Four Leading Organizations Achieve Prestigious HDI Support Center Certification(email this article)

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - (September 8, 2003) - Help Desk Institute (HDI) (Company Profile, Past Stories, Case Studies), the global leader for the support industry and world's largest membership association for service and support professionals, today announced that four of the world's leading support organizations have achieved HDI Support Center Certification (HDI SCC), HDI SCC is the industry's leadingcertification program for customer support centers.

Lockheed Martin Information Technology's Consolidated Help Desk, the Total Alpha Support Center of Otsuka Corporation, the EXPEC Computer Center of Saudi Aramco, and gedas Support Center have all recently successfully undergone audits of their support centers, and have successfully achieved this prestigious designation from HDI.

"We extend our congratulations to these world-class organizations on their successful completion of this process. In each case, the aware of HDI SCC status is well-deserved, and represents the end result of much hard work and preparation," said Ron Muns, founder and CEO, HDI.

First introduced in 2000, HDI's Support Center Certification (HDI SCC) program is the only open industry standards program for the certification of support center quality. HDI SCC is designed to improve the effectiveness of the support services industry and participating support organizations by providing a reference model, industry standards that are recognized worldwide, and an accompanying certification program. Evaluation is conducted by an HDI-certified auditor, and is based on a comprehensive set of 67 standards, each with four levels of maturity. HDI Support Center Certification standards and statements can be found on the HDI website at www.thinkhdi.com/certification/siteCertification/.

HDI certified auditor Donna Holt audited the Lockheed Martin facility. Tatsumi Yamashita audited Otsuka's support center. Eugene Ball and Steve Murtagh audited Saudi Aramco's center; and Steve Murtagh and Cindy Szpanelewski audited the gedas Support Center. Auditors for HDI's SCC program are a key component to its success. Auditors must have sufficient experience and knowledge to ensure that the standards within the certification program are upheld and receive training to ensure that accurate and professional audits are performed. To date, HDI has certified 24 auditors who are authorized to audit organizations seeking HDI SCC designation.

"These organizations exemplify excellence in all of the core areas the HDI SCC program: leadership, policy and strategy, people management, resources, process and procedure, people satisfaction, customer satisfaction, and performance results," concluded Muns.

For more information about HDI's Support Center Certification program, contact Carrie Higday at chigday@thinkhdi.com or (800) 248-5667 ext. 321, or visit www.thinkhdi.com/certification/siteCertification/.

About Help Desk Institute
Help Desk Institute (HDI) is the global leader for the support industry and the world's largest membership association for service and support professionals. Founded in 1989, HDI's mission is to lead and promote the customer service and technical support industry by empowering its members through access to timely and valuable industry information, including reports and publications; encouraging member collaboration through events and online forums; and establishing internationally recognized, standards-based industry certification and training programs. In addition to membership, certification, and training, HDI produces the highest-rated industry event, the HDI Annual Conference and Expo, for customer service and technical support professionals. HDI is member-focused, and remains vendor- neutral in its efforts to facilitate open, independent networking and information sharing within the association network. HDI has more than 7,500 members worldwide, (including 90% of the Fortune 500), and more than 50 active U.S. chapters. For more information, visit, www.thinkhdi.com.