| Research |
24.04.2009
ISM names Sword Ciboodle a Top 15 enterprise CRM product
Strengths in key customer service areas lead to latest award win
Glasgow, U.K. and Bethesda, MD – April 23, 2009 – Sword Ciboodle, provider of customer-oriented business software and services, today announced that it has been selected by ISM Inc. as a Top 15 CRM Enterprise Software Award winner for 2009. ISM offers strategic advisory services to organizations planning and implementing social media, customer relationship management and contact center initiatives.
"Having had an established presence in the US for less than 12 months, we are delighted to feature for the first time on ISM’s Top 15 list, as one of only three new entrants this year," said Paul White, executive vice president, Sword Ciboodle. "This award is particularly satisfying as the selection process is conducted by an independent organization that exclusively serves our target market and involved an in-depth analysis of our core product features, comparing them against those of other leading products."
Sword Ciboodle’s platform was chosen after intensive testing by the ISM Software Lab at its Bethesda, Md.-based headquarters. Each CRM product underwent a rigorous analysis focusing on key business functions, technical features and implementation capabilities. In the testing, Sword Ciboodle scored well in a range of key areas, with the report noting, "The CRM application has good functionality in contact management, customer contact center and customer service features."
"The ISM lab team required a demonstration of all assessed features, ensuring that it was not possible to try and hide behind vague written responses, and that the assessment provides an accurate reflection of each product’s core strengths and weaknesses," said White. "For this reason, we are pleased but not surprised to see that Sword Ciboodle scored highly when it came to our strength in tooling and our expertise in customer service."
The product scored strongly when it came to its configuration capabilities, with ISM stating, "Sword Ciboodle provides for robust configuration functionality."
"The winners of the 2009 Top 15 continue to raise the bar for the CRM community with significant advancements in both functionality and connectibility," said Barton Goldenberg, president, ISM. "Sword Ciboodle demonstrated its key strengths are in the area of customer service contact centers, and the product impressed the judges with its range of features and depth of functionality in this area."
The Top 15 selections are featured in ISM’s 17th edition of The Guide to CRM Automation and in a Top 15 CD available at (www.ismguide.com).
About Sword Ciboodle
Sword Ciboodle helps improve the way large organisations interact with their customers. The combination of award-winning, process-managed CRM software and specialist consulting and delivery services help Sword Ciboodle’s clients achieve higher revenues from their customers and reduce operational costs. Sword Ciboodle is consistently recognised by industry analysts as one of the world's leading customer-centric technology providers. For more information, please visit www.sword-ciboodle.com.
Media and analysts contact:
Danny Sullivan
inmedia Public Relations Inc.
Tel (UK): +44 (0) 141 404 6478
Tel (US): +1 613 686 5657
Email: dsullivan@inmedia.com
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21.04.2009
Contact centre industry bruised but not beaten, says new survey
ProtoCall One survey shows contact centre industry bruised but not beaten by the downturn
Half of UK contacts centres report reductions in working hours and nearly a quarter have cut staff in 2009
Almost a quarter (23%) of large UK based contact centres surveyed by leading contact centre systems integrator and consultancy ProtoCall One have had to make reductions in total staff numbers in 2009. Just over half (52%) reported opting to actively reduce agents’ working hours and overtime, and four out of five (78%) have begun using more temporary and contract workers.
However, despite just over a quarter (26%) reporting falls in sales volumes from outbound calling, two thirds of those surveyed (67%) have managed to maintain permanent staffing levels at 2008 levels and nearly half claimed their operations remain totally unaffected by the economic downturn.
Faraz Khan, Managing Director, ProtoCall One, commented:
“The survey shows that a significant portion of the contact centre market is under intense pressure to control costs right now but there is little sign of despair despite the national headlines. The majority of firms are looking for greater flexibility through increasing use of contract and temporary workers or simply reducing overtime of permanent staff– rather than offloading valuable people they know will be hard to come by as the market recovers.”
ProtoCall One surveyed members of its Genesys Workforce Management (GWFM) user group on 18th March 2009. The user group consists of senior operations managers and directors from leading UK businesses. This group represents a quarter of all GWFM users operating in the UK.
About ProtoCall One
Protocall One is the UK’s leading contact centre systems integrator .They specialise in multichannel integration, work force optimisation and performance management to help companies with contact centres make real operational savings, increase customer loyalty and improve staff satisfaction.
For more information please go to www.pc-1.co.uk
For ProtoCall One marketing enquiries, please contact:
Sharon Batchelor, marketing manager, ProtoCall One
Tel: +44 (0) 800 881 8130. Email: sbatchelor@pc-1.co.uk
For ProtoCall One UK media enquiries, please contact:
Miles Clayton or Simon Bennett at Agility PR Limited
Tel: +44 (0) 1992 587439. Email: miles@agilitypr.co.uk
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17.04.2009
Sword Ciboodle strikes deal with Admiral
Insurance firm cites software’s flexibility and agility as key to decision
Glasgow, U.K. – April 16, 2009 – Sword Ciboodle, provider of customer-oriented business software and services, today announced that it has secured a deal with Admiral Group to provide its award-winning CRM platform in support of the motor insurance provider’s goals to improve business flexibility and agility.
With a turnover of more than £800 million, Admiral is a motor insurance provider, incorporating a range of additional brands, including Bell, Diamond, and elephant.co.uk.
Admiral is constantly looking at ways to increase efficiencies and enhance its customer offerings and services, and recently embarked on an exercise to achieve improved operational efficiencies while continuing to leverage its existing systems. A key goal of the project is to improve the business’s flexibility and agility to ensure it remains quick to market and scalable in order to remain at the forefront of the competitive insurance market.
Sword Ciboodle has been selected to enhance the company’s existing customer service agent systems, with a key goal being to reduce the number of screens and steps needed to fulfil customer requests, and to ensure agents have the right information for customers at the right time.
"We need to ensure our business systems are optimised for changes," said Steve Webster, IT Director, Admiral Group. "After going through a stringent evaluation process, including a successful proof of concept exercise, Sword Ciboodle has proven itself to be the best fit for what we are looking for, with the right mix of powerful platform capabilities and strong integration expertise."
The Sword Ciboodle solution will be rolled out across company’s contact centres in Swansea and Cardiff, encompassing approximately 2,500 agents. The first phase of the deployment will see the software be used to address Admiral’s payment updates and will see changes to credit card and banking details being handled with even greater efficiency by customer services advisors.
"Another key reason we selected Sword Ciboodle was that it gives us the flexibility we are looking for in being able to incrementally apply it across the business, without being forced into an all or nothing approach as we would be with a traditional CRM package," added Webster. "It is an attractive proposition for us to be able to roll the software out in key areas to prove its value before applying it to new challenges."
Sword Ciboodle continues to strengthen the relationship Admiral enjoys with the Sword Group, where a number of key IT projects have been outsourced to the group’s professional services division. The success of these previous engagements was also noted as a factor in the Sword Ciboodle win.
"We are delighted to have secured Admiral, another major insurance firm, which boosts our growing presence in the insurance sector," said Kenny Bain, CEO, Sword Ciboodle UK. "It is very encouraging to see that this success is linked in part to the prior success of another Sword Group product, which is a strong indicator of the business value that the group can bring to Sword Ciboodle."
About Sword Ciboodle
Sword Ciboodle helps improve the way large organisations interact with their customers. The combination of award-winning, process-managed CRM software and specialist consulting and delivery services help Sword Ciboodle’s clients achieve higher revenues from their customers and reduce operational costs. Sword Ciboodle is consistently recognised by industry analysts as one of the world's leading customer-centric technology providers. For more information, please visit www.sword-ciboodle.com.
Media and analysts contact:
Danny Sullivan
inmedia Public Relations Inc.
Tel (UK): +44 (0) 141 404 6478
Tel (US): +1 613 686 5657
Email: dsullivan@inmedia.com
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14.04.2009
Sword Ciboodle Evaluated in Leading Industry Analyst Firm’s Magic Quadrant
Glasgow, U.K. and Chicago, IL – April 14, 2009 – Sword Ciboodle, a provider of customer-oriented business software and services, today announced it has been included in a key analyst report on global providers of CRM solutions for contact centers.
On April 3, 2009, Gartner, Inc., the world’s largest technology analyst firm, revealed its Magic Quadrant for CRM Customer Service Contact Centers, authored by Michael Maoz, VP distinguished analyst. Sword Ciboodle is included as one of 15 companies evaluated by Gartner in the report.
In the report, Maoz observes, "As a result of the economic slowdown, business leaders are focusing on the central role of customer service to simultaneously lower costs and build customer loyalty. Because the contact center is a key touchpoint for customers at the same time that it includes the Web site, some rethinking and re-engineering are required. The combination of three factors — business slowdown, the need to include Web site interactions and the need to lower customer service costs — is shaping business leaders' decisions."
"We are delighted to be included in Gartner’s Magic Quadrant report. I see this as an acknowledgement of our track record and achievements throughout 2008, where we had a string of successes in the insurance sector and the company experienced both growth and increased reach across North America," said Paul White, executive vice president, Sword Ciboodle North America. "With over two decades of innovation in the customer service arena, it is also great to see that, in my opinion, the report supports Sword Ciboodle’s approach to helping organisations balance cost, value and customer service by re-engineering their customer facing processes."
Sword Ciboodle is the award-winning business-process-driven CRM software product for multi-channel contact centers. Targeted primarily to large companies in sectors such as retail banking, insurance, retail energy and telecommunications, it is the only BPM-based CRM product that enables all service channels natively from a single platform.
In addition, the report states, "The contact center is evolving to embrace the customer, regardless of the channel the individual uses: the Web site, a kiosk, a mobile device, home or a telephone."
"The industry's multi-channel pain points are well matched to Sword Ciboodle’s strong focus on addressing the business and operational challenges faced by the multi-channel contact centre," added White. "Over the next year, we look forward to building on this strength to expand our global presence."
About the Magic Quadrant
The Magic Quadrant is copyrighted 2009 by Gartner, Inc. and is reused with permission. The Magic Quadrant is a graphical representation of a marketplace at and for a specific time period. It depicts Gartner's analysis of how certain vendors measure against criteria for that marketplace, as defined by Gartner. Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in the Magic Quadrant, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors placed in the "Leaders" quadrant. The Magic Quadrant is intended solely as a research tool, and is not meant to be a specific guide to action. Gartner disclaims all warranties, express or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.
About Sword Ciboodle
Sword Ciboodle helps improve the way large organizations interact with their customers. The combination of award-winning, process-managed CRM software and specialist consulting and delivery services help Sword Ciboodle’s clients achieve higher revenues from their customers and reduce operational costs. Sword Ciboodle is consistently recognized by industry analysts as one of the world's leading customer-centric technology providers. For more information, please visit www.sword-ciboodle.com.
Media and analysts contact:
Danny Sullivan
inmedia Public Relations Inc.
Tel (UK): +44 (0) 141 404 6478
Tel (US): +1 613 686 5657
Email: dsullivan@inmedia.com
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06.04.2009
Sword Ciboodle hailed as a Rising Star by CRM magazine
Top industry publication notes U.S. expansion and process technology as factors
Glasgow, U.K. – April 1, 2009 – Sword Ciboodle, provider of customer-oriented business software and services, today announced that it has been labelled a Rising Star by CRM magazine in its annual Service Awards issue.
CRM magazine's Rising Stars recognize those service vendors that are shaking up the contact center industry with initiatives such as bold mergers and acquisitions, innovative product launches, and organizational restructuring.
The award winners are chosen based on the expert opinion of CRM Magazine’s editorial staff and a number of top industry analysts. "Sword Ciboodle fully deserves its recognition as a Rising Star among this year’s Service Award winners," said David Myron, editorial director, CRM magazine. "The success of the company’s recent expansion into North America and its novel process-based approach to CRM were key factors in its selection."
Speaking about the company’s product to CRM magazine, Natalie Petouhoff, senior analyst at Forrester Research said, "It has a very light approach to the industry, and I expect that part of what customer service professionals are seeking is a different kind of experience when they interface with a software company. That is what Sword Ciboodle is looking to deliver."
Referring to the company’s prowess in process-centric CRM, Petouhoff adds, "Sword Ciboodle determines what the process is behind creating great customer experiences, and then moves forward. It’s a very strategic way to design [a customer service] software package."
Michael Maoz, research vice president and distinguished analyst at Gartner is also quoted, stating, "It’s a very strong company with a good product." The Rising Star is yet another accolade for Sword Ciboodle, which has now won several industry awards from a range of media outlets, events and analyst firms.
"We are delighted to have been recognised by CRM magazine as a Rising Star in the service sector, and are looking forward to building on this success going forward," said Paul White, executive vice-president, Sword Ciboodle. "It’s great to see that our recent successes in the U.S., coupled with our unique approach to solving customer service challenges have clearly made a strong impact on the judges’ decision."
About Sword Ciboodle
Sword Ciboodle helps improve the way large organisations interact with their customers. The combination of award-winning, process-managed CRM software and specialist consulting and delivery services help Sword Ciboodle’s clients achieve higher revenues from their customers and reduce operational costs. Sword Ciboodle is consistently recognised by industry analysts as one of the world's leading customer-centric technology providers. For more information, please visit www.sword-ciboodle.com.
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02.04.2009
Vhi Healthcare rolls out Sword Ciboodle for world-class customer service
Glasgow, U.K. and Kilkenny, Ireland – March 26, 2009 – Sword Ciboodle, provider of customer-oriented business software and services, today revealed that Vhi Healthcare has engaged the company to provide a comprehensive CRM solution to spearhead the organisation’s customer service improvement objectives. The company has already successfully rolled out the first phase of the project and is working towards the delivery of subsequent phases.
Vhi Healthcare is Ireland's largest and only specialist health insurer with over fifty years experience. The company processes more than 500,000 member claims and 1.36 million doctor’s invoices per year.
Vhi Healthcare recently undertook an initiative to enhance its customer service capabilities and selected Sword Ciboodle, the award-winning CRM software for multi-channel contact centres, as the technology platform that would underpin its evolving customer service strategy.
The first phase of the project has been rolled out in its contact centres in Kilkenny and Donegal, providing staff with a more complete picture of its members’ information, ensuring that customer service agents have access to all relevant customer information to be able to handle enquiries effectively. Other key elements already being handled by Sword Ciboodle include member payments and contact history, further helping to improve the contact centre’s efficiency and reduce call-handling times.
"Vhi Healthcare is committed to providing our customers with the best in customer service and selected Sword Ciboodle as the technology platform to support that commitment," said Margaret Molony, Director of Information Technology, Vhi Healthcare. "The product has already proven its worth in helping us to deal more effectively with a significant recent increase in the volume of customer enquiries."
Further phased deployments in 2009 could see the addition of features including computer telephony integration, email blending, cross-selling and up-selling and campaign management.
"We are excited to be working with Vhi Healthcare, and look forward to building on the success of the first phase rollout to help the organisation achieve its customer service and business goals," said Ciaran Casey, CEO, Sword Ireland. "This customer win further bolsters our growing credentials in the insurance sector, and is another key win for Sword Ciboodle in Ireland."
About Sword Ciboodle
Sword Ciboodle helps improve the way large organisations interact with their customers. The combination of award-winning, process-managed CRM software and specialist consulting and delivery services help Sword Ciboodle’s clients achieve higher revenues from their customers and reduce operational costs. Sword Ciboodle is consistently recognised by industry analysts as one of the world's leading customer-centric technology providers. For more information, please visit www.sword-ciboodle.com.
About Vhi Healthcare
Vhi Healthcare is Ireland’s only specialist health insurer with over fifty years experience. Further information regarding Vhi Healthcare can be accessed on www.vhi.ie.
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01.04.2009
InVision Software Demonstrates Integrated Time and Workforce Management
Birmingham (UK), April 2, 2009 – InVision Software, a leading international provider of contact centre workforce management solutions, will demonstrate to visitors of this year’s “Contact Centre Planning” conference the benefits of integrated time and workforce management. Contact Centre Planning is organised by the Professional Planning Forum and one of the biggest events of its kind in Europe. The Professional Planning Forum is an independent industry body supporting effective resourcing and planning in the contact centre industry and works across all industry sectors to provide specialist support for contact centre professionals. This year, the conference takes place from 27 to 28 of April at the Novotel London West, and more than 400 contact centre and planning professionals are expected to discover how to balance customer-focus and business efficiency through optimised staff planning.
Contact centres are increasingly oriented towards flexibility and performance. As staff and time are the two most valuable resources for contact centre operations, the introduction of flexible working times helps to increase productivity and reduce costs. This has an impact on the staff planning and management of working times: The more flexible the working times, the more complex the requirements for scheduling and time management. Therefore integrated time management with the ability to manage the range of flexible working hours of employees is essential for efficient workforce management (WFM).
Efficient Time Management Meets the Demands of Flexible Working Environments
InVision Enterprise WFM software solution supports the whole workforce management process on a single platform – from forecasting to staff scheduling, optimisation, time management and monitoring. Its time management functionality covers all required steps: transfer, distribution, account allocation, control and approval of working times as well as calculation of time accounts and provision of account-related information for payment systems. It offers very flexible options for managing employees’ recorded working times. According to any number of individually definable rules, the time recording data is automatically booked in real-time to fully adjustable time accounts such as overtime, extra shifts, flexible work time, normal work time or holiday. The extensive automation minimises the manual handling effort, saving time and costs, and also helps to avoid errors, easing the scheduling burden and increasing employee satisfaction.
Members of the Professional Planning Forum can register online for Contact Centre Planning 2009,
Novotel London West, April 27-28, 2009: www.planningforum.co.uk
About InVision Software:
InVision Software is a world-leading supplier of enterprise-wide workforce management solutions which enable companies to optimise their staff planning and scheduling processes. InVision empowers customers to reduce personnel costs, increase productivity, improve employee satisfaction and to boost revenue by leveraging better customer service. Founded in 1995 and based in Ratingen (Germany), InVision currently employs more than 230 WFM specialists and has offices across Europe, North America, and South Africa. InVision Software AG (IVX) is listed in the Prime Standard Segment of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. Among InVision's clients are numerous international blue chip companies, such as ABN Amro, Allianz, BMW, Deutsche Telekom, IKEA, Sky and Vodafone.
Further information: www.invisionwfm.com
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