TMCnet Contact Center Solutions Week in Review

The short week in the U.S. because of the Labor Day holiday did not result in a shortage of news in the Contact Center Solutions community covering a broad swath of industry activities ranging from recognition to deals to new capabilities and customer wins. In this regard, community host Interactive Intelligence’s activities are a good place to start. 

As detailed by TMCnet Contributor Deborah Hirsch, Philips (News - Alert) Healthcare turned to Interactive Intelligence’s CaaS solution (Communications-as-a-Service )to help answer questions from its radiology customers so they could keep their imaging system up and running  24/7. Interactive’s CIC solution was also in the spotlight based on the decision by wholesale distributor of bicycle parts, Quality Bicycle Products (QBP), to replace an existing Mitel (News - Alert) system that supports all 670 employees at QBP's headquarters in Bloomington, Minnesota, as well as at its distribution centers in Ogden, Utah and Harrisburg, PA to improve customer service.

 News

The good news was this week saw several instances of recognition for vendor excellence:

• We here at TMC announced that Vocalcom was awarded the Communications Solutions Product of the Year Award for 2011 for its innovative HermesNet software. 
• Self-service solutions provider Contact Solutions was recognized in an annual report by analyst Frost & Sullivan (News - Alert). 
• Customer interaction analytics provider, Nexidia (News - Alert)  was recognized in a Saddletree report for demonstrating the value recorded data brings to improving call center operations

The important but often over-looked emergency response area of the business got some light shed on it with the news about how call centers became critical lifelines during Hurricane Isaac, and unfortunately as the City of Fort Lauderdale has found out, how economic challenges can lead to challenges as to who will pay for upgrades in capabilities.

In other industry news there was activity on the acquisition front, new service offerings and some advice on turning customer information into actionable data.

• Tadiran Telecom recently bought by Afcon Holdings Ltd., has acquired EasyRun's powerful contact center software technology and intellectual property, to strengthen its leadership position in unified communications. The enterprise grade multimedia contact center solution that runs on a Windows server will be integrated into Tadiran Telecom's Linux-based unified communication platform.
• TelStrat announced an agreement with Ingram Micro (News - Alert) Asia, allowing Ingram Micro channel partners in Singapore, The Philippines and Vietnam to sell and distribute TelStrat's call recording and workforce optimization (WFO) solution portfolio, Engage Contact Center Suite.
• Jack Henry & Associates unveiled its jhaCall Center that provides extensive case management capabilities.  
• Security and performance management NIKSUN released Alpine Software 4.2.1 with up to 50 percent increase in sustained capture and 20 percent improvement in response time.

It is always great to get the insights of a guest contributor, and David Knox, senior product manager CSG International provided some fascinating insights on self-care portals that are worth a read.   And , speaking of valuable insights and the opportunity to turn customer interaction data into actionable business intelligence, as TMCnet Contributor Tracey Schelmetic highlighted, you might wish to participate in a forthcoming webinar, “Using the Voice of Each Customer to Predict Their Future Behavior.”

Weekend browsing  

As always you might wish to augment your weekend reading by exploring all the community has to offer. In fact, if you missed it last week, check out my piece on “Constant Personal Attention.” Also, don’t forget to surf the community’s affiliated channels — Accounts Receivable Management, Business Process Automation, CaaS, Cloud-based Contact Centers and Insurance Technology. 

Want to learn more about the latest in communications and technology? Then be sure to attend ITEXPO West 2012, taking place Oct. 2-5, in Austin, TX.  Stay in touch with everything happening at ITEXPO. Follow us on Twitter.