SSPA Conference @ Savannah- Best Practices User Workshop

August 12, 2003

(San Diego, CA August 12, 2003) – The Service & Support Professionals Association (SSPA) announced today the featuring of Five Expert Connection Training Workshops at the SSPA Conference @ Savannah, to be held September 29-October 1, 2003 in Savannah, Georgia. One choice for attendees will be Support Center Practices (SCP) Best Practices User Forum Workshop. The Support Center Practices (SCP) Certification Forum is open to participating SCP companies that have achieved certification, or are in the process of preparing for certification, and others by invitation only. The session begins with an update of SCP Certification program accomplishments and includes mini-case studies from certified support centers. These case studies will cover best practices in many of the areas defined in the SCP program, and allows for in-depth discussion of the challenges companies have faced or are currently dealing with in their journey towards achieving certification.

"We are pleased to work with the SSPA in making the SCP Best Practices User Forum a part of the Savannah conference,” said Greg Coleman, Vice President of Certification for Service Strategies Corporation, SCP program administrators. “The conference provides the perfect opportunity for the industry to gather and share their ideas and practices. The sharing of best practices among SCP participants is an integral part of the value realized by companies striving to deliver world class support."

The other four-hour Expert Connection Training Workshops on day three of the Conference will include: STAR Award Winners Showcase- “Benchmarking Against the Best! * Economics of Certification - Management Overview * Developing a Services Architecture and S-Business: Reinventing the Services Organization: How to Drive Revenue and Create Competitive Advantage

The SSPA Savannah Conference is "the" event where the future of the Service and Support industry comes together in a fusion of visionary key note addresses, vibrant tracks and workshops, interactive forums, fun networking events, informative exhibits and a special dinner featuring the SSPA STAR Award winners -- all in the heart of America's most magical city, Savannah Georgia.

The opening day of the SSPA Conference at Savannah will be highlighted by 3 keynote presentations by Elliott Masie, Director- The MASIE Center; Chris Shea, Vice-President Consumer Service and Support Americas and Randy Spratt, Sr. Vice-President- McKesson Information Solutions.

Day two will feature Five Tracks each with five focused sessions for a total of 25 sessions guaranteed to unlock the secrets to mastering the future of customer service and support. The Five Tracks on the second day of the Conference will include:
Track 1: The Future of Support Technology; Track 2: The Future of Customer Demands; Track 3: The Future of the Support Executive; Track 4: The Future of Managing People; Track 5: Delivering World Class Service in the future.

Day Three is completed with the attendee’s choice of a round of golf at the pristine Club at Savannah Harbor Golf Course, next to the Westin Savannah Harbor Resort. - a tour of America's most magical city- Savannah- or a tour of Savannah’s wonderful coastal area.

Those who attend the SSPA Conference at Savannah will be well equipped to master the future of customer service.

About SSPA
Founded in 1989, the Service & Support Professionals Association (SSPA) was formed to focus on the specific needs of service executives who are responsible for support centers and overall customer relations. Today, the SSPA represents over 21,600 service professionals at 2,500 support centers worldwide. These executives look to SSPA to provide insight into the future of support services, a road map of best practices within our industry and access to the best service and support vendors. SSPA has become the center of support providing a reliable and comprehensive resource for news, research, benchmarking, standards and collaboration.

SSPA was created for professionals, managers and executives that make their living in the IT support services community. It is not a generic, one-size-fits all website where nobody ever feels like they belong. SSPA is dynamic, interactive, living resource specifically designed for the unique needs of support professionals. This exciting virtual community creates a forum for constant interaction with peers, industry experts, technology vendors and much more. For more information regarding the SSPA and other related divisions, log on to www.thesspa.com or send an email to info@thesspa.com.