[December 20, 2000]

Step 9's Latest Release Lets Communications Service Providers Easily Reserve And Assign Phone Numbers, IP Addresses

Step 9 Software Corporation launched iCustomer RESERVE, a Web-based product that enables communication service providers to manage complex pools of local telephone numbers, IP addresses, toll free numbers, and calling cards and better serve their customers.

iCustomer RESERVE tracks the order life cycle of phone numbers and IP addresses online, providing customer service representatives and number administrators with an up-to-the-minute inventory of available, assigned, disconnected, and aged numbers and addresses. The product supports local number portability requirements and streamlines the phone number assignment and utilization process, enabling service providers to avoid mistakes, such as assigning the same number to more than one customer or neglecting to return a previously ported number to its original service provider. It also captures data about number and IP address utilization rates.

"Step 9 understands the challenges that CLECs, DLECs, and ISPs face in managing complex product inventories and the complex customer relationship process," said Mark Merrick, President and CEO of Step 9. "We designed iCustomer RESERVE to help service providers empower their customer service representatives to perform tasks, such as number and IP address administration, that have traditionally been part of the network provisioning cycle. By bringing this functionality to the front office, service providers can respond to customer requests more quickly, improve their customer management processes, and impact bottom line revenues."

With the product's advanced query capabilities, customer service representatives can search for phone numbers in the up-to-date online inventory using numeric digits or alphabetical characters, enabling them to provide immediate response to customer requests for number and IP address availability. With iCustomer RESERVE, users can also easily assign vanity numbers, the next available number in a series, or blocks of sequential numbers for businesses needing multiple phone lines, ultimately providing customers with the available phone number of their choice.

iCustomer RESERVE augments Step 9's existing iCustomer product suite, which provides capabilities for order entry, order management, customer care, trouble ticketing, and reporting. "Step 9 is committed to providing carriers with tools that help improve the service delivery process. Adding number administration and IP address management functionality was a logical next step in our continuous quest to meet service providers' needs for a fully-integrated customer management solution," added Barbara Samson, Step 9's Director of Product Development.

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