the industry, operates a secure online funds transfer service. A NETELLER account acts as an e-wallet that enables members (individuals who open NETELLER accounts) to load, withdraw and transfer funds. Members can instantly transfer funds to/from any merchant website that supports NETELLER's online payments system, and to/from other NETELLER members.

The firm has been providing secure online transactions since 1999. Over 1,500 online merchants accept payments through the NETELLER system. With a user base of over 1,500,000 members, NETELLER processed over $3.4 billion in transactions in 2004. The company employs over 450 people and growing. Corporate headquarters are located in Douglas, Isle of Man with regional offices in Calgary, Canada, London, England, Hong Kong, China and San Jose, Costa Rica.

About CCEOC

The Contact Center Employer of Choice (CCEOC) organization is an assessment, research and consulting organization. We are an experienced team of contact center experts, academics and research analysts who oversee the CCEOC certification program for regional, national and international contact centers. Contact centers from 20 to 2000+ seats have benefited from our unique program. CCEOC experts also work with corporate clients to assess, develop, maintain and promote high-morale, performance based call center cultures. For information on the Contact Center Employer of Choice™ certification program or to find out more about CCEOC training and consulting services, please email info@ccemployerofchoice.com or call 416 886-7007.

Got this e-mail (below) from AT&T CallVantage this morning, according to FCC rules. Some high-profile incidents involving Vonage service necessitated this...one well-publicized incident that resulted in a child's death because the mother had to stop CPR to run to a neighbor's house to dial 911...

TES

It is important to understand that there are some critical differences between your 911 service with AT&T CallVantage and the 911 service that accompanies traditional wireline phone service. AT&T always recommends that you have an alternate means of accessing 911 from your home or travel locations via a traditional phone line or wireless phone. There are certain circumstances in which you will not be able to use 911 service, including, but not limited to, the following:

You will NOT be able to dial 911 IF:

Your broadband connection is down, or Your electrical power is out, or You move your Telephone Adapter to a location where 911 service has not been deployed for the traditional wireline network. The physical location from which you are dialing 911 needs to match the address of record for your service. The 911 operator will use the service address of record as the dispatch address. If you do not provide us with an accurate service address, AT&T reserves the right to disconnect your service. If you move your Telephone Adaptor, you must update your service address on record with AT&T CallVantage Service via your Account Management and Setting web page or by calling 1-866-596-8464. An address update can take up to three business days to become effective in the system. Additionally, E-911 service may not be available at other locations to which you request to move your Telephone Adaptor.

How cool is this?

Packet8 has announced that the Sci-Fi Channel's "Stargate SG-1" and "Stargate Atlantis" will be implementing new characters in their new seasons...Packet8 IP VideoPhones.

I'll tell my guy friends this exciting news, but I'm sure they already knew about it...they've all been particularly eager to watch this new season in which "Farscape" alumna Claudia Black joins the cast, wearing tight leather outfits. It must be because of those video phones they're so eager to watch...

TES

Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis to Feature Packet8 VideoPhones in Upcoming New Episodes

SANTA CLARA, Calif., July 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis, two of television's most popular science fiction shows, kicked off their seasons last week with a sleek, new communications device on the set -- the Packet8 VideoPhone from voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) and videophone communications service provider 8x8, Inc. .
In addition to featuring the Packet8 VideoPhone during upcoming episodes, Stargate SG-1 and Stargate Atlantis will be the center of a national consumer sweepstakes that gives fans an opportunity to win a trip to the Stargate sets along with Packet8 VideoPhones and Freedom Unlimited residential service plans. And as an added bonus, winners will be able to make videophone calls to the set and have video visits with the shows' main characters.
"The Stargate placement is perfect for the Packet8 VideoPhone from both an application and audience demographic standpoint," said 8x8 Vice President of Marketing & Sales Huw Rees. "We think that when Stargate fans see how great the Packet8 VideoPhone works on their favorite show, they will be motivated to purchase one of their own to feel more connected with the program as well as with their family and friends."
The Packet8/Stargate sweepstakes invites fans to participate by answering a few trivia questions about the Stargate series and submitting an online entry form. Additional contest details can be found at http://www.packet8.net/.
Previously, Packet8 VideoPhones have been placed on the sets of many prime time television shows including: Alias, 24 - The Series, King of Queens, Law & Order SVU, Will & Grace, Stargate Atlantis, Medical Investigation, Eyes, and Navy NCIS. Product Integration and Promotions firm, Eclipse Worldwide, coordinated these appearances, as well as the promotion.
Available direct to consumers at http://www.packet8.net/, the $99 Packet8 VideoPhone is being sold with a two year service plan, which includes unlimited voice and video calls worldwide to another Packet8 VideoPhone as well as unlimited local and long distance voice-only calls to any phone number in the U.S. or Canada. The Packet8 VideoPhone uses a standard broadband internet connection to transmit high quality audio and crisp instant-on video communications. Previous videophone technology has been limited by bandwidth capabilities of the PSTN (public switched telephone network), which hampered the delivery of crisp real-time video images. Because it is based on SIP, an international internet protocol standard, the Packet8 VideoPhone achieves a level of technology and performance sophistication previously not possible.
About 8x8, Inc.
VoIP (voice over internet protocol) service provider 8x8, Inc. offers internet-based telephony solutions (http://www.packet8.net/) for individual residential and business users as well as small to medium sized business organizations. In addition to regular Packet8 VoIP service plans, priced as low as $19.95 per month for unlimited anytime calling to the U.S. and Canada, 8x8 now offers the $99 Packet8 VideoPhone, the industry's first stand alone broadband consumer videophone with worldwide video calling for $19.95 per month. Packet8 Virtual Office, 8x8's VoIP solution for small to medium sized businesses, is a hosted PBX service comprised of powerful business class features. For additional company information, visit 8x8's web site at http://www.8x8.com/.
About Eclipse Worldwide
Based in Menlo Park, CA, and with offices in Los Angeles, Eclipse Worldwide is a brand marketing company that specializes in product placement, entertainment marketing and other highly leveraged marketing vehicles. For additional information, please visit their website at http://www.eclipse-worldwide.com/.

ChoicePoint Inc., whose large database of consumer information was accessed by thieves posing as legitimate customers, reported today that its Q2 earnings were going to remain essentially flat compared to a year ago despite a 15 percent increase in operational revenue. 

Full article at:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/20/AR2005072000395.html

So I wonder...before everyone who maintains a database of customer information is reporting losses despite increased sales, what do we do about it??

TES

OK, without resorting to exploiting the stereotype suggested by the rather high instances of cross-over between IT people and "Star Trek" fans, I think I can safely go ahead and say that technology personnel worldwide have had a sad loss today.

After all...who now is going to get us more power to the warp drive next time we need it?

http://www.cnn.com/2005/SHOWBIZ/TV/07/20/obit.doohan.ap/index.html