Support Industry Executives to Speak At The SSPA San Diego Summit

“The SSPA has put together a powerful program of outstanding speakers for our San Diego Summit,” said Bill Rose, SSPA Founder/Executive Director. “Key executives will share their insight and experience in content-rich presentations and discussion groups.”

The Conference will open at 1:00pm on Monday, February 5th with a keynote presentation by Anthony Lye, President and CEO- ePeople. Anthony’s presentation is titled- “How the Marketplace Model Will Transform The IT Services and Support Industry.” Key issues presented in this session will include:

• The role IT plays in the overall success of a company
• Learn how businesses can benefit from marketplace driven IT support and services
• Examine the benefits of a marketplace model vs. traditional selling models
• How small to mid size business can obtain the same IT support as large established companies.

The first day will conclude with a Reception featuring a demonstration of the Virtual Exhibition Ltd. (Virtex) 3-D Internet Virtual Trade Show. Dinner will follow with the SSPA WebStar Service Awards presentations.

The second day, February 6th, will open with a keynote presentation by Bill Rose, SSPA Founder/Executive Director. Bill’s presentation entitled “Top Technology For Tech Support”, will examine the top 10 most exciting technologies and companies that are providing futuristic solutions to manage the tech support business. He will look at the impact that these tools are having on the way we deliver support to our customers as we prepare for the future. Should you invest in online tech support? How much will it cost and from whom should you purchase.

Following the Keynote presentation, the Summit Tuesday sessions continue with the following:

• “Measuring Your Company’s ROC”- Rod Austin, President/CEO- Foresight Software.
• A Panel- “ASP, MSP and Hosted Server Environments- The Tech Support Challenge” The Panelists will include Andy Kulakowski, VP of Customer Support & Services- Speedware Corporation; Chuck Massanari, VP of ASP Sales- ExpertCity.com; Syed Ijaz, Director of Customer Support- ClosedLoop Solutions, Inc.; Dione Hedgpeth, Director of Operations eServices MSP- Mercury Interactive; and Ed Orlinski, VP of Technical Services- !hey, Inc.
• “The Three Dimensions of eSupport”- Mike McLean, CEO & Cofounder- PCsupport.com.
• “The Evolution of Web Customer Service”- Greg Gianforte, Founder & CEO- RightNow Technologies.
• A Case Study- Steve Gordon, Director of Web-based Technical Support- Cisco Systems.
• Birds of a Feather—One of the most popular parts of the program, attendees will meet in small groups for open discussion on various topics.

The registrations are arriving at a record pace. Please register online or call the SSPA office at 858.674.5491.

About SSPA

Founded in 1989, SSPA represents over 11,000 service executives in over 500 member companies worldwide. SSPA gives software service professionals opportunities to share ideas, discuss developing trends and network with their peers. SSPA offers its members conferences, seminars, specialized training, executive forums and a variety of publications. For more information regarding the SSPA and other related divisions, log on to www.supportgate.com building Internet service communities, or send an email to info@supportgate.com.