NICE Interactions '09 - The Annual Customer Conference

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Interactions ’09, which took place in Dallas, Texas, April 20th – 24th, marked the first combined NICE and IEX user conference, creating what we believe to be the largest customer event in the contact center industry, with nearly 1000 attendees. This event represented the best that the two individual user conferences had to offer – first class education and training sessions, combined with exciting opportunities to learn and network with contact center professionals from a long list of prestigious companies.

The current economic downturn has created a greater sense of urgency for companies, as they look for ways to address a full spectrum of business issues – from strategic to operational – such as gathering competitive intelligence, up-selling and cross-selling, improving first call resolution, adjusting business processes, and increasing customer retention. More than ever, NICE customers are relying on NICE to support them in their efforts to do more with less, and achieve critical levels of efficiency.

The theme of the event, “Up the Downturn…Drive Value Together” was the thread that tied all of the general and breakout sessions together, making the content of all of these sessions relevant in the current climate, which now more than ever calls for a competitive edge and operational efficiency. Customers were focused on looking at how they can do things more effectively, and drive stronger agent performance on a day-to-day basis and ultimately come out on top.

Speakers in the more than 100 breakout sessions representing companies including Microsoft, Overstock.com, AT&T, Unibanco, FiServ, Convergys, Nutrisystem, and Conseco, shared their experiences with using NICE’s SmartCenter solutions. The focus of these sessions was on such strategic topics as:

• Cutting Through the Haze – Solving Business Challenges with Interaction Analytics
• Using Interaction Analytics to Improve Workforce Management Forecasting
• Open Forum – Operational Efficiency Best Practices
• Centralized Recording with Active VoIP Solutions
• on’t Know, Can’t or Won’t - A Diagnosis/Treatment Model for Shaping Individual Performance
• Forecasting and Planning When You Have No Idea Which Way is Up

Several high profile technology companies showed their support for NICE and its customers by sponsoring Interactions ’09, which for these sponsors created anopportunity to present their offerings to NICE’s customers via the Interactions ‘09 product showcase, where attendees could see solutions from EMC, Hitachi, Microsoft, Avaya, Wittel, and Austin Logistics, in action, and several sponsors also presented during the breakout sessions. NICE also used the product showcase to give customers a chance to get acquainted with the company’s solutions and speak one-on-one with experts on all of NICE’s enterprise solutions, including the newly introduced Quality Optimization solution.

The open forum format of several of the sessions created an arena for NICE users to engage in lively discussions about the challenges they face in their contact centers every day and how they are using NICE’s solutions to conquer them.

What many attendees found most valuable about Interactions ‘09 were the many networking opportunities, both formal and informal, that were part of these four days. Whether it was the welcome reception, which took place in the product showcase, the various local tours and activities offered on the evening of the second day of the event, or the annual Customer Appreciation Party, there was no shortage of opportunities for customers to meet and share information and experience with their counterparts from companies in virtually every industry. Special Interest Group (SIG) lunches gave attendees a chance to meet up with people in roles similar to their own facing similar challenges

“NICE users came to the annual conference to share how using NICE’s solutions helps them drive efficiency and improve service, but they left with much more than that,” said Steve Sullivan, NICE User Group CEO and Vice President of Technology, CIT. “At Interactions ’09, NICE users gained a renewed sense of camaraderie and collaboration through the connections they made that will help them in their businesses throughout the year.”

Various business and motivational experts provided interesting keynote sessions in each day’s general session, giving attendees a chance to reflect on issues such as leadership, maximizing personal performance, and learning to be more approachable with people in everyday situations. Attendees came away from these sessions energized and armed with tools and new perspectives to help them face people and situations in the most effective manner they can.

“Interactions ’09 set a new standard for contact center industry events,” said Eran Gorev, Chief Business Officer, NICE Systems. “It presented invaluable opportunities for NICE customers to network and learn, and to ultimately elevate their vision for their contact centers.”