Technology Services Europe - Day One Syndicate Sessions

TSE 2011 Syndicate Sessions offered delegates four topics in the areas of Service Quality using Remote Services, the Impact of Cloud Computing, Using Online Services to Connect with Customers and Services Prototyping.

In Optimize Services Quality and Increase Customer Satisfaction through Servic

eability and Remote Services, Andreas Vogt, Director, Managed Services, discussed the Wincor Nixdorf end-to-end serviceability model. The idea behind the concept is as simple as it is evolutionary: service begins in the minds of their developers.

Attendees learned how to improve proactive services, how Wincor Nixdorf is providing a new Information World for their customers, and the positive impact remote services has on services quality.

In his session, The Impact of Cloud Computing, Thomas Lah encouraged delegates to examine their operations by asking these questions:

• Is our company contemplating releasing a hosted, subsciption based product offering?
• Do we still need to clearly define what servies are included in our basic subscription pricing?
• Are customers asking for more help navigating this new cloud consumption model?
  
• Do we need to create new services that will make our cloud offerings 'stickier'?
• Are new cloud offerings cutting out our partners?
  

For those whose answer is 'yes' to any of the above questions, cloud computing is a market trend that impacts the service strategy of your company.

Connecting with Customers Online - TheBlackBerry Way, presented by Baldev Solanki, Manager, Self-Service, Research In Motion, reviewed considerations for getting into social media customer service, how to determine goals and objectives and use a pilot program effectively, and connecting with other social media activities within the enterprise.

Launched in 2009, social media support @blackberryhelp, is used to listen to what customers are saying – and to address support issues they may experience. Initially a pilot program, today, the @blackberryhelp account has more than 250, 000 followers and continues to focus on providing quick-response and personalized customer service.

Walter Ganz, Director, Fraunhofer Institute for Industrial Engineering, presented Prototyping of Services: New Ways of Designing and Testing New Services. In his talk, Mr. Ganz discussed how faced with competitive pressures, many companies are attempting to raise their profile in the market by offering new services. As a result, far greater attention has been accorded in the last few years to new service development and service engineering by researchers and businesses alike. However, the standard approaches for developing new services – from the original idea up to the market launch – overlook the importance of testing development results.

This presentation described how service designing and testing can be realized in practice and presented a possible technique – ServLab – for simulating services with the help of virtual reality and service theatre.

Technology Services Europe - Day One Plenary and Syndicate Sessions

TSE 2011 speakers and delegates explored a variety of services topics in both plenary and syndicate sessions. Value-Added Services continues as an area of high interest in the European technology services sector and delegates enjoyed the insights presented by Michael Herzog, Corporate Director Service, Endress+Hausser.

His plenary session, titled How to Escape the Looming Commody Trap in Value-Added Services, explored the convergence of services and business process integration. When this convergence is supported by a "service oriented" IT architecture, VAS offers a solution to combat two primary concerns - overly complex business processes and a lack of perceived customer value.

First customer pilots with this new breed of "connected" and "managed" services in the process industry are giving first proof of concept. The common phone support process and the well perceived delivery of value within a performance based maintenance contract are two such scenarios. Ideas for the further deployment and productization were highlighted along with possible barriers to overcome.

TSE 2011 Day One Agenda - Networking Luncheon and Opening Plenary Session

TSE 2011 started with a networking lunch attended by all, providing time to renew existing relationships, form new acquaintances and meet with the Platinum, Gold and Silver level conference sponsors (Compuware, PRTM, Sykes, Citrix Online, ServiceSource and Axeda), whose offerings represent the latest products and services available today.

A full day of Plenary and Syndicate sessions followed, with presentations on the topics and trends of primary importance to the attending delegates.

Opening Plenary - Disruptive Forces in Technology Services: How to Plan For and Stay Ahead of Key Trends

Presented by Thomas Lah, Executive Director, TSIA

In his talk, Mr. Lah outlined three trends that are disrupting traditional service business models:

-Cloud computing

-Utility computing

-Shift in major markets

These trends are creating specific challenges that service organisations must take a leadership role in addressing. These challenges include:

-Optimizing financial performance of the service lines

-Shifting from “net new sales” to “monthly recurring revenue”

-Restructuring the partner ecosystem

-Shifting the services portfolio

Throughout his talk, Lah referenced the extensive industry datasets TSIA manages. The datasets are used to assess how service organizations can best address these challenges.

The thought-provoking session set the tone for the conference and served as a conversation starter with delegates throughout the rest of the day.

Technology Services Europe 2011 Opens in Berlin, Germany

Technology Services Europe 2011 opened today in Berlin, Germany. The annual conference draws attendance from the leading technology services companies in Europe. Over 135 delegates are participating in this year's event, representing 15 countries and organisations ranging in size from small-medium business (SMB) to many of the largest technology companies in the world.

Now in its fourth year, the TSE 2011 conference is co-presented by the Technology Services Industry Association (TSIA) and the Confederation for Services Management International (CSFMI). TSE is the premier learning and networking event for European services executives. Developed by and for Europe-based services leaders, the 2011 event addresses the key business challenges facing services executives in the region.

TSE brings the European technology services industry together.