[September 27, 2000]

Daleen Announces Latest Version Of Its eCare Software Suite

Daleen Technologies, Inc., a provider of e-business infrastructure software solutions for service providers, announced the general availability of eCare 3.0, powerful software for rapid deployment of Web-enabled customer self-care and streamlined enterprise business process management. eCare includes electronic bill presentment and payment (EBPP) and significant new enhancements, such as a synchronized product catalog, ordering, portfolio and account management, access control and security, as well as a unified view of operations and business support systems throughout the enterprise. This introduction solidifies Daleen's position as offering the most flexible and comprehensive software solution for addressing e-business support requirements in a single, integrated product suite.

The innovative eCare software suite empowers customers and partners to interact with their service provider via an Internet portal throughout their entire relationship life cycle from acquisition through ongoing account management. eCare enables customers to view, pay and manage their accounts online, at their convenience, through a secure Internet connection. Additionally, eCare integrates easily with operation and business support systems, providing the inherent flexibility to enable customer service representatives (CSRs) or sales representatives to access important customer information across the service provider's enterprise. This unique functionality empowers the service provider to select the right mix of personalized selling and service combined with Internet-based service. eCare's unique, multi-faceted approach to customer relationships improves the customer's overall experience, enhances customer satisfaction and results in increased customer loyalty and customer lifetime value while lowering the cost of customer support.

In two recent reports, issued June and August 2000, the Yankee Group indicated that many companies are placing too much emphasis on the processing of transactions over the Internet, jeopardizing the sale because they are not directly influencing the customer. Yankee stated, "the purpose of self-servicing is not to replace customer service representatives or account managers but rather to enhance the ability of the customer to choose the contact interface (face to face, electronic or telephone)."

"By offering a comprehensive, Web-enabled view of the enterprise, Daleen's eCare 3.0 has bridged the existing gap between traditional sales channels and the new e-commerce channel. The technology embodied in eCare will support service providers in leveraging the data from their enterprise systems to strengthen their customer relationships when engaging in personal selling, CSR activity or commerce via the Web," said Rob Rich, executive vice president of the Yankee Group.

Daleen offers eCare packages for the ICP (Integrated Communications Provider), ASP (Application Service Provider), and Broadband services markets. Through the delivery of pre-configured, industry-ready solutions, Daleen's customers benefit from rapid time-to-operation while integrating existing enterprise and OSS applications to maximize their return on investment.

eCare pre-configured, off-the-shelf, market-based software packages reduce the need for customization, minimizing the amount of time required for a service provider to launch a Web self care strategy and e-commerce. As a result, the ability for the provider to quickly generate new revenue streams is improved. The eCare packages, which are tailored for specific vertical market requirements, include a complete set of catalog, collateral, ordering, and work-flow templates with market specific business logic and functionality for an out-of-the-box solution adapted for each market type, while maintaining flexibility for a service provider to create customized designs to meet its individual requirements.

eCare is built upon a convergent architecture, which provides the highest level of flexibility and integration, supporting any type of service offering. The latest version of eCare 3.0 incorporates many new and enhanced features, which enable service providers to manage the entire customer life cycle by attracting, retaining and maximizing customer relationships. New features include:

• Extensive Internet-enabled Self-care
  • Ordering - for obtaining price quotes, ordering, and provisioning digital content and services online
  • Portfolio - for creating, viewing, and analyzing account services inventory, usage, quality of service (QoS), service level agreements (SLAs) and status (orders, trouble tickets, disputes) across service platforms
  • Electronic Bill Presentment and Payment (EBPP) - for viewing, paying and analyzing bills on line
• Streamlined Operations
  • Catalog Designer - simplifies complex business processes by providing drag and drop functionality, empowering the service provider's internal marketing staff to manage, update and publish customized catalogs directly to the Internet. Additionally, Catalog Designer allows service providers to offer personalized interactive marketing promotions and rate plans to individual market segments.
  • Product Catalog - provides the ability to present online multimedia catalog(s)and shopping cart functionality specific across the enterprise
  • Workflow /Mediation - provides the ability to graphically define the processes to automate or manually handle quotes, orders, trouble tickets and other customer requests
  • Open Architecture - allows seamless integration to internal and external systems across and beyond the enterprise
• Security Enhancements
  • Access Control Administration - allows service providers to assign roles and access levels, both internal and external to the organization, segregated by account or department
  • Security - provides leading edge encryption and authentication technologies for subscribers and personnel when conducting eCommerce transactions

Norigen, one of the leading ICPs in Canada, recently launched eCare in both French and English to meet the needs of its bilingual customer base. Customers can now view their bills and other account information online by accessing Norigen's secure billing site where they customize the data based on their specific needs.

"One of Norigen's strategic objectives is to create a dynamic communications experience for our customers," says Saied Nadjafi, chairman and CEO, Norigen Communications. "Delivering eCare is a core component of our strategy. eCare adds further advantages to our popular One source portfolio of communications services by putting immediate billing access in the hands of the customer, as well as the flexibility to customize the information to better manage their telecom services. The implementation of EBP is the first step in a multi-phase roll-out of eCare to support our company's e-commerce strategy."

"Daleen continues to set the industry standard for innovation with eCare 3.0 by providing service providers with a customer self-care solution and an e-commerce strategy that empowers them to respond to the market demand for interacting with end users via the Internet," said Jim Daleen, chairman and CEO for Daleen Technologies. "eCare provides a powerful solution to service providers that are looking to enhance their business processes and customer care functions via the Web."

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