Technical Support Books - Page 5

Microsoft Olap Unleashed

Timothy Peterson, Jim, Ph.D. Pinkelman

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 8 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Overall good, but not enough 4 out of 5 stars.
12 of 13 people found this review helpful.

I read this book and the Wrox book on MS OLAP. The two books seem to complement each other with some overlaps of course. While this book has many good exmaples on DTS, MDX, and client access to OLAP data, the Wrox book is more organized and has better discussions of OLAP cubes and other aspects of DW as well as a better coverage of MDX. Maybe it is crazy, but it would have been a good idea if the authors of both books combined their efforts and produced one book (wishful thinking).

Editorial Review:

Microsoft OLAP Unleashed offers professional-level expertise and an in-depth explanation of the latest in multidimensional database management. It contains an entire section on MDX, the programming language of OLAP. MS OLAP Unleashed details real-world uses, how to prepare data, and how to implement an OLAP system. Topics include preparing data, creating cubes, using PivotTable Service, OLAP programming, using Excel as client, server security, real-world examples, managing a data warehouse MDX reference, and system.

Knowledge Networking: Creating the Collaborative Enterprise

David Skyrme

Amazon Price: $35.96 List Price: $48.95 Usually ships in 24 hours By: Butterworth-Heinemann Amazon Marketplace: 10 new & used starting at $29.94

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Subjects -> Business & Investing -> Management & Leadership -> Management

Editorial Review:

Knowledge Networking explains the strategic, organizational and human impact of technologies that support knowledge: the internet, groupware, collaborative technologies. It shows how they can transform organizational practices and help to improve both individual and team performances.

Based on proven experience and includes customised toolkits, cases and action plans. From pooling expertise on a sales bid via computer referencing, to improving customer service using the flexible office, the author demonstrates how potential can become practice.


Knowledge management is the big management idea currently influencing organizations, and Knowledge Networking explores the global impact of sharing knowledge and expertise. It is a highly practical text which includes customised toolkits, cases and action plans to enable individuals and teams to improve their performance.

Shows how collaboration and teamworking can be enhanced through knowledge networking
Concerned with people, processes and practicalities not theory and technology
Includes access to the author's internet newsletter on knowledge management

A Guide to Customer Service Skills for the Help Desk Professional

Donna Knapp

List Price: $83.95 By: Course Technology Amazon Marketplace: 16 new & used starting at $5.98

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Excellent advice on the basics 5 out of 5 stars.
19 of 20 people found this review helpful.

This book addresses the essence of support - people skills. State-of-the-art tools and technology, and the most efficient processes ever devised will not guarantee a successful help desk or technical support organization if the human interaction techniques provided in this book are not used.

Ms. Knapp provides every essential skill in a systematic order. She starts with an excellent, astute discussion on the key elements of achieving customer satisfaction, then begins the systematic process of describing how to develop and use the necessary skills for achieving this goal. This starting point is the most basic skill that is as important to our everyday life as it is to customer satisfaction: listening. This is also a skill that, regrettably, most of us need to continually work on. She gives excellent advice on how to be an active and empathetic listener, and also how to effectively communicate back to the speaker. This skill is reinforced with another that is essential to providing top notch customer support: telephone skills. A telephone, even with the growing trend toward e-support and electronic mail, is still a help desk (and call center) professional's primary tool. Because we cannot depend on facial expression or body language it is of the utmost importance to not only have good phone skills, but to also use these skills in conjunction with listening skills to "read" the customer's mood and adjust our approach accordingly.

Writing skills, the next basic skill that Ms. Knapp addresses, has always been important. This is because documenting issues and actions conveying this to other support professionals who may also work on an incident of case cuts down on unnecessary follow-ups that poorly written documentation causes. Also, this skill is rapidly growing in importance because of the increasing use of e-mail as a customer communications vehicle. The tips on writing given are excellent.

Difficult customers are a way of life. Someone who is frustrated enough to pick up a phone or who feels resentment towards the organization whose products or services you are supporting is going to want to take it out on the first person who answers the phone. Defusing these situations and refocusing angry customers on the issues instead of emotions requires real skills and the ability to subordinate your own emotions. Ms. Knapp gives excellent advice on how to handle irritated customers and, believe it or not, turn the experience into one in which the customer comes away not only satisfied, but a good reference for your product or service. This is one of the most valuable parts of the book and my personal favorite.

The remainder of this book covers problem solving (and prevention) techniques, team building and some great advice on how to relieve stress and keep from burning out. All in all, this is an excellent book that should be read by help desk and call center professionals (as well as tier-2 support analysts), and can be effectively used as a training outline by help desk and call center managers.

Editorial Review:

This book is designed to provide individuals interested in the field of technical customer support a guide to the "soft skills" and the "self-management skills" needed to deliver excellent customer support at the help desk. It provides the reader with a better understanding of what a career in customer support would entail with strong real-world computer support examples, case studies, and exercises throughout the book. The author is a leading help desk consultant, trainer, and former help desk support engineer and service manager.

Six Sigma for IT Management

Sven Den Boer (Lead Author), Rajeev Andharia, Melvin Harteveld, Linh C Ho, Patrick L Musto, Silva Prickel

List Price: $54.00 By: Van Haren Publishing Amazon Marketplace: 7 new & used starting at $63.00

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Editorial Review:

This is a unique publication, giving the application of the Six Sigma approach in combination with ITIL best practice. Six Sigma provides a quantitative methodology of continuous (process) improvement and cost reduction, by reducing the amount of variation in process outcomes. This book demonstrates how IT can be made to work as an enabler to better business processes.

ArcView GIS Means Business

Christian Harder

Amazon Price: $15.96 List Price: $19.95 In stock soon. Order now to get in line. First come, first served. By: ESRI Press Amazon Marketplace: 28 new & used starting at $0.68

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

the classic intro to GIS for business people 5 out of 5 stars.
3 of 3 people found this review helpful.

one of the most readable introductions to this useful tool. you'll get inspired. i got this book when it came out in 1997, and just read it again. still relevant and very well written.

Editorial Review:

Written for both business managers and GIS professionals, this guide reveals the ways that GIS can revolutionize the effectiveness of the 21st-century business enterprise. Demonstrating how a wide variety of businesses and business-related organizations such as chambers of commerce and commerce-friendly cities are using GIS to bolster the bottom line, detailed case studies analyze companies that overcame obstacles to profitability and efficiency by using the geographic and spatial analysis provided by GIS technology. As the technology has expanded, so have the number and diversity of companies that demand GIS capabilities. Such industries include real estate firms, insurance companies, food distributors, and casinos -- all applying GIS solutions to logistics, marketing programs, and supply chain issues.

Help Desk 100 Success Secrets - Helpdesk Need to Know topics covering Help desk jobs, Help desk software, computer Help desk, Help desk support, Helpdesk jobs, IT Help desk and Much more

Gerard Blokdijk

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Editorial Review:

There has never been a Help Desk manual like this. 100 Success Secrets is not about the ins and outs of the Help Desk. Instead, it answers the top 100 questions that we are asked and those we come across in forums, our consultancy and education programs. It tells you exactly how to deal with those questions, with tips that have never before been offered in print:. This book is also not about a Help Desk's best practice and standards details. Instead it introduces everything you want to know to be successful with and in a Help Desk: Advantages That Help Desk LAN Analysts, PC Technicians Can Do For Your Business, An Introduction to the Listening Processes Help Desk Program, Another Name for Desk Help Software, Applying Helpdesk Applications, Being a Helpdesk Supervisor, Benefits of Software Help Desk, Computer Call Center Help Desk Coping With the Demands of the Call Center Generation, Computer Help Desk in a Call Center Environment, Customer Service Help Desk - Pointers to Delivering World Class Customer Service, Defining Help Desk Customer Service, Delivering Solutions Through Microsoft Helpdesk Remote Assistance, Do I Need a Help Desk PC Technician?, Do I Qualify as a Call Center Help Desk Agent?, Do I Qualify as a Help Desk Administrator?, Each Level of Support Help Desk Procedures, Entry-Level Helpdesk Computer: The Answer For Small Businesses!, Frontline Defense: The Helpdesk Representative, Gain Entry to the IT World Through the Entry-Level in a Junior Level Help Desk Support Position, Get Access From Your Computer Administrator's Help Desk for Windows / Unix, Good For Us, We Have Front Desk Help, the Heroic Front Liners., Help Desk Analyst, Not Your Typical Customer Service Agent, Help Desk Computer Operations Officers Working Their Way in Securing Company Premises, Help Desk Coordinators: What They Can do for You and Your Business, Help Desk Engineer, A Career Worth Eyeing For, Help Desk Exceeding Customer Expectations, Help Desk Guides to Web Design Computer Programmers, Help Desk Jobs, Exciting Yet Challenging, Help Desk Managers Making a Difference for Their People, Help Desk PC Support to Answer Your Needs, Help Desk Receptionist: More than Just a Clerical Job, Help Desk Software Applications Tools for Excellent Customer Service, Help Desk Tech, Billing, Registrations, Retention and Telemarketing Working Together as a Team, Help Desk Technician - The Company's Main Man (or Woman), Help Desk: How to Troubleshoot With Your Client, Helpdesk: You Are a Specialist in Customer Support, Hewlett Packard Comes Out With HP Help Desk Services, Hewlett Packard Help Desk Facility, How Companies Provide Help Desk Remedies for Stressed-Out Agents, How Does a Help Desk PC Call Center Handle Angry Callers?, How to Prepare for a Career as a Computer Network Help Desk Technician, Importance of a Help Desk, IT Help Desk In-synch with Today's Technology, Let the Help Desk Support Consultant / Analyst do the Work, Need for a Help Desk Solution, PC Helpdesk: Computer Desktop Knowledge 101, PC Technician Help Desk Does Wonders, Reasons Why You Need Help Desk Applications in Your Company, Reasons Why Your Business Needs Desktop Support and Help Desk Administration, Relieving Help Desks of Help Desk Security Burdens, Relieving Stress for PC Help Desk Support Staff, Requirements to Become a Computer Help Desk Technician, Role of the Help Desk Desktop 3rd Level, Solutions for Computer IT Hardware, Technical and Accounts Services - Most Common Types of Help Desk Support, Technical Support Help Desk Troubleshooting Internet Connection Issues, Techniques on How to Handle Computer Help Desk Issues, Thanks for Help Desk Tech Support, The Basics About the Online Help Desk, The Benefits Derived From Teaching Help Desk Staff, The Benefits of Free Help Desk Support Software, The Downside of Working as a Help Desk Assistant, and much more

Computational Intelligence for Decision Support (Crc Press International Series on Computational Intelligence.)

Zhengxin Chen

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 1 Average rating: 5.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Intelligent decision support relies on techniques from a variety of disciplines, including artificial intelligence and database management systems. Most of the existing literature neglects the relationship between these disciplines. By integrating AI and DBMS, Computational Intelligence for Decision Support produces what other texts don't: an explanation of how to use AI and DBMS together to achieve high-level decision making.Threading relevant disciplines from both science and industry, the author approaches computational intelligence as the science developed for decision support. The use of computational intelligence for reasoning and DBMS for retrieval brings about a more active role for computational intelligence in decision support, and merges computational intelligence and DBMS. The introductory chapter on technical aspects makes the material accessible, with or without a decision support background. The examples illustrate the large number of applications and an annotated bibliography allows you to easily delve into subjects of greater interest.The integrated perspective creates a book that is, all at once, technical, comprehensible, and usable. Now, more than ever, it is important for science and business workers to creatively combine their knowledge to generate effective, fruitful decision support. Computational Intelligence for Decision Support makes this task manageable.

Business Intelligence for the Enterprise (IBM DB2 Certification Guides)

Mike Biere

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 5 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

The Business Intelligence space is one fraught with vendors, tools, and opinions of how best to implement BI solutions. This book addresses key areas of BI such as data structure and delivery, tools evaluation, and more. The subject areas are presented from the author's point of view and experiences. At the heart of the materials are points to ponder, food for thought, and significant errors to avoid. Business Intelligence is the conscious, methodical transformation of data from any and all data sources into new forms to provide information that is business driven and results oriented. It will often encompass a mixture of tools, databases, vendors in order to deliver an infrastructure that not only will deliver the initial solution, but it will incorporate the ability to change with the business and current marketplace. The purpose of investing in BI is to transform from an environment that is reactive to data to one that is proactive. A major goal of the solution will be to automate and integrate as many steps and functions as possible. Another goal is to provide data analytics that are as tool independent as possible.

The Photoshop CS2 Help Desk Book

Dave Cross

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 11 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

After years of fielding questions at seminars from Photoshop users, Dave Cross realized there was a lot of common ground: there were many questions that were indeed "frequently asked." In addition, most questions seemed start with “How come I can’t…." "How do I…." or "Why won’t the (fill in the blank) tool work?" This book addresses the most common problems and questions in Photoshop by both providing answers to the most frequently asked questions, and outlining strategies that can help you avoid problems in the first place.

 

You’ll see:

 

• Where to start when things don't work: from tool settings to re-installing Photoshop

 

• The most common warning dialogs: why they appears, how to fix them, and how to avoid them

 

• The Photoshop CS2 Checklist: what to check when things go wrong, or before you start working, to help avoid problems

 

• Solutions to typical problems when using the Adobe Creative Suite

 

• How to avoid problems by creating flexible documents (adjustment layers, layer masks, groups, smart object, layer comps, and more)

 

• Frequently asked questions—and their answers—in all key areas of Photoshop CS2:

• general operations (palettes, workspaces, menus, etc.)

• color (CMYK, color management, spot color, choosing color, etc.)

• type

• selections

• making adjustments

• layers

• preferences and settings

•  image capture (resolution, Camera Raw, file size)

• sizing (canvas size, image size, copping)

• automation (actions, batch, built-in automation commands)

• common image problems (exposure, focus, noise, color cast, etc.)

• painting (brushes, choosing color)

• output (web, PDF, video, printing)

• special effects (filters, layer styles)

• tools (that don't fit into any other category)

 

• How to customize Photoshop CS2 to work the way you want it to (actions, menus, workspaces, shortcuts, preferences)

 

• How to make your own brushes, swatches, shapes, styles, and patterns

OSS Essentials: Support System Solutions for Service Providers

Kornel Terplan

List Price: $44.99 By: Wiley Amazon Marketplace: 11 new & used starting at $38.81

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 7 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Has potential to be great - lacks coherency & focus 3 out of 5 stars.
23 of 23 people found this review helpful.

This could have been *the* definitive reference on operational support systems. The author's uneven treatment of the subject and tendency to frequently go off topic or emphasize peripheral systems while leaving large gaps in the main subject have reduced this book to merely mediocre.

The strong points: the chapter on customer care and billing processes is remarkable. Here is a list of things that caught my attention and make this chapter so valuable: (1) the customer care maturity model is well thought out and serves as an excellent benchmarking tool, (2) the customer analysis and acquisition is on the mark, and (3) the customer interface management process and associated diagram comprise an excellent model for OSS processes. I also thought the way the author covered the problem handling process represents best practices, as does the section on SLA management. This is the stuff OSS is made of and it's covered both well and contains ideas and models in which service providers will be interested. The chapter provisioning and order processing is also strong and filled with excellent information for those who are seeking OSS-specific knowledge.

Weaknesses: Not only does this book overemphasize the network operations, which is important, but not central, but the author manages to drop this information into unexpected areas throughout the book. An example: Section 4.4 is an engrossing piece on the sales process that is succinct and filled with information, including tables and a diagram that reinforce the excellent information the author is imparting. Right in the middle of all this is a diagram that shows the use of a DMZ to separate intranets and extranets - not something anyone interested in sales processes cares about and is a big distraction. This happens throughout the book. Also, I agree with the comments made by a previous reviewer about wasting page count on product-specific information. This information needs to be moved to a web site where it can be maintained in an up-to-date fashion. Ironically, the publisher does this for other books. Finally, there are some major gaps: (1) no mention of the TeleManagement Forum, which is a global non-profit organization that is devoted to OSS. This organization has a technology integration map and numerous OSS-related processes that are De Facto standards in the OSS world, yet no mention of the organization and no mention of the wealth of material available that is directly related to OSS. (2) Section 7.4, which addresses migration from an existing to new billing system, misses some key considerations, which could have been developed into a discussion of strengths and weaknesses. For example, how do you segment and migrate subscribers? By CSA? Bill cycle? Region? Price plan? As the industry consolidates this particular issue keeps cropping up and a more in-depth treatment here is warranted. (3) No mention of TL 9000, which is an encompassing quality standard for telecommunications service providers. A portion of this standard applies directly to OSS.

Overall, this book contains some of the best information about OSS that has been collected and compiled into a single book. In fact, it's the only book on the subject. What is needed to make it great is a strong editor who understands OSS and who is not reticent about removing large pieces of superfluous material from this book. More information about standards that are directly related to OSS should also be included. If you work with operational support systems you really have no choice but to buy this book - I just hope that the next edition addresses the weaknesses.

Editorial Review:

A guide to mastering one of the most strategically critical aspects of any telecommunications, ISP, or ASP business
Operational Support Systems (OSS) refers to the technical infrastructure that enables telecommunications companies, ISPs, ASPs, and CLECs to provide services directly to customers. In this important book, author Kornel Terplan draws upon his 25 years of experience as a top global telecommunications consultant to provide telecom operations managers and developers with the expert information and guidance they need to make strategic decisions about OSS in their companies. He reviews protocols and technology for service support, explores best practices for service development and provisioning, and provides expert guidance on tools and human resources for the technical service provider. Throughout, Terplan's approach to teaching OSS principles and practices is to present a real business problem and then walk you through the best solution.