• Versatility Introduces Telesales/Teleservice 3.0 Components-Based CIS And PowerGuide 2.0
• Network-Enabled CTI Call Center Solution From AT&T
• Call Center Software Suite For Small-To-Medium Businesses From MultiCall
• Siemens Debuts Global Communications Server And New Line Of Phones
• Desktop Screen Capture From Teknekron Infoswitch

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Versatility Introduces Telesales/Teleservice 3.0 Components-Based CIS And PowerGuide 2.0
Versatility Inc. has announced the introduction of Versatility Telesales/ Teleservice 3.0, a components-based call center management tool. Agents can now manage customer contacts including call history, product information, personal callbacks, fulfillment and quote/order entry with a tool that supports both inbound customer service call processing and outbound sales/marketing campaigns. The introduction of Versatility Telesales/ Teleservice 3.0, along with the introduction of Versatility PowerGuide 2.0, represents the first stage of Versatility's componentization, which will provide customer interaction software (CIS) in a components-based application environment. Versatility Telesales/Teleservice 3.0 is CTI (computer-telephony integration)- enabled CIS that provides the following enhancements: it is Windows 95 and Windows NT compatible; it is now an OLE Automation Server to Versatility PowerGuide 2.0 or any other application that supports automation; users can quickly and easily tailor and customize their screens by moving and resizing objects on a form; it provides reusability of business logic; and it extends Versatility PowerGuide capabilities, allowing users to easily access Versatility Telesales/Teleservice functionality, such as callbacks and product information, with the methods and properties provided by the OLE Automation server. Versatility also announced the release of Versatility PowerGuide 2.0, a components-based application development tool for customer interaction and call center management that allows developers to integrate telephony, legacy systems and call guides into a unified agent desktop. Versatility PowerGuide 2.0 serves as Versatility's application and component development tool on which applications can be constructed and application workflow can be defined. This technology serves as the glue that holds an enterprise-wide CIS solution together and is the container that will store all of the other Versatility components.

PowerGuide 2.0 features the follow-ing capabilities: it is telephony enabled for desktop telephony and call control through the use of Versatility OpenTel; it supports both inbound "screen pop" and outbound preview and progressive dialing functions; it has call guides that include "rich-text" scripting and call guide capabilities with integrated dynamic variables, hot spots, and hyper-links; it has an open, scaleable environment in which legacy systems, as well as billing and accounting systems, can be integrated; it extends Visual Basic's capabilities as it provides a GUI framework for CIS applications; it is Windows NT and Windows 95 compatible and is an ActiveX container; it provides access to the Internet and intranets; it features a CIS component gallery of Versatility PowerGuide CIS components that support the many functions and features of Versatility Telesales/Teleservice; it takes an open system approach that encompasses n-tier client architecture environments and contains numerous wizards and assistants to help nonprogrammers deliver applications.

For more information, contact Lana Sansur at 703-934-7631.

Network-Enabled CTI Call Center Solution From AT&T
The AT&T Call Center Solutions group has announced the availability of AT&T Network-Enabled CTI ™ , a new suite of call center services that combine the intelligence of its network with computer-telephony integration (CTI) capabilities. The AT&T Network-Enabled CTI family of offers uses the intelligence of the AT&T network to collect and "store and forward" data entered by callers on their touch-tone telephones. Data from caller-entered digits can help call centers operate more efficiently and improve service by identifying the best resource to handle the call, so most inquiries are resolved on the first contact. If calls have to be transferred from a voice response unit (VRU) to other agents or between agents, the data is linked to the call. Intelligence delivered by the AT&T network not only provides call center agents with information on who's calling from where, but also can be used to determine why — all before the call is answered.

The AT&T Network-Enabled CTI portfolio consists of three options using AT&T's call prompter, interactive voice response, and store-and-forward data transfer services with ISDN links. AT&T Call Prompter with Intelligent Data Forwarding prompts callers to enter data, such as an account number. Once delivered to a call center switch, this data and other critical customer information can be made available on an agent's telephone display set or sent to a CTI server for populating a computer screen with a complete customer record. AT&T Intelligent Call Processing with Data Forwarding routes a call to a business's customer routing processor. Using caller-entered digits, the system performs a real-time, database search to find the agent with skills best able to handle the call. The AT&T network then delivers the call and the caller data to a call center switch for display on an agent's telephone screen. AT&T Interactive Voice Services with Intelligent Data Forwarding sends calls from AT&T's network-based interactive voice response platform to automatically complete a transaction. If the caller opts to speak to an agent, caller-specific data is routed to a designated call center switch for agent display or screen pop.

By combining the intelligence of its network and caller-entered data with ISDN standards, AT&T has created a CTI solution that uses information beyond real-time automatic number identification (ANI) delivery, resulting in faster call processing and greater flexibility for designing customer service applications without having to make the heavy investments in premises equipment. The option supporting IVR input is currently available, while the other services are being tested with customers and will be generally available in early 1998.

For more information, contact Michael Lordi at 908-221-6382.

Call Center Software Suite For Small-To-Medium Businesses From MultiCall
MultiCall, Inc. has announced the introduction of CallFlow, a computer-telephony software suite designed to provide comprehensive call-handling capabilities for formal and informal call centers in small-to-mid-sized businesses. The CallFlow server and applications are designed to enable companies to automate and optimize customer care operations by integrating their phone systems with their computer applications across a standard Microsoft Windows NT-based network. MultiCall designed the CallFlow suite to serve the fast-growing market for "informal call centers," — work groups that handle heavy customer inbound and outbound calling but also perform a job role beyond that of full-time agents. Customer care organizations can use CallFlow solutions to streamline all their customer interactions. The CallFlow product suite includes: CallFlow Server, CallFlow Designer and CallFlow Agent. The applications include Interactive Voice Response, Intelligent Call Routing, Intelligent Call Distribution, Intelligent Outbound Dialing/Callback, WebConnex and Wide Area CTI/ Distributed Call Center.

The CallFlow Server is a Windows NT-based server that incorporates voice processing, intelligent call routing, abandoned call callbacks and outbound call support on a single integrated server platform. The CallFlow Designer is a graphical, objectoriented application development tool for implementing various call flow scenarios in the call center. The Intellgent Call Routing application enables companies to automatically route calls based on customer requirements as well as manage call overflow to various destinations, including ACD groups, individual extensions, offsite agents and VRUs. The Intelligent Call Distribution application can be configured to automatically distribute calls during peak customer calling times to branch offices, remote sites or home desktops. Intelligent Outbound Dialing allows companies to conduct outbound calling campaigns and extend the campaign to any desktop on an as-needed basis. It features Abandoned Call Callback and can be integrated with PBX ACD systems and MultiCall's Intelligent Call Distribution application. The WebConnex application enables companies to handle customer service requests through the Internet. Using a standard Web browser, callers may connect to a customer service agent while browsing related company information. The Interactive Voice Response application enables companies to integrate voice interactions into call center applications. The Wide Area CTI application provides distributed call-handling capabilities over a wide area network, allowing distributed call routing over IPX or TCP/IP networks to geographically dispersed call centers. The CallFlow Agent is a desktop telephony client that provides for complete and seamless interaction in the call flow process with any Windows application.

For more information, contact John Evans at 408- 247-1124.

Siemens Debuts Global Communications Server And New Line Of Phones
Siemens Business Communication Systems, Inc., has announced the introduction of its Hicom 300 E Version 6.4 global communications server, which is wideband-ready and supports Siemens' new Optiset E family of global digital telephones. It is designed to meet the needs of medium- and large-sized businesses seeking greater bandwidth for multimedia-intensive applications, connectivity to local area networks, connections to a range of open interfaces and support for a broad spectrum of software applications. The availability of uniform Siemens hardware and software across the world gives customers the ability to have the same capability anywhere while taking advantage of localized software and services. The Hicom 300 E allows the use of identical switching and application servers, line interface cards and telephones anywhere in the world, eliminating the complexities of having different devices and capabilities in different countries.

The Hicom 300 E delivers in increments of 64 Kbp/s — up to 1.5 Mb/s — for multimedia connections, especially those involving video applications. In addition, the Hicom 300 E allows for smooth migration into broadband connections. It supports both TSAPI and TAPI as a standard system offering. The Hicom 300 E offers support for multirate service, an ISDN PRI service, which offers a reduced network tariff rate for high-speed video and other ISDN services. The product also supports ISDN NI-2 BRI at the desktop. Hicom 300 E Version 6.4 software is compatible with all Siemens 9751 CBX Models 30 and 80.

Siemens Business Communication Systems also announced the Optiset E family of global digital telephones, with advanced voice and data features. The Optiset E telephones will be available from Siemens in 120 countries. The Optiset E phones have a modular design and a simplified, visual user guide. With five models and nine snap-in modules, the Optiset E phones support applications from basic voice to fax and modem usage, desktop video conferencing, and advanced computer-telephony integration.

The Optiset E phones use an ISDN BRI interface to provide advanced voice and data features and include five telephone models, the Entry, Basic, Advance, Standard, and Advance Plus.

Optional Easy-Add snap-in modules for the Optiset E phones include: a Data Adapter that allows asynchronous data transmission; an ISDN Adapter for BRI S/T interface to bring multimedia to the desktop; an Analog Adapter that lets users deploy analog devices without installing analog phone lines; a Phone Adapter that lets one phone line support two Optiset E telephones, each with its own extension; a Headset Plus Adapter that gives selected phones both headset and recorder capabilities; a Key Module that adds 16 feature or line keys with associated LEDs; a Privacy Module; a Distance Adapter; and an OptiGuide display that shows what options are available.

For more information, contact Karron Esmonde at 408-492-6979.

Desktop Screen Capture From Teknekron Infoswitch
Teknekron Infoswitch Corporation has announced a new addition to its suite of performance management systems. Called Desktop Screen Capture (DSC), the application is targeted toward call centers that are incorporating Internet and intranet capabilities as vehicles for customer contact. A companion product to Auto-Quality™ and P&Q Review™, DSC is designed to enable call centers to monitor voice and data transactions simultaneously. It empowers call centers to re-create the entire experience between agents and customers, and provides management insight into the nature and quality of transactions. "DSC compliments electronic commerce by providing comprehensive information that measures how well agents and customers are interacting over this exciting new medium," said Michael J. Tamer, Teknekron's president and CEO. "Furthermore, we carefully designed DSC with the call center manager in mind. We made sure the DSC system wouldn't wreak havoc with customers' current LAN and desktop technologies. Also, DSC delivers capabilities that are essential for call center quality programs, such as stealth monitoring and simultaneous playback of voice and data." In addition to supporting Internet and intranet capabilities, DSC also will capture data transactions from local PC and LAN applications, with mainframe applications capture planned for the future. In other words, DSC can provide data monitoring for call centers that are not yet using the Internet. AutoQuality automates service observation by automatically scheduling and recording agent monitoring sessions. The technology enables managers to easily capture and review random samples of calls for an accurate representation of agent abilities. Sessions are stored in digital, compressed form with no "dead air," so monitoring time is 100 percent productive. P&Q Review scores agent productivity and quality, tracks trends, and highlights areas for training, coaching and overall agent improvement. Using performance criteria developed by call center management, the software standardizes methods for reviewing, tracking, analyzing and reporting agent performance.

For more information, contact Katherine Kirkpatrick at 817-267-3025.