(San Diego, CA December 2, 2003) – The Service & Support Professionals Association (SSPA), the leading industry Association for IT support professionals, today announced Key Findings of an ambitious research project gaining insight into the state of the support industry. The 2003 Support Industry Benchmark Study is the 6th consecutive examination of the support industry conducted by the SSPA, reporting on critical benchmarks and best practices used within the support industry. “Our goal for the 2003 Support Industry Benchmark study was to offer in-depth data and analysis about significant industry trends and opportunities with practical recommendations for enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of both established and emerging support operations.” said Bill Rose, Founder and CEO of the SSPA. “With responses from over 300 companies and the addition of Peer Group analysis by company size, this year’s report is our most comprehensive yet.” added Rose. Complete details on The 2003 Industry Benchmark Study are available on the SSPA Web site at www.thesspa.com.

2003 SSPA Industry Benchmark Study – Key Findings

Web self-service skyrockets while effectiveness remains grounded.
Web self-service transactions have grown 116.8 percent from 2002, now accounting for three-quarters of all support transactions. Although self-service use is high, the effectiveness of self-service remains moderate. Support organizations should find out if they are up to par in the most explosively growing area of support delivery.

A top cause of customer dissatisfaction and increased support costs goes unchecked.
The percent of cases closed at first contact continues to decline, while the length of time a case is open continues to increase resulting in higher resolution costs for escalated cases and increased customer dissatisfaction. Support organizations that want to increase customer satisfaction and keep costs in check need to evaluate closure rates and bottlenecks.

Soaring electronic support costs threaten to erode savings advantage over phone support.
The cost differential between providing support by phone and electronic means is closing, diminishing the potential savings from electronic support services. To continue reap benefits of electronic support, support organizations need to understand how their electronic support costs compare and where are they over or under investing.

In the face of rising support demand, electronic support submission stalls.
Customers are using more support services than ever before but the move from submitting cases by phone to electronic means has stalled due in part to continued disparity between phone and electronic support service levels. Support organizations should determine how their electronic service levels compare and what they can do to bring them in line with industry standards.

Are we sitting on an employee turnover time bomb?
Employee attrition rates have dropped by 56 percent since 2000 from 13.2 percent to 5.8 percent in 2003, indicating the potential for significant “pent-up” attrition as the economy improves. To avoid employee shortfalls in the future, support organizations should be developing retention and hiring programs to meet the staffing challenges ahead.

About the Support Industry Benchmark Study
The 2003 Support Industry Benchmark Study is based on a comprehensive survey of 306 companies. Participating companies provide technical support services to customers for information technology related products. Study participants provide a representative sample of the support industry with data and analysis about companies of varying size, type of products serviced, volume of incidents handled, and scope and maturity of capabilities.

Data Collection and Validation
The study was conducted between July 30, 2003 and August 29, 2003. Data was collected using a web based survey tool hosted by InsightExpress. The survey consisted of 120 distinct questions, although not all participants were required to answer all questions. A number of data integrity techniques were used to assure accuracy and consistency of the data collected including: checking for mutual exclusivity; rotation of options within the response lists; and input validation checking. To assure the highest reliability and accuracy of the data, SSPA conducts extensive integrity checks of the data. SSPA reviews data to assure that the data is representative of the information technology support industry. Participants providing customer service for non-IT related products, or services outside of the scope of information technology technical support are excluded from the analysis.

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.