Cameraphones and Corporate IT

Camera phones have been a huge success—IDC estimates that more than 600 million will be in use by 2007—because people can easily send and receive snapshots, reports Computer World.

"What does this have to do with corporate IT? Plenty, according to an article in Accenture Ltd.'s online journal Outlook: Point of View. Researchers Andrew Fano and Anatole Gershman at Accenture Technology Labs say that as people grow comfortable using camera phones, they'll begin to use them to interact with businesses. So customer contact centers will need to be able to handle incoming instant photos.

"Instead of trying to describe an object using words, consumers will send snapshots," the authors say, which will give a service agent a better idea of the customer's needs. A customer can send a picture of the environment in which the product will be used, such as a yard, room, office or workshop, which can help the service agent sell the right products. A series of photos (or a short video) could even capture how a customer is using or assembling a product, so the agent could correct or train the customer on the proper procedure. Consumers could also use camera phones to document damage or repairs.

But managing this influx of images will require "a substantial redesign of customer service processes and systems," the researchers predict. "

emily | 10:59 AM | How people and businesses are using cameraphones |
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