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Mimecast Appoints Justin Pirie as Director of Communities and Content

CRM Help Desk — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 13:40:47 +0000

Cloud Blogger and Analyst to Join Leading Second Generation Email SaaS Provider

London –– Mimecast^®, a unified email management company offering SaaS-based email security continuity, archiving, and policy control, today announced the appointment of Justin Pirie as Director of Communities and Content. At Mimecast Justin will be responsible for the outreach and evangelism programs, and will be integral in building awareness for Mimecast’s position as a leading unified email management provider.

Pirie is a leading SaaS and cloud specialist; he authors the influential “This Week in SaaS”; blogs and runs the largest SaaS community in the world, with over 17,500 members. Justin has been in IT over ten years, gravitating towards SaaS over the last five. This last year he has been consulting to companies large and small, helping them create successful SaaS products and strategy, and before that he was an officer at Endeavors Technology, the inventors of application virtualisation.

“I’m really excited to be joining Mimecast- there aren’t enough British companies playing at a global level in SaaS. They’ve got a great team, excellent technology, traction, a compelling vision and are well funded” said Pirie. “The really interesting thing about the technology is that it uses a grid style data architecture, similar to Gmail or Google Apps, which means you get Gmail style horizontal scalability, speed and searchability, but for Exchange.”

Peter Bauer, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer at Mimecast said, “Justin’s appointment will allow Mimecast to engage much more effectively in the extensive Cloud debate that is happening all over the world. He is an accomplished conference speaker, blogger and social networker; a recognised expert in the SaaS community who will help us drive the SaaS agenda and encourage more enterprises to acquire SaaS technologies.”

About Mimecast: Mimecast delivers SaaS-based enterprise email management for archiving, discovery, continuity, security and policy. By unifying disparate and fragmented email environments into one holistic solution that is always available from the cloud, Mimecast minimises risk and reduces cost and complexity, while providing total end-to-end control of email. Founded in the United Kingdom in 2003, Mimecast serves approximately 2,500 customers worldwide and has offices in Europe, North America, Africa, the Middle East and the Channel Islands. For more information about Mimecast, visit www.mimecast.com

Websense Security Labs Reports ‘User Trust’ Targeted Attacks; More Than 1 in 10 ‘Top Search’ Results Categorized as Malware

CRM Help Desk — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 13:15:27 +0000

SAN DIEGO – Websense, Inc. (NASDAQ: WBSN) today revealed the findings from its bi-annual research report Websense Security Labs, State of Internet Security, Q3-Q4 2009. The full report can be downloaded at http://www.websense.com/threatreport. Major findings from the report include:

Websense® Security Labs™ identified 13.7 percent of searches for trending news/buzz words (as defined by Yahoo! Buzz & Google Trends) led to malware. Search engine optimization poisoning attacks target the top searches enabling hackers to drive traffic to their sites.

In contrast to the first half of the year where mass injection attacks like Gumblar, Beladen and Nine Ball promoted a sharp rise in the number of malicious Web sites, Websense Security Labs has seen a 3.3 percent decline in the growth of the number of Web sites compromised. Malware authors have replaced their traditional scattergun approach with focused efforts on Web 2.0 properties with higher traffic and multiple pages.

Overall, comparing the second half of 2009 with the same period in 2008, there has been an average growth of 225 percent in malicious Web sites.

Malware authors continue to capitalize on Web site reputation and exploiting user trust with the second half of 2009 revealing 71 percent of Web sites with malicious code are legitimate sites that have been compromised.

Web 2.0 sites allowing user-generated content are a top target for cybercriminals and spammers. Websense Defensio™ technology enabled Websense Security Labs to identify that 95 percent of user-generated comments to blogs, chat rooms and message boards are spam or malicious.

Websense Security Labs found that 35 percent of malicious Web attacks included data-stealing code, demonstrating that attackers are after essential information and data.

The Web continues to be the most popular vector for data-stealing attacks. In the second half of 2009 the Websense Security Labs found that 58 percent of data-stealing attacks are conducted over the Web.

Tens of thousands of Hotmail, Gmail and Yahoo! email accounts were hacked and passwords stolen and posted online which resulted in a marked increase in the number of spam emails.

Websense Security Labs identified that 85.8 percent of all emails were spam.

During the second half of the year, 81 percent of emails contained a malicious link.

Every hour, Websense Security Labs ThreatSeeker™ Network scans more than 40 million Web sites and ten million emails for unwanted content and malicious code. Using more than 50 million real-time data collecting systems, ThreatSeeker Network monitors and classifies Web, email and data content —providing Websense with unparalleled visibility into the state of content on the Internet and in email.

Quote:

Websense Chief Technology Officer Dan Hubbard — “Malicious hackers are really focusing their efforts to ensure they’re driving their victims straight to them. By poisoning search results and focusing on Web 2.0 sites, their efforts are often more efficient and effective. The blended nature of today’s threats combined with compromised legitimate sites, takes full advantage of an increased perception of trust when using search engines and interacting with friends or acquaintances online.”

About Websense, Inc.

Websense, Inc. (NASDAQ: WBSN), a global leader in integrated Web, data and email security solutions, provides Essential Information Protection™ for approximately 40,000 customers worldwide. Distributed through its global network of channel partners, Websense software and hosted security solutions help organizations block malicious code, prevent the loss of confidential information and enforce Internet use and security policies. For more information, visit www.websense.com.

SugarCRM Announces SugarCon 2010, April 12-14

CRM Help Desk — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 21:29:05 +0000

Registration and Call for Papers Now Open for Global Customer and Developer Conference in San Francisco, Calif., April 12-14

CUPERTINO, Calif.–SugarCRM, the world’s leading provider of open source customer relationship management (CRM) software, today announced that it will host SugarCon 2010, its global customer, partner and developer conference, April 12-14, at The Palace Hotel in San Francisco, Calif.

The theme for SugarCon 2010 is “Evolve Your CRM.” Conference keynotes, tracks and sessions will offer practical advice on how companies can take advantage of the big trends – cloud computing, social networking and open source – impacting how companies attract and retain customers. To learn more, please visit: http://www.sugarcon.com.

Attendance cost is $499 per person. Early-bird registrants will receive a 40 percent discount if they register before Saturday, February 13. Please visit: http://www.sugarcrm.com/crm/events/sugarcon/register.html to register.

“SugarCon has become one of the most unique and popular CRM conferences in the world and this year promises to be even better,” said Larry Augustin, CEO of SugarCRM. “Whether you are a customer, partner, developer or just interested in learning about the future of business applications, cloud computing and open source, we invite you to spend three exciting days with us.”

Highlights of SugarCon will include:

Keynotes on the future of CRM, open source and cloud computing
Over 100 sessions on CRM, cloud computing, social networking and mobile innovation
Breakout tracks covering best practices for succeeding with CRM
Technical and developer sessions on how to get the most out of open source and cloud technologies
An evening at the acclaimed California Academy of Sciences in Golden Gate Park http://www.calacademy.org/

Call for Papers

SugarCRM welcomes presentations from outside speakers. To submit a speaking topic for SugarCon, please visit the Call for Papers at: http://www.sugarcrm.com/crm/events/sugarcon/speaker_form.html. The deadline for submissions is February 26, 2010.

Preference will be given to speakers who demonstrate thought leadership, compelling case studies and demonstrable ROI on how companies can utilize business applications in the Cloud. Tracks include:

CRM Strategy – Best practices for formulating, implementing and measuring customer relationship management strategies.
Open Source and Open Cloud(s) – Define, explore and recommend customer strategies for managing business applications in the cloud.
Business Apps in the Cloud – Microsoft Azure, Amazon EC2, GoGrid, Rackspace – this track will help developers decide where to spend their time and how to start innovating today.
Extending Sugar – How to use SugarCRM’s open architecture to change, extend and maybe even revolutionize customer management.
Beyond CRM – Explores new and innovative ways to use business principles and technologies to place the customer at the center of everything.
Getting Social – Social CRM is crossing from a novelty to a core CRM process. Learn how your company should be thinking about Social CRM.
SugarU – These in-depth tutorials will showcase the power of Sugar as a customer management platform, including user adoption, marketing, sales and support tutorials.

A preliminary SugarCon agenda is available at www.sugarcon.com. A full agenda, including keynotes, breakout sessions and evening entertainment will be announced in March.

Sponsorship

Sponsorship opportunities are filling up quickly for SugarCon 2010. SugarCon 2010 sponsors include Microsoft, Angel.com, DataSync, iNet Process, Knowledgetree, Pardot, Plus Consulting, Red Hat, Talend, Levementum, WebApp VM, Sales Elements, SierraCRM and Zend. For more information about becoming a sponsor, please visit http://www.sugarcrm.com/crm/events/sugarcon/faqs.html.

About SugarCRM

SugarCRM is the world’s leading provider of open source customer relationship management (CRM) software. Over 6,000 customers and more than half a million users rely on SugarCRM to execute marketing programs, grow sales, retain customers and create custom business applications. Leading publications such as CRM Magazine, InfoWorld and eWeek praise SugarCRM for its ease-of-use, flexibility and open design. SugarCRM runs on the leading cloud computing platforms, including Amazon EC2, Microsoft Azure, Sugar On-Demand and Private Clouds, offering customers unparalleled choice and control of their data and deployments.

For more information, call (408) 454-6900 or 1 87 SUGARCRM toll-free in the US, email contact@sugarcrm.com, or visit http://www.sugarcrm.com.

Colin Powell at Dreamforce 2009 [VIDEO] #DF09

Jimson Lee — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:03:29 +0000

One of the highlights of Dreamforce is the live General Session (no pun intended) with Gen. Colin Powell (ret).

Colin Powell needs no introduction. He was a 4-star General in the USA army, National Security Advisor, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and United States Secretary of State.

This is one time where you can throw out your differences on SaaS vs. on-premise software and listen to a great speaker on leadership.

More importantly, he asks the question what YOU can do to impact the future.

There are a few Patriotic rah-rah moments (for those who are not American), but other than that, if you are going to listen to one podcast this year, this is the one to listen to.

In my opinion, it was one of the most inspirational speeches that I’ve heard in a long time.

Here it is on YouTube in its entirety (just under one hour):

Dreamforce 2009 Day 1, Notes from Underground #DF09

Jimson Lee — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 07:28:18 +0000

Dreamforce 2009 kicked off today bigger and better than last year.

You really can’t get lost in the clouds as there was plenty of signage pointing you to the right direction.

The opening keynote with Marc Benioff is less than 12 hours away, and the speculation has begun:

Salesforce.com Third Quarter financials were released earlier today with profits more than doubled as sales rose by 20 percent.

“This gives us fantastic momentum as we head into Dreamforce, where we will announce our biggest product news of the year,” Benioff said.
Keynote special guest speakers include top executives from Google and Twitter, so why is Twitter going down for maintenance tonight? Why on a Tuesday night when the usage is high?
Will Larry Ellison show up? Why not? Benioff showed up at this year’s Oracle World in October.

Of course, another highlight will be the special general session with General Colin Powell on the topic of leadership. Expect a standing room only for this session.

Over 18,000 people have registered for this years event, enough to fill a San Jose Sharks hockey game.

Of all the freebies and giveaways, one of the most popular items were hand sanitizers. With the fear of H1N1, being in a closed room full of people and shaking hands every 5 minutes doesn’t help.

I had a chance to talk to several of the attendees and the overwhelming topic from existing Salesforce.com CRM users was to research how to integrate the other applications under one umbrella. Everything from Customer Support, Financials, and HR.

All of this without owning software or expensive upfront expenses.

The Customer Support or Service Cloud has taken a whole new angle compared to last year. Twitter and Facebook has exploded to the point where companies really do care what people are thinking of them. One bad tweet gone viral and that spells bad news which leads to bad reputations.

If and when Google Wave comes to full fruition, I believe that will be the next killer app. Digital conversations and knowledgebase with the ability to update, search, sort, edit and archive will be the way how we communicate. Twitter, text messaging and social media are still very “flat” and 2 dimensional or 2D. Google Wave is more 3 dimensional or 3D.

More updates to come.

On-Line Banking Theft, It’s Worse Than You Think

Jimson Lee — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 05:47:37 +0000

When was the last time the local news carried a story of a bank robbery? I’m referring to the ski mask and firearm weapon of choice.

It’s not as much as before.

Sadly, movies like the Ocean’s Eleven and The Italian Job glorified criminals

Banks do not report news of credit card fraud or online banking theft to “protect the public”, but inside sources tell me it’s a lot worse than you think.

Today, cyber criminals are at it more than ever.

Criminal Intent #1 – Phishing Email

Phishing email is a common one. They send you an email from the Paypal Security Center or even your bank. Of course, I always get a chuckle when I don’t even have an account at that particular bank. I could hit “Delete” but now I choose “Add Sender to Blocked Senders List”.

They are getting clever at disguising themselves.

They are targeting everything under the sun, including Telecom and VoIP providers.

Here is an example for Vonage:

Displayed URL: https: //secure.vonage.com/vonage-web/features/index.htm

Actual URL: http: //secure.vonage.com.vonage-web.public.search.q-87234jasndjsad883qhhsjfsdkf88-ie-searchbox.form-ie2src.001at1977.com

Criminal Intent #2 – Key Logger Software Trojans

It gets worse…

Cyber criminals are using malicious key logger software trojans.

Even with a 0.001% success rate, that’s still 10 live active bank accounts after 1 million users, which is easy to accumulate. Lyrics, shareware/freeware, and ring tone sites are the worse for nasty viruses, worms and trojans.

Banks should require two factor authentication, like a RSA token or even biometrics (i.e fingerprint). The old expression is “Something you know and something you own”.

As well, a single factor system can also be “tiered” such as multiple passwords or pre-defined challenge questions.

Guarding Against Hacker Intrusions – A Single Password is not Enough!

The Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council (FFIEC) requires that banks and credit unions only allow customers to access their accounts IF they use at least one other identification factor in addition to the passwords.

In order for a more secure transaction, banks in the US are required to insist on more identification with their customers online.

From: http://www.ffiec.gov/ffiecinfobase/booklets/e_banking/ebanking_02_risk_mang.html

Authenticating Existing Customers

In addition to the initial verification of customer identities, the financial institution must also authenticate its customers’ identities each time they attempt to access their confidential on-line information. The authentication method a financial institution chooses to use in a specific e-banking application should be appropriate and “commercially reasonable” in light of the risks in that application. Whether a method is a commercially reasonable system depends on an evaluation of the circumstances. Financial institutions should weigh the cost of the authentication method, including technology and procedures, against the level of protection it affords and the value or sensitivity of the transaction or data to both the institution and the customer. What constitutes a commercially reasonable system may change over time as technology and standards evolve.

Authentication methods involve confirming one or more of three factors:

Something only the user should know, such as a password or PIN;
Something the user possesses, such as an ATM card, smart card, or token;
Something the user is, such as a biometric characteristic like a fingerprint or iris pattern.

Authentication methods that depend on more than one factor are typically more difficult to compromise than single-factor systems therefore suggesting a higher reliability of authentication. For example, the use of a customer ID and password is considered single-factor authentication since both items are something the user knows. A common example of two-factor authentication is found in most ATM transactions where the customer is required to provide something the user possesses (i.e., the card) and something the user knows (i.e., the PIN). Single factor authentication alone may not be adequate for sensitive communications, high dollar value transactions, or privileged user access (i.e., network administrators). Multi-factor techniques may be necessary in those cases. Institutions should recognize that a single factor system may be “tiered” (e.g., require multiple passwords) to enhance security without the implementation of a true two-factor system

Google Wave and CRM, the Next Killer App?

Jimson Lee — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 07:03:49 +0000

Google Wave’s 80 minute video from last May’s Google Wave Developer Preview at Google I/O 2009 Conference generated almost 5 million views.

Google is known for developing next generation apps: some are great, some good, and some just downright awful and complicated.

But this one may be the next killer app, if it’s launched properly. There is no official release date.

Ever since I declared instant messaging (IM) to be the email replacement back in 2000, Google Wave appears to do everything in one single platform.

Imagine conventional email, group conversations with IM, and nested threaded conversations in a forum format, coupled with the ability to drag and drop documents, photos and videos, and being able to track and save those conversations?

Throw in a Twitter and Facebook flavour and the ability of multiple authors to edit inline content like Wiki.

Lastly, add mobile computing accessibility including the popular iPhone and on-the-fly translation as seen with Google Translate or Babelfish?

You come up with Google Wave.

From a Customer Service and CRM perspective, this can potentially change the way you deal with customers. This is what Social CRM is all about.

This is what all the hype is about.

Facebook isn’t for College Kids anymore.

Twitter isn’t for celebrities either.

Imagine fields being populated automatically during conversations, or the use of automated agents answering questions first. This is no different than the off-line help on your installed Microsoft Office software that gives you a variety of suggestions based on your query or keywords.

If the user gets frustrated, they have the ability to “speak” to a live agent. Right now, they could “chat” by typing, but all that is going to change in the future with unified communications. One day, networking and telephony will be embedded into everyday applications.

Language will not be a barrier if the on-the-fly translation services work properly. Imagine the international potential on your revenue stream.

Google Wave: The Next Killer App?

Speaking of killer apps, if the iPhone had over 1 billion downloads for applications in nine months, can you imagine the market for Google Wave Apps if it becomes the next Killer Apps?

Recession? What recession?

This could be a goldmine for unemployed developers (though superstar developers never have a problem getting employment).

Also, the Open Source promise is a bonus to developers to get really creative and customize it for your business needs. Remember, the secret is customize, not configure.

So what’s it going to take?

It all comes down to end-user adoption. Screw the technology behind the nuts and bolts. End-users don’t care. It has to look sexy. It has to be hip. It has to be intuitive. Thus, the user interface (UI) has to be flexible and customizable for end users from age 8 to 80.

Hold on to your pants, the next wave is coming.

Zoho Success Leads to ZOHO Corp.

CRM Help Desk — Thu, 28 May 2009 12:59:36 +0000

Zoho Success Leads to ZOHO Corp.

Parent Company Renamed to Reflect Zoho’s Emergence as Dominant Division

PLEASANTON, Calif.–Zoho today announced that the name of its parent company has changed from AdventNet, Inc., to ZOHO Corporation, effective immediately. The name change represents the evolution of the company and the emergence of Zoho as its widely known division. The corporate website for ZOHO Corp. will be www.zohocorp.com.

“In 1996, we started the company with a primary focus on network management. Over the years, we grew significantly, serving different markets,” said Sridhar Vembu, founder and CEO of ZOHO Corp. “We are now best known for the Zoho suite of on-line business applications. Given the reach of Zoho, we are renaming the company to ZOHO Corporation, and Zoho.com will be one division. The other divisions — ManageEngine and WebNMS — will continue operating under their established names and also become divisions of ZOHO Corp.”

The new name complements the rich history of ZOHO Corp. Founded in 1996, the 13-year old company has grown to 1,000 employees and remains privately held and profitable, having never sought nor raised venture capital. ZOHO Corp. will have three divisions:

    * WebNMS division, which serves the needs of hundreds of original equipment manufacturers (OEMs);
    * ManageEngine division, focusing on enterprise IT management; and
    * Zoho.com division, focusing on on-line business, productivity and collaboration applications

While the AdventNet name will be retired, ZOHO Corp. will continue to operate under the same guiding, customer-honoring principles that brought the company to prominence. Likewise, the company will continue to maintain its headquarters in Pleasanton, CA with offices in Austin, New Jersey, London, Tokyo and Beijing. Engineering will remain based in Chennai, India.

“I’d like to thank all our customers who have been with us all along, for their continued support and letting us serve them,” Vembu continued. “We will stay customer focused and will continue our commitment to serve their needs even better in the future.”

For more information on Zoho, please visit www.zoho.com. To get breaking Zoho news, please visit and subscribe to the RSS feed at http://blogs.zoho.com/. Follow Zoho on Twitter at @zoho.

About Zoho

Zoho is a comprehensive suite of award-winning on-line business applications. Customers use Zoho to run their business processes, manage their information and be more productive while at the office or on the go, without having to worry about expensive or outdated hardware or software. To date, Zoho has launched 19 different applications — from CRM to Mail, Reports, and Wikis. Zoho has received numerous awards, including a 2009 Webware 100 Award, a 2008 PC World “25 Most Innovative Products Award” and a 2007 TechCrunch “Best Enterprise Start-up.”

Zoho is a division of ZOHO Corp., a privately-held and profitable company. With headquarters in Pleasanton, CA and offices in Austin, New Jersey, London, Tokyo and Beijing, ZOHO Corp. serves the technology needs of more than 40,000 customers worldwide. For more information about Zoho, please visit http://www.zoho.com/.

Why CRM and Social Media is More Important in a Recession

Jimson Lee — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 14:00:26 +0000

The Recession is producing a cut-throat approach to sales.

In the past, SaaS companies used to go after customers using a traditional hosted or shrink-wrapped software.

Now SaaS is going after it’s own kind.

I’ve read so many press releases and seen so many ads on how you can switch your CRM companies at a fraction of the cost or your money back.

If you are on the other end of the spectrum, and your customer is ready to jump ship because of cost savings, then you have no choice but to match those prices.

Saving Money in a Recession

The first thing you should do as a household or company is look at all your recurring expenses and negotiate with every single one to get a better payment plan. That includes your credit card interest rate, cable company, or CRM subscription base.

If you are a SaaS sales or account manager, I would keep very close tabs on your existing customers, and keep them as customers.

Competitors are trying to undercut your price. Take a look at all the companies trying to undercut Salesforce.com, such as NetSuite or DataForceCRM. The potential targeted customer has already adopted SaaS, which is the first big hurdle. Now it’s time to steal them with a lower price.

It’s easier to focus on current customers, especially subscription based customers with recurring revenue. It keeps your Year-End numbers healthy because of predictability. So I would get on the phone and make sure that doesn’t happen.

Traditional Methods of Customer Service

The traditional methods of customer service or support is the phone, followed by email, and then to some degree, a live chat session or Instant Message (IM). (SMS text messaging is extremely popular to high school and college students. I am amazed how many of them can type with one hand under a desk and use the numeric keypad to type a text message “blindfolded”)

Knowledgebases are usually in a form of a Forum, although we’ve seen the rise of the Blogs since 2003.

And to keep up with news, using old-fashioned browser bookmarks or RSS readers are the fastest way to keep in touch with the latest news from your favorite web site or company.

The Web 2.0 Era

Staying in touch, whether you are at a service desk or offering a service, has changed the rules.

Facebook, Twitter, and other Web 2.0 applications are now the rage. I never thought a 140 character headline like Twitter would become so popular.

I no longer use bookmarks in my Browser to read the latest news, as RSS feeds such as Google Reader has simplified this for me. But now people prefer to go to Twitter for the latest news! I guess we live in a “Headline News” age.

Salesforce.com released Service Cloud, the next-generation solution for customer service that ties in Facebook and Google. The 7 components identified by Salesforce.com’s Service Cloud are chat, community, e-mail, partners, phone, search and social.

These 7 components are nothing new, but I think they are on to something.

The Bottom Line

Competitors will do anything undercut your price. Thus I would focus on keeping your current customers, especially subscription based customers with recurring revenue, as well as go after some new customers. How you want to divide the 2 groups is up to you.

5 New Year Resolutions to Get Your Call Centre Fit for 2009

Jimson Lee — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 06:09:42 +0000

The New Year is around the corner, and you know what that means: Top 10 lists, and top 10 lists for resolutions.

With the current state of the economy, Call centers and customer service are really treading on thin ice as it won’t take much for a customer to change brands or service from one bad experience.

This includes support for CRM software products, your Bank, your Blackberry or cell phone provider, or even your Starbucks coffee.

With so many coffee shops in my city, there are plenty of free wi-fi hotspots to choose from. But why does Starbucks charge $9.95 per day through an arrangement with Bell Hot Spot?

That has changed.

Now with a Starbucks gift card, you can get 2 hours of free Internet access using your 16 digit number on the back of the card. That alone kept me as a customer. At least for now.

2009 is going to be fierce competition to keep customer loyalty.

This is a press release from Nuance Communications, Inc. If you have a call center, this is a good read.

5 New Year Resolutions to Get Your Call Center Fit for 2009

And primed to make it through the credit crunch

London, UK – Nuance Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: NUAN), the world’s leading supplier of speech, imaging and keypad solutions, today outlines five resolutions call centres can make that will help optimise efficiency, generate revenue, reduce costs and still deliver superior customer service in spite of current economic pressures.

1. Let Customers Just Say It – Don’t subject your customers to the disliked touchtone systems, whose complex menu mazes lead to misrouted calls and a bad customer experience. Nuance’s Call Steering speech recognition solution allows customers to describe their needs in their own words and move directly to their destination. Direct inbound customer calls more accurately, efficiently, and with higher caller satisfaction. Bank of America saved over £10 million annually by using speech to increase the effectiveness of its legacy touch-tone application. T-Mobile Germany has saved £9 million per year, automating more than 36 million calls per year and Vodafone Spain’s customer satisfaction rates are 8% higher with their automated system than they are with live agents.

2. Automate to Alleviate – Call centres are challenged with striking a balance between three competing priorities: customer satisfaction, reducing cost and revenue. Focusing too much on increasing customer satisfaction could drive up call times and increase costs. Focusing on cost containment could negatively impact customer satisfaction. Focus too much on revenue generation and customer satisfaction could suffer. To achieve a balance organisations need to find the right combination of automated and agent assisted interactions.

The majority of customer calls are simple and task-based that can be effectively automated to alleviate pressure on agents and reduce costs. Using speech recognition to automate just 10% of transactions such as bill payments, balance transfers or account enquiries, a call centre taking 5m calls per year could save approximately £800,000 annually.

3. Reach Out To Customers – Forward thinking organisations proactively reach out to customers and deflect inbound calls by using outbound notification solutions as part of a multichannel strategy. Outbound speech can be used to automate the proactive distribution of timely, relevant and actionable notifications such as payment reminders, order confirmation, account status, renewal notices and emergency notifications via SMS, email or voice, reducing the need and costs of agents. By delivering interactive, relevant and timely communications to customers, satisfaction is increased and new revenue opportunities created. Entire transactions can be automated eliminating the need for customers to call in allowing agents’ time to be better utilised.

On average, automated outbound calls cost as much as 90% less (£0.20p) than inbound (£5.00) or agent outbound calls (£3.00). By avoiding just 5% of incoming calls in this way an average 250 agent call centre could save £1m per year.

4. Know Your Customer is Your Customer – With incidences of fraud on the rise, regulatory agencies are recommending enhanced security and customers are being challenged to remember a multitude of passwords and account access procedures. Knowing exactly who the consumer is can be critical to providing high quality customer care. Companies are re-evaluating their authentication strategies for the voice channel. Nuance’s Caller Authentication Solution makes effective real-time authentication in a call centre possible. It is used to determine who the customer is using voice print technology and eliminates the need for an agent to spend time validating the caller’s identity.

A 1,000 seat contact centre could save £1.4 million in annual costs if identity verification processes were automated[1].

5. Get Ready to Differentiate in 2010 – By 2010, 70% of interactions into the call centre will be via mobile phone[2] so to steal a march on the competition, customer service directors need to start considering how to differentiate further and deliver complete self-service directly to a mobile handset. Soon consumers will be able to simply dial customer service and Nuance Mobile Care will intercept the call and present them with an on-screen self-service option on their mobile device. The consumer can interact with the intuitive screen interface to automatically resolve problems such as diagnosing and repairing configuration issues, and making account and billing inquiries via the handset without interaction with an agent.

“In the current climate organisations need to grow existing customers, better serve those customers, drive service efficiencies as well as optimise current IT” said Ian Turner, General Manager, Northern EMEA of Nuance. “Price will always be important in a customer’s purchase decision, but we all know now that outstanding service is the number one reason customers do business with a company. Though budgets are being cut, forward thinking organisations are still wisely investing in technologies that help them deliver a superior customer experience, demonstrable ROI and more importantly come out the other side of the credit crunch”.