Brendan Read
TMC
10 Lessons from Volleyball, Part 2
Part 1 of the 10 Business Lessons from Volleyball can be found here. In volleyball, the only play you control yourself is...
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CloudTC and N-Able Acquired
"Australian-owned IP PBX systems company, Vixtel, has completed the acquisition of Silicon Valley based glass phone developer, CloudTC, for an undisclosed figure,"...
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ProfitBricks: Where InfiniBand Meets Cloud 2.0
In a recent meeting with William Toll and Pete Johnson of ProfitBricks, the pair were ecstatic to explain how their company has...
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Proactive Care Puts Operators One Step Ahead
By Thomas Fuerst, Senior Director, Multimedia Solutions MarketingAlcatel-Lucent
Monitoring and analyzing network data proactively saves operators time, money, and customers.
When a network service fails, it makes headlines, ticks off customers, and costs that network operator money. When a failure is headed off in advance, on the other hand, there might not be praise-laden headlines, but it's newsworthy nonetheless.
The traditional approach to customer care has typically been: a disgruntled customer calls customer service and complains of a service interruption or problem; the rep, learning of it for the first time, sends out a technician the next day, and eventually finds a resolution. Often, customers are left feeling put out, and the operator has spent significant time and money resolving the problem. Even worse is the customer who doesn’t call and just feels this is ‘typical’ of their network experience. That is a customer at risk of leaving.
Proactive care flips this dynamic on its head by using predictive analytics to identify potential outages or errors in the network and stop them before they occur. It consists of three main parts: one, constantly monitoring and measuring data on the network; two, real-time analysis of the data; and three, the most important, acting on that analysis to fix the problem.
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10 Lessons from Volleyball
I've played volleyball for over 25 years. I have traveled around the US to watch the pros live - both indoor...
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Emerging Threats Combats a Million Plus Pieces of New Malware a Week
There are 250,000 plus new pieces of malware being produced each day equating to one piece per person in the US in...
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NFV-Based Software Telcos Need OSS/BSS Interoperability
One of the goals of ETSI NFV is to allow new entrants to provide solutions to carriers based on software instead of...
Full Story »Web Anti-Fraud Measure Ineffective
February 5, 2007
An article in the New York Times today discusses a recent study by MIT and Harvard that examines the efficacy of the technology called site-authentication images. (If you do online banking, you may be familiar with this technology. You are asked to choose an image, and create a phrase that goes along with the image, and you are advised not to proceed with your online transaction unless you see both the image and the phrase when you log in.)
As it turns out, there's actually nothing wrong with the technology itself, it's merely that users tend to disregard the directives. During the course of the study, 58 out of 60 users logged into their accounts anyway, though they did not see their picture and phrase.
As it turns out, there's actually nothing wrong with the technology itself, it's merely that users tend to disregard the directives. During the course of the study, 58 out of 60 users logged into their accounts anyway, though they did not see their picture and phrase.
Groundhog Fails To See Shadow
February 2, 2007
Famed weather prognosticator (hey...his track record is no worse than the guys on network TV) Punxsutawney Phil failed, for the first time since 1999, to see his shadow this morning, thereby offering a prediction of an early spring. (We got that already...it was called the early winter...my crocuses started coming up in December.)
But every good prediction needs corroboration, so it's good to know that two Canadian prognosticators, also both of the Marmota monax genus and species, Wiarton Willie of Wiarton, Ontario and Shubenacadie Sam of Nova Scotia, also failed to see their shadows.
That's a consensus. Almost time to get the blender and margarita mix out.
TES
But every good prediction needs corroboration, so it's good to know that two Canadian prognosticators, also both of the Marmota monax genus and species, Wiarton Willie of Wiarton, Ontario and Shubenacadie Sam of Nova Scotia, also failed to see their shadows.
That's a consensus. Almost time to get the blender and margarita mix out.
TES
Vista's Speech Rec Troubles?
February 1, 2007
Microsoft has admitted that it could be "technically possible" (though unlikely) for Vista's speech recognition capabilities to be maliciously used.
The scenario envisioned involves malicious e-mails or audio on Web sites telling the OS to "delete" or otherwise alter a user's files against the user's wishes.
Microsoft has said that the possibility is remote, however:
"The exploit scenario would involve the speech recognition feature picking up commands through the microphone such as 'copy', 'delete', 'shutdown', etc. and acting on them," blogged a Microsoft security researcher. The blogger added that it would require a perfect alignment of circumstances: the user not being in the room to hear the audio, the microphone and speakers being turned on, the microphone being aligned just right and the clarity of the audio being perfect.
TES
The scenario envisioned involves malicious e-mails or audio on Web sites telling the OS to "delete" or otherwise alter a user's files against the user's wishes.
Microsoft has said that the possibility is remote, however:
"The exploit scenario would involve the speech recognition feature picking up commands through the microphone such as 'copy', 'delete', 'shutdown', etc. and acting on them," blogged a Microsoft security researcher. The blogger added that it would require a perfect alignment of circumstances: the user not being in the room to hear the audio, the microphone and speakers being turned on, the microphone being aligned just right and the clarity of the audio being perfect.
TES
Dell CEO Resigns
January 31, 2007
PC maker Dell said on Wednesday that founder and Chairman Michael Dell would become chief executive, effective immediately, replacing former CEO Kevin Rollins.
It's not hard to imagine the reasons behind such an event...Dell has admitted that its fiscal fourth-quarter results would be below less than hoped for.
See CNN's full report for more info: http://money.cnn.com/2007/01/31/technology/dell.reut/
TES
It's not hard to imagine the reasons behind such an event...Dell has admitted that its fiscal fourth-quarter results would be below less than hoped for.
See CNN's full report for more info: http://money.cnn.com/2007/01/31/technology/dell.reut/
TES
Hosted Speech Takes Off
January 31, 2007
During the first few years of speech applications for the call center, we all admired them great...from afar. Few companies (with the exception of large rich organizations like banks and airlines) could afford them, or had the manpower to administer them.
That's why speech solutions have mixed so well with the on-demand delivery model. Costs, complexity and the sheer "fear factor" of speech can be greatly reduced...by keeping the headaches on someone else's doorstep while still being able to reap the benefits.
Speech solutions provider Fluency Voice (www.fluencyvoice.com) announced today that it is experiencing great demand for the hosted (on-demand) version of its speech recognition solution as well as its traditional on- premise version. During the last three quarters alone, Fluency states that it has seen an 81 percent growth in sales of its Virtual Speech Agent (VSA) Suite solution delivered as an on-demand service compared with the same period in 2006.
That's why speech solutions have mixed so well with the on-demand delivery model. Costs, complexity and the sheer "fear factor" of speech can be greatly reduced...by keeping the headaches on someone else's doorstep while still being able to reap the benefits.
Speech solutions provider Fluency Voice (www.fluencyvoice.com) announced today that it is experiencing great demand for the hosted (on-demand) version of its speech recognition solution as well as its traditional on- premise version. During the last three quarters alone, Fluency states that it has seen an 81 percent growth in sales of its Virtual Speech Agent (VSA) Suite solution delivered as an on-demand service compared with the same period in 2006.
Colds In The Workplace
January 30, 2007
An article in the Washington Post today repeats that old "common cold costs money to the workplace" mantra by stating that, "An estimated $40 billion each year, according to a 2003 economic analysis by the University of Michigan for both direct and indirect costs for medical treatment and lost work time. As the researchers noted, that's a higher economic burden than some more-serious conditions impose."
The common cold has been with the human race longer than fire and poking things with sticks. So why do we presume there is such a thing as a "cold-free" human race, and chalk up "lost work time" to it, as if there is such an attainable state as a cold-free workplace?
How can a thus-far unpreventable activity (suffering from a cold) built into the human race be "costing" us anything?
The common cold has been with the human race longer than fire and poking things with sticks. So why do we presume there is such a thing as a "cold-free" human race, and chalk up "lost work time" to it, as if there is such an attainable state as a cold-free workplace?
How can a thus-far unpreventable activity (suffering from a cold) built into the human race be "costing" us anything?
Customer Service Madness
January 29, 2007
Here's a little personal anecdote I just had to share:
I'm switching health insurance companies as of February 1st. When I completed the paperwork, I indicated my primary care physician's name and address on the forms. The health insurance company sent me a letter, correctly identifying my primary care physician by name, but indicated that before they could activate my account, they had to know his ID number.
That would be the ID number that the insurance company assigned to him.
They're asking ME for it.
Because apparently, I know better than they do what provider number they assigned to my doctor.
I looked up the number...on their Web site, mind you...and called their call center.
To give them the number.
Their number that they assigned to my doctor.
Next week, I'm going to anticipate a call from my bank asking me what their check clearing policies are. I'll be sure to keep a copy of the bank's customer service manual around so I can tell them when they ask.
It's enough to make you wonder whether anyone in Corporate America has even half a brain turned on nowadays.
TES
I'm switching health insurance companies as of February 1st. When I completed the paperwork, I indicated my primary care physician's name and address on the forms. The health insurance company sent me a letter, correctly identifying my primary care physician by name, but indicated that before they could activate my account, they had to know his ID number.
That would be the ID number that the insurance company assigned to him.
They're asking ME for it.
Because apparently, I know better than they do what provider number they assigned to my doctor.
I looked up the number...on their Web site, mind you...and called their call center.
To give them the number.
Their number that they assigned to my doctor.
Next week, I'm going to anticipate a call from my bank asking me what their check clearing policies are. I'll be sure to keep a copy of the bank's customer service manual around so I can tell them when they ask.
It's enough to make you wonder whether anyone in Corporate America has even half a brain turned on nowadays.
TES
Post-Mortem Service Charges?
January 29, 2007
A friend sent this e-mail to me today. I have no idea if it's true or just one of the many frequently circulated urban legends that strike a chord in all of us. But knowing what I know about many companies' customer service policies, I can believe that somewhere, some time...it just might have happened.
An elderly lady died in January last year, and a large financial services/credit card company billed her for February and March for their annual service charges on her credit card, and added late fees and interest on the monthly charge. The balance had been $0.00, after the fees were added, it totaled about $60.00.
A family member placed a call to the bank.
An elderly lady died in January last year, and a large financial services/credit card company billed her for February and March for their annual service charges on her credit card, and added late fees and interest on the monthly charge. The balance had been $0.00, after the fees were added, it totaled about $60.00.
A family member placed a call to the bank.
Interview With The Hacker
January 26, 2007
Slyck News ran an interesting (and anonymous, for obvious reasons) interview with an individual who recently cracked the content protection on high definition DVDs and Blu-Ray discs. The individual, who calls himself muslix64, states that the process took him about eight days. When asked what label he would give himself (hacker, pirate, etc.), he replied, " I'm just an upset customer. My efforts can be called 'fair use enforcement'!"
The full interview can be viewed here: http://www.slyck.com/story1390.html
TES
The full interview can be viewed here: http://www.slyck.com/story1390.html
TES
Voxify Announces New CEO; Chairman Of The Board
January 26, 2007
This week, speech technology provider Voxify announced that John Gengarella has joined the company as President and CEO. According to the company, Gengarella brings with him "over two decades of technology leadership and visionary business practices with highly successful enterprise software businesses to lead Voxify through its current stage of aggressive growth." He is a former Siebel/Oracle CRM executive.
Voxify also announced that Carol Snell has been appointed to the position of Chairman of the Board of the company. Snell is, according to the release, "an accomplished entrepreneur and CEO bringing more than three decades of executive management, operations, sales and marketing experience to this key role at Voxify." Prior to this appointment, Snell served as an active member of the Voxify Board of Directors since joining in 2002.
Visit Voxify's Web site at www.voxify.com.
TES
Voxify also announced that Carol Snell has been appointed to the position of Chairman of the Board of the company. Snell is, according to the release, "an accomplished entrepreneur and CEO bringing more than three decades of executive management, operations, sales and marketing experience to this key role at Voxify." Prior to this appointment, Snell served as an active member of the Voxify Board of Directors since joining in 2002.
Visit Voxify's Web site at www.voxify.com.
TES
