IBM prepares self-service platform

IBM has won a contract to help the Chinese state of Dongying develop a platform for providing cloud-based services, states TMCNet.

This platform will help the local government to promote e-governance and transform the region, known for manufacturing and cultivation, into a services-based economy.

Under the agreement, IBM will help the Dongying government build a cloud that will provide software development and test resources for software start-up companies via the Web through a self-service user interface.

Library staff members are to be replaced by self-service machines as part of moves to cut jobs, says Leicester Mercury.

Leicestershire County Council is introducing automatic checkout machines so people will be able to take out books, CDs and DVDs without the help of library assistants.

County Hall has told staff it plans to get rid of 19 jobs by bringing in the self-checkout machines in 16 libraries between now and March.

A survey by Nuance Communications finds that over half the respondents (59%) said mobile handset self-service would be their preferred channel of self-service, reports Cellular News.

This is compared with only 34% that would choose to deal with a customer service agent and 1% that favour Web self-service. The study, carried out by marketing insight consultancy Added Value in Spain, found users felt more positive about the brand providing the mobile care service.

“With increasingly time-pressured lifestyles, solving service issues quickly and efficiently is of utmost importance to mobile phone consumers," says Tom Wells, associate director at Added Value.