That flat-screen TV in your living room is no longer the center of the viewing universe. Viacom, a leading global entertainment content company, now needs to deliver content, like SpongeBob SquarePants, to viewers via smartphones, computers and tablets, 24 hours a day.
Dealing with customer service via phone rarely wins companies high marks. All too often, calling that 800-number on the back of your bank card means navigating an endless, automated screening system only to be routed to an agent in an overseas call center with minimal ability to help.
There's a right way and a wrong way to convey important information to your fellow executives. Our expert offers three things to keep in mind.
Meetings are a necessary evil in the business world -- few people like them, but without face-to-face discussion time, problems persist. Minimize the anguish and get the most out of precious time by following this expert's advice.
A survey finds that IT leaders are accelerating their plans to invest in unified communications and collaboration technologies. But the systems aren't cheap.
Ones to Watch Judges
Gareth Burton: IT Director for Europe, Africa, Russia and the CaspianBakerHughes
How do I stay organized and keep up with work while traveling?
Scott Carl, CIO of Parsons, an engineering and construction company with more than 11,500 employees, knew he needed the right tools to help new employees integrate into the company and facilitate collaboration among existing staff--particularly recent college grads. "As we hire them, we have to help them form a personal relationship with whomever has the answers for them," he says.
Scott Carl, CIO of Parsons, an engineering and construction company with more than 11,500 employees, knew he needed the right tools to help new employees integrate into the company and facilitate collaboration among existing staff--particularly recent college grads. "As we hire them, we have to help them form a personal relationship with whomever has the answers for them," he says.
Many CIOs would like to have the luxury of peeking over the shoulders of customers as they use the company's products. Payroll processor Automatic Data Processing (ADP) gets a similar experience by using Tealeaf, software that records the actions of people using ADP's software. When customers call the ADP support line to report a problem, agents can pull up Tealeaf and see what went wrong by retracing the customer's keystrokes.
The Power of Foursquare
1. It's a good intranet alternative. Most companies have an intranet meant to facilitate employee collaboration and act as a portal for company information. But employees often use it so infrequently that they forget their passwords. Lawrence DeVoe, chief technology catalyst at Initiative Media, deployed Yammer last April, starting with 10 invites, and within three weeks had gained 400 users. Today, the Yammer population at the company has grown to 1,400. And DeVoe says Yammer cost less than half of what was spent on his previous Intranet tool.
IT is showing up in the most unusual places, from touch-screen tables at a London restaurant to virtual-reality therapy for soldiers returning from Iraq. Check out these tech applications compiled by CIO magazine editors.
<strong>Users Not Customers</strong> Who Really Determines the Success of Your BusinessBy Aaron Shapiro