October 2001

Oktoberfest-ival Of Web Solutions

• Entigo's New Reality For B2B Relationships
• Hosted Human Resources Solution From ThoughtWare
• Chordiant: Toward A Kinder, Friendlier Interaction
• Self-Service Satisfaction From noHold

In addition to running on most e-commerce platforms, the product suite is certified to run on IBM WebSphere v.3.5.3, offering out-of-the-box support for multiple EJB application servers for deploying a scalable, Web-ready solution. In addition, Reality provides XML support using xCBL and cXML. Clients' channel partners can select and purchase products directly from Entigo Catalog and Entigo Order using their standard procurement package, such as Ariba or Commerce One. This provides interactivity from an existing buy-side solution to the Entigo sell-side solution.

Version 2.5 of Entigo Reality includes promotions management for conducting calendar-based marketing campaigns to channel partners and pricing management of contract pricing and discount rates for channel partners. In addition, the suite provides TaxWare integration for automatic tax calculation for orders, based on geographic location; RMA Management for managing and tracking returns; and pricing management for administration and maintenance of contract pricing and standard discount rates for channel partners.

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According to Jim Gionfriddo, president and chief executive officer of the company, "The philosophy behind WLM is that an employee succeeding in work and proactively charting a career path is a more satisfied worker, less likely to leave for another opportunity and more likely to keep customers satisfied. It's less costly to keep a good employee than to hire a replacement. Frequently, employees who pursue self-development are more motivated, inventive and productive. If a company can hold onto its very best people through good and bad times, that's a competitive edge."

The solution also provides employees with a dynamic way to handle job reviews and daily "to do" development lists. For management, WLM's analytics help managers make better staffing and development decisions. Based on job function, expertise, location or other demographics and career goals, WLM automatically relays new product or service features, upcoming training opportunities, internal job openings and more. HR and training managers can proactively "push" out training to groups of employees who need training. ThoughtWare uses content-driven indexing and an intelligent interface to simulate an interactive exchange between users and the system, similar to a one-on-one relationship between a career counselor and client or reference librarian and writer. In essence, ThoughtWare learns the meaning of inquiries, examines all the resources that can be applied and reduces search results to a manageable level. Pre-loaded in WLM are 15,000 U.S. Department of Labor job descriptions and corresponding competencies that human resources departments can use "as is" or customize for their particular environments. WLM tracks individual employees' stated career goals, as well as their evolving set of skills, based on assignments, length of experience, job performance and training. It compares this profile to job requirements and updates company records automatically so that the pool of qualified candidates for open positions is readily available to managers across the organization.

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Dialog Interaction Server is based on Chordiant's JX Architecture, which provides native support for Java 2 Enterprise Edition (J2EE) and XML software standards. The JX Architecture allows developers to code at a higher level of abstraction than just at J2EE, meaning developers can work with Chordiant's solutions and XML format data in "application pure" Java, which augments application development and deployment. Dialog Interaction Server features a runtime engine that manages the merging and delivery of dialogs to the browser; manages mid-session connectivity for validation and population of content; and manages the export of an XML instance document to the enterprise. The customization tool for Dialog Interaction Server, called Dialog Designer, provides a graphical development environment for the rapid creation of customized, dynamic Web dialogs. Marketed as both a stand-alone Web interaction solution and as a complement to all of the Chordiant CRM products, Dialog Interaction Server enables the deployment of more dynamic, engaging Web interactions to increase close rates, maximize revenue and customer acquisition and reduce selling costs.

To establish proof of concept, a Dialog Interaction Server-enabled site was measured against the original design and process flow of an award-winning site. The objective was to measure the usability of each site as respondents completed an online loan application. The test was conducted and analyzed by Human Factors International, a Web design consulting company. Users who worked with the Dialog Interaction Server-enabled site were nine times more likely to successfully complete the complex online transaction than those using the original site. Additionally, users completed the required task 35 percent faster with Dialog Interaction Server versus the original site. Users also reported having a more satisfying experience than did those using the original site, and 91 percent of the Dialog Interaction Server site users indicated they would do business with this company again based on their experience. Sixty-four percent of the original site's users indicated they would return to that site.

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noHold, Inc. provides Web-based, self-service solutions that diagnose and solve problems. Its flagship solution, noHold Instant Support, is built on noHold's proprietary artificial intelligence technology. Instant Support helps users solve technical problems online quickly and effortlessly through a chat-like interface built into a company's Web site. It simulates live, person-to-person chat via the Web to troubleshoot complex problems and provide the right solutions. Customers type in their questions or problems in their own words, and the responses pop up on the screen immediately. When the questions are broad or unclear, Instant Support carries on an interactive conversation with the user until it has enough information to present an accurate, relevant response. In most cases, customer problems and inquiries are solved online during the first session. This frees your support staff from handling repetitive, routine phone calls and e-mail so they can address more complicated questions and problems.

noHold's Knowledge Platform is the database that contains a company's information on products and services. noHold's professional services team, through its QuickStart Implementation program, transfers a company's product information into a central Knowledge Platform created for the company and can deploy it in six weeks or less. The Knowledge Portal is the user interface, a chat-like window that pops up on a company's Web site -- at the technical support page, for example. When users access the Knowledge Portal, noHold's DynamicDialog technology, its artificial intelligence engine, allows them to describe problems in their own words. The Portal Manager, an "always on" reporting tool, captures, analyzes and reports on each Instant Support session as either aggregate data or as individual interactions -- information that provides valuable metrics about each support session that can be used across the enterprise to improve service and product. An optional solution, Dynamic Link, provides integration of all information sources within a company, including existing legacy databases and external programs, for incorporation into the solutions.

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