The news as of the first coffee this morning, and the music is, if I must be honest, Grand Funk Railroad's "Loco-Motion." Go ahead and laugh if you've never listened to anything for the pure dumb fun of it:
Inilex has launched Apprize, described by company officials as a "machine-to-machine software service" for "challenges faced by developers" of M2M products. It lets developers add different devices and networks with no limitations, and can integrate outdated legacy devices that are still a part of an M2M system with newer or modern applications.
Inilex has launched Apprize, described by company officials as a "machine-to-machine software service" for "challenges faced by developers" of M2M products. It lets developers add different devices and networks with no limitations, and can integrate outdated legacy devices that are still a part of an M2M system with newer or modern applications.
The SaaS product is billed as letting developers "deploy any type of M2M application using any device, any protocol, over any communications network."
It's not difficult to see the market opportunity Inilex is heading for here. Strategy Analytics says the M2M industry is projected to grow exponentially in the coming years, from approximately $16 billion in 2008 to more than $57 billion by 2014. Apprize is positioned by Inilex officials as offering M2M software "that can be implemented across a variety of industries such as telemedicine, energy management, environmental, security" and more.
"It takes between four and six supply-chain partners" to develop and manage just one M2M product, says Vice President of Yankee Group's Enterprise and SMB Research, Steve Hilton. Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Inilex, Scott Ferguson said he's found that "customers can pay up to half a million dollars to develop and maintain M2M solutions."
It's not difficult to see the market opportunity Inilex is heading for here. Strategy Analytics says the M2M industry is projected to grow exponentially in the coming years, from approximately $16 billion in 2008 to more than $57 billion by 2014. Apprize is positioned by Inilex officials as offering M2M software "that can be implemented across a variety of industries such as telemedicine, energy management, environmental, security" and more.
"It takes between four and six supply-chain partners" to develop and manage just one M2M product, says Vice President of Yankee Group's Enterprise and SMB Research, Steve Hilton. Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Inilex, Scott Ferguson said he's found that "customers can pay up to half a million dollars to develop and maintain M2M solutions."
Inilex is based in Chandler, Ariz. and was founded in 2003. Company officials describe the firm as a vendor of "intelligent telemetry" products, monitor, track and control machines across a number of industries. Their products include Advantra, an M2M development platform, as well as vehicle safety and security products using GPS and cellular messaging systems.
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PSCU Financial Services, a financial services CUSO and provider of 24/7 call center operations for credit unions, has honored four credit unions at the San Dimas, California-based Financial Service Centers Cooperative 2009 annual meeting in Las Vegas.
Honolulu-based Hawaiian Tel Federal Credit Union, University of Hawaii Federal Credit Union and Hawaii USA Federal Credit Union were noted for using their custom call center to "enhance member service in the last year," and Kealakekua-based Hawaii Community Federal Credit Union received the Call Center Innovator award.
According to the citations, these credit unions "conducted cultural training to better align Total Member Care service representatives with the needs of their members." In response, Total Member Care adopted Hawaiian elements to its call center services, including island-themed hold music and a cultural-focused custom training regiment, as well as other ways to "ensure the members of the Hawaiian credit union community are given the level of care and service to best fit their needs and expectations." Insert hula girl line here.
According to the citations, these credit unions "conducted cultural training to better align Total Member Care service representatives with the needs of their members." In response, Total Member Care adopted Hawaiian elements to its call center services, including island-themed hold music and a cultural-focused custom training regiment, as well as other ways to "ensure the members of the Hawaiian credit union community are given the level of care and service to best fit their needs and expectations." Insert hula girl line here.
The awards note the four credit unions' collective effort to transition members to Total Member Care's mainland call center.
"Each year, PSCU Financial Services recognizes credit unions that find ways to maximize member service through our round-the-clock call center operations," says Peter Schmitt, executive director of PSCU Financial Services. "This year, we chose to acknowledge the exceptional member care of Hawaiian Tel, University of Hawaii, Hawaii USA and Hawaii Community Federal Credit Unions," noting especially their "implementation of cultural elements from their state."
"Each year, PSCU Financial Services recognizes credit unions that find ways to maximize member service through our round-the-clock call center operations," says Peter Schmitt, executive director of PSCU Financial Services. "This year, we chose to acknowledge the exceptional member care of Hawaiian Tel, University of Hawaii, Hawaii USA and Hawaii Community Federal Credit Unions," noting especially their "implementation of cultural elements from their state."
This sort of thing might work well in Hawaii, but one recoils to think what would happen if other states implemented "cultural elements" in contact centers. New Jersey: "You gotta problem wid dis? Yeah? Tellya what, jabrone: You gimme your home address an' we'll send Vito and Vinnie aroun' to, ah, discuss dis here so-called problem. Smart move, I put you down here as one more satisfied customer. Have a pleasant day." Click.
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FrontRange Solutions, developer of the GoldMine family of CRM software, has announced its top global CRM partners, including two UK channel organizations, Wizard Systems and Armstrong Consultants, in the top ten. The CRM Partner of the Year globally went to Ticomix Inc. of Illinois.
FrontRange CEO Michael McCloskey said the Partner of the Year awards "give us the opportunity to recognize the hard work and dedication they give to the marketing, implementation and support of our customer relationship and IT management."
The winning partners were chosen for their results in "several key categories," McCloskey said, including revenue generation, certification and customer satisfaction.
FrontRange Solutions, developer of the GoldMine family of CRM software, has announced its top global CRM partners, including two UK channel organizations, Wizard Systems and Armstrong Consultants, in the top ten. The CRM Partner of the Year globally went to Ticomix Inc. of Illinois.
FrontRange CEO Michael McCloskey said the Partner of the Year awards "give us the opportunity to recognize the hard work and dedication they give to the marketing, implementation and support of our customer relationship and IT management."
The winning partners were chosen for their results in "several key categories," McCloskey said, including revenue generation, certification and customer satisfaction.
Greg Anderson, General Manager of GoldMine business at FrontRange, said that despite the global economic situation, "many businesses have the foresight to see that investing in improving customer relations is one of the best ways to both survive the recession and come out the other side in an even stronger position."
FrontRange Solutions recently launched GoldMine Premium Edition 8.5, a product offering mid-range companies such features as Universal Search and cross-validation of manual-entered data.
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"Knowledge is power." Agree? The folks at 24x7Guru.com do -- they credit that for increased revenue and an expanded customer base.
"Knowledge is power." Agree? The folks at 24x7Guru.com do -- they credit that for increased revenue and an expanded customer base.
The global education portal is using Analytix On Demand SaaS business intelligence to gain "in-depth insight into customer subscription trends," according to company officials.
24x7Guru.com [Note to grammarians: It's okay to begin a sentence with a numeral if it's a proper noun: "7-Eleven officials said yesterday..."] provides assessment and education services to students in India, the Middle East and Southeast Asia, specializing in mathematics and science. Analytix officials said 24x7Guru.com, created by LearnSmart India, needed "detailed analysis of how its revenue breaks out by geography, demographics and educational subjects, including data about who is using the company's services and how."
24x7Guru.com [Note to grammarians: It's okay to begin a sentence with a numeral if it's a proper noun: "7-Eleven officials said yesterday..."] provides assessment and education services to students in India, the Middle East and Southeast Asia, specializing in mathematics and science. Analytix officials said 24x7Guru.com, created by LearnSmart India, needed "detailed analysis of how its revenue breaks out by geography, demographics and educational subjects, including data about who is using the company's services and how."
Obviously such information would be of great help in determining where to allocate marketing spend and what product enhancements would boost business.
"The more data we have, the more we can model our solution for future behavior," says Muralidhar K.S., CEO, LearnSmart India. "Now that we know so much more about what our customers are using, what they're buying and who they are, we can determine what they're more likely to buy next. We can see in real time what's working, so we can not only improve existing curriculum, but also identify new areas for expansion - either in terms of the product itself, or even potential new groups of customers."
Vik Torpunuri, Analytix On Demand founder and CEO, says traditionally, "this kind of insight into company performance was only available to large enterprises with massive budgets and a lot of time. But thanks to SaaS technologies, we can provide enterprise-class business intelligence at a fraction of what it used to cost."
As an intelligent Web-based assessment application, 24x7Guru.com lets students take tests at their convenience and from any browser without any downloads, company officials say, adding that the portal provides for "objective type questions with instant results, along with analytical feedback of performance every time the child takes the test."
"The more data we have, the more we can model our solution for future behavior," says Muralidhar K.S., CEO, LearnSmart India. "Now that we know so much more about what our customers are using, what they're buying and who they are, we can determine what they're more likely to buy next. We can see in real time what's working, so we can not only improve existing curriculum, but also identify new areas for expansion - either in terms of the product itself, or even potential new groups of customers."
Vik Torpunuri, Analytix On Demand founder and CEO, says traditionally, "this kind of insight into company performance was only available to large enterprises with massive budgets and a lot of time. But thanks to SaaS technologies, we can provide enterprise-class business intelligence at a fraction of what it used to cost."
As an intelligent Web-based assessment application, 24x7Guru.com lets students take tests at their convenience and from any browser without any downloads, company officials say, adding that the portal provides for "objective type questions with instant results, along with analytical feedback of performance every time the child takes the test."
Analytix On Demand is based in Irvine, California with offices in New York, Houston and San Jose.
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Navis, a developer of reservation-capture products for the vacation rental management and independent resort markets, has announced that Waterstone Resorts & Vacation Homes of Panama City Beach, Florida has contracted for Navis RezForce reservation call center services.
Navis, a developer of reservation-capture products for the vacation rental management and independent resort markets, has announced that Waterstone Resorts & Vacation Homes of Panama City Beach, Florida has contracted for Navis RezForce reservation call center services.
The agreement authorizes Navis to take after-hours calls on behalf of Waterstone Resorts and book reservations for vacationing guests.
"Waterstone Resorts understands that a lost call means lost revenue," says Kyle Buehner, CEO of Navis. "Navis Vacation Planners are trained in the art of booking reservations and are providing 24x7 call center services for more than 100 companies in the hospitality market. We are proud to add Waterstone Resorts to this prestigious list of Navis clients."
Waterstone Resorts & Vacation Homes operates condominium resorts and resort homes in Florida. The mission statement is simple - "a commitment to providing the finest vacation accommodations in the best resort locations with an unmatched level of service to guests, homeowners and employees."
Waterstone Resorts & Vacation Homes operates condominium resorts and resort homes in Florida. The mission statement is simple - "a commitment to providing the finest vacation accommodations in the best resort locations with an unmatched level of service to guests, homeowners and employees."
Yep, First Coffee would have to say that pretty well covers it.
Navis, headquartered in Bend, Oregon, is a privately held company founded in 1987.
