March 2000

Solutions For E-Commerce, Communications, Support And Web/Call Center Integration

The nature of the Internet allows for personalization heretofore unknown in traditional media, and Kanisa has designed its Kanisa ESP product to use the unique capabilities of the medium to provide personalized service. Kanisa ESP responds to online queries through an intelligent, software-driven dialog that elicits information through a sequence of logical questions, expanding the customer�s original input until it has enough information to provide a useful answer. To appropriately tailor the dialog to individual user�s needs, the application uses a complete profile of each customer. The solution it delivers is based on the business relationship between a company and its customer and his or her knowledge and skill level. Kanisa ESP takes into account a company�s relationship with the customers, the answer that the customers need, and their current understanding of the way the company�s products and services work. The application then uses that information to develop questions, customize the dialog and deliver the appropriate solution.

Kanisa ESP employs one-to-one service to generate a customized e-service home page with personalized an-nouncements for each customer. A customer can be alerted to the news, product announcements, releases, research and service issues that are of particular interest to him or her.

Kanisa ESP also allows customers to move from one channel to another. If the customer sends an e-mail, the response can include a link to the company Web site to continue their interaction. When self-service is no longer effective for the customer, Kanisa ESP summarizes the interaction and forwards the relevant information to the right person to assist him or her.

The Kanisa ESP application can be integrated into existing service channels and resources within a Web self-service environment. Existing customer information can be used to help personalize the customer experience. Chat, voice over IP (VOIP) and call center applications can all be used to escalate customer requests. Kanisa ESP tracks and categorizes every customer touch point. The resulting data, through reporting and analysis tools, can be used to generate reports that pinpoint changing trends in customer questions and identify support problems which do not yet have solutions and enable better response in the future.

To eliminate the necessity of manual content management and Web-development expertise, Kanisa ESP automatically places new content in context, allowing a site to be modified and improved as business needs change.As well as a traditional license, Kanisa offers ESP as an ASP (application service provider) solution.
No. 530, www.ccsmag.com/freeinfo 

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As the ways customers can communicate with companies proliferate, one problem for smaller companies (with their tight budgets and small IT staffs) that has gotten worse in the past few years has been the difficulty of providing an effective, integrated range of communications media. To provide a solution to this problem for smaller to mid-sized companies, Flexion Systems has introduced its BusinessGuardian line of products and services specifically developed for the small to medium sized enterprise.
Central to the Flexion approach is the BusinessGuardian X300, an integrated communications platform designed to bring together the benefits of voice, data and fax communications and business applications.
The BusinessGuardian X300 is built on an open and scalable hardware platform that works in conjunction with a Windows NT-based environment. The unified messaging and computer-telephony integration (CTI) components of the Flexion system are delivered via software that works with Microsoft�s NT platform and its Outlook and Exchange mail programs.

Designed for companies with between 8 and 64 employees, the Flexion X300 System provides the following features: Internet access; remote and central computer access; voice switching and PBX capabilities; voice and data messaging; call logging and monitoring; access to messages at or away from the office; quick set-up and configuration; and remote support. The system also works with standard telephones and provides support for standard fax machines.

Flexion also announced Business-Guardian Insight, a network management and diagnostic service which works within a Windows NT environment designed to aid service providers and BusinessGuardian Authorized Resellers in managing and growing their small business customer base. BusinessGuardian Insight provides small companies with added security via the remote monitoring tools, troubleshooting and diagnostic services they have likely never had before. In addition, Insight�s e-mail and Web-based reporting is designed to promote a strong and ongoing relationship, allowing the service provider and Authorized Reseller to be a proactive partner in managing their end user�s enterprise
No. 531, www.ccsmag.com/freeinfo 

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Providing a link from your Web site to a live agent has proven a vital tool to providing better customer service and also helps reduce high rates of abandoned shopping carts. To provide companies with this function, AudioTalk Networks, Inc. has announced the availability of a full-duplex Internet voice service to add live voice chat, moderated conferencing or click-to-talk customer service applications to the Web. AudioTalk�s Internet voice service can be integrated into any Web site to add voice communications for live chat, e-commerce, customer service, distance learning, e-mail, greeting cards and many other Web-based applications. Businesses simply add a click-to-talk button to their Web site to integrate the AudioTalk Internet voice service, which is powered by a voice over Internet infrastructure managed by AudioTalk Networks.

With a click-to-talk action, Web site users can begin voice communications in a chat room, with an e-tailer, a customer service agent or any other application setup on a Web site. In addition to providing standard PC-to-PC communications, AudioTalk offers hybrid phone and PC access, so users are free to choose PC-to-PC, PC-to-phone or phone-to-phone communications across the Internet, which provides Web businesses the ability to route Internet voice calls to existing phone-based call centers.

Integrating voice communications into a Web site using AudioTalk�s Internet voice service requires no additional hardware or software. AudioTalk provides a turnkey service to e-businesses. Web site users access the AudioTalk service using a PC with speakers and a microphone or a telephone. AudioTalk�s thin-client application downloads quickly and is automatically installed as an OCX/plug-in for Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator.

The AudioTalk Internet voice service is based on industry standard protocols including support of both SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) and H.323 for Internet voice call signaling.

AudioTalk�s voice services not only provide full duplex audio, but also offer high-quality voice mixing, allowing large group conferencing with multiple speakers. The AudioTalk service is firewall friendly, allowing user access to voice services from dial-up connections or from corporate networks.
No. 532, www.ccsmag.com/freeinfo 

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As computer systems and networks grow increasingly complicated, user problems likewise grow more complex, increasing support costs and time to resolution. Support.com addresses these problems in its recently released eSupport Suite, a Web-automated suite of products designed to interact with users� systems to provide personalized, automatic solutions to their computer problems.

Support.com�s newly expanded product line is designed to simplify the support world by automating the problem resolution process and thereby reducing technical support calls and overall IT support costs. eSupport solutions are designed to be customized into support solutions including Web-enabled call centers, self-service support sites and support portals.

Among the features of the new eSupport suite is the Support.com Support Portal, which automates the support process through electronic, online support. It provides users with a Web-based, single entry point for support transactions and offers an interactive, personalized support experience to guide users to solutions for their support requests. It also automatically feeds information about the user�s computing environment into existing support technologies such as knowledge bases and problem management systems.

The Support.com Foundry enables support organizations to create, implement and maintain a comprehensive eSupport environment by providing an authoring infrastructure that minimizes scripting and programming requirements and provides a central point of control for managing and administering support solutions.

The Support.com Healing Agent provides self-healing and automated self-service capabilities by proactively identifying problems on end users� systems and solving them, thus allowing end users to diagnose and resolve problems that would be sent to a help desk.

The Support.com Support Center connects any support provider to any end user securely over the Internet, provides a set of tools for remote diagnosis and repair of end user support problems and collects all information relevant to a problem from the user�s system and identifies likely root causes for the support analyst.
No. 533, www.ccsmag.com/freeinfo

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As many companies have found out the hard way, simply slapping up a Web site with product descriptions and pictures and sitting back while sales start rolling in is one of the biggest pipe dreams to come along in a great while. To help business manage their e-commerce offerings, Noochee Solutions (formerly DMW Worldwide) has introduced its Market Support Solutions suite, which is comprised of SmartComp and SmartMarket.

SmartMarket is an e-business marketing application that combines interactive selling in both Internet storefront and call center environments, with an intelligent master product catalog and integration with supply chain and fulfillment systems.

The following interdependent functional capabilities enable SmartMarket to address the market support business needs of the e-Business merchant: business policy management, master product catalog, product configurator, eligibility management, Web storefront, call center management, customer service, workflow management, supply chain integration and external system adapters.

SmartComp is an enterprise-class business solution enabling businesses to implement and manage complex multichannel buy-side and sell-side incentive programs. SmartComp focuses sales activity, manages and rewards channel performance and supports fluid business models. Future releases of SmartComp will enable Internet merchandisers to manage complex supply chain rewards, promotions and incentive programs. The process of suppliers incenting sellers, sellers incenting suppliers and sellers rewarding prospect referrals will be managed with SmartComp.

The Noochee solution is powered by the patented Digital Knowledge Plant (DKP), a robust application framework underlying the Market Support Solutions suite that enables all of the application components to interoperate seamlessly. The DKP application framework provides several services that are available to all components within the system as well as integrated external systems. These services are used to provide a common framework for building applications. They also allow a consistent method for these applications to interact with each other and to communicate their status to a centralized location.

Noochee combines the Market Support Solutions suite and supporting DKP framework with the Maximum Impact� family of deployment methodologies. Maximum Impact involves active client participation and is designed to optimize not only design and development, but also business-critical application and operation of the end-to-end solution to achieve clients� business goals.
No. 534, www.ccsmag.com/freeinfo

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As we have pointed out many times before, it is imperative for Web users to be able to reach a live agent in a call center, for there are times when even the best self-help solution just won�t provide the help the customer or potential customer needs. To provide businesses with a quick and low-cost alternative to often expensive and difficult-to- integrate software systems that were targeted at large en-terprises, RealCall has introduced its RealCall Alert offering. RealCall Alert is designed to link a company�s Web site to its call center, sales lines or any ordinary telephone so that users can talk to potential customers while their interest is fresh. To request an immediate callback, Web users just click a button on-screen.

Developed to provide secure lines for retail Web transactions, RealCall Alert puts users in touch with their customers no matter what the context. It�s the Web equivalent of a 800 number, and was designed to offer better response rates, enhanced security against nuisance calls, zero capital outlay and no on-going commitment.

RealCall Alert works with all call centers and all phone lines, eliminating the need to purchase new equipment or retrain agents to use the system. RealCall Alert can be set up on a Web page in under five minutes. When a Web user presses a RealCall Alert button on the user�s RealCall-enabled Web site, the RealXChange server processes the request and imposes security checks. RealCall then calls the user with the Web site visitor�s telephone number. The user then calls the potential customer back in less than a minute since the Web visitor pressed the RealCall button.

RealCall Alert offers the following extra features free of charge. The additional information is reported along with the user�s telephone number as part of the callback request message: Spell Caller Name/Extension, which spells out the caller�s name or extension to assure making the right connection; Report Country, which provides the country name selected by the Web user; Capture User Data, which gathers additional information about customers � either automatic (e.g., the page on which they pressed the RealCall button) or user-entered (e.g., their postcode or the product which excites their interest).

When a call request is made outside working hours or the call center is too busy to answer the Alert notification call, RealCall informs the user immediately by e-mail and, optionally, by fax.

Users pay only for the request messages they receive. These are charged at a fixed rate depending on their world location. RealCall accounts are pre-paid: the cost of each call is deducted from the account balance.
No. 535, www.ccsmag.com/freeinfo

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