Contact Center Solutions

Interactive Intelligence, One of the Best Places to Work in Indiana

We in the U.S. know from hard facts the challenges confronting the "Rust Belt" states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin. They all for a variety of reasons saw their industrial bases decimated and have struggled to find their economic bearings. [ Read More ]
05/15/2012

LivePerson Receives 2012 CRM Excellence Award from CIS Magazine

Commitment to customers and clients and expanding customer relationships lay the foundation for success, and LivePerson, Inc. was honored with Customer Interaction Solutions 2012 CRM Excellence Award from TMC for its effort to improve customer experience with LP Chat. "We are honored to be recognized by Customer Interaction Solutions for the value that our technology provides to our customers' relationships and ultimately their businesses," Robert LoCascio, founder and CEO at LivePerson, sai… [ Read More ]
05/15/2012

Customer Interactions Solutions Magazine Honors 24-7 Intouch as Top Teleservices Provider

Canadian teleservices provider 24-7 Intouch was once again named to Customer Interactions Solutions Magazine's 27th Annual top 50 Teleservices Ranking list. The company ranked fifth in the Interactive category this year after earning the eighth slot in 2011 and the 31st ranking in 2010. 24-7 Intouch also placed fifth as an International Outbound and seventh as a National Inbound provider. [ Read More ]
05/15/2012

Domino's Pizza: Powered by the Cloud

Domino's Pizza is on top of the pizza-delivery market in the UK and other parts of Europe, with over 720 stores across the UK, Republic of Ireland and Germany. Such popular and relied upon businesses need a solid, effective solution to communicating with customers and taking phone-in orders - traditional telecom solutions just don't cut it. [ Read More ]
05/15/2012

Logicalware Offers Help Desk Solutions to Growing Businesses

One of Europe's fastest growing online beauty retailers has selected a new customer service solution to help them handle incoming e-mails. [ Read More ]
05/15/2012

Altitude Software Makes a New Scandinavian Deal

Today the management of Altitude Software, a company that specializes in developing software products for contact centers around the world, has announced a new partnership. The company has begun to deliver cloud contact services to a client in Scandinavia. The contract came about after a new acquisition. When a Sweden-based Software-as-a-Service provider was bought out by a group of private investors, they decided to bring in Altitude Software to help smooth over some of the rough spots. [ Read More ]
05/15/2012

eBizNET Solutions, SPS Commerce Provide an Integrated Platform for Supply Chain Solutions

Retail supply chain and distribution is a complex process. To survive in such a competitive market, retail stores need to get the right goods at the right price and at the right place with the best possible logistics processes. [ Read More ]
05/15/2012

Facebook-Freshdesk Integration Sharpens Facebook's Customer Service Management Features

If you're a company with a brand-new Facebook page and you're nervous about administering it and keeping up with the volume and type of customer contact you're going to get, Facebook may be able to help you. TechCrunch is reporting today that Facebook is integrating a new feature from startup Freshdesk into its features. [ Read More ]
05/15/2012

OAISYS Broadens Spectrum of Contact Center Recording Deployment Options

While the way companies and customers can interact today has multiplied in recent years - almost to a dizzying degree - call center solutions haven't been as quick to catch up. Many contact center technology companies are moving forward to address the gap, helping call centers remain relevant to today's customer and the way their own organizations communicate. [ Read More ]
05/15/2012

Rising Trend of 'Unsourcing' Could Cripple Call Center Outsourcing Industry

According to a recent article from the Costa Rica Star, countries like Costa Rica, the Philippines and India, which rely heavily on call centers to fuel their economies, could be in trouble from an "army of unpaid workers." A new trend called "unsourcing" refers to customers creating a sort of peer-to-peer help center for solving issues with products and services, and could do exactly that. [ Read More ]
05/14/2012

Sprint to Implement Amdocs Solution to Improve Customer Experience

Customer experience management solutions provider, Amdocs, is announcing this week that wireless service provider Sprint plans to deploy Amdocs' Smart Agent Desktop, a component of Amdocs' CES (Customer Experience Systems) product portfolio. Sprint chose the solution with a goal of enhancing its customers' experience while providing its contact center representatives (CSR) with a more intuitive, time-saving customer management solution. [ Read More ]
05/14/2012

TMCnet Contact Center Solutions Week in Review

The diversity of news in the contract center solutions area is always a source of amazement. This week for instance saw important new product announcements, a feature on carrier aspirations in the space, various types of recognition and some interesting expansions of capabilities. [ Read More ]
05/12/2012

VOXDATA Solutions Chooses Interactive Intelligence as its Communication Solution

VOXDATA Solutions Inc., a company specializing in outsourcing contact center services, has decided to use Interactive Intelligence's unified business communication solution, Customer Interaction Center (CIC). Interactive Intelligence has grown in popularity as more companies switch their telecommunications software to work with Interactive's all-in-one CIC platform. [ Read More ]
05/09/2012

Novo Technologies Rated for Avaya Compliance

Novo Technologies, a supplier of call recording, quality and coaching tools for the call center and customer relation management markets, announced today that its flagship product NovoLog6 is compliant with key collaboration solutions from Avaya software. Any company that creates telecommunications solutions either in software or hardware must develop compliance with the large systems providers like Avaya, ShoreTel and Cisco. [ Read More ]
05/09/2012

When Telecom Carriers Become Your Middleman for Contact Center Services

When large telecom carriers offer customers business services, they've got some tough competition. The common rule, that a phone company is a phone company is a phone company, is one the major carriers have been fighting for years, usually by trying to differentiate themselves from one another by their add-on services. [ Read More ]
05/09/2012

Customer Interactions Solutions Honors IntelliResponse with 2012 CRM Excellence Award

Answer Suite, a product by IntelliResponse, has received a 2012 CRM Excellence Award from Customer Interaction Solutions Magazine. "IntelliResponse has been granted a CRM Excellence Award for its commitment to its customers and their clients," said Rich Tehrani, CEO at TMC. [ Read More ]
05/09/2012

KANA Receives 2012 CRM Excellence Award from Customer Interaction Solutions Magazine

KANA Software, Inc., a world leader in multi-channel customer service, has recently been recognized with a Customer Interaction Solutions 2012 CRM Excellence Award, in the Service Experience Management category. [ Read More ]
05/09/2012

Beyond The Arc Launches Voice of the Customer Consulting Service

Does your contact center adjust its processes to customer needs, or does it expect customers to adjust their needs to your processes? If it's the former, chances are you've discovered the concept of "voice of the customer," a process by which you examine your customer interactions and your customers' preferences and build out your contact center operations to meet those needs. [ Read More ]
05/09/2012

CSA Travel Protection Has Success After Using Customer Interaction Center

Since implementing Interactive Intelligence Group Inc.'s, Customer Interaction Center, CSA Travel protection has seen a decrease in operation costs and an increase in personal service deployment. CSA, a California-based company, has been in operation since 1991 providing customers all aspects of quality travel insurance and emergency services. [ Read More ]
05/08/2012

Gartner Puts Salesforce.com in CRM-Contact Center Leaders Quadrant

IT research company, Gartner, Inc. recently released its "Magic Quadrant for CRM Customer Service Contact Centers." In the report, Gartner has placed Salesforce.com in the Leaders Quadrant. To land in the Leaders Quadrant, a company must demonstrate both a clear vision for a market sector and the ability to achieve that vision. According to Gartner, these companies demonstrate market-defining vision and the ability to execute the vision through products, services, demonstrable sales figures, and… [ Read More ]
05/08/2012

Survey Highlights Bottlenecks in Delivering Consistent Customer Service

BAI, a financial services association, conducted a survey across the retail banking sector to determine the extent to which retail banks were able to provide consistent customer service across all channels. The survey, sponsored by Pegasystems Inc., underscores the importance of its BPM and CRM technology and how it can be used to transform operations and create competitive advantages by ensuring consistent customer service. [ Read More ]
05/08/2012

Envision Announces Major Upgrade to Centricity Workforce Optimization Suite

Workforce optimization experts at Envision have announced a "major upgrade" of Envision Centricity Team Optimization Suite for workforce management, workforce optimization (WFO) and coaching for the contact center. The solution now features a new tabbed user interface for easier navigation and fewer clicks, more powerful supervisor workflow - including the ability to create and deliver online e-learning for individual and group coaching quicker - and a new Silverlight audio visual player tha… [ Read More ]
05/08/2012

Netop Updates its Live Guide Chat Solution

Networking solutions provider, Netop, recently announced a new version of its Live Guide chat software, designed to help organizations make the most of their online presence by easily offering chat as a media for communications. The click-to-chat capabilities of Live Guide represent the next generation of e-customer service and a powerful alternative to business-as-usual online, said the Denmark-based company. [ Read More ]
05/07/2012

Interactive Intelligence Introduces Mobile Customer Service Solution

Everyone is talking about improving the customer experience. Let's face it - without customers, your enterprise cannot experience revenue and profitability growth. "Solutions" to improve customer experiences are blossoming like desert plants after a rain storm. [ Read More ]
05/07/2012

Envision Addresses Cloud, Social Media, and More

Envision has unleashed a new version of Centricity, its workforce management and optimization, and agent coaching solution. Version 10.5 addresses the collision of social media and the call center, the rise of cloud services, and the industry trend toward application-centric architectures. [ Read More ]
05/07/2012

Rader Involved in Sound Telecom's Expansion Plans

Sound Telecom's call center manager, James Rader is now actively involved in the company's expansion plans as he has now completed his degree in business management at the University of Phoenix. [ Read More ]
05/07/2012

TMCnet Contact Center Solutions Week in Review

The week's activities in contract center solutions can be summed up with one word, WOW! From industry trends to the need to include mobility and adding a social component to a number of recognition and deals items, there was a lot to cover. [ Read More ]
05/05/2012

Azerbaijan's Azercell Awarded International Certificate of Call Center Compliance

Call centers in Azerbaijan have a new option for quality, thanks to a partnership announced today. Business communications giant, Avaya says that Azercell Telecom, a large mobile operator in Azerbaijan and part of TeliaSonera, has received an international certificate of compliance for its contact center. The certificate, awarded on the basis of the contact center meeting EN 15 838 requirements, guarantees the highest level of customer service, reliability and cost-effectiveness, said the two co… [ Read More ]
05/03/2012

Avtex Strengthens Global Presence by Acquiring Reliant CCS

Integrated interaction solutions provider Avtex recently acquired Reliant CCS, a source of contact center solutions based in Greenville, South Carolina. The acquisition will go a long way in strengthening Avtex's geographic reach by reinforcing their presence in the southeast. [ Read More ]
05/03/2012

Mitel's Contact Center 6.0 Recognized by Customer Interaction Solutions Magazine

Unified communications software solutions provider Mitel is announcing that TMC, a global, integrated media company, has named Mitel's Contact Center 6.0 solution as a recipient of Customer Interaction Solutions' 2011 Product of the Year award. Customer Interaction Solutions magazine is the leading publication covering CRM, call centers and teleservices since 1982. [ Read More ]
05/03/2012

Michigan-based CUSO Xtend Reports Record Call Center Volume

Xtend Inc., a Grand Rapids, Michigan-based multi-owned cooperative credit union service organization (CUSO), reports that in the past month it has handled the largest number of call center transactions in its history. Transactions included inbound member service calls, outbound business-to-business calls, outbound member calls, calls to its lending hotline and Web chats. [ Read More ]
05/03/2012

Merkle Selected by Eddie Bauer to Manage CRM Activities

Eddie Bauer, a specialty retailer that sells sportswear, outerwear, gear and accessories for the active outdoor lifestyle, has selected Merkle to manage CRM activities including marketing database, email marketing, campaign management and analytics. [ Read More ]
05/03/2012

Smartphones Are Changing the Face of Customer Interaction

The May issue of Customer Interaction Solutions Magazine featured a cover package of stories addressing how mobility is changing customer interactions. That included a piece from SpeechCycle with the ominous headline: 2012 - The Year the Contact Center Dies. It talks about how connected devices like smartphones are becoming the preferred communication medium for many and how, according to SpeechCycle anyway, these smart devices will replace the call center as the primary interaction channel. [ Read More ]
05/02/2012

InRule Partners with MidAmerica Consulting Group for Health, Human Services Case Mgmt

When companies buy complex solutions to manage business processes, ease of use and configurability are essential. Solutions too complex for laypersons to manipulate lead to systems used improperly. [ Read More ]
05/02/2012

Majority of U.S. and U.K. Companies Turn to Social Customer Service

While social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook have long been used as a really great way to kill an afternoon, more businesses are seeing the truly positive effects the sites can have. More and more businesses are allowing their employees to spend at least some of their work time on social media, as it appears happier employees are more efficient. Now a new study shows that more and more businesses use them to handle their customer service interactions. [ Read More ]
05/02/2012

Jacada Introduces New Call Center Desktop Integration and Automation Solution

Its conventional wisdom that when you want to work smart, make sure your work space is uncluttered, logically arranged and easy to use. The same goes for your computer desktop. But some people use more applications than others, in which case...a well ordered desktop is extra critical. Few professionals use more applications on a single desktop than a call center agent, who must keep an eye on call queues and calls waiting, call recording solutions, workforce management solutions, performance met… [ Read More ]
05/01/2012

Aspect Study Finds UK Customers' Biggest Call Center Irritants

So whose customers dislike them most, at least in the contact center? Who aggravates callers the most and has some of the lowest customer satisfaction rates? [ Read More ]
05/01/2012

Vovici Releases Findings From Its Voice of the Customer Survey

Are you listening to the voice of your customer? You probably are, if you're like most companies. Enterprise feedback management solutions provider Vovici, a Verint Systems company, announced this week its findings from its Voice of the Customer (VoC) survey, "Don't Be in the 4%: New Research Reveals That 96% of Companies are Leveraging the VoC to Improve Business Performance." The study was conducted in collaboration with customer strategy consultancy Peppers & Rogers Group and 1to1 Media to ga… [ Read More ]
05/01/2012

Interactive Intelligence Launches Australia Training Center

The Australians like to refer to their country with the slang "Oz", a term that alternatively is a contraction and the alteration of "Aus" or a reference to the magical world of Frank Baum's famous book "The Wizard of Oz." Either way, there is no denying that contact center solutions market leader, Interactive Intelligence, is busy working hard to make its operations in Australia a more magical experience for its customers down under. [ Read More ]
04/30/2012

Customer Relationship Metrics Adds To Managed Call Center Analytics Services

While once upon a time the conventional wisdom in any business was that there is no such thing as too much data. Given the amount of data available today, that's not always true. Too much data, or intelligence stratified in the wrong way, can be a useless distraction. It's important, particularly in the call center, to make sure the right intelligence is being delivered at the right time to the right people in the right way. To help further this goal, Customer Relationship Metrics, L.C. recently… [ Read More ]
04/30/2012

TMCnet Contact Center Solutions Week in Review

This week was awash in contract center solutions items, spanning all aspects of the industry. From financial results to the increased importance of social media integration to analytics, there's a lot to digest. Possibly the most interesting development was the first-quarter financial results of community sponsor Interactive Intelligence. [ Read More ]
04/28/2012

Interactive Intelligence Looks to Enter, Corner Romanian Market

Interactive Intelligence, a U.S.-based supplier of integrated software solutions for business communications, recently announced its intentions to move into the Romanian market. The company's ultimate aim is to acquire 50 percent of the Romanian financial sector within three to four years. [ Read More ]
04/27/2012

New Social Dynamx Redefines Social Customer Care

With the advent of social media, companies look to identify business leads in these spaces. To monitor the mass of conversations happening around various social media platforms, Social Dynamx has launched the industry's first purpose-built social customer care platform with scale in mind. [ Read More ]
04/26/2012

ExponentHR Deploys MaxACD Contact Center Solutions for Microsoft Lync

When human resources information system ExponentHR started to see substantial growth at the start of 2011, it began switching the Cisco infrastructure of its call center over to Microsoft's unified communications platform - Lync. [ Read More ]
04/26/2012

Customer Relationship Metrics Announces New Suite of Managed Desktop Analytics Services

A new suite of managed analytics services has been announced by managed call center analytics and advisory services provider Customer Relationship Metrics, L.C. The MSP has launched its Desktop Activity BI solution for analyzing desktop activity and application performance data in order to provide better insight into trends, best practices and areas that need improvement. [ Read More ]
04/26/2012

Genpact Takes Business Relationship to Next Level with RightAnswers, Inc.

Genpact, a provider of business process and technology management, announced that it is using RightAnswers, Inc.'s Unified Knowledge Platform to provide IT services to all clients. [ Read More ]
04/26/2012

Supermarket Chain Kroger to Initiate Pilot Program for Pharmacy Call Center in Cincinnati Area

Supermarket chain Kroger Co. plans to partner with Koncert IT to create a new consumer affairs pharmacy call center in Hamilton, Ohio. Kroger is the U.S.'s largest grocery store chain and its second-largest grocery retailer by volume. It's also the second-place general retailer in the country, just after Wal-Mart. [ Read More ]
04/26/2012

Interactive Intelligence First Quarter Earnings -the Cloud Emerging as Golden Lining

Today, Interactive Intelligence reported its first quarter earnings and turned in solid results. In fact, much of the call with analysts, featuring the company's founder and CEO, Dr. Donald E. Brown, and its CFO, Stephen R. Head, centered on how a robust move to the cloud by new and large customers, along with the structuring of a large contract for a premises customer, meant the quarter was actually better than it might appear because of deferred revenue recognition. [ Read More ]
04/25/2012

Genpact Adopts RightAnswers' Unified Knowledge Platform

Knowledge management solutions provider RightAnswers, Inc. just revealed that business process and technology management company Genpact has adopted RightAnswers' Unified Knowledge Platform as the robust solution to support its clients' outsourced IT infrastructures. Genpact plans to deploy the RightAnswers platform to all of its clients using its IT outsourcing services. Delivered as a cloud-based solution, the platform will allow Genpact to quickly enable knowledge management and self-service … [ Read More ]
04/25/2012

KnoahSoft's Workforce Optimization Solution Harmony Rated Avaya Compliant

KnoahSoft, a provider of VoIP applications for contact centers, announced that its workforce optimization (WFO) solution, Harmony, is compatible with Avaya Aura Communication Manager 6.0.1 using Avaya Aura Application Enablement Services 6.1.1. Harmony helps contact centers effectively manage their business operations with real-time and offline data. [ Read More ]
04/25/2012

Infor's CRM Enterprise Interaction Advisor Supports Multichannel Campaigns with Common Messaging

Infor recently announced the release of the Infor10 CRM Enterprise Interaction Advisor (Epiphany) next-best-action engine. Designed as a part of the Infor10 CRM Enterprise (Epiphany) Suite, Infor10 CRM Enterprise Interaction Advisor allows marketers to predict customer behavior and preferences, based on the customer's past responses and real-time activity. [ Read More ]
04/25/2012

Huawei Achieves Oracle Validated Integration for Contact Center Solution

Chinese networking and telecom giant Huawei, a platinum-level member of the Oracle PartnerNetwork (OPN), announced this week it has achieved Oracle Validated Integration of its contact center solution. Huawei eSpace Contact Center 2.0 is now integrated with Oracle Siebel 8.1. With Huawei's CTI adapter, call center agents can place, receive, conference and transfer telephone calls that are fully integrated with Siebel applications in call center activities. [ Read More ]
04/24/2012

Nottingham-based Lift Company Chooses Local Firm for Outsourced Call Center Services

Nottingham, England-based outsourced call center services provider Answer-4u has won a contract to provide 24-hour-a-day contact center services to lift company Morris Vermaport, which is headquartered in Nottingham but has operations in both Scarborough and London. The call center services provider was chosen because of its capabilities in handling critical lift operations calls, ThisNottinghamCity is reporting today. [ Read More ]
04/24/2012

U.K. Telecom Regulator Levies Fine Against Homeserve for Exceeding Call Abandonment Limit

Ofcom, the independent regulator and competition authority for the U.K. communications industries, announced this week that it has levied its first fine on a company for breaking the country's 2010 revised rules on call abandonment in a call center. The agency is charging Homeserve, a provider of emergency home repair services, a fine of £750,000 ($1.2 million) for making 36,000 calls that breached regulations, including 15,000 silent calls. [ Read More ]
04/24/2012

Social Dynamx All Set to Change the Social Customer Care Front

Social Dynamx recently unveiled the Social Dynamx solution, which is the first purpose-built social customer care platform that has scale in mind. This innovative solution has been specifically designed to enable both large enterprises and customer contact centers to single out, prioritize and analyze millions of one-on-one social conversations. [ Read More ]
04/24/2012

Cooperation Between Marketing and the Contact Center Even More Critical, Thanks to Social Media

While most companies grapple with how best to cope with social media, some are still at step one: figuring out who should be responsible for handling the customer contact and comments made via Twitter, Facebook, peer-to-peer help sites, blogs, message boards, etc. [ Read More ]
04/23/2012

Helping Inbound Call Center Work Drive Outbound Compliance

If your contact center engages in outbound work, you do it for a good reason: there are valuable rewards that come from outbound work. Of course, with great rewards come great responsibility, and outbound work isn't for the faint of heart. It's hard work, and it requires strict compliance with a variety of do-not-call lists: national, regional and even your own internal lists. [ Read More ]
04/23/2012

TMCnet Contact Center Solutions Week in Review

New studies, standards, recognitions and implementations of innovations and best practices dominated contact center solutions news this week. However, before getting to the week in review, I would like to remind readers that in the week ahead an important webinar, "Cloud-based Contact Center and Unified Communications: Is it Right for Your Business?" is coming up on April 24 at 11:30 EDT. I will be listening in and hope you will be too. [ Read More ]
04/21/2012

Improving the Customer Service You Offer via Facebook

If your business has a Facebook page - and let's face it, any company that wants to succeed nowadays does - you encourage your fans to post material onto your wall. While positive posts are most desirable, chances are, you're going to run into some negative posts. [ Read More ]
04/19/2012

Varolii Wins Frost & Sullivan Award for Market Share Leadership

Varolii Corporation, a premier independent market and technology company in intelligent, personalized interactive communication solutions, recently announced it has been recognized with the 2011 North American Frost & Sullivan Award for Market Share Leadership. The award recognizes companies who have demonstrated excellence in capturing the highest market share within its industry. [ Read More ]
04/18/2012

RPMI Uses Interactive Intelligence for its Contact Center Operations

Two days ago, Interactive Intelligence announced it would host a conference call on April 25 at 4:30 p.m. to discuss its first-quarter financial results. The unified communications company states it now has a new client, RPMI, a premier pensions administrator and investments company. [ Read More ]
04/18/2012

Study: Most Contact Centers Fail to Implement Customer Loyalty Programs

If you're a contact center organization, you understand the importance of customer loyalty program, right? Not necessarily, according to new research published today by Satmetrix, the Net Promoter software company. The report finds that organizations of all sizes may be missing out on the business benefits of a best practice approach to customer loyalty. [ Read More ]
04/18/2012

ICMI Announces Revised Industry Standards for Contact Center Excellence

To ensure the highest possible quality contact center service, many companies turn to outside certification and benchmarking organizations in an effort to stay on top of industry standards. This is particularly important, given the increasing complexity of contact center operations. [ Read More ]
04/18/2012

VPI's Solution Ranks High in DMG New Quality Management Study

Call center management company Voice Print International (VPI) will announce this week that its solution has been recognized by industry analyst DMG in its new study, "2011-2012 Quality Management/Liability Recording/WFO Product and Market Report." The company was ranked highest in the "reporting and delivery of actionable insights" category. [ Read More ]
04/18/2012

Preventing the 'Call Center Dead Ends' with Better Self-service Technology

What are "call center dead ends?" We've all been there. It's the moment you've realized that the customer self-service channel you've engaged is not only not going to solve your problem, it's going to leave you unable to choose another channel that might help you. [ Read More ]
04/17/2012

IOCOM's Video Conferencing and Collaboration Solution Optimizes Client Engagement for Mitchell Associates

IOCOM Communications recently announced its video conferencing and collaboration platform has been selected by Mitchell Associates. An Illinois-based consulting firm, Mitchell Associates will now be able to use this platform to share HD quality renderings with multiple users via desktops or laptops, increasing overall productivity. [ Read More ]
04/17/2012

Warm Health Allows Health Plan Members to 'Live Chat' with Care Managers about Benefits

Warm Health, a provider of care management communications, today launched its Warm Health App, which delivers on-going, interactive care and disease management programming to health plan members while allowing them to have a direct, secure communication link with their care managers, live video chats, all done over the cloud and members' smartphones. [ Read More ]
04/17/2012

National Government Services Wins $111 Million Contract for Next Generation Desktop App

National Government Services, Inc. announced today that it has been awarded the contract to the desktop application used by all Medicare Contact Center Customer Service Representatives (CSRs) to answer millions of calls from Medicare beneficiaries, saving time and improving CSRs' ability to provide more timely and accurate services, according to a company press release. [ Read More ]
04/16/2012

Call Centers in the White House: The Second Annual 'Joining Forces' Summit

Last Wednesday, First Lady Michelle Obama spoke in Washington about the "Joining Forces" campaign, a one-year-old initiative designed to support military families and veterans across the U.S. The initiative, supported by the White House and public figures such as Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks and Oprah Winfrey, was launched to create jobs near or around military bases or virtual (home-based) positions. [ Read More ]
04/16/2012

Customer Service via Video Chat?

Customer service isn't always the most pleasant experience when facing problems with a troublesome product or service. Receiving instruction over the phone can prove tedious, but what if it was possible to communicate with tech-support through video chat? Ping An Insurance Group of China has already implemented such features in its customer service platform, making it the nation's first company to ever do so. [ Read More ]
04/16/2012

TMC Contact Center Solutions Week in Review

Given the flood of news this week regarding contact center solutions, it's difficult to know where you should turn your attention first. Several interesting items surfaced this week regarding community sponsor Interactive Intelligence, so that seems like a logical place to start. [ Read More ]
04/14/2012

Revitas Redesigns Customer Engagement Program to Improve Business Value

With an aim to facilitate an improved interaction with its diverse customer base, Revitas, an expert in the field of enterprise revenue dynamics, recently upgraded its Customer Engagement Program with the addition of three components: industry summits, product councils, and customer advisory boards. [ Read More ]
04/13/2012

U.K.-Based Outsourced Sales and Marketing Firm Reports Strong Q1 Growth

SMP Acquisitions, a U.K.-based outsourced sales and marketing firm, reported surpassing sales targets by 28 percent in the first quarter of 2012. Based in Luton, England, the company works with brands to develop direct marketing campaigns to increase consumer interaction and acquire new customers. [ Read More ]
04/13/2012

Anti-Call Center Outsourcing Bill Gains Over 100 Co-Sponsors in Congress

Everybody in Congress wants to be part of the anti-outsourcing legislation working its way through the legislative process, it would seem. Proposed legislation to penalize U.S. companies for shipping jobs offshore has garnered at least 106 co-sponsors in Congress, the Indian Express is reporting today. [ Read More ]
04/13/2012

ILD Corp. Hires Seasoned Contact Center Executive to Accelerate Company Growth

ILD Corp recently announced it hired Eric Sherman as its Vice President of Business Development. Sherman, who had earlier worked with Global Response, will spearhead the company's sales and marketing, as well as oversee ILD's Outsourced Services business objectives. "As communications continues to evolve, and we explore new growth opportunities, we are adding industry thought leaders to our team," said ILD Corp. Chairman and CEO Mike Lewis. [ Read More ]
04/13/2012

Catching up on the Interactive Intelligence 'Goat Program'

In January, I did a feature on the Interactive Intelligence Goat Program being done in conjunction with the international charity Oxfam. The program is simple. Schedule a meeting with Interactive Intelligence to talk about your business communications and optimization needs and their solutions and they will donate a goat to a needy individual in an impoverished community through Oxfam. Plus, if you can convince your boss to attend the donation, it is upgraded to a cow. [ Read More ]
04/12/2012

Aurix Launches Newest Version of its Analyst Solution

Call centers have a tendency to collect data. Lots and lots and lots of it. Called "big data," it's the information both structured and unstructured, residing in a variety of places, that you need to do your business. Unfortunately, most of it tends to be inaccessible, repetitive or just plain impossible to store through ordinary means. [ Read More ]
04/12/2012

planetRE Announces Unified Contact and Calendar Management with Socialite CRM Cloud

planetRE, a respected cloud vendor of online real estate, announced a new feature under the planetRE Socialite CRM platform. To create a unified desktop, the planetRE seeks to bridge the gap between organizations and their clients via multiple social networks. Clients can then run marketing campaigns coherently and monitor social activities. [ Read More ]
04/12/2012

Latin America's Copa Airlines Powers its 'Ask Ana' Virtual Agent with IntelliResponse Technology

"Is Web self-service a good thing?" Anyone who has ever used it knows the answer to that is similar to the answer to "How long is a string?" The answer depends entirely on the Web self-service. Done properly, Web self-service can be a boon to both contact centers and customers, helping the latter find the answers they need with minimum fuss. Done improperly - designed to benefit the contact center only and not the customer - Web self-service can turn customers away in droves. [ Read More ]
04/12/2012

Interactive Intelligence Opens Training Center for Purdue University Students

Interactive Intelligence is a software company that provides unified business communications solutions for call centers, enterprise IP telephony, and business process automation. The company has been around for over 20 years and has been repeatedly recognized for revolutionizing unified communication solutions in Indianapolis, Indiana - and now globally. [ Read More ]
04/11/2012

Interactive Intelligence Announces Keynote Speakers for June Convention

Interactive Intelligence, a unified IP business communications company, in collaboration with Latitude Software will be holding its Interactions 2012 conference this year in June. The company said the event is "for customers, partners, prospects, consultants, analysts, and media." [ Read More ]
04/11/2012

Cisco, Avaya and Mitel Positioned Atop IP Telephony Vendor Market

Although the IP telephony vendor market is once again dominated by the likes of Cisco, Avaya and Mitel, a number of recent technological innovations have reenergized competition and forced every player in the space to evolve their product line to remain viable, according to a new report from Info-Tech Research Group. [ Read More ]
04/10/2012

Alpine Access Seeking Candidates for Canada Virtual Call Center

Virtual contact center services provider, Alpine Access, looks to expand in Canada. The company announced it is actively pursuing 150 Canadian-based employees for work-at-home positions in the next 30 days. [ Read More ]
04/10/2012

Viper Upgrades IP PBX System for Contact Centers

Viper, which specializes in VoIP telephone systems, has launched their latest business IP PBX systems for enterprise customers. Simultaneously, the company also launched their product Web site for the new phone system and digital PBX solution. [ Read More ]
04/09/2012

Windesheim University Upgrades Call Center with AltiGen's MaxACD for Lync 2010

AltiGen recently announced Windesheim University of Applied Sciences has deployed AltiGen's MaxACD contact center solution for Microsoft Lync. The solution provides compelling communications solution for the University. [ Read More ]
04/09/2012

Consider Lowering Call Center Costs and Raising Quality via the At-Home Model

Call centers are expensive to run. That point is indisputable. Whether they serve as a net drain or a net gain for companies, however, depends on them. Often treated as a cost center - or a necessary evil - in the past, many call centers found their operations shipped offshore in previous decades in an effort to offer the most basic - sometimes mediocre or even downright bad - service while keeping labor and facility costs low. [ Read More ]
04/09/2012

Cicero's XM Enterprise Software: An Award-Winning 'Smart Desktop' Solution, Says CIS

Cicero Inc., a firm focused on Customer Interaction Management (CIM), developed the Cicero XM, a Customer Experience Management (CEM) solution that simplifies, extends and automates processes to improving business/user productivity. Cicero uses business integration software to provide successful enterprise-class solutions. [ Read More ]
04/09/2012

TMCnet Contact Center Solutions Week in Review

TMCnet would like to wish you and your families happy Easter and Passover holidays. Despite the short week there was no shortage of interesting items that caught our attention including the intensely watched bill in the U.S. Congress aimed at stanching the flow of call centers overseas. [ Read More ]
04/07/2012

Telax Releases New Call Center Agent, Integrates Microsoft Lync

Provider of hosted contact center solutions, Telax released a new version of its Telax Call Center Agent (CCA), saying it comes with significant changes to the software, including integration with Microsoft Lync and a redesign of the user interface. Integration with Lync is a major upgrade for Telax's Call Center Agent. [ Read More ]
04/05/2012

QGate Rolls Out its Next Phase of Telephony Integration for CRM - intelli-CTi

The intelli-CTi software integration solution provided by QGate allows for applications like CRM and telephony systems to be implemented at high efficiency and low costs. QGate has just rolled out the next generation of the service for Microsoft Dynamics CRM, and are proud to announce some of its handy new features. [ Read More ]
04/05/2012

Contact Centers, Unified Communications, the Cloud and You - Perfect Together?

In contemplating the transformation of contact centers from their traditional roles as customer touch point corporate outposts to being core components in business process optimization the list items have never been more relevant. Indeed, in the era of the cloud, the delivery of computing and communications as services, the intense focus on these items has become paramount as enterprise strain to keep up with dynamic market changes which are forcing technology purchasing to reach tipping points. [ Read More ]
04/05/2012

Echopass and Genesys Promote Benefits of Cloud-Based Contact Center

Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) provider Echopass Corporation has teamed up with its long-time technology partner Genesys to coordinate their marketing initiatives and promote the benefits of cloud-based contact center services. [ Read More ]
04/04/2012

Briggs Equipment Unveils Pioneering Warehousing Solution

Briggs Equipment Ltd. has unveiled a 3D virtual reality warehouse simulation tool, offering a new approach to customer associations. With a strong commitment to enhancing the experience of its customers, Briggs Equipment has experienced tremendous growth during the past five years. [ Read More ]
04/04/2012

Defense Contractor Chooses Ethical Advocate for Ethics Program

U.S. government and defense contractor JB Management, Inc. (JBM) announced this week that it has chosen Ethical Advocate to provide the organization's ethics line. Ethical Advocate is a third-party provider of comprehensive ethics and compliance solutions, including ethics and compliance training and confidential and anonymous hotlines, meeting Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX), Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR), and other regulatory and reporting needs. [ Read More ]
04/03/2012

Bill Aimed at Stopping American Companies from Moving Call Centers Overseas Gaining Steam

It seems that the fight to keep American companies from outsourcing their labor has been going on ever since the country was first founded. That doesn't mean that the fight is winding down by any stretch and a new bill by United States Congressman Tim Bishop added fuel to the fire. Bishop's bill, being called the U.S. Call Center and Consumer Protection Act would bar American companies from moving their call centers overseas. Bishop says that his bill has now attracted 106 co-sponsors thanks in … [ Read More ]
04/03/2012

Canadian Agency Cites 85 Companies for Breaking 'Unsolicited Telecommunications Rules'

While the FCC plays "whack-a-mole" with telemarketing companies that violate U.S. federal "do not call" legislation, our neighbors to the north are playing a similar game in an effort to rid themselves of unwanted calls. [ Read More ]
04/02/2012

Interactive Intelligence Buys Netherlands Reseller Brightware

Interactive Intelligence is constantly on the lookout to expand the global penetration of its unified IP business communications solutions. Whether through acquisition, which occurred when it bought the assets of South African reseller ATIO in January of this year, or through distribution agreements like last week's announcement with reseller RKe in Saudi Arabia, spanning the globe is a clear priority. The company spread its reach into the important Benelux market today with the signing of a sto… [ Read More ]
04/02/2012

Endsleigh's New Multi-Channel Contact Center to Be Powered by Azzurri

Endsleigh is one of the biggest independent insurance providers in the UK, and as such, needs a robust customer contact system to handle its influx of contacts on a daily basis. Therefore they turned to Azzurri Communications to both design, and supply, the necessary infrastructure. [ Read More ]
04/02/2012

Fitness Initiative Hopes to Boost Productivity and Lower Attrition Rate of Call Center Workers

Speakers on behalf of the Contact Center Association of the Philippines (CCAP) held a briefing this past Friday on the topic of unhealthy lifestyles in call center workers. These workers are prone to living an unhealthy, sedentary lifestyle due to their work schedule and lack of exercise, amongst other factors. [ Read More ]
04/02/2012

B2B Computer Scores High in ShoreTel Customer Service Rating

ShoreTel, provider of IP unified communications solutions, recently initiated a survey that measured customer satisfaction and has concluded that B2B Computer Products achieved extremely high customer satisfaction rate for the 9-month period spanning July 2011 - March 2012. [ Read More ]
04/02/2012