in this issue

SSPA Programs & Events

Wharton Program Overview 1/16 1pm PST | Join Adobe Systems’ Barbie Fink, as she Shares her TSSM Experience in this live webcast. To participate, send an e-mail to wharton@thesspa.com or call 858-674-5491.

STAR Awards for Best Practices | Nomination Deadline Jan 19. Learn More…

Support Technology Bootcamp Tuesday, January 23rd | Understand Support Technology Landscape, Build an RFI, Cut Time for Vendor Selection. Led by SSPA’s John Ragsdale.

Xerox Earns J.D. Power and Associates Certification | 2nd Consecutive Year; First Company to Achieve Back-to-Back Recognition.

Save the Date | SSPA Best Practices Conference May 6 – 8, San Diego CA

SSPA’s Interactive Program Calendar | Custom Views & Subscriptions, Updated Daily...

SSPA Training and Certification | Reduce Call Times, Achieve Higher Resolution Rates, Decrease Call Escalations and More…

Sponsored White Papers | “Answering Customer Questions the Intelligent Way”, More...

Rise of the Personal Tech Consultant
HP’s Bold Move Toward Value-Added Support
By Janice Liu, Manager, Consumer Services, Hewlett-Packard
HP has successfully increased its consumer services revenue by more than 20 percent over the last year by bringing a new category of consumer services to market. They accomplished this by stretching beyond the traditional product service plans into a new category of personalized and preventative programs which are expected to become the largest revenue stream within HP consumer services. In this article for the SSPA News, learn how HP recognized the opportunity and put the right systems in place to take advantage of this new trend.
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From Technical Expert to Trusted Advisor
By Jim Alexander, Partner, Alexander Consulting
For organizations offering complex services and solutions, no one has more impact on getting and keeping customers than the technical expert. Yet, although their specialized knowledge is highly prized, their potential value both to their customers and to their organization is often unrealized. In this article for the SSPA News, Dr. Alexander explains how your company can transform these experts into true trusted advisors by changing their mindset, expanding their role, and building their skills.
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20 Offshoring Predictions for 2007
By S. Sadagopan, Head of Consulting and eBusiness for Satyam
Offshore players headquartered in India are making a significant and irreversible impact on the entire IT services landscape. A look at the revenue ranking of the top 15 or 20 IT service providers show that the list is still dominated by the largest and most established global companies. In this interesting phase of evolution and maturity of the offshore industry, a look at what might happen in the coming year a very interesting effort.
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My Technical Support Staff Keep Transferring…and it’s Great!
By Allison Babb, Senior Manager, Engineering Development Group, The MathWorks Inc.
There are few things more frustrating for technical support managers than seeing their staff disappear into other departments in the company. Typically, the hiring managers in external departments are the enemy from whom you must shield your staff—especially your stars. In this SSPA News article, Allison Babb, a Senior Manager for MathWork’s Technical Support organization, explains why you should embrace the adage “if you love someone, set them free” and how this business model is put to work at The MathWorks.
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Best Practices for Selling Service Contracts through Channel Partners
By Chip Overstreet, CEO, Encover
Increasingly, IT hardware and software manufacturers are becoming more reliant on their channel partners, and channel partners are becoming more reliant on services. Gartner estimates that by 2009, over 70% of all IT hardware, software and services will be sold through indirect channels. VARBusiness estimates that over 60% of all profits for channel partners came from services. This article breaks down the most important factors that can impact the sale of service contracts through the channel.
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