Outsourced call center agent positions in the United States are losing their share of the global market, according to new research by independent market analysis firm Datamonitor (DTM.L). The report, "Contact Center Outsourcing in the United States," says that tight profit margins are driving outsourcers to move offshore and automate where viable. Canada, India and the Philippines are expected to be the beneficiaries. In a shrinking market, outsourcers are being forced to reinvent themselves by merging, partnering or competing with other types of companies in a bid to stay in the game and seize market share.

Mercury Interactive announced it has acquired BeatBox Technologies (formerly ClickCadence LLC). Under the terms of the acquisition, which closed on September 1, 2005, Mercury will pay approximately $14 million in cash. Mercury also announced it has acquired the m-Test wireless testing technology from Intuwave, a Mercury partner based in the United Kingdom. Under the terms of the m-Test technology acquisition, which closed on July 26, 2005, Mercury paid cash and entered into certain licensing arrangements in exchange for specified intellectual property assets from Intuwave.

The right attitude can make a world of difference when it comes to keeping customers happy, according to a new survey commissioned by DHL and conducted by Roper Public Affairs and Media. The survey shows more than eight in ten American consumers (83%) and business managers (84%) agree courteous service and a smile is even more important than speed of service. Attitude is especially important to those consumers 65 and older, with almost nine in ten respondents (89%) in this age category agreeing that service with a smile trumps speed.

NICE announced its selection by Integrated Controls to provide its smart digital video and audio capture and content analytics solutions for the Isleta Casino and Resort in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Epicor announced support for radio frequency identification (RFID) as part of its fully-integrated end-to-end Epicor for Distribution solution. With support for both inbound and outbound RFID, Epicor for Distribution helps midmarket companies meet today's commercial expectations for distribution and logistics networks.

Exstream Software announced that its Dialogue software has been selected by MKB. The company selected Dialogue to provide a single infrastructure to consolidate their dynamic business expansion programme and facilitate new growth in their chosen markets.

Pervasive Software and salesforce.com announced the availability of a synchronization solution for key business information between Salesforce and enterprise software applications like SAP. Pervasive delivers full function adapters for both Salesforce and SAP R/3 along with pre-built integration processes for common integration tasks in a ready-to-configure solution.

Sendia and salesforce.com announced that Sendia's WorkSpace CRM now supports Appforce. With WorkSpace CRM, salesforce.com customers can now mobile-enable not only their customizations but also any application built on Appforce, such as the 70 applications that are being previewed in AppExchange.

Genticity announced that Roxio has consolidated multiple customer-facing channels with the implementation of Customer1, a Web Based Customer Interaction Hub including the Customer1 Agent Desktop and Web Self Service. By providing a superior self service experience for their customers, Roxio has been able to reduce calls into their call center by over 50%.

StayinFront announced that Enzon Pharmaceuticals has selected StayinFront to provide hosted-pharmaceutical StayinFront CRM software and StayinFront Data Quality Services to its field sales force and sales management.

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9/19/05 - Oracle/Siebel - A Customer Driven Event? Oracle President Charles Phillips claims the Siebel acquisition is a "customer-driven event." He goes on to say that joint customers have consistently recommended this transaction to both companies for over a year.   Oh really? It could be that he is talking to different customers than we do but I certainly have not heard Siebel customers saying, "I really wish Oracle would buy Siebel." I can't imagine them continuing on saying, "A merged company would just make our life so much easier." Perhaps there are a few that share that sentiment but I can't believe the majority feels that way.   But I've been wrong before and I'm willing to eat my words. So here is your chance. Will all Siebel users that feel this is a good deal take one step forward? Easier yet, simply chime in and let me know how you feel this merger will help you.   Gary Lemke, Publisher (Share your thoughts)