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11/10/05 - Point, Counterpoint - Part III
In the on-going discussion about benchmarking, I have opened this column to the opinions of others. Since many of my comments have been critical of industry benchmarking, I feel I must allow those that disagree with me to share their views.
One such person that disagrees is Dr. Jon Anton of BenchmarkPortal. He runs a business that has provided thousands of calls centers with benchmark figures. My views are meant to help people perform at the peak potential and they are not meant to target any organization that provides benchmarking services.
Today, I share with you Dr. Anton's third point/counterpoint to the merits and limitations of call center benchmarking. Take a moment to read what he has to say and please let me know what you think.
Gary Lemke, Publisher
(Share your thoughts)
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TODAY'S NEWS (more)
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Witness announced the software-based recording engine for its Impact 360 solution, which was launched last month. The new recording engine serves as the foundation for the company's Impact 360 Compliance Recording solution.
Noble Systems introduced the Noble Virtual Site Viewer - a management interface for monitoring agent activities and an option in the Noble DCR Management Suite. The Noble Virtual Site Viewer allows contact center managers to view the status of individual agents in a custom display based on the actual floorplan of the center.
Scribe Software announced the availability of migration templates, powered by Scribe Insight, that migrate customer data from ACT! into Salesforce. The migration templates are free from Scribe with the purchase of Scribe Insight. A 45-day migration license of Scribe Insight is available for $495.
Similarity Systems unveiled the latest release of its business-focused data quality platform, ATHANOR 3.0. ATHANOR 3.0 includes support for services oriented architecture (SOA) and adds a new product, ATHANOR Server, to the suite. ATHANOR Server supports enterprise-wide data quality design, deployment and ongoing management.
Maximizer Software is now shipping Maximizer Enterprise 9. This new release incorporates business intelligence and process management improvements for managers, productivity enhancements for sales, marketing, and customer service and support staff, plus administration and security enhancements.
Gryphon Networks announced Privacy Advisor, a product designed to transform a company's CRM application into an automated compliance and contact management tool. Gryphon Networks' ICCMP automates every aspect of regulatory compliance and customer contact management, driving alternative contact methods to reach prospects that are lost to federal and state Do-Not-Call, Do-Not-Fax, Do-Not-Mail and Do-Not-Email regulations.
VegaStream announced that it has selected IVR USA to be its premier integration partner for the FrontRange IP Contact Center (IPCC) solution. FrontRange IPCC can be adapted on an integrated architecture using VegaStream's range of digital and analog gateways which were developed to enable enterprises and service providers to make the move to VoIP at their own pace.
NICE Systems announced record results for the third quarter ending September 30, 2005. Third quarter 2005 revenue was at a company record high of $82.7 million and represents a 30% increase over $63.5 million in the same quarter of 2004.
Exstream Software announced that Palm Coast Data has chosen its Dialogue enterprise personalization software to provide a single infrastructure for its document creation and fulfillment services. Using Dialogue, Palm Coast Data is reducing development time and speeding time to market for personalized renewal notices, billing statements, change of address orders and other direct-response customer correspondence it provides for more than 300 magazines.
ATG announced that several of its clients have received industry recognition for outstanding customer-centric operations. ATG software has empowered these companies to provide customers with exceptional experiences, leading to acknowledgement from influential industry organizations, including the annual Service & Support Professionals Association (SSPA) STAR Awards for Service Excellence and Fast Company magazine's Customers First Awards.
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 FEATURE WEBCAST (more) |
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"From Tactical to Strategic: The Workforce Optimization Maturity Model"
Bill Durr, Principal Solutions Consultant, Witness Systems
Asking about the maturity of a contact center is certainly a delicate matter. But it is a question that has to be asked. In this webcast, we explore a maturity model that gives you new insights into your own organization and explores how you can make your contact center a change agent for the entire business. What you will hear will help you move from a tactical to strategic way of thinking, especially in the area of workforce optimization. So if you are dealing with the unprecedented pressures brought on by the Internet, hyper-competition, and voice over IP along with the familiar demands of cost-cutting and employee retention, this webcast is for you. Register now to receive your complimentary copy of Witness' latest white papers: "Reinvention of Workforce Management" and "Reinvention of Quality Monitoring."
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| CRMAdvocate Stock Index |
| CRMSI | 43.92 |  | 0.72% |
| Dow Jones | 10,546.21 | | 0.06% |
| Nasdaq | 2,175.81 | | 0.17% |
| S&P 500 | 1,220.65 | | 0.17% |
| Top Gainers |
| NICE | 46.82 | | 1.44 |
| SPSS | 28.77 | | 1.00 |
| RightNow | 15.43 | | 0.72 |
| Top Losers |
| HP | 28.23 |  | -0.31 |
| Interact Intell | 5.07 | | -0.30 |
| eLoyalty | 6.3001 | | -0.20 |
| Complete Stock Index |
| As of close 11/09/05 | |
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 Case Studies (more)
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Witness Helps 4 Wheel Parts - By deploying eQuality ContactStore for IP within its Cisco converged voice and data environment, 4 Wheel Parts has been able to achieve the following results * Increased agent monitoring efficiency by 30 percent * Increased sales and order volume by eight percent * Enhanced training and development program.(Witness Systems)
|  | | Opalis Software Uses CRM and Reduces Time Per Transaction - To gain clarity into their own business, learn more about their customers, and improve the way departments interact with each other and with customers, Rob Tavares, Vice President of Sales, Opalis Software, invested in a customer relationship management (CRM) system and integrated it with existing technologies, like Intuit's QuickBooks.(Maximizer Software)
| | | Carlson Marketing Group With IEX - Within six months of implementing IEX Carlson Marketing had already seen a service level increase of nearly 10 percent.(IEX Corporation, a Tekelec Company)
| | | Stellar Call Centres Improves Operational Effeciency - With Verint' ULTRA suite of Contact Center Actionable Intelligence Solutions, Stellar Call Centers increased the effectiveness of its quality management program, improved operational efficiency and enhanced the value of its offerings. This has translated into better service for customers and a sharper competitive advantage.(Verint Systems)
| | | MEDEX Global Group With Epicor - MEDEX needed a CRM system with integration capabilities to enable sharing of information across the organization. They found their solution in Epicor Clientele CRM.NET and can now share detailed contract and service information, have improved flexibility in adapting to growth and changing business processes through Web services architecture, and the ability to create HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) compliant reporting.(Epicor Software Corporation)
| | | Carlson Hospitality Worldwide with IEX - In the first year, CHW said it eliminated 1,000 hours of shrinkage per month and reduced labor costs by 8 percent. Manual processes were automated and cycle time was reduced.(IEX Corporation, a Tekelec Company)
| | | Prophet 2004, a Sales Opportunity Management Solution - After looking at sales management software including Prophet 2004, ACT! and custom development, Brandrud selected Prophet to help their sales organization establish a sales process for the first time in company history.(Avidian Technologies)
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"OUR TAKE"