By Shawn Santos, Senior Program Manager, SSPA
Our 2005 Year in Focus special issue tracks the many programs and events that made 2005 a success for the SSPA and helped its member companies thrive. In this exclusive section you'll find a preview of SSPA deliverables—from Feature Articles to the recent White Paper, and from SSPA Research to the Benchmark Database.
Use this as your guide to the SSPA—we’ve put together our best articles, our most popular programs, and select event coverage as a comprehensive resource that you can reference anytime. Join us in taking a look back at some of the most collaborative, insightful, and unique programs and events of 2005.
Top 10 SSPA News Feature Articles.............................................................
SSPA News, distributed electronically on the second Tuesday of each month, is a collection of germane articles from noted industry leaders and insights from SSPA researchers and staff. The following selections consist of the top ten most popular feature articles of 2005.
- Your Service Organization is Under Attack: Defend Your Technology Maintenance, Service and Support Prices By Shawn Santos, Senior Program Manager, SSPA
- Knowledge Management Models By Francoise Tourniaire, founder and principal of FT Works
- Improve Your Company’s Ability to Sell the Value of Maintenance and Support in Three Steps. By Reuben Silvers, Senior Consultant, Kotler Marketing Group
- Top Support Issues for 2005: Bill Rose, SSPA Founder and Executive Director asks the SSPA Advisory Board what issues occupy the top spots in 2005.
- Uncovering the Connection Between Customer Loyalty and Financial Performance: By TNS Prognostics: “For the companies included in our analysis, we found that a 10% increase in customer loyalty was associated with an additional 12.5% increase in annual revenue growth”
- Taking the Pulse of Your Support Center: The 2005 Benchmark Study: By Bill Rose
- Running Support as a Business (or how to make your CFO love you):By Francoise Tourniaire, F ounder and Principal of FT Works. Part II – How to Make it Work in the Trenches
- J.D. Power and Associates / SSPA Industry Certification Program in Full Swing By Shawn Santos, Senior Program Manager, SSPA
- Executive Insight: Servicing Customers the HP Way, Interview with HP’s Mohan Garde Learn how HP Consumer tackles the challenges of supporting a diverse customer base and a voluminous case load with one of the lowest cost per call averages in the industry.
- Gray Matter: EMC’s Innovative Approach to Knowledge Sharing By Colin A. Berrell, Director of Global Technical Support, EMC Corporation
Of course, we’re always seeking article contributions from the Service and Support Industry’s best and brightest minds. If you’re interested in submitting an article, please click here: Call for Authors.
SSPA Conferences .............................................................................................
Service and support professionals are consistently focused on developing processes and programs that enable customer satisfaction and positively affect their top and bottom-line financial performance. SSPA’s bi-annual conferences have become the largest events of their kind that help these professionals achieve their goals, and answer the question: “What’s working out there?” and sometimes even more importantly, “What isn’t working?” They know that the best sources for these new ideas are their industry peers and key industry leaders.
The SSPA presented two unique conferences in 2005. In the Spring, the “ Best Practices” conference in San Diego focused on real-world tips, techniques, and case studies that provide solutions attendees can take home and use right away. In the Fall, the “Shaping Tomorrow’s Service & Support Models” conference focused on the key trends, procedures, and solutions that will be shaping the service and support industry in months and years to come.
Takeaways from the 2005 San Diego Conference: Best Practices sessions on knowledge management By Francoise Tourniaire
SSPA Conference Las Vegas—Was it Worth it? Key Insights from the Conference Floor By Shawn Santos, Senior Program Manager, SSPA
Downloadable 2005 Las Vegas Conference Presentations “Shaping Tomorrow’s Service & Support Models” (members only)
Downloadable 2005 San Diego Conference Presentations “Best Practices” (members only)
2006 Call for Speakers: If you have recently implemented best practices for technical support, services marketing/sales, and/or field service, please share them with the SSPA community by speaking in San Diego.
Certifications.........................................................................................................
J.D. Power and Associates
Certified Technology Service & Support (CTSS)
Since the celebrated unveiling of the over-sized J.D. Power and Associates CTSS trophy at the October 2005 SSPA Conference in Las Vegas, two companies have been audited and certified: Hewlett-Packard and Internet Security Systems (ISS). There are more companies currently in the comprehensive audit process. This prestigious certification is awarded to technology companies that meet or exceed the new standard for superior technology service and support. A recent member survey indicated that 78% of survey respondents would recommend CTSS for their service and support organization.
The J.D. Power and Associates Certified Technology Service & Support program is a unique opportunity to build your business and improve your operations. For more information, contact John South at jsouth@thesspa.com.
Benchmark Study ..............................................................................................
The SSPA Industry Benchmark Study has been the definitive yardstick for measuring operational performance in the service and support industry.
The 2005 study takes it to the next level. First, the results are accessible online for members to get answers 24 hours a day. It’s also possible to develop custom queries, compare your company’s performance to the industry overall or to your specific market segments, and print custom reports showing areas of strengths and vulnerabilities.
Information is stored in a live database and covers major functional areas vital to the technology services industry including Finance, Operations, Sales, Marketing and Customer Satisfaction. The database is continually updated, so the data is fresh and reflects the most current business conditions. Today, the database includes information collected directly from almost 250 technology service and support companies since its inauguration in May and it is growing every week. In a recent member poll, over 75% of respondents who had accessed and utilized the Benchmark Tool found its overall value as “High” to “Very High”.
Due to the overwhelmingly positive response to this one-of-a-kind industry resource we’re now ready to take this tool to the next level. Please join a task force of key industry players who will collaborate to shape and prioritize key enhancements to the benchmark questionnaire. Interested parties can contact us by email at benchmark@thesspa.com.
Access the database now to benchmark yourself against the industry or self-defined peer groups.
Benchmark Tool (SSPA login required)
Review the Survey Questions (SSPA login required)
New Website...........................................................................................................
In direct response to member input, the SSPA website underwent an “extreme makeover” in 2005 to more readily put vital information at your fingertips.
Enhanced features include:
- Site search – we’ve added a powerful new search capability that scans thousands of documents and articles to quickly retrieve relevant links with results sorted in priority order
- Information architecture – information is now categorized by major functional areas to streamline and target inquiries.
- Consistent navigation and user interface – new drop-down menus provide easy content access
- Calendar of events – stay up to date on details about important upcoming events and conferences on topical issues from the events drop-down menu
- New look and feel – we’ve implemented an updated and uniform look across the entire site
Your comments and suggestions about the new SSPA web site are welcome. Please send your input to Shawn Santos, Senior Program Manager, Member Programs at ssantos@thesspa.com.
Defending Support and Maintenance Prices (DSMP) White Paper and Webcast ...........................................................................................................
In the spring and summer of 2005 the SSPA Industry Committee on Maintenance and Support ROI began research on effective strategies for defending prices for maintenance, service and support contracts sold by enterprise technology vendors. This Committee included 30 leading enterprise technology companies who provided data and feedback, of which 12 acted as the working committee.
The result was a well-received, members-only white paper and webcast series: Defending Support and Maintenance Prices (DSMP). The SSPA developed this special research to help member companies understand the emerging trends that threaten to reduce services revenue growth, margins and company EPS. The research provides effective strategies for defending your prices for maintenance, service and support contracts.
- 86% of webcast attendees ranked value as “High” to “Very High” in a recent survey
- 90% of webcast attendees recommend that others watch the webcasts (recent survey)
“My reality for the past 3 weeks confirms 100% of everything you predicted. It's starting now.” - Maintenance Operations Executive, major hardware manufacturer
“More executives need to see this. I like the fact that you can replay at any time. This was a very valuable session and very timely for our industry.” – Vice President of Global Services, major PC manufacturer
Access the DSMP webcast series: click here (members only)
Access the DSMP White Paper & Abstract: click here
The Buyer's Guide ..............................................................................................
What exactly is the Buyer’s Guide?
In 2005, the SSPA created the first annual Buyer's Guide, Member Directory and Fact Book. This book is comprised of advertorial from leading technology vendors designed specifically to inform you about what their products and services offer you.
The Buyer's Guide also includes a Member Directory. This directory is a chance for us to showcase our membership and your peers. Interspersed in the pages are facts from the SSPA Research 2005 Industry Benchmark Study.
For an easy download, we've saved the individual chapters of this book in 7 .pdf files. You can access them here: Buyer’s Guide
Wharton / SSPA Technology Support Services Management Program
2005 will prove to be a pivotal year for advancing the Service and Support Industry through training and certification. In October, the SSPA announced its celebrated partnership with the Wharton School to drive thought leadership and management development in technology services.
The industry is changing. In order to maintain the leading edge, the SSPA is launching the new certification program as a pre-emptive strategy to address the trends and challenges shaping our industry.
The SSPA will award its Management-TSSM Certification to the participants who successfully complete the program. Past recipients of the SSPA CSM certification will greatly benefit from attending the new Technology Support Services Management Program. A recent member survey concluded that 73% of respondents see a strong need for assessing, training, and certifying their service and support staff.
The first TSSM program will be delivered at Wharton West in San Francisco, CA beginning March 6, 2006. For program details click here.
SSPA Webcasts ......................................................................................................
The SSPA produces a number of compelling webcasts each month. These webcasts provide attendees with in-depth information on service & support industry trends, best practices, and other important issues. Many webcasts are sponsored by industry vendors that use this opportunity to demonstrate how their products and technologies address these issues. In addition, the SSPA provides member companies with important special-edition webcasts on newly-unveiled research such as the recent webcasts on Defending Support & Maintenance Prices.
For the complete upcoming webcast schedule as well as webcasts archived in 2005, please click here. The schedule is updated regularly.
SSPA 2005 STAR Awards.....................................................................................
The SSPA STAR Awards provide peer recognition of Excellence and Best Practices in 7-8 unique categories. All winners and finalists are honored during popular award ceremonies at SSPA’s two industry conferences.
Winners for the 2005 STAR Awards for Service Excellence
Interested in nominating your company for a 2006 STAR Award for Best Practices?
Companies that apply for this prestigious award will undergo a rigorous application review by a select industry committee. The application form asks for specific baseline data, a detailed description of the process, performance metrics, returns and benefits, and other information that differentiates their best practice from the rest. Finalists and STAR Award recipients will be announced at the SSPA Conference in San Diego, featuring service and support best practices April 9 - 11, 2006. Download an application form.
A Look Back at the Future ..............................................................................
Looking back, can we tell what the future of this 21st-century association will look like?
Founded in 1989, the SSPA has evolved to become the most influential industry trade group for technology service and support professionals. But its future is far from sedate.
The SSPA is focused on delivering real value to member companies. Bringing together the service and support community’s best and brightest minds, the SSPA delivers a compelling mix of research, collaboration, programs, certifications, networking, insight, media and analyst relations, education and other information resources. SSPA core constituents include the world’s leading enterprise and consumer technology companies such as SAP, Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Oracle, Cisco and IBM, as well as the scores of innovative small and mid-sized companies that serve to continually refresh the industry by bringing new ideas and processes to the marketplace.
Following 2005—the “Year of Execution”—what can member companies expect in 2006 and beyond?
Significant trends are shaping the service and support industry, and major shifts in the way we work are becoming more and more apparent. Together, the SSPA and its member companies are finding the most innovative and effective ways to not only address key challenges, but seize the most important opportunities. Through its newest programs such as J.D. Power and Associates CTSS and the Wharton School TSSM as well as important research including the Defending Support & Maintenance Prices White Paper, along with conferences, publications and other ongoing professional programs, SSPA is providing value by advancing deliverables and forums that are focused on new ways to leverage best practices and enhance productivity for member companies. Fasten your seatbelts.
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