When the buzz words start flying, you can be sure that the consultants and technology spin masters are hard at work.

But knowing that telcos are making big-time investments in customer care these days is the easy part. The tough part is getting tactical information on where specific telecom customer care opportunities lie in the year’s ahead.

Hello, I’m Dan Baker, Research Director of Technology Research Institute (TRI).  I’m going to show you how our new 341-page Report sifts through the hype to deliver content-rich information organized to help you succeed in telecom customer care’s brave new world.

In particular, our report, Customer Care, Call Center & Web Self-Care Systems in Telecommunications, will give you fresh perspective on:

• Telecom customer care buyer trends and requirements. The Report addresses key market questions like:  What are the buyer’s hot buttons and priorities?...   Which obstacles need to be overcome...  Who are they inclined to buy from... How fast will they adopt new capabilities?

• What’s hot and what’s not in call center technology, such as: screen pops, call blending, rules-based ACD systems, virtual call center routers, context transfer, and Interactive Voice Response (IVR).

• Demand for customer interaction functions, like knowledge-based support, workforce management, web self-care, and quality monitoring.

• Leading vendors to partner with. The Report profiles and plots the strategic direction of 62 suppliers -- vendors of customer care software, call center technology, system integration services, and teleservices.

We give you a sweeping view of telecom customer care. The Report analyzes not just the impact of the latest call center technology and customer care software, but also shows how these systems relate to other functions in the telecom enterprise, such as  billing... provisioning... sales automation... churn... retail... and marketing support systems.

And if your company is a customer care solution provider, here are some extra benefits TRI's Report provides...

• The worldwide market for telecom customer care software, call center hardware, and integration services is $937 million and climbing. . . with the best days still ahead. You'll get market forecasts and strategies on how to position yourself for success in this emerging arena.

• You can't afford to waste scarce time and money on technologies or markets that won't fly. TRI's research leads you to the best places to invest your resources according to ... operating system... software functions... and carrier niche market.

The Report is based on interviews and a survey of executives at 96 U.S. carriers and customer care solution vendors. Breakdowns  of coverage and benefits are shown below:

• Tables of Buyer Preference, High to Low Buyer Priorities, and Market Segmentation Tables.

• 119 pages of Market Analysis, interpretation and recommendations.

• 62 Vendor Profiles filling 127 pages and featuring Telecom Revenues, Product Details, Strategic Direction, Significant Partners, Web Addresses, and Stock Ticker Symbols.

• Company Revenues and 1997 Market Share for Telecom Customer Care Software, Systems Integration, and Call Center/CTI Technology.

• Six Market Forecasts for 1997 to 2002.

Please browse the table of contents below and contact us for a copy of our complete 16-page report flyer.   You’ll see why this Report can become your road map to understanding the players, procedures, and products that are shaping the future of telecom customer care.

The Report comes with your full money-back guarantee. If you’re not delighted with its contents, return it within ten days for a full refund. No questions asked.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1. Executive Summary (9 pages)

RESEARCH PURPOSE AND SCOPE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
SURVEY ASSUMPTIONS & LIMITATIONS
DEMOGRAPHICS & POPULATION SELECTION
Mail Survey List Selection & Methodology
Demographics of Telecom Carrier Survey Respondents

Chapter 3. Call Center & CTI Technology (29 pages)

Strategic Significance of the Voice Call Center
CALL CENTER SWITCHING SYSTEMS
The Evolution of ACDs: The Dedicated Switch
The Alternative Choice: PBX System with ACD Functionality
The Telecom Call Center Technology Market
Skills-Based & Rules-Based Routing
Predictive Dialers -- A Switch for Outbound Calls
Inbound/Outbound Load Balancing via Call Blending
Will Telcos Use Call Blending?
COMPUTER TELEPHONY INTEGRATION
CTI: The Emergence of Open Systems Call Center Switching
Screen Pops, DNIS, & Call Identification
INTERACTIVE VOICE RESPONSE SYSTEMS (IVR)
IVR Innovation in the Cable Industry
Pay-Per-View Cable and IVR Systems
Achieving "Seamless" IVR via Context Transfer
IVR & Centrex at Bell Atlantic
CALL CENTER CONSOLIDATION & INTEGRATION
The Drive to Consolidate Call Centers
Intelligent Network Routing & the Virtual Call Center
ACD/PBX Supplier Alternatives for Inter-Call Center Routing
Integrating the ACD Switches of Different Manufacturers

Chapter 4. Customer Care Software (36 pages)

The Drive towards a Customer Care "Cockpit"
Future Dream Meets Current Reality
The Telecom Customer Care Software Market
DRIVERS TO CALL CENTER IMPROVEMENTS
Quality Monitoring Systems
CSR Training & the User Interface
Synchronizing Customer Support Information
SOFTWARE CAPABILITIES
Knowledge-Based & Expert Systems
Answering Problems on a "One-and-Done" Basis
Customer Care Integration with Retail Operations
Workforce Management
CASE STUDY: MCI's SMART/Call Telemarketing System
System Architecture and Process Flow
IT/Business Partnership in Development Process
The System in Operation: Benefits over the Legacy System
CASE STUDY: Entrepreneurial Call Center at a Large Telco

Chapter 5. Customer Relationship Management or CRM Systems (17 pages)

The Competitive Strain on Traditional Customer Care
From Customer Service... to Customer Relationship
Warding Off the CLEC Threat -- CRM to the Rescue
CUSTOMER KNOWLEDGE -- THE CONSOLIDATED DESKTOP VIEW
Corny but Effective: The Value of Customer Intelligence
Cross-Selling Based on Knowledge of the Customer
A Single Desktop View of the Customer
CRM CASE STUDIES
British Telecom's Field Sales Information System
ILEC Bell Atlantic’s Sales-Service Negotiation System
Customer Relationship System at U S WEST
CLEC Start-Up: Hyperion Case Study
THE DATA WAREHOUSE & CUSTOMER KNOWLEDGE MANAGEMENT
Data Warehouse Definition
A Key Warehouse Benefit: Putting Best Customer First
We’re Still in the CRM Stone Age
The Toughest Nut to Crack: Capturing Accurate Data
The Data Warehouse & Customer Care Integration
Data Mining -- Finding Data Diamonds in the Terabyte Rough
BATTLING SUBSCRIBER CHURN
Combating Telecom Subscriber Churn
The Role of Predictive Modeling
The Churn Model and Retention Programs

Chapter 6. The Multimedia Interaction Center (22 pages)

Multimedia Market Drivers
Web Self-Care -- How Fast will it Move?
The Web Callback: An Inbound Marketing Tool
A Voice over IP Killer App
The E-Mail ACD
Managing the Multimedia Call Center
MULTIMEDIA CASE STUDY
Customer Self-Service at New Brunswick Telecom
MULTIMEDIA INVOICING: EVOLUTION OF THE E-BILL
Electronic Bills -- Why Costs Savings Are Elusive
Can Telcos Cross-Sell in Cyberspace?
Maintaining a Unified Company Image: E-Bills vs. Paper Bills
Web Consolidators: The E-Bill Statement Producers
The Three Consolidator Models
The Direct Billing Model
Thick vs. Thin Bill Consolidation
Checkfree: Web Consolidator Flagship
Many Paths to the One True Bill
Pulling Together Remittance vs. Auto-Debt

Chapter 7. Customer Care Systems Integration (27 pages)

The Challenge of Legacy Integration
Database & Process Reengineering: How Much is Enough?
Weighing Off-the-Shelf vs. Custom Build
Selling Off-the-Shelf Solutions to Large Telcos
The Demand for Software Standardization
THE SYSTEMS INTEGRATION MARKET
Adapting "Glosssyware" to Telecom’s Real World
The Business of a Telco Integrator
Partnering with Software Vendors
Kenan Systems Writes the Book on Integrator Partnering
BUILDING & INTEGRATING A SALES AUTOMATION SYSTEM
The "Fast Track" Assessment Phase
System Integration & Implementation Phases
SYSTEMS INTEGRATION COMPETITORS
Switch & Telecom Carrier Competitors
The Enterprise Software Vendors

Chapter 8. The Teleservices Market (22 pages)

Business Drivers to Outsourcing Call Center Work
Telemarketing & Long Distance "Slamming"
The Benefits of Call Center Outsourcing
Database Marketing & Teleservices
Order Fulfillment by Teleservices Firms
The Hiring of Teleservices Firms
Worth the Risk? Why CLECs and Teleservices Don't Mix
Critical Obstacles to Outsourcing Call Centers
Unionized Telco CSR vs. Teleservices Rep
Inbound Customer Care -- A Challenge for Teleservices Firms
Telecom Carriers in the Inbound Teleservices Business
The Teleservices "Insourcing" Units of Large Carriers
Teleservices Firms Serving the Telecom Industry

Chapter 9. Market Analysis & Recommendations (24 pages)

Of MegaTrends and MegaHits
"High Touch" Customer Service in Telecom
ILECs Join the Customer Relationship Bandwagon
TELECOM CARRIER BUYING TRENDS
Telcos Deal with a Fragmented Telecom IT Infrastructure
"Open" Technology... Make Way for "Trusted" Vendors
A Systems Integrator’s Rose Garden
The March to Telecom IT Outsourcing
THE COMPETITIVE LANDSCAPE
The Battle to Control the Telecom Dashboard
PRODUCT & SERVICES OPPORTUNITIES
MARKETING & POSITIONING RECOMMENDATIONS

Chapter 10. Vendor Profiles (132 pages)

Adesso Software
AMDOCS
American Management Systems (AMS)
Andersen Consulting
Apropos Technology
Architel
BCS Technologies
Blue Pumpkin Software
Brite Voice Systems
Cambridge Technology Partners
CAP Gemini
CenturyTel Telecommunications Inc.
CGI Group, Inc.
Chordiant Software, Inc.
Clarify, Inc.
Convergys
Corepoint Technologies
Customer Management Automation
Davis Software
Davox Corporation
Deloitte & Touche
DMR Consulting
Genesys
Geotel Communications Corp.
ICT Group, Inc.
IEX Corporation
IMA
Just In Time Solutions
Kenan Systems
LHS Communications
LHS InfoCell
Lightbridge, Inc.
Logica, Inc.
Lucent Technologies
Mediasoft Telecom
Melita International
MetaSolv Software
Microlog Corporation
Mitel Corporation
NKSoft Corporation
Periphonics Corporation
Pipkins
Portal Software
PricewaterhouseCoopers
Quintus Corporation
Remedy Corporation
Rockwell Electronic Commerce
Saville
Sema Group Telecom
Sequent Computer System
Seibel Systems
SNET Call Center Services
Syntellect
Taske Technology
TCIM
Telespectrum Worldwide
Technology Solutions Company
Unisys
Vantive Corporation
Versatility (Oracle)
Worldwerx

Table of Figures

TYPE OF SERVICE PROVIDER BY SOFTWARE INVESTMENT  & CALL CENTER SIZE

TYPE OF SERVICE PROVIDER BY CUSTOMERS SERVED
CALL CENTER INTERACTIONS BY CUSTOMER TYPE

SIZE OF CALL CENTER SOFTWARE INVESTMENT
IN THE NEXT 12 MONTHS

CALL CENTER INTERACTIONS BY CUSTOMER TYPE

INBOUND LIVE AGENT CALLS BY TYPE OF CALL RECEIVED

DEPARTMENTS PLAYING A LEADING SELECTION ROLE

CALL CENTER & CTI TECHNOLOGY MARKET SHARE OF  LEADING VENDORS

CALL CENTER & CTI SOLUTIONS FORECAST BY
 SERVICE PROVIDER TYPE

CALL CENTER & CTI TECHNOLOGY MARKET BY  GEOGRAPHIC REGION

ACD AND SKILLS-BASED CALL ROUTING SYSTEMS

NUMBER OF SEATS IN CALL CENTERS

CRITICAL CTI INTERFACES

INTERACTIVE RESPONSE SYSTEMS (IVR) IN USE TODAY & BEING EVALUATED FOR THE FUTURE

CURRENT & PROJECTED CALL CENTER SYSTEM CAPABILITIES

CUSTOMER CARE & CALL CENTER SOFTWARE FUNCTIONS DELIVERED BY VENDORS TODAY & FUTURE

TELECOM CUSTOMER CARE SOFTWARE MARKET SHARE OF  LEADING VENDORS

CUSTOMER CARE APPLICATION SOFTWARE FORECAST BY  SERVICE PROVIDER TYPE

CUSTOMER CARE APPLICATION SOFTWARE FORECAST BY SERVER OPERATING SYSTEM

CUSTOMER CARE APPLICATION SOFTWARE MARKET BY GEOGRAPHIC REGION

CUSTOMER INTERACTION SOFTWARE VENDORS IN USE TODAY & BEING EVALUATED

DRIVERS TO CALL CENTER IMPROVEMENTS

CUSTOMER CARE SOLUTIONS -- FACTORS DRIVING DEMAND

AVERAGE CALL DURATION OF INBOUND CALLS

CALL CENTER WORKFORCE MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS

TELECOM CUSTOMER CARE & INTERACTION SYSTEMS FLOW DIAGRAM

CHANNELS OF INBOUND CUSTOMER CARE INTERACTION

DRIVERS TO CUSTOMER SELF-SERVICE VIA THE INTERNET

WEB SELF-CARE SOLUTIONS -- FACTORS DRIVING DEMAND FROM VENDORS' VIEWPOINT

OBSTACLES CRITICALLY SLOWING CUSTOMER SELF-SERVICE VIA THE INTERNET

INTERNET SELF-SERVICE FUNCTIONS IN YEAR 2000
CRITICAL CHALLENGES TO BUILDING NEXT GENERATION SYSTEMS 

BUILD VS. BUY VS. OUTSOURCE DIRECTION

DATABASES FOR CUSTOMER CARE SYSTEMS

DATABASES SUPPORTED BY CALL CENTER & CUSTOMER  CARE VENDORS

SERVER OPERATING SYSTEMS

CUSTOMER CARE SYSTEMS INTEGRATION & CONSULTING

MARKET SHARE OF LEADING VENDORS

SYSTEMS INTEGRATION & CONSULTING FORECAST BY  SERVICE PROVIDER TYPE

CUSTOMER CARE SYSTEMS INTEGRATION & TECHNICAL CONSULTING MARKET BY GEOGRAPHIC REGION

SYSTEMS INTEGRATOR & SERVICE BUREAU PARTNERS GENERATING TELECOM BUSINESS FOR CUSTOMER CARE VENDORS

SERVER VENDORS GENERATING TELECOM BUSINESS FOR CUSTOMER CARE & CALL CENTER VENDORS

CUSTOMER CARE & CTI SOFTWARE PARTNERS GENERATING TELECOM INDUSTRY REVENUE

BILLING SOLUTION PARTNERS GENERATING 

TELECOM BUSINESS FOR CUSTOMER CARE & CALL CENTER VENDORS

CURRENT & FUTURE CALL CENTER AGENT SEATS BY
IN-HOUSE VS. OUTSOURCED STAFF

REASONS FOR OUTSOURCING THE CALL CENTER

CALL CENTER OUTSOURCING -- FACTORS DRIVING DEMAND

CRITICAL OBSTACLES TO OUTSOURCING CALL CENTERS

CURRENT & FUTURE PERCENTAGE OF INBOUND VS.
OUTBOUND CALLS

TELESERVICES FIRMS SERVING THE TELECOM INDUSTRY

INBOUND CUSTOMER CARE INTERACTIONS FORECAST BY INTERACTION CHANNEL

VENDOR CAPABILITIES, STRENGTHS & FUTURE DIRECTIONS

TELECOM CUSTOMER CARE SOLUTIONS FORECAST
BY SOLUTION TYPE

CALL CENTER TECHNOLOGY CAPABILITIES OF KEY VENDORS

CUSTOMER CARE & CALL CENTER SERVICES OF KEY VENDORS

CUSTOMER CARE SOFTWARE CAPABILITIES OF KEY VENDORS