February 1999
Inbound Routing Software Roundup |
| Editor's Note: This month we've
"corralled" a listing of products (detailed in the legend to the right) that
fall under the broad "inbound routing software" category, to aid you in your
purchasing process. As an added bonus, be sure to see our sidebar for
some "buying tips," authored by Ovum's David Bradshaw.Ovum is an independent
telecommunications, new media and information technology analyst group, which provides
information and advice on key market, technical and regulatory developments. Ovum funds
its own research and accepts no sponsorship from vendors or other interest groups. |
Legend
- A: PC-ACD
- B: ACD Software
- C: Standalone ACD
- D: Customer Interaction Management Software
- E: E-mail ACD
- F: E-mail Management Solutions
- G: Web Callback
- H: AIN/Telco Platforms
- I: VRU
- J: PC-PBX Software
- NA: Not Available
|
|
| Company |
Contact |
Phone |
Web/E-mail |
Product
Type |
| 3Si, Inc. |
Karen Aldridge |
303-741-9123 |
www.3Si.com |
B |
| Acuity Corp. |
Jeff Mangels |
512-425-2200 |
www.acuity.com |
B, D, G |
| Alston Tascom,
Inc. |
Bill Cortus |
909-517-3660 |
www.tascominc.com |
C |
| Amanda Co., The |
Lisa Russell |
949-661-2660 |
www.tao.com |
I |
| Amarex Technology |
Barnett Bezme |
212-759-0610 |
www.amarex.com |
I |
| Amcom Software,
Inc. |
Kathy Veldboom |
612-946-7715 |
www.amcomsoft.com |
A |
| Apropos Technology |
Jody Wacker |
630-472-9600 |
www.apropos.com |
B, G, I |
| Aptex Software,
Inc. |
Gaylin Allbaugh |
619-623-0554 |
www.aptex.com |
D, E, F, G |
| Artisoft, Inc. |
Lorraine Anastasio |
617-354-0600 |
www.artisoft.com/telephony |
J |
| Aspect
Telecommunications |
|
800-226-8441 |
www.aspect.com |
C |
| ATIO Corp. |
Thomas McCloud |
612-837-4000 |
www.atio.com |
A, E, I |
| Aubeta Telecom |
Dave Morse |
425-869-1700 |
www.aubeta.com |
A |
| Ava Technology,
Inc. |
Kathy Hogan |
800-488-8840 |
www.avatech.com |
I |
| AVT Corp. |
Ryan Betz |
425-820-6000 |
www.avtc.com |
A, I |
| Balisoft
Technologies Inc. |
Cynthia Keeshan |
416-256-1419 |
www.balisoft.com |
B, D |
| BayStone Software |
Jane Paducci |
800-229-7866 |
|
D |
| BCS Technologies,
Inc. |
Kevin Kormondy |
303-713-3000 |
www.bcstechnologies.com |
C |
| Big Sky
Technologies, Inc. |
Lynne Cooley |
619-715-5034 |
www.bigskytech.com |
I |
| Brightware, Inc. |
John Knightly |
415-884-4744 |
www.brightware.com |
D, E, F |
| Brite Voice
Systems |
Todd Crandell |
407-357-1000 |
www.brite.com |
I |
| Buffalo
International, Inc. |
David Friedman |
914-747-8500 |
www.opencti.com |
A, I |
| Business Evolution |
Kate Doyle |
609-951-0216 |
www.businessevolution.com |
B, D, E, F |
| CadCom
TeleSystems, Inc. |
Jack Baldwin |
800-537-1827 |
www.cadcom.com |
A |
| Call Processing
Solutions |
Michael Malaga |
800-472-2291, ext. 206 |
www.callprocess.com |
I |
| CallPro Canada,
Inc. |
Bob Morgan |
416-718-3449 |
www.callpro.com |
D, I |
| Castel |
Robert McDermott |
781-324-0140 |
www.castelhq.com |
B |
| CellIT, Inc. |
Joe Velasco |
305-639-2259 |
www.cellit.com |
A, H, I |
| Chadbourn Marcath
Inc. |
|
312-915-0300 |
www.chadbourn.com |
B, F |
| Chordiant
Software, Inc. |
Tim Hurley |
408-517-6100 |
www.chordiant.com |
D, F, G |
| Cintech |
Bruce Plummee |
513-731-6000 |
www.cintech-cti.com |
A |
| Clarify Inc. |
|
888-CLARIFY |
www.clarify.com |
D |
| Composit
Communications International |
David Borts |
760-918-8792 |
www.composit.net |
B |
| Computer
Communications Specialists, Inc. |
Nesha Bailey |
770-441-3114 |
www.ccsirv.com |
A, I |
| Computer Telephony
Solutions Inc. |
Jack Wikselaar |
602-496-9040 |
www.comptel-solutions.com |
B, I |
| Comverse
Information Systems |
|
800-967-1028 |
www.cis.comverse.com |
B |
| Copia
International, LTD |
Dorothy Gaden-Flanagan |
630-778-8898 |
www.copia.com |
I |
| Corepoint
Technologies |
Nada L. Mackinney |
800-426-7777, Priority
Code: 6i8ba001 |
www.corepoint.com |
I |
| Cortelco Systems,
Inc. |
Pam Miles |
901-365-7774 |
www.cortelcosystems.com |
B, I |
| CosmoBridge
Alliance Group, Inc. |
Simon (See-Sung) Lee |
213-683-1866 |
www.cosmobridge.com |
B, F |
| CosmoCom, Inc |
Terri Ghio |
516-851-0100 |
www.cosmocom.com |
C, E |
| Courion Corp. |
Chris Zannetos |
508-650-0330 |
www.courion.com |
I |
| Customer
Management Automation (CMA) |
Julie Burroughs |
800-700-5114 |
www.cmacti.com |
I |
| CustomerSoft, Inc. |
Sara Kanouff |
303-784-7095 |
[email protected] |
D |
| Cyber Data, Inc. |
Ralph Potente |
516-942-8000 |
www.cyberdata.com |
I |
| Davis Software
Engineering, Inc. |
Dawn M. Smith |
214-758-3642 |
www.davissoftware.com |
D, E |
| Davox Corp. |
Barbara Kennedy |
888-864-7664 |
www.davox.com |
D |
| Decisif Software
Solutions |
Danielle Larose |
514-362-7117 |
www.decisif.com |
B, I |
| Diagenix Corp. |
|
781-871-6624 |
www.diagenix.com |
I |
| Dialog Software,
Inc. |
Jeff Rider |
212-697-2690 |
[email protected] |
F |
| Diffusion, Inc. |
|
650-237-8500 |
www.diffusion.com |
D |
| Digital
Techniques, Inc. |
David Mackey |
972-727-1200 |
www.digitaltechniques.com |
B |
| Distributed Bits,
LLC |
Derek Scruggs |
312-207-1500 |
www.dbits.com |
F |
| DMW Worldwide |
Michelle Hoppe |
719-548-1101 |
www.dmwworldwide.com |
D |
| e2 Software Corp. |
Cathy Rentzel |
972-663-2542 |
www.e2software.com |
E, F |
| EASE CT Solutions |
Shannon Thompson |
770-642-7575 |
www.easey.com |
I |
| EASYphone, Inc. |
David Musser |
408-965-5511 |
www.easyphone.com |
D, I |
| EasyRun
Communication Software Systems |
Boaz Zilberman |
201-541-1855 |
www.easyrun.com |
A |
| Edify Corp. |
Maurice Okawaki |
800-944-0056 |
www.edify.com |
G, I |
| eGain
Communications Corp. |
Sales |
800-603-4246 |
www.egain.com |
D, E, F |
| Ericsson
Enterprise Networks |
Jennifer Ziegler |
919-472-6459 |
|
B |
| e-Voice
Communications |
Werner Kieke |
408-991-9988 |
www.evoicecomm.com |
J |
| EXECUTONE
Information Systems, Inc. |
Tricia Dell Aquila |
203-876-7600 |
www.executone.com |
A, D |
| Foresight Software |
Jane Springfield |
770-206-1000 |
www.foresight-esp.com |
D |
| Fuseworks |
Arden Redfern |
819-771-8182 |
www.fuseworks.com |
D, G |
| Genesys
Telecommunications Laboratories, Inc. |
Linda Hein |
888-GENESYS |
www.genesyslab.com |
E, F |
| GeoTel
Communications Corp. |
Many Pieretti |
978-275-5100 |
www.geotel.com |
B, D, H |
| IEX Corp. |
Suzette White |
972-301-1300 |
www.iex.com |
B |
| IMA |
|
800-776-0462 |
www.imaedge.com |
D |
| Innovative Search
Technology |
Mark Cohen |
949-475-9170 |
[email protected] |
B |
| Intecom |
Brady Fly |
972-855-8848 |
www.intecom.com |
D |
| IntegraTRAK, Inc. |
Bethany Beatty |
319-373-0093 |
www.integratrak.com |
J |
| Intelemedia
Communications, Inc. |
Judson Rogers |
972-994-0700 |
www.intelemedia.com |
I |
| Intellisystems |
Jacki Peach Hallerbach |
800-637-8400 |
www.intellisystems.com |
I |
| Intelogistics |
Roy W. Semplenski |
954-453-5757 |
www.bestivr.com |
I |
| Interactive
Intelligence, Inc. |
Lisa Michael |
317-872-3000 |
www.inter-intelli.com |
A, D, E |
| InterVoice, Inc. |
John Cannon |
972-454-8862 |
www.intervoice.com |
I |
| ISM-BC Telecom
Solutions |
Michelle Mollineaux |
604-293-6005 |
www.ismbc.com |
B |
| Iwatsu |
Michael Marchioni |
800-974-5070 |
www.iwatsu.com |
B, C |
| Janna Systems,
Inc. |
Denis Martineau |
416-483-7711 |
www.janna.com |
D |
| Kana
Communications, Inc. |
Trevor Dean |
650-325-9850 |
www.kana.com |
E, F |
| Kanisa Inc. |
Vince Emery |
408-863-5775 |
www.kanisa.com |
D, F |
| Komtel Inc. |
Dennis Kohanek |
203-790-9989 |
www.komtel.com |
I |
| KPN, Royal Dutch
Telecom |
Susan Ellman |
212-246-1818 |
|
G |
| Linkon Corp. |
|
203-319-3123 |
www.linkon.com |
H, I |
| LiveService.com |
Timothy Seims |
888-608-9818 |
www.liveservice.com |
G |
| MCI WorldCom Call
Center Services |
Nancy Montgomery |
800-369-3660 |
www.wcom.com |
F |
| Melita
International |
Angela McMahon |
770-239-4000, ext. 4449 |
www.melita.com |
D, G |
| MicroAutomation |
Dave McCrabb |
703-378-7000 |
www.microaut.com |
I |
| Mitel Corp. |
Joann Crane |
800-MITEL-SX |
www.mitel.com/callcenters |
B |
| Molloy Group, Inc. |
Ellen Chang |
973-540-1212 |
www.molloy.com |
D |
| Mosaix, Inc. |
Joe White |
425-881-7544 |
www.mosaix.com |
D |
| Motive
Communications, Inc. |
Andrew Rauch |
512-339-8335 |
www.motive.com |
D |
| Mustang Software,
Inc. |
Jim Harrer |
805-873-2500 |
www.mustang.com |
D, E, F |
| NCR Corp. |
Alina Morejon |
732-404-3142 |
www.ncr.com |
D |
| NEC AMERICA INC. |
Judy Graham |
972-518-4404 |
www.cng.nec.com |
B |
| netDialog, Inc. |
Bill Bondurant |
650-372-1200 |
www.netdialog.com |
D |
| NEXTCOM |
Medy Shaw |
310-360-2082 |
[email protected] |
A |
| Nitsuko America |
Sales Support |
800-365-1928 |
www.nitsuko.com |
A |
| Nortel Networks |
|
800-4NORTEL |
www.nortel.com |
B, I |
| Nova CTI, Inc. |
Dick Callahan |
800-NOVACTI |
www.novacti.com |
B |
| Nuera
Communications, Inc. |
Julia Hutton |
619-824-4068 |
www.nuera.com |
I |
| Omega Systems |
Mitch Radpour |
800-556-6342 |
www.omega2010.com |
J |
| Oracle Corp. |
Kathy O'Leary |
650-506-2209 |
[email protected] |
D |
| PakNetX |
Chris Botting |
603-890-6616 |
www.paknetx.com |
B, C, D |
| Partnerware
Technologies, Inc. |
Doug Reid |
888-499-3000 |
www.partnerware.com |
D |
| Parwan Electronics
Corp. |
Suraj Tschand |
732-290-1900 |
www.voicesaver.com |
I |
| Pegasystems Inc. |
Lisa Deschamp |
617-374-9600 |
www.pegasystems.com |
D |
| Perimeter
Technology |
Debbie Goff |
603-645-1616 |
www.perimetertechnology.com |
B |
| Philips Speech
Processing |
Matt VanVleet |
800-899-6837 |
www.speech.philips.com |
I |
| Picazo
Communications, Inc. |
Tamye Oshman |
972-866-2000 |
www.picazo.com |
A |
| Pipestream
Technologies, Inc. |
Jeff Andrews |
800-296-4472 |
www.pipestream.com |
D |
| POINT Information
Systems |
Erik Haagensen |
800-311-0215 |
www.pointinfo.com |
D |
| PRIMA |
Maxime Gousse |
514-768-1000 |
www.prima.ca |
I |
| Primus Knowledge
Solutions, Inc. |
Sue Whitcomb |
206-292-1000 |
www.primus.com |
D |
| ProAmerica |
Sales |
972-680-6292 |
www.proam.com |
D |
| Product Knowledge,
Inc. |
Jerry Sisson |
303-938-8122 |
www.proknowledge.com |
D |
| Pronexus |
Marc Wolvin |
613-839-0033 |
www.pronexus.com |
B, I |
| Pulse Software
& Consulting, Inc. |
Mohan Markandaier |
905-415-0010 |
www.pulsesc.com |
I |
| Quintus Corp. |
Nancy Castillo |
800-337-8941 |
www.quintus.com |
D |
| Saratoga Systems,
Inc. |
Marylyn Bigler |
408-371-9330 |
www.saratogasystems.com |
D |
| Scherers, Inc. |
Lorraine Barber |
800-622-2200 |
www.scherers.com |
I |
| ServiceSoft Corp. |
Leila Dillan |
781-449-0049 |
www.servicesoft.com |
D |
| Siemens
Information & Communication Networks |
|
408-492-2000 |
www.icn.siemens.com |
B, E |
| Silknet Software,
Inc. |
Michael Bettua |
603-625-0070 |
www.silknet.com |
D, E |
| smallwonder!
softworks, inc. |
Bill Maynard |
800-258-5828 |
www.smallwondersoftworks.com |
D |
| SOFTGEN
INTERNATIONAL |
Leslie Leland |
214-880-0866 |
www.softgenintl.com |
G |
| Softlabs Pte. Ltd. |
Kok Kee, Yong |
+65-850-6658 |
www.softlabs.com.sg |
B, I |
| Sonant Corp. |
Joe O'Loughlin |
800-929-2920 |
[email protected] |
A, I |
| SoundLogic CTI
Inc. |
Elham Ahmadzadeh |
604-291-9989 |
www.soundlogic.net |
E |
| Startel Corp. |
Debra Roper |
949-863-8700 |
www.startelcorp.com |
B, C |
| Syntellect Inc. |
Susan Harmon |
800-347-9907 |
www.syntellect.com |
I |
| SZETO TECHNOLOGIES |
Sherry Goucl |
514-331-9152 |
|
C |
| Tadiran
Telecommunications, Inc. |
Candy Barr |
727-523-0000 |
www.tadirantele.com |
A |
| Teknekron
Infoswitch |
Yvonne Powell |
817-262-3100 |
www.teknekron.com |
C, D |
| TelAthena Systems
LLC |
Deirdre Boyle |
888-777-7565 |
www.telathena.com |
D |
| Telecorp Products |
Christina Akers |
248-960-1000 |
www.telecorpproducts.com |
B, D |
| Telekol Corp. |
J.E. Heydecker |
781-487-7100 |
www.telekol.com |
I |
| TeleService
Technologies, Inc. |
Patrick Rockhill |
888-TST-7701 |
|
A |
| TeleSynergy
Research (U.S.A.) Inc. |
Michelle Tsai |
408-260-9970 |
www.telesynergy.com |
J |
| Teloquent
Communications |
Steve Guthrie |
800-468-6434 |
www.teloquent.com |
B |
| TMSI Inc. |
Scott Winn |
888-229-5969 |
www.tsb.ca |
G |
| Tobit Software |
Francois M. Nadeau |
514-392-9220 |
www.tobitsoftware.com |
F |
| Tone Software
Corp. |
Lisa Bynum |
714-991-9460 |
www.tonesoft.com |
B |
| Unisys |
Lucia Romano |
215-986-4698 |
www.unisys.com |
C, D |
| Virtual Hold
Technology |
Mark Williams |
330-666-1181 |
www.virtualhold.com |
B, G, I |
| Vodavi
Communications Systems, Inc. |
Jacque Hamilton |
602-443-6440 |
www.vodavi.com |
I |
| VSN Systemen BV |
Ruud Peeters |
+31-0-478-555-000 |
[email protected] |
A, H, I, J |
| WebLine
Communications |
Chris Miller |
781-272-9979 |
www.webline.com |
G |
| WhiteCap
Development Corp. |
Liza Hayman |
781-246-3343 |
www.whitecap.com |
A |
| Wygant Scientific,
Inc. |
Gerry O'Scannlain |
503-227-6901 |
www.wygant.com |
A |
| Xantel Corp. |
Kristen Beckman |
602-446-4036 |
www.xantel.com |
A, D, I |
Buying Tips For Inbound Routing
Software
BY DAVID BRADSHAW, OVUM INC.
- Don't neglect the majority of your customers by focusing entirely on the whiz-bang Web
technology! With a few exceptions, call centers will do the vast majority of their
business by phone, so keep improving the service you give to your core customers.
- Get the Web basics right. Prioritize callbacks to Web site visitors who press your
"call me back" button. If you can catch them while they're still looking at your
Web pages, you have anywhere between a 30 and 400 percent better chance of getting their
business.
- Your next Web-oriented step should be simultaneous Web and voice interactions. Show me
something and tell me about it at the same time -- now you've got my full attention and
I'm much more likely to buy.
- Keep your outbound options open -- whenever you choose a product, consider whether it
will get in the way in the future. Many companies that work purely inbound are now finding
that they want to do outbound work as well.
- Consider e-mail in the call center. Some CTI vendors now allow you to queue e-mail like
a voice callback. But consider -- do your agents have the skill to handle e-mail and is it
a good use of their time? Might the "back-office" staff handle e-mail better?
Neither approach is right or wrong, but you have to decide.
- Buying a suite of products from a single vendor normally reduces the hassles of getting
everything working together; however, suites can make it much harder to integrate products
from other vendors.
- Do a simulation before adopting skills-based routing. Getting it wrong can make your
service level drop like a stone.
- Voice-over IP is getting better, but it's still a lot worse than POTS. More likely than
VOIP replacing POTS is VOIP forcing down the cost of POTS through "arbitrage."
- Always give customers a way out of your IVR system and, increasingly, out of your Web
site, as well. Customers "need to talk to somebody NOW" when things go wrong.
- If you want to be "bleeding edge," consider being a reference site -- you'll
get a better price and you'll make sure it's in the vendor's interest to ensure the
technology works.
- If you're not bleeding edge, always ask for references from vendors, make sure the
references are doing what you're planning to do and always speak to them directly
yourself.
- Don't forget to bring your IT manager into the decision-making arena to avoid nasty
fights over CTI at a later date.
- Before you take the plunge, reconsider outsourcing. Some companies will let you bring
your own staff into their call center so that you can test the market and products
available before taking the plunge of buying.
- Finally, bargain hard -- it's a buyer's market right now. But leave your suppliers
enough of a profit margin to do a profitable job without cutting corners.
Trends
Soon, special-purpose ACD switches will be no more, in the same way predictive dialers are
becoming software-only devices. Of course, you will still need a switch, but a
general-purpose PABX (with sufficient capacity to handle the call load) will be what
you'll buy; you'll then use your selection of ACD software. The benefit for the user is
that you have the flexibility to use some of the switch capacity for other things, like
outbound.
All-in-one boxes (PC-PBXs) are being aggressively pushed by some vendors, most
vociferously (at present) by Interactive Intelligence, Inc. They offer some advantages to
medium-sized call centers, notably built-in CTI and the ability to stack together all
interactions in one server. But they will be a much more attractive and natural option
when VOIP arrives as a standard choice for voice in a wide range of carrier networks. Ovum
predicts that VOIP will reach only 7 percent of total traffic in North America by 2005.
The jury is still out on how useful Web chatting will be. It's a technology that allows
a single agent to interact with multiple visitors to a Web site. It allows a high degree
of "personalization" of interactions. It is perfectly good technology, but it
has to shake off its "sleazy" image -- like many leading-edge Web technologies,
it has been first adopted by "adult" sites.
Natural language interfaces are here, but still very much bleeding edge. Recognition
and interpretation accuracy considerations aside, we still have to figure out how to use
the technology without scaring away callers. We have to learn how to make people feel
comfortable interacting in an unstructured way with a computer. Just as in the early days
of touch-tone IVR, many people will find it extremely scary and will run a mile before
using it. That's not to say it won't work -- it will -- but it will be a while before it
will seem natural to the callers.
So far, natural language technology is seen as a replacement for IVR. But it could be
so successful that it will begin to encroach on the traditional area of the call center.
When callers finally get used to making simple requests to a machine, the human agents can
dedicate themselves to things they do really well -- the more difficult and humanizing
tasks.
David Bradshaw is a senior analyst with independent analyst group Ovum Inc. and
lead author of Ovum Evaluates: Call Center Software. |
|
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