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			Business Research: Contact Center, Customer Performance Technology Research: Information Management, Operational Intelligence Imperative Research: Business Innovation, Performance Improvement, Process Improvement Vendor Research: Actuate, AIM Technology, Business Objects, Cognos, Enkata, Envision, HardMetrics, Hyperion, Information Builders, Informiam, Inova Solutions, KnoahSoft, Latigent, Merced Systems, Microsoft, MicroStrategy, Oracle, Portrait Software, SAP, Symmetrics
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Summary
AIM Technology was one of the first vendors to develop a performance management platform for contact centers. It was the first to overcome many of the technical difficulties in extracting data from the variety of systems needed to operate a contact center, so this data could be integrated into a broad view of how well the center was performing. The latest release of AIM Performance Suite includes several enhancements that make it easier to use as well as more options for visualization of performance information. An innovative new feature is that key performance measures can be linked together to prepare action plans, thereby closing the loop between measuring performance and driving improvement. In a break from previous releases, version 6.1 includes a number of performance management-centric applications built on the same platform to support the complete cycle of agent management. Ventana Research believes these developments will enhance the maturity of performance management in contact centers.

Assessment
Managing a contact center has always been a difficult task, one reason being the difficulties in getting at the data produced by complex technologies such as automatic call distribution (ACD), interactive voice response (IVR), computer/telephony integration (CTI) and others needed to operate a center. For years, this has meant that most operational managers have focused on basic efficiency measures such as call patterns and average call-handling times, which are readily available from reports provided by the system suppliers. But these are no longer enough. Competition, new regulations and more demanding customers are pressing companies to monitor and assess effectiveness measures such as first-call resolution, customer wallet share, customer lifetime value and best performing agent.

AIM Technology was one of the first vendors to crack the problem of getting to this data. It built extractors that allow users to extract this data, place it in a central data store and provide reports and analysis that integrate data from more than one system. The earlier releases enabled users to customize the outputs to meet their needs, in formats they were familiar with. Version 6.1 makes the product easier to use. Individual users or groups of users can be allocated their own home-page-style entry into the product, which defines what they can access and displays key information that is relevant to them. It also includes an audit trail of recent actions so users can return to frequently used reports, analysis and actions.

The suite’s visualization tools have been enhanced, giving users more options for how they view information, while still allowing them to drill down into detailed records. For example, one new option is a quadrant-style display that can correlate two variable key performance measures and plot trends or individual performance onto the quadrants. This technique allows users to link key performance measures to set action plans. For example, if an agent’s work falls below a set target, the system can send an alert to the supervisor. The supervisor then can instruct the agent to take training courses that have been identified to help raise performance in this area. After the agent has taken the course, the system will monitor his or her performance to determine if the training has had the desired result. If it did not, the loop can be repeated.

The new release also heralds a new direction for AIM in that, as well as reporting and analysis capabilities, it includes performance management applications that support the agent life cycle. They address performance planning, coaching and feedback, performance assessment and incentives, recognition and rewards. Each of these applications automatically links to key performance measures, allowing users to close the loop between setting goals, monitoring achievement against those goals and putting in place action plans to improve performance. The applications come with prepackaged templates for forms and reports that users can configure easily.

Market Impact
Until recently, few software vendors had products that could help contact center managers view even basic performance information, forcing them to rely on reports from suppliers of their ACD, CTI, IVR and other systems. AIM Technology, along with companies such as Merced Systems and Performix, were early in providing an application that gave companies a broader view. Newer vendors such as Enkata, Envision, HardMetrics, Informiam, Latigent and Symmetrics now also compete to provide a wider, business-related view of centers’ performance. And to make things even more competitive, enterprise application vendors such as Oracle and business intelligence (BI) vendors such as Business Objects have joined the fray. The latest release of AIM Performance Suite should help AIM maintain its market position, and the new applications it includes could attract companies that want specifically to improve their agents’ performance. Ventana Research expects this market to grow over the next few years as more companies face up to improving their contact center operations and agent performance in a drive to increase customer loyalty and attract new business.

Recommendation
In a recent research benchmark project, Ventana Research found that most companies have much work to do to improve the operations of their contact centers; only 11 percent of research participants asserted that they are keeping their customers totally satisfied. The core impediment to doing that has been a lack of information related to business and customers on which to base decisions and actions. Several vendors now address these issues, but most stop at producing reports and analysis. We recommend to companies that want to go beyond this and implement true performance management that they look at the new release from AIM Technology.