Archive

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about the on-demand call center, and about how the new technology model is driving business model change. With so much happening in the call center, you might be led to believe that being a call center agent is the best job in the world. Well, maybe not the best job,...

CosmoCom has introduced Version 4.6 of its Universe contact center software platform. New enhancements include improved reporting functionality, IP Centrex integration, and new networking functionality -- namely, the introduction of a new, proprietary NAT Traversal capability. Also, this version co...

Sage Software introduced the latest version of ACT, ACT by Sage 2007, last week. It includes ACT 9.0, ACT by Sage Premium for Workgroups 2007 9.0, ACT by Sage Premium for Web 2007 9.0 and ACT for Palm OS 2.0. Sage has also introduced more than 40 new add-on modules for the ACT by Sage 2007 9.0 cont...

CTI Group, a provider of online billing, self-care and communication management applications, has released a hosted call recording product. In general, on-demand contact center applications have been proliferating over the last year. CTI Group's new product, called "SmartRecord IP," differentiates i...

Salesforce.com has unveiled its Winter 07 upgrade, which features first-time support for softphone -- that is, computer telephony integration, or CTI -- connectivity. It also includes new interactive calendar design and task management capabilities, as well as additional integration tools. A new AJA...

RightNow Technologies will be introducing version 8 of its CRM suite next Monday in conjunction with the company's eighth annual user conference and the 2006 Gartner Customer Relationship Management Summit. Representing a US$25 million, two-year investment, version 8 has a completely rearchitected u...

As if the airlines haven't had enough challenges since Sept. 11, 2001, British authorities were compelled to introduce a new one at the beginning of August. In addition to weathering economic downturns, volatile bankruptcies and merger flirtations, airlines now must comply with new carry-on restrict...

Next week at its CRM Summit, Gartner will release statistics suggesting that in certain implementations, the Software as a Service model is not as cost-effective -- or even effective -- as earlier projections and experiences have led some companies to believe. In fact, through 2010, 75 percent of c...

I had my annual meeting with my friends at Walker Information the other day when they were in Boston talking about their latest report. I have written about Walker before, and it gives me pleasure to do so again -- and to point out that I have no business relationship with them; I just like what th...

The supply chain management applications market grew by 3 percent to US$5.6 billion in 2005, according to a new report by AMR Research. It was the second year of growth for the sector, and it exceeded the firm's expectations of a 1 percent increase. 2006 promises to be even stronger, with AMR callin...

Dell made headlines a few years ago with the announcement that it was bringing its Indian-based contact center operations back to the U.S. because of customer complaints of poor service. Since then, however, apparently unable to resist the lure of cost benefits, the company has sent additional opera...

Avaya has updated its flagship contact center software application, Interaction Center, with new features that make it easier for developers to build agent portals to their own specifications and needs. This latest iteration of the application, version 7.1, is taking aim at a pain point that many ve...

The best performing companies when it comes to customer-facing strategies actively attack the seven deadly sins of CRM with a vengeance. These observations come from their quantified success, and for certain publicly held companies, a rise in their Price/Earnings Ratio, stock price and valuation. ...

Oracle has released PeopleSoft Enterprise Performance Management 9, an integrated suite of analytic applications that is part of Oracle's PeopleSoft Enterprise 9 suite. New features include expanded enterprise planning and compliance management capabilities and new industry functionality in the hig...

Companies that seek to automate the customer service process to cut costs often alienate customers instead, as Part 1 of this two-part series reveals. Some companies, though, are finding ways to incorporate informed, personal interactions into their customer service programs, and are treating every...