noHold Joins the LANDESK One Partner Program to Create the Next Generation Help Desk

"MILPITAS, CA, (July 24, 2014) — noHold, Inc. announced today that they have joined the LANDESK One technology partner program to provide employees with the next generation, self-service help desk solution. LANDESK One is designed to provide opportunities for ISVs to create innovative and complementary technology on the LANDESK platforms. The program advances LANDESK’s user-oriented IT vision by enabling ISV partners to amplify the complete LANDESK portfolio to create customized, user-focused solutions. noHold and LANDESK are coming together to support the need of interactive technology for internal customers (employees). 

noHold Virtual Agents are used by leading brands to revolutionize their customers’ experience. Albert is an extension of noHold’s flagship product, InstantSupport™, but instead designed for employees to find answers to their problems, on their own terms. Albert can be customized with company-specific information or pre-packaged with answers to top questions about Bring Your Own Device (BYOD), Windows and Apple Operating Systems, and more."

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Please click here to continue reading the full press release. 

www.nohold.com

A Successful, Worldwide Networking Company Recognizes Virtual Agent for Contributing to Their Excellent Customer Support

With nearly 100 "things" being connected to the Internet per second (How Many Internet Connections are in the World? Right. Now.), it is important for a company in the networking space to have exceptional customer support. Network routers can come with many complications and questions, and users need solutions fast. By offering multiple options for support, including self-service, users feel empowered to find their own solutions.   

Here is a quote from one of the global leaders in the design, manufacture, and sale of networking equipment. 

"The flexibility of InstantSupport™ helped us with our own support initiatives and added another dimension into our online support ecosystem."
D. Jay Pederson, VP Worldwide Customer Advocacy, Cisco

For more information about InstantSupport™, please click here.

"...It's the Only Support Solution That Drives the Cost Down the More it is Used.”

The best way to measure the success of a Virtual Agent is to learn straight from the clients that implement them. One of noHold's customers, ViewSonic, a globally recognized leader in visual display technology, provided noHold with a testimonial on their experience with a Virtual Agent. 

"InstantSupport™ helps us provide quick and consistent solutions for our customers with just a few key strokes.  Its reporting tools guide us towards updates to keep our solutions current and it’s the only support solution that drives the cost down the more it is used.” - Carol Hansen, Manager, Customer Care, ViewSonic

Kudos to ViewSonic for maximizing the use of their Virtual Agent and reaping the benefits of lower support costs and higher customer satisfaction. 

Are Virtual Agents one of the only support solutions that drive down costs the more they are used? What's your opinion? 

Business Case: Leading PC Manufacturers Enhance Interactive Self-Service and Reach an Average 850% ROI Per Month

In 1983, Steve Jobs and a few others filled a time capsule and buried it at the Aspen International Design Conference. Over 3 decades later, the show Diggers helped organizers finally uncover the buried treasure. The unveiling of the time capsule will be aired on the National Geographic’s channel, February 25.

One of the items in the time capsule is the Lisa mouse. This mouse is considered to be a significant part of tech history. “Jobs used it at the conference where he predicted many innovations we use today. He envisioned the future of computers and the Internet, the creation of the App Store, wireless networking and other Apple technologies.” (Steve Jobs Time Capsule Finally Uncovered After 30 Years) Thanks to the innovation of the Lisa mouse, it has set the bar high for top PC manufacturers to provide cutting edge technology to their consumers. The inception of the box mouse “Lisa”, helped lead to innovations like the wireless mouse, touchpads, touch screen/tablet, holographic keyboard, and much more. 

Virtual Agents are also making an impact on tech history. Companies in today’s market are utilizing automated self-service tools for more than just support . Since the conception of the Internet of Everything, noHold Connect Virtual Agent’s advanced technology allowing them to communicate with multiple Virtual Agents (noHold Connect), providing a “butler” to keep users connected to all their devices from a single User Interface (UI).   

Here is an example of one of the top 3 PC manufacturers who is also recognized as a company that develops, sells, repairs computers and related products and services. The company began using a Virtual Agent to provide a better customer experience. This company wanted to gain insight into the top issues their customers were inquiring about and be able to solve these issues. Instead of using a standard approach to self-service and offering a long list of articles with answers to an infinite number of questions, they implemented an “empty” VA (EZintel) to keen in on what customers were having the most trouble with. After understanding the questions through reporting analysis, they began providing interactive and diagnostic solutions (InstantSupport) across multiple product lines (printers, mobile devices, gaming, etc.). In addition, integrating the Virtual Agent with their existing support ecosystem has reduced the need for human intervention. By preempting live chat with the VA, customers have the opportunity to get a quick answer through the VA before engaging a live agent. As a result, the company recently reported a chat avoidance metric of 11%. Using this front line technology has saved companies hundreds of thousands of dollars. Companies in the PC industry report an average ROI of 850%.

Times have definitely changed since the Lisa mouse, but the constant need to innovate is timeless. There will always be a new way to do things, but adapting is key to staying competitive and successful. What do you think the next big technology break through will be? What would you want in your time capsule?   

www.nohold.com

Throwback Thursday: AOL Instant Messaging Opened Doors for Live Chat Vendors

Photo credit: drjays.com

Happy Throwback Thursday!

Who remembers the little guy in the picture to the left? This is the icon for AOL Instant Messaging, or AIM. I remember this software as the "must-have" to stay connected with friends in that late 90's to the early 2000's. If you didn't have AIM, you weren't in the loop. AIM was, in a way, the Facebook of that time. 

Instant Messenger came out in 1997 and was one of the first of its kind to successfully allow users to communicate via the Internet in real time. In the eCommerce and Support industries, Live chat has come a long way since AIM. Below to the right is a screenshot of an AIM chat window. It was as simple to use as typing what you wanted to say, pressing enter, and the person on the other end of the computer screen would receive it...instantly! Another cool feature of AIM is having the ability to pick an avatar that would symbolize yourself. A lot like what we do with our Virtual Agents. We often include a face/avatar to the Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) to add personality. AIM also utilized A.I.'s for people's entertainment, questions, etc. Just sending a message to the specific screen name of the A.I. (which can be found by looking on the web) and you get a response back from a robot, just like our Virtual Agents!

Photo credit: Franklypenn.com

Instant messaging has matured since AIM of course. Now, there is chat on Facebook and other social networking sites, Skype, and a plethora of software that makes it easier to connect with people in real time. 

In today's era of technology, trusted brands use live chat for web customer support. When people have a question or concern, they can typically find support on a company's web page in the form of live chat. Click on the hyperlink to view our blog post, "Live Chat MVPs: An Insiders Look at the Top Live Chat Vendors and Best Practices." This link will provide you access to our document about key features to look for when selecting a live chat vendor and also a PowerPoint presentation titled, "Best Practices for Complementing Live Chat with a Virtual Agent." 

Whether live chat is being used from a support or sales stand point on a website, in the call center, or even at the Help Desk (Albert!), the benefits surpass the value of just staying connected with friends. Integrating live chat with a Virtual Agent provides a cost effective way for companies to establish and/or maintain relationships with consumers without seeing them face to face. InstantSupport(TM), like instant messaging, gives consumers answers to the questions they have instantly, and on their own terms. Thanks to AIM and other early live chat providers, the doors for web customer service opened, leading to one of the top resources people use when looking for online support.

"Creating a Personalized Experience…One Robot at a Time"

On August 16th, Computerworld posted an article titled "Scientists build a robot that can learn emotions." The story highlights researchers in the UK and their work on a robot that will develop emotions as it interacts with people. The editor goes on to say that the work being done today will empower robots to respond to emotion as well as learn to adapt and form attachments to particular people.

In the web-based self service space, a Virtual Agent like "Ask Emma" will not become your best friend. However, a Virtual Agent has the capability to "connect" to existing systems to create a personalized experience. A secure connection enables an end-user to log in to their account from the Virtual Agent interface. From here, the Virtual Agent can extract only relevant data like the user's name and product purchase history to assist in finding solutions.

Not only does the end-user receive a more personalized experience, but she also gets information tailored to her needs. Also, she does not have to enter product serial numbers or remember the exact model of her product to get answers. Once logged in, all relevant information is available to the Virtual Agent.

The overarching goals of InstantSupport are to provide a cost saving and effortless support experience so that customers are less likely to contact the call center and loose brand loyalty. By making sessions more personalized, companies lessen the effort of finding solutions. Also, by looking at past purchase history, only the most appropriate advertisements and up-sell opportunities will be presented.