Tuesday Luncheon: Featuring SSPA's STAR Awards and Eric Chester from Generation Why

STAR Awards Luncheon

The prestigious peer-recognition STAR Awards honor companies that demonstrate ongoing high-level commitment to delivering world-class results in software and technical support. Winners were honored during today’s luncheon awards ceremony, where NetApp and Sun also were inducted into the SSPA Hall of Fame. This special recognition is awarded to a select group of companies that have won five SSPA STAR Awards since the program’s inception in 1989.

The 2008 SSPA STAR Award for Best Practices winners by category are:

• Best Customer Commitment: Cisco - Linksys
• Best Embedded Product Support – Hardware: Cisco Systems, Inc.
• Best Embedded Product Support – Software: Oracle Corporation
• Best Emerging Company Support: Approva Corporation
• Best Knowledge Management Practices: NetApp
• Best Online Support: Symantec
• Best On-Site Support: Sun Microsystems, Inc.
• Best Practices in Value-Added Support: Sun Microsystems, Inc.
• Best Service Delivery Optimization: Sun Microsystems, Inc.
• Best Support Staff Practices: EMC Corporation

We were honored to recognize these industry stars for their leadership and commitment to best-of-breed practices in technology service and support.

The Next Generation

Following the ceremony, Eric Chester, founder and president of Generation Why, took the stage to deliver “Insight, Perspectives, and Strategies for Understanding, Employing and Educating the Next Generation.” Eric’s logical, informed, and oftentimes humorous perspectives on managing the newest legion of the workforce provided great intelligence into the why’s of what makes this generation tick.



Following the afternoon breakouts, the Best-Practices Sharing Sessions offered yet another opportunity for folks to gather in comfortable and relaxed setting to discuss real business issues occurring on the front lines.