Brendan Read
TMC
How is Successful Marketing like a Successful 401K?
I was recently interviewed by Content Marketing Examiner on the topic of content marketing and in this interview you get to hear...
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Effectively Telling Your Product's Story
One of the most interesting aspects of my career is watching the thousands of companies I have met over the years make...
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Dialogic and Cisco Round Out Day's NFV News
It’s been a busy week regarding NFV and the software telco (R)evolution. First off Dialogic had some solid thoughts on six of...
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The Big Deal about Big Data Analytics
By Greg Owens, Senior Director Customer Experience Solutions Marketing, Alcatel-Lucent
The rise of big data is causing service providers to ask some big questions: How should we store our data? How long should we keep it? What parts of it are relevant to our business? Most importantly, how do we get value from it? To turn big data into a big deal, service providers need to extract insights that can help them make smart business decisions and improve the customer experience.
The value of big data is all in what useful and actionable information it can provide. I find it exciting to see how service providers use big data analytics to gain new insights and solve complex problems. With this post, I’ll look at some new research by industry analysts and three key opportunities that big data analytics presents to service providers.
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WebRTC: The Revolution Won't Occur Without a Media Server
Next Thursday at the WebRTC Conference and Expo, I’ll present a conference keynote that might not be exactly what attendees expect...
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Software Telcos Based on NFV Want Less Equipment Provider M&A
Mergers are nothing new but about a decade ago in the telecom market they reached a fever pitch when SBC purchased AT&T...
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Linux Foundation Embedded Solutions Director's Case for Open Source and Connected Car
The car of 2013 is different from the one I learned to drive, a 1974 Ford Maverick with rear federal bumpers, aluminum...
Full Story »The ATA's Washington Summit
April 8, 2008
Hot topics to be covered at this year's American Teleservices Association (ATA) Washington, D.C. Summit will include:
Unveiling of ATA's SRO Online Assessment Tool The States on Consumer Protection ATA and DMA - In Cooperation for Our Future Road to the White House: The 2008 Election The How-To's on Building a Powerful PAC The ATA is M.A.D. (Making a Difference) The important summit will take place April 27th to 30th at Hyatt Regency Crystal City. For more information, visit www.ataconnect.org/washington
TES
Unveiling of ATA's SRO Online Assessment Tool The States on Consumer Protection ATA and DMA - In Cooperation for Our Future Road to the White House: The 2008 Election The How-To's on Building a Powerful PAC The ATA is M.A.D. (Making a Difference) The important summit will take place April 27th to 30th at Hyatt Regency Crystal City. For more information, visit www.ataconnect.org/washington
TES
Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online
April 2, 2008
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 move, which is affecting the name only, is an attempt to avoid confusion between the SaaS CRM solution and Microsoft's other "Live" named solutions.
"Whereas the Live brand is focused on consumers and small businesses, the Online brand is fully aligned with our existing Dynamics CRM strategy of delivering outstanding solutions for small businesses, midsized companies and large enterprises," wrote Brad Wilson, general manager of Microsoft Dynamics CRM.
TES
"Whereas the Live brand is focused on consumers and small businesses, the Online brand is fully aligned with our existing Dynamics CRM strategy of delivering outstanding solutions for small businesses, midsized companies and large enterprises," wrote Brad Wilson, general manager of Microsoft Dynamics CRM.
TES
Eliminating CRM Pain
April 1, 2008
Hopefully, you're not one of those companies that discovered the problems of early CRM implementations through experience (if you are, my apologies). CRM is a highly complex business strategy/principle/philosophy/religion, depending on how you look at it, that needs to be approached with respect.
Tomorrow, I'm moderating a Webinar called "CRM Integration Best Practices, Taking The Pain Out Of The Call Center," along with AMC Technology's VP of Marketing Paul Nussbaum. The Webinar starts at 2:00 pm EST time and will cover all the topics you need to know about properly integrating CRM into your organization.
Visit http://www.tmcnet.com/webinar/amc-technology/ to register. I look forward to seeing you there.
TES
Tomorrow, I'm moderating a Webinar called "CRM Integration Best Practices, Taking The Pain Out Of The Call Center," along with AMC Technology's VP of Marketing Paul Nussbaum. The Webinar starts at 2:00 pm EST time and will cover all the topics you need to know about properly integrating CRM into your organization.
Visit http://www.tmcnet.com/webinar/amc-technology/ to register. I look forward to seeing you there.
TES
Ergonomics For Call Center
March 26, 2008
Are you protecting your call center agents' backs? Sitting all day long can be hard on the back, and back problems are one of the most common causes of employees calling out sick.
Fellowes, in partnership with BackCare, a U.K.-based "charity for healthier backs," has launched Ergonomix, a nationwide (in the U.K.) month-long campaign aiming to help reduce the risk of RSI, back pain and other musculoskeletal disorders by raising awareness of workstation assessments and ergonomics in the workplace. To achieve this, the two organizations have set up a dedicated Web site, www.ergonomix.info, with detailed information on how companies can protect their workforces by conducting regular workstation assessments and providing ergonomic products.
TES
Fellowes, in partnership with BackCare, a U.K.-based "charity for healthier backs," has launched Ergonomix, a nationwide (in the U.K.) month-long campaign aiming to help reduce the risk of RSI, back pain and other musculoskeletal disorders by raising awareness of workstation assessments and ergonomics in the workplace. To achieve this, the two organizations have set up a dedicated Web site, www.ergonomix.info, with detailed information on how companies can protect their workforces by conducting regular workstation assessments and providing ergonomic products.
TES
Canadian Call Center Strategies
March 24, 2008
A recent article posted by CBC news, recognizing the danger in the devalued U.S. dollar to the Canadian call center market, has postulated that the Canadian call center industry needs to refocus itself and concentrate on high-value customer care (financial services) rather than business that concentrates on low-value transactions.
"Economists are warning that global competition, the high value of the Canadian dollar and the tight labour market are reshaping the future of the call centre business, especially in the Maritimes. David Campbell, an independent economic consultant in Moncton, N.B., says New Brunswick should take a page from Nova Scotia's business plan and put more emphasis on attracting financial service and hedge fund centres, which pay bigger salaries."
TES
"Economists are warning that global competition, the high value of the Canadian dollar and the tight labour market are reshaping the future of the call centre business, especially in the Maritimes. David Campbell, an independent economic consultant in Moncton, N.B., says New Brunswick should take a page from Nova Scotia's business plan and put more emphasis on attracting financial service and hedge fund centres, which pay bigger salaries."
TES
The End Of Customer Service
March 20, 2008
This week's TIME magazine has on its cover "10 Ideas That Are Changing The World." Number one on the list is "common wealth": sustainable development, ecologically sound industry, population stabilization. The number two world-changing idea? The end of customer service, thanks to both increasingly sophisticated self-service technologies and increased customer willingness to use these technologies.
Read "The End Of Customer Service" here.
TES
Read "The End Of Customer Service" here.
TES
Arthur C. Clarke
March 19, 2008
Twice in my life have I become teary over the death of people whom I had never met. The first was over George Harrison, as I was a fan of the "Quiet Beatle." The second time was yesterday, upon hearing of the death of Arthur C. Clarke.
It was in eighth grade...Ms. Wheeler's English class...that I was obliged to read the book "2001: A Space Odyssey." Most of my classmates approached it with dread. It had a boring cover. It had lots of science terms on the synopsis.
It was in eighth grade...Ms. Wheeler's English class...that I was obliged to read the book "2001: A Space Odyssey." Most of my classmates approached it with dread. It had a boring cover. It had lots of science terms on the synopsis.
Call Center Industry Growth
March 17, 2008
Good news for those of us who live and work in the contact center industry. The global call center market is expected to reach $195 billion by 2010 according to industry analysts Global Industry Analysts, Inc. This conclusion appears in a report titled, "Call Centers: A Global Strategic Business Report." The study analyzed past, current and future market data and analytics over the period 2000-2010 and long-term projections (2011-2015) for regions including the North America, Japan, Europe, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and others.
For specifics and a break-down of numbers, visit the summary on the company's Web site.
For specifics and a break-down of numbers, visit the summary on the company's Web site.
Canadian Call Center Shut-Down
March 13, 2008
We've noted, via various news reports recently, that several large American call center operators are shutting down Canadian call center operations because the weakness of the American dollar against the Canadian dollar means there is no longer a cost savings to locate a call center "nearshore" in Canada.
West Corp. is the most recent company to fold up a Canadian call center. The Omaha, Nebraska-based company plans to shut down a call center in British Columbia by summer, putting 450 workers out of a job.
New article about the shut-down can be found here.
TES
West Corp. is the most recent company to fold up a Canadian call center. The Omaha, Nebraska-based company plans to shut down a call center in British Columbia by summer, putting 450 workers out of a job.
New article about the shut-down can be found here.
TES
Better-Than-Expected Teleservices Financials
March 12, 2008
Outsourced call center services provider Sykes this week posted better-than-expected financial results (revenue of $197.7M was ahead of the consensus $189.9M estimate, and OPM of 7.7 percent was above the 7.2 percent consensus estimate). Analyst group Stifel Nicolaus Business Services (www.stifel.com) has chalked it up to the fact that the company is experiencing "sustained, broad-based demand (across all verticals including financial services) from both new and existing clients, and the company plans to add 3,000-4,000 additional seats over 2008 and into 2009 to meet this demand."
This demand, according to the Stifen Nicolaus report, is good news for the outsourced contact center service provider market as a whole, and indicates that "clients continue to spend on customer service work despite broader economic issues."
TES
This demand, according to the Stifen Nicolaus report, is good news for the outsourced contact center service provider market as a whole, and indicates that "clients continue to spend on customer service work despite broader economic issues."
TES
