Value-Added Support Business Model Heralded as Best Way to Achieve Customer Success and a Higher Level of Business Performance

SSPA Concludes Successful Services Leadership Conference; Executives Gain Insights into Development of New Support Strategies

SAN DIEGO, Nov. 21, 2006 –The Service & Support Professionals Association (SSPA), the largest and most influential association for technology service and support professionals, has concluded its inaugural SSPA Services Leadership Conference, lauded by attendees as a highly relevant, thought-provoking and impactful two-day executive forum ushering in a new era of customer success.

According to J.B. Wood, President and CEO of SSPA and TPSA, “For service and support to succeed tomorrow and into the future, a transformative change must be led from the top beginning today – with a strategy around value-added support.”

Value-added (VA) support is a business model in which customer support accelerates the customer’s time to value as well as their ROI on the product. This model is a win-win because it makes customers successful and at the same time enables a technology company to enjoy greater product sales to existing customers at an accelerated repurchase frequency. In one example, the SSPA demonstrated how this powerful model can grow product revenue to existing customers by 33 percent and total product revenues by 25 percent. (J.B. Wood’s presentation, Ten Things We Need to Change to Empower Support’s Future, is available to SSPA members for immediate download.)

Held last week in Washington, D.C., the Services Leadership Conference presented service and support executives with a new vision for the role of technology service organizations and provided actionable recommendations to empower organizations to transform and adapt to the changes ahead to achieve a higher level of business performance and customer success.

“The focus on strategy and leadership at the SSPA conference was right on target. It was incredibly timely, relevant and thought provoking. I left with tangible ideas that I will be applying to the ongoing development of our support strategy,” said Ron Taylor, senior vice president, customer service and support, Small Business Division, Sage Software.

“Delivering excellent customer service is a key driver of not only your success, but that of your customers, particularly in the technology industry. Give your customers the confidence and ability to fully unleash the power and capabilities of your products and the result is a happy customer, a positive image for your company and an improved bottom line,” said Bill Rose, founder and executive director of the SSPA.

SSPA Delivers Powerful Content, Recognizes Industry Leaders
The SSPA Services Leadership Conference featured keynote presentations by technology service and support industry luminaries from Sun Microsystems, Microsoft, Oracle Corporation, Bain & Company, and Zenger|Folkman. More than 50 breakout sessions featured executives from the world’s top technology companies including CA, Cisco, HP, IBM, Motorola, Network Appliance, Oracle, the Teradata Division of NCR, and Xerox, as well as Accenture and retail giant Circuit City. (Breakout session presentations are available to SSPA members.)

Service Research & Innovation (SRI) Initiative
The world economy is increasingly dominated by services, but investment in research to develop innovative service offerings and delivery mechanisms is dangerously low. On Tuesday, November 14, the SSPA and its sister association, the Technology Professional Services Association (TPSA), announced the Service Research & Innovation (SRI) initiative to increase the amount of focused research and development for technology service innovation. IBM Research and Oracle have joined SSPA and TPSA as founding sponsors of the SRI initiative and are forming an advisory board with global representatives from industry, education and government to help mobilize resources to address this critical gap in services research. To build awareness for the initiative, SSPA and TPSA will host the Technology Services Research & Innovation Symposium at the Santa Clara Convention Center on April 2, 2007. Also in development is SRINet, an online research clearinghouse linking research needs, proposals and funding. To register to receive updates on the initiative, email sri@thesspa.com.

SSPA STAR Awards for Service Excellence On Tuesday, November 14, SSPA also announced the recipients of the 2006 SSPA STAR Awards for Service Excellence including EMC, HP, IBM, Intuit, Microsoft, Oracle and Tektronix. In addition to receiving a STAR Award for Mission Critical Support, EMC Corporation was inducted into the prestigious SSPA Hall of Fame in recognition of earning their fifth SSPA STAR Award since the program’s inception in 1989.

About the SSPA

As the industry’s foremost professional association, the Service & Support Professionals Association (SSPA) is a key resource for the information and best practices needed to make better business decisions. It brings together the best minds from across the industry spectrum – from established companies with successful track records to the pioneering newcomers with out-of-the-box ideas. The SSPA also partners with thought leaders like J.D. Power and Associates and the Wharton School of Business to create programs that benefit the industry. The SSPA is part of the Point B group of associations.  For over 16 years, Point B has successfully managed industry groups, including the Technology Professional Services Association (TPSA).  For more information, visit www.thesspa.com.