Industry News

April 2007

Connections Magazine's Web Site Hits 1,000 Pages

In February, the Connections Magazine Web site reached and surpassed the 1,000-page milestone.  This includes 693 articles and 129 white papers from past issues of Connections Magazine.  Many of the articles have been updated to reflect new and additional information since they were first published.  Other pages include call center industry resources and information.

Popular sections of the Web site include the annual Buyers Guide, Vendor Literature, Events Calendar, Teleservice Agency Listing, Industry Glossary, and Area Code Lists.  Recent additions include complete PDF files for past issues, beginning with January 2002.

ConnectionsMagazine.com averages more than 700 unique visitors a day and had over 600,000 page views last year.

Visit www.ConnectionsMagazine.com to see more.

Amtelco Launches Discovery Forum

Amtelco launched their online Discovery Forum, consisting of webinars conducted by Amtelco customers sharing techniques and ideas for users of Amtelco software. Jamy Williams from Phonepower, Inc led the first Discovery Forum topic, "Styles and Fonts in Amtelco's Infinity Intelligent Series."  Amtelco customers can access recordings of the webinars located in the Resource Library. 

The online Amtelco Resource Library provides tools to simplify account setup, reduce training time, and get programming ideas.  This is the first such library in the industry and is a benefit for Amtelco customers.  Training agents is easy with detailed videos available to watch anytime, night or day. 

The Amtelco Resource Library also includes script libraries for the Infinity Intelligent Series and eCreator.  Using the Script Library, Amtelco system users have the opportunity to share their application scripts with other users for their mutual benefit. 

A new Wish List is now available on Amtelco's TechHelper Web site for customers to communicate their needs and ideas to Amtelco's software developers.  TechHelper has been enhanced with a bulletin board for up-to-the-minute news and a Google^® powered search engine.

For more information, contact Amtelco at 800-356-9148 or info@amtelco.com.

Professional Teledata Announces New Voicemail and Voice Logger Features

Professional Teledata released new voicemail and voice logger features for the PInnacle telemessaging system. The Message Status Voicemail Update automatically updates the status of messages depending upon clients' access. Clients checking messages via voicemail control whether their messages are "delivered off" or "held for future delivery" by simply listening to, saving, or deleting a voicemail message. This status change is customized on a per client basis and requires no special action on the part of the client.

"This is another step towards our goal of automating any process we can," said Allen Kalik, president of Professional Teledata. "Operator time should be maximized for interactive conversations with clients' callers, and automated operations should perform repetitive, rules-oriented tasks."

Professional Teledata also announced the availability of an interface between the PInnacle TAS System and CenturiSoft's Digital Voice Logger (DVL). This logger enables the recording of analog, digital, and VoIP calls. Additionally, agents can copy recorded calls from the logger into voicemail boxes using PInnacle's Logger Recording Copy (LRC) feature.

Professional Teledata provides systems and software products for telemessaging companies and call centers. Contact Karen Black 800-344-9944 x112 for more information.

Startel Announces Management Changes

Startel Corporation announced several management changes, including the retirement of Barbara Willis, vice president of sales.  Dan Feis has been named director of sales.  He will coordinate the activities of the sales team, including regional sales managers Tim Allen, Nancy Raftis, and Ed Burns, and sales coordinator Angel Wilkerson. 

Alice Reuter, acting president of Startel, stated, "I want to thank Barb for her twenty-five years of dedication and tireless effort.  She has been instrumental in Startel's success in so many ways over the years."  Barbara Willis joined Startel in 1982 just after the company was founded.  Barb will ensure that the sales organization's transition goes smoothly.

Additionally, Geri Cerkovnik has been promoted to vice president of strategic development.  In her new role, she will continue to report to Alice Reuter and will retain responsibility for both the marketing and R&D departments.  In addition, Geri will play a key role in exploring new technology and strategic opportunities for Startel's future.

"I have enormous confidence in our future" said Alice Reuter.  "Both Geri and Dan bring tremendous talent, experience, and strong track records of success to their new assignments."

Telescan Posts Record First Quarter; Expands Support Staff

Telescan announced that first quarter sales for 2007 had exceeded predictions by 50%, giving them a record first quarter; this record was accomplished in just the first two months of 2007.  To meet the rapid sales growth, the company announced it will be hiring two new customer support agents.

"Providing customer support that is second-to-none is the first priority of every employee at Telescan," said Patty Anderson, Telescan's director of sales.  "Meeting our customers' needs and exceeding their expectations is a big part of Telescan's success.  This philosophy will keep Telescan growing."

Building on their goal of superior service and support, Telescan hosted a free training seminar in March in Houston, Texas.  The theme of the seminar was "Building Blocks to Success."  The seminar included workshops on scripting design and management training as well as creative approaches to maximizing productivity and profit for a telemessaging business.

To find out more about Telescan, call 800-770-7662.

CenturiSoft Announces True Digital Voice Logger

CenturiSoft announced their add-on solution Digital Voice Logger, or DVL.  While many companies do voice logging of calls, CenturiSoft is the first to record analog, digital, and VoIP calls simultaneously.  Most loggers record agents' calls using analog lines and voice cards; CenturiSoft developed interfaces for ISDN and VoIP to record using the digital TDM (Time Division Multiplexing) or RTP (Realtime Transport Protocol) audio paths directly.  This eliminates noise, transcoding, and audio errors that are prone to traditional loggers.

Since the DVL records digitally, remote VoIP agents and stations can be easily recorded.  Traditional analog recorders cannot provide these capabilities.

Along with the DVL technology, access to the audio is available via CD/DVD, email attachments, or a secured Web portal.  Due to CenturiSoft's partnership with Microsoft, they are using the new Professional Encoding Technologies (PET).  This allows message compression, with virtually no loss in audio quality, at 38 kilobytes per minute.

CenturiSoft can be reached at sales@centurisoft.com or 800-866-1929.

ATA to Unveil Self-Regulatory Standards at Summit

The American Teleservices Association (ATA) announced plans to unveil Self-Regulatory Standards to its members and other industry professionals at the 2007 Washington Summit, April 22-25 at the Hyatt Regency Crystal City.

The Self-Regulatory Organization (SRO) of the American Teleservices Association will conclude a yearlong development process by delivering the first public draft of the standards to all attendees.  Attendance at the event will include 300 executives, compliance officers, government affairs officers, attorneys, and other professionals from diverse industries.  Attendees will have the opportunity to provide their feedback and directly influence the future of the standards.

"Dramatic changes in teleservices have created a pressing need for consistency and reliability which can be counted on by consumers," said Tim Searcy, chief executive officer of the American Teleservices Association.  "We believe that an entity independent of call centers available to create broadly accepted standards would help satisfy that need.  Our goal is to use a combination of existing state and federal regulations and new standards to provide better customer service."

Habla Español?  Demand for Spanish Fuels Dominican Call Center Boom

 Once touted as "the little economy that could," the Dominican Republic's decision to bet on hi-tech has come a long way in the last decade.  When 2006 ended, the Dominican contact center industry boasted more than forty centers employing 18,000 agents, becoming a preferred business process outsourcing (BPO) destination globally and an important technology hub in the Western Hemisphere. 

Eddy Martinez, executive director of the Dominican Republic's Center for Investment and Exports (CEI-DR for its Spanish acronym), expects the number of BPO agents to grow to 30,000 by the end of 2007.  "We are bullish on the BPO industry because we have seen the explosive demand for Spanish-language back-office, telemarketing, and customer support services," said Martinez.  "We are now starting to reap the benefits of our investments in training and technology."

Key factors in the Dominican Republic's emergence as a Call Center/BPO destination include its proximity to the United States, the availability of skilled, bilingual agents at a reasonable rate, and the lowest operating costs among Caribbean locations.

Professional Teledata Adds Payment Option to Billing Program

Professional Teledata announced a new payment option for users of their Total Billing Solution (TBS) program. TBS-based call centers can now offer their clients an option of paying monthly or periodic charges through an automatic direct transfer of funds from a designated bank account. Transfers can occur on a prescheduled basis coinciding with a variety of billing cycles.

Jeff List, senior product developer, said, "This is yet another feature in the program to facilitate prompt payments from customers and timely notifications of any potential payment problems. Developed in response to a customer request, it accelerates payments by eliminating errors when using checks, credit cards, or other payment methods."

The new feature is an optional add-on to the TBS program and is available for immediate installation.

Professional Teledata provides systems and software products for the telemessaging and call center industries. Contact Karen Black at 800-344-9944 x112 for more information.

Telescan's Releases Script Designer

Telescan has released its first scheduled system update for 2007 for the Spectrum System.  The update includes Telescan's new scripting capability, featuring the Script Designer, a visual interface for creating and testing scripts.

Among many other enhancements, this update includes a feature for distributing client-generated email to agents as an "inbound message," offering further alternatives for client-service interaction.

To find out more about Telescan, call 800-770-7662.

ATA Launches Benchmarking Tool with Purdue

The American Teleservices Association (ATA) launched a new benchmarking tool for companies with inbound or outbound contact centers.  The association partnered with Purdue University's Center for Customer Driven Quality to produce in-depth analyses designed to encourage participants to conduct a self-assessment of their call center performance as compared to top performing contact centers.

"Benchmarking is an absolute necessity for contact centers to establish or maintain their competitive advantage," stated Tim Searcy, chief executive officer of the American Teleservices Association.

The benchmarking reports provide contact centers with a means to compare their performance with that of their peers and competitors.  Companies may use the results to help improve employee and customer satisfaction and/or increase their operational efficiency and effectiveness.  Participating contact centers will have the option to select the free "reality check" report, or the more "in-depth" industry report, valued at $1,500.  ATA Members will receive both reports. 

According to Richard Feinberg, director of the Center for Customer Driven Quality at Purdue University, "Benchmarking is like going to the doctor for a checkup.  It is essential to see what is normal and what may be abnormal."

SNUG Convention to Locate in Myrtle Beach in 2008

The Startel National Users Group (SNUG) announced that the site location for its 2008 Annual Meeting will be held at the Sheraton Myrtle Beach, SC on March 9-12, 2008. 

SNUG, a professional association serving the membership of education needs of Startel equipment users, is based in Minneapolis.  The Startel Corporation, which is based in Irvine, California, manufactures, sells, and supports specific software and hardware used in the telephone answering service and messaging industry.

For more information, contact Dan L'Heureux 800-317-8529 or dan@CallConsult.net .

Regional Groups to Cohost Workshops

The Southern Telemessaging Association (STA) and the Western States Telemessaging Association (WSTA) are working together to host two Advanced Performance Workshops.  The workshops, which are Level-Two Supervisory training, will be presented by industry leaders Judy Vincent, Dee Hawkins, and Mari Osmon. 

The first workshop will be held in Las Vegas, NV on May 9-10, 2007.  The second one will be in Tampa, Florida, on August 14-15, 2007.

WSTA represents centers committed to quality, including telemessaging, voicemail, order-taking, and e-commerce solutions.  STA intends to foster, promote, and develop the telemessaging industry through mutual cooperation of the members; to establish, maintain, and implement a Code of Ethics which will further public acceptance of the industry and its services; and to aid and assist its members by collective planning and associated effort. 

For more information, contact Dan L'Heureux at 763-473-0210 or dan@CallConsult.net.

ASTAA to Host Fall Owners' Meeting and Supervisor Seminar

 ASTAA (Atlantic States Telephone Answering Association) announced two fall events for 2007.  A Supervisor Training Workshop hosted by Donna West of Focus Telecommunications will be held in Baltimore, MD on September 17-18, 2007.  Also, an all-new Owners' Opportunity meeting will be held in Williamsburg, VA on October 7-9, 2007, hosted by Jannemieke Keener of Keener Communications.  

Focus Telecommunications is an award-winning call center committed to excellence; Keener Communications is the recipient of ATSI's Award of Excellence Top Score for 2006.

ASTAA is a not-for-profit professional association serving the membership of the Mid-Atlantic States.

Verint to Acquire Witness Systems

Verint Systems Inc.,  a provider of analytic software-based solutions for security and business intelligence, and Witness Systems, Inc., a leading provider of workforce optimization software and services, have entered into a definitive agreement under which Verint will acquire Witness for $27.50 per share in cash.

"Verint and Witness share a similar culture with a passion for growth, results-driven execution, and a laser focus on customer success," said Dan Bodner, president and CEO of Verint Systems Inc. "This strategic move will create a platform for rapid organizational growth and provide a wealth of opportunity for our global employee population."