VEC steps up self-service

Verizon Business SME customers will now be able to take advantage of the big-business capabilities inherent in the Verizon Enterprise Center (VEC) customer portal, states Reuters.

In addition, Verizon Business is helping its customers interact more efficiently with the company through an expanded set of automated customer-care capabilities.

Verizon Business has extended the range of online tools available to SME customers, with the full suite of services, including reviewing and paying all Verizon invoices, checking on the status of a repair or order, and the use of network management tools and dashboards, now available to these businesses.

In a move that reflects an industry-wide effort to build out end-to-end services, Oracle has introduced the option for companies to integrate the capabilities of its Oracle CRM On Demand with partner InQuira's On Demand Web self-service applications, reports eWeek.

The combined service, which Oracle plans to offer as both an on-premises and on-demand solution, allows customers to seamlessly transition from self-service to live agent-assisted service, according to Oracle. Customer service agents will be able to receive information from across the enterprise about customers' previous issues and actions taken.

The overall idea is to create an integrated customer service experience branching across Web, phone, and social networking channels, one that also gives users access to embedded analytics.

A $35-million (about R264-million) preparations programme to improve check-in and self-service facilities in South African airports ahead of the 2010 Fifa World Cup is under way, said aviation ITC company, SITA, according to Independent Online.

"The five-year contract will see SITA provide the equipment and infrastructure for both agent check-in and passenger self-service kiosk check-in for the Airports Company SA (ACSA), which operates ten of the country's airports and handles 98% of SA's commercial air traffic," SITA said in a statement.

SITA also agreed with ACS, which represented some 75 airlines using South African airports, to provide continued maintenance and operation of the common use terminal equipment and common use self-service check-in environment.