Press Release

Press Information

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
11 Oct 2007

Contact: Heather Beckel Guntert
512-288-4054
heather@iandocom.com

Global Customer Service Authority COPC Inc. CEO to Speak at Upcoming Contact Center Conference

(Austin, Texas) — Customer Operations Performance Center Inc. (COPC Inc.), the world’s leading authority on operations management and performance improvement for service operations, announces the upcoming 11th annual symposium of the Austin Contact Center Alliance (ACCA) entitled “Call Centers in the Global Environment.”

The focus of the symposium will be on the global importance that Central Texas has in the contact center industry. Participating businesses will have access to several informative and interactive sessions designed to increase their visibility and success in the industry. The symposium will also feature an exhibition that will allow contact center businesses to promote their products and services while interacting with important players in the industry.

Alton Martin, CEO and co-founder of COPC Inc. will be the symposium’s keynote speaker on the topic of ‘How Austin Measures up in the International Arena.’ He will specifically address the hot issue of India vs. the United States in call center service operations.

The ACCA symposium will highlight Austin as a leading hub for service companies. Austin is home to over 100 service companies such as Apple Computers, Cingular, Dell Inc., Hewlett-Packard, IBM Texas Employees FCU, MCI, National Instruments, Progressive Insurance, Sears Home Services and State Farm Insurance. Call center businesses have been drawn to the city due to its growing workforce of young, well educated professionals, its booming infrastructure, the economic benefits such as low cost of living and fair tax structure, and the city’s famous offerings for its residents’ quality of life.

"Apple located one of its contact centers in Austin because of the high quality of available workers here who are young and tech-savvy” said ACCA Vice Chair and Apple Manager Allen Pargmann. He continues: “Over the past decade Austin has become a center of excellence for the service operations sector and ACCA represents this. Our growing membership of world class brand companies has created a sense of community for the industry and attracted other companies to Austin."

Martin Peterson ACCA Board Member and corporate consultant for Advantek says: “The ACCA 2004 survey showed that the Austin-area contact center industry is thriving with more than 100 contact centers located here representing over 18,000 employees and a 2006 survey we are about to release will likely reveal even more growth and prosperity within the local industry. This upcoming conference allows us to highlight Austin’s strength to the global industry. And we are particularly pleased to have locally-based industry leader COPC Inc.’s Alton Martin as a featured special guest.”

Mr. Martin brings more than 25 years of experience in the services industry. Prior to COPC Inc., he helped Dell advance its printer supply business by improving call center operations and served as general manager at a call center, leading the business to become second place in its industry segment. Mr. Martin’s knowledge and insight has led him to work with an array of Fortune 500 clients, including Microsoft, Motorola, Dell, American Express, Epson, Qwest, Verizon and Chase Bank. Moreover, his expertise has sent him all over the world to perform operational assessments of call center operations and to speak at global business forums.

In August, COPC Inc. relocated its headquarters from New York to Austin due to the city’s thriving opportunities for the service operations industry. Mr. Martin says COPC Inc., an emerging growth company expected to double its number of employees within the next few years, is a natural fit with a technology savvy, high-performance, entrepreneurial city like Austin.

COPC Inc. has recently achieved significant new business success; new clients in 2007 include Caterpillar, Circuit City, Ford, PRG Schultz, Sprint Nextel and Verizon.

About ACCA

The Austin Contact Center Alliance (ACCA) is a non-profit trade association comprised of central Texas contact center professionals and industry vendors. Their mission is to foster solutions that meet the needs of the central Texas contact center industry through networking, professional development, and community leadership. ACCA was founded in 1995 and is an affiliate of the Chamber of Commerce through its Economic Development Division. Since ACCA's founding in 1997, it has grown to represent over 150 companies, of which approximately 75% are contact centers and 25% are vendors. www.austincontactcenter.org

About COPC Inc.

Customer Operations Performance Center Inc. (COPC Inc.) is the world’s leading authority on service-chain operations management, including performance improvement for buyers and providers of customer service, customer contact center and business process outsourcing operations. Since 1996, COPC Inc. has helped more than 1,000 organizations in 50 countries improve customer service by using the COPC® Family of Standards, the industry’s first and most comprehensive set of performance management operating models for customer service operations. Today, it remains the only performance-driven and industry-governed global best practices model that simultaneously increases both customer satisfaction and profitability.

For further information, please email to info@copc.com.