Nearly 60% of Businesses in the US and UK Use Twitter and Facebook for Customer Service
A new survey by Sword Ciboodle indicates that social channels have been strongly embraced, with 59 percent of organizations having adopted Twitter and 60% adopting Facebook, and almost 85 percent of those who have adopted one, have adopted both together. However, while social channels are widely used, participants showed that justification and validation of social customer service is proving to be a challenge. Integration of data, as well as finding the right balance between social customer service and more "traditional" channels, is an important part of what companies are wrestling with.
The size of the company is an additional factor in the maturity of its social customer program. For example, 40 percent of respondents in companies with 1000 or more contact center agents say that their social customer service initiatives have been in place for at least two years. In contrast, 53 percent of companies with smaller contact centers say that current programs were implemented within the past year to two years. The reasons behind the move of all companies, regardless of size, to social customer service is customer driven, with 56 percent of respondents implementing social customer service due to customer request, compared with 40 percent that put the programs in place to keep up with competitors.
Worldwide Software-as-a-Service Revenue to Reach $14.5 Billion in 2012
Worldwide software-as-a-service (SaaS) revenue is forecast to reach $14.5 billion in 2012, a 17.9 percent increase from 2011 revenue of $12.3 billion, according to Gartner, Inc. SaaS-based delivery will experience healthy growth through 2015, when worldwide revenue is projected to reach $22.1 billion.
North America, specifically the U.S., currently represents the largest opportunity for SaaS, and it is the most mature of the regional markets. SaaS software revenue is forecast to total $9.1 billion in 2012, up from $7.8 billion in 2011. Consistent with other regions, North America shows the highest SaaS deployments in expense management, financials, email and office suites. Use of Web conferencing is higher in North America than in other regions, in part because of a highly distributed workforce.
Gartner defines total software revenue as revenue from new licenses, subscriptions, and software maintenance and technical support services that include license sales to update/upgrade an existing license to a new version, telephone support and on-site remedial support. SaaS is primarily a software delivery and management approach that exists in established markets, such as CRM or ERP.
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