Until now, customer service and support issues have largely been treated as a single, self-contained problem-tracking issue by most CRM vendors. However, in reality, resolving complex customer problems is a collaborative process on the part of the support organization; one that brings together peers, expertise and information strewn across the organization.

This already happens today in most support organizations, albeit in an informal manner. Many CRM systems cannot provide any visibility into these team-based processes. Refining the process, in terms of knowing who and what to bring together, requires a strong collaborative IT backbone in place that formalizes the capture and exchange of knowledge gleaned from successful past resolutions, and drives this as "best practices" throughout the rest of the organization.

One area where collaboration is likely to have a greater influence is in the creation of Internet-based communities. But facilitating smooth collaboration, whether face-to-face or online, is easier said than done. For example, how do you manage an informal network of 18,000 support professionals scattered around 2,200 centers globally? This admittedly is a tall order, but that's the challenge being addressed by SSPA (Service & Support Professionals Association) and ePeople. These are two US-based companies that have recently joined forces to create a tight-knit member-to-member collaborative network to help define, develop, and share best-practice problem resolution and escalation processes for IT customer service and support organizations.

The joint solution, which is called SSPA Connect, is powered by ePeople's TeamWork Web-based collaboration software. Implemented as an extranet system, SSPA Connect effectively acts as a kind of clearing house to support best practices by providing a managed environment for member support organizations to share knowledge, validate processes/methods, and interact with peers within (and beyond) the organization. Importantly, the system records interactions for future problem-solving issues.

Technologies such as ePeople Teamwork facilitate a new type of online member-to-member support service. It also previews a new model for the delivery of collaborative CRM processes; one that reduces the fragmentation of knowledge throughout support and service management organizations by ensuring that the right communication paths are in place, and that IT is used to enable knowledge to be enhanced, shared and used effectively by others.

While the high-tech service industry is a good showcase for software that builds collaborative online communities, ComputerWire also sees a close fit with a wider set of "vertical" applications beyond IT support organizations, notably product development, time-to-market, and rapid response. directions@computerwire.com

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