SSPA Announces SSPA Connect Advisory Board; Attracts Support Professionals From 100 Companies Including HP, Microsoft, Oracle and Xerox

Business Wire, Sept 5, 2002

Business Editors & High-Tech Writers

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 5, 2002

The Service & Support Professionals Association (SSPA), the leading industry association for IT support professionals, announced today the creation of the SSPA Connect Advisory Board.

Launching with advisors representing 100 companies including Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft, Oracle and Xerox, the SSPA Connect Advisory Board will provide valuable guidance in the development of SSPA Connect, a first of its kind service that enables SSPA members to tap into the collective brain trust of the organization's 2,200 member support centers for assistance with support management issues -- anytime, anywhere in the world.

The Advisory Board will provide input in a variety of areas including defining how SSPA Connect users find and build the best team of SSPA peers to resolve support management issues; how teams communicate and share relevant information in Web-based collaborative workspaces; and how the rich set of knowledge captured about the resolution and the team involved can enable SSPA members to continually improve and optimize their support business.

"I am overwhelmed and excited about the incredible response we have received from our Call for Advisors," said Bill Rose, SSPA founder/CEO. "We have over 100 companies on this advisory team so we truly have our entire industry represented. As an industry advisor, we will use their input to structure this new program, identify specific content needs and ensure acceptance throughout all support centers."

"The tremendous response by SSPA members to serve on the Advisory Board underscores the interest and need for SSPA Connect," said Anthony Lye, CEO, ePeople Inc. "As companies strive to retain customers, SSPA Connect will prove to be valuable in generating new ideas for improving support. By soliciting the advice and input from the SSPA community, SSPA and ePeople ensures the success of SSPA Connect."

Powered by ePeople Teamwork, SSPA Connect will link the SSPA member support centers together within a Web-based environment. By leveraging a collaborative CRM platform as the basis for the network, SSPA Connect will enable its users to find and build the best team of SSPA peers to answer questions and resolve support management issues. Teams communicate and share relevant information in Web-based collaborative workspaces, which also track resolution time and service quality. The workspaces capture a rich set of knowledge about the resolution and the team involved, allowing SSPA members to continually improve and optimize their support business.

For additional information on SSPA Connect, contact SSPA at info@supportgate.com

About SSPA

Founded in 1989, SSPA represents over 18,000 service executives in over 2,200 support centers worldwide. SSPA gives service and support professionals opportunities to share ideas, discuss developing trends and network with their peers. SSPA offers its members conferences, seminars, specialized training, executive forums, certification programs, industry research and a variety of publications. SSPA resides at the Web portal of Supportgate at www.supportgate.com. Through these "gates" you will find the Membership Communities of the Service & Support Professionals Association (SSPA), the SSPA Europe, the SSPA Asia Pacific, the SSPA Service Vendor Alliance (SVA) and the SSPA Professionals Membership. For more information regarding the SSPA and other related divisions, log on to www.supportgate.com or send an email to info@supportgate.com.