Brendan Read : The Readerboard
Brendan Read
TMC
| Contact Center/CRM Views and Analysis

Longview IoT Boosts Energy and Wireless Efficiency

Some of the biggest challenges slowing down the adoption of IoT are security, efficient battery usage and optimized wireless communications.One company has...

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Hallmark's Simple, Inexpensive Way to Boost Customer Satisfaction

In an effort to boost margins, companies often push more users to automated solutions such as FAQs, chatbots, voice bots and anything...

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Huawei Places the World's First 5G VoNR Video Call

Huawei recently completed the world's first voice over NR (VoNR) call. The voice and video call service was made using two Huawei...

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IGEL Advances Future of Work

IGEL is a provider of a next-gen edge OS for cloud workspaces. The company’s software products include IGEL OS, IGEL UD Pocket (UDP) and Universal...

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Tata Communications and Cisco Collaborate on SD-WAN

Tata Communications and Cisco have extended their partnership to enable enterprises to transform their legacy network to a customized and secure multi-cloud...

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How to Win the 50-Year-Old China Trade War

Today and this week in-fact is historic - the left and right in the U.S. agree that we have a major trade...

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Extreme Elements Enables The Autonomous Enterprise

Extreme Networks just announced Extreme Elements which in-turn enables the autonomous network and subsequently the autonomous enterprise. In a dynamic webinar, Dan...

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Nortel's Poisoned Chalice?

September 16, 2009

Nortel has been the walking dead, its heroic and dedicated engineers like the still-vital organs struggling with weakening condition to produce and support IP-oriented quality products as they were drained with layoffs. Little wonder that in the contact center field at least, reported Interactive Intelligence's Joe Staples--whose firm has seen competitors like the 'old' Aspect, Davox, Rockwell et al disappear and many others fade into insignificance--Nortel's product line was aging with little new to get these buyers excited. Then again IP-from-the-ground-up companies like Aastra, Cisco, Fonality, Interactive Intelligence, and ShoreTel, to name but a few, didn't have the legacy TDM/PSTN baggage to lug with them. For these companies there is no need to 'migrate' customers to IP; they are already there.

Nortel's Pending Demise Reminder Why Open Source (And Hosting) Is Way To Go

September 9, 2009

The impending demise of Nortel's enterprise division--which it will be unless it is won at the ironically dated/located September 11 auction in New York City by a bidder that is willing to keep it as an independent corporate entity, and that appears unlikely---is a stark reminder of that open source virtue. Anyone who owns Nortel proprietary software, and hardware, will have to plan for end of life, and buying replacement products

Triaging the Healthcare Debates

August 25, 2009

Is it in the employers' best financial interests to collectively pay huge sums for administration, back office, and overhead, including marketing, customer care, and billing/collections contact centers and their underlying technologies? Dollars shelled out by them and their employees that could have gone instead to keeping employees and families well and keeping their costs down?

A Tip of The Hat to Radisson YVR (Vancouver)

August 18, 2009

There is great customer care and then there is great customer care. Service that is delivered by companies and staff that assists not only existing customers but who goes out of their way to help those individuals and businesses who are not but thanks to their four-star treatment could well be in the future and if not them their family, friends, and associates. Radisson Hotel Vancouver (B.C., Canada) Airport (a.k.a. YVR), which is located in the suburb of Richmond, falls into that category. For service alone I recommend staying there, along with being very convenient for both the airport and the downtown, including the Olympics venues.

Lack of Vision Nortel's Downfall

August 11, 2009

If you want to get somewhere then you have to see how to get there. And if you can't see where you're going you'll stumble and fall. And that's exactly what happened with Nortel. This lack of vision: both foresight and on the immediate environment led it to crash.

The Flexible Revolution

July 30, 2009

With a recovery that promises to be slow and painful firms that are encumbered by expensive fixed objects: buildings or hardware, processes, and thinking are unlikely to make it and if they do they will struggle. Companies that have embraced flexibility: opex not capex, leasing and hosting software, hardware, and hardware only if necessary, video/web conferencing not travel, and telework not bricks-and-mortar, are more likely to shine through.

O' Nortel, O' RIM, and O'Canada

July 27, 2009

until Canada's business/government culture changes, encouraging and supporting entrepreneurship and innovation and making the country more competitive there will be more sad stories like Nortel, and the Arrow--and more leaders who have and can make a difference shut out--resulting in fewer, highly-trained and paid workers that should be the bedrock of its economy.

A Salute To The U.S. Army, InfoCision, and West, for PaYS

July 21, 2009

So it is with the deepest respect that I salute our veterans. And that I salute the U.S. Army for devising and InfoCision for becoming one of the latest participants in the Army PaYS (Partnership for Youth Success) program for taking proactive action to ensure a future for them in civilian life.

Memo to Canada's CRTC: Shame the Telemarketers, Release the Names

July 13, 2009

The CRTC's reasoning--or in the view of critics, excuse,--according to vice-chairman of telecommunications Leonard Katz is that the "'intent here is to promote compliance,' not punish the companies by publicizing their names right away." Nonsense. The only way you get these characters to clean up their acts is by shaming them in front of the very people that they have been seeking as customers, but chose to violate their rights by breaking the rules designed to protect them. IOW hurt them where it counts in sales and reputation.

The Honduras Mess and Nearshore/Offshore Risks

July 8, 2009

The recent military coup in Honduras illustrates one of the risks of locating contact centers and other operations in other, and poorer countries where there are great income and other social disparities between classes, and that is political instability. It is truly unfortunate in Honduras's case that the political situation had deteriorated thought not well to begin with. The country, which has nearly 8 million people, could stand to benefit greatly from the nearshoring trend, and the many well-paying high-status BPO jobs it can bring, which has boosted the economy of next door Guatemala.
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