[October 29, 1999]

IMA Announces CTEDGE, An Object-Oriented, Component-Based CTI Middleware Solution

IMA, a leading global provider of synchronized, multi-channel e-business solutions, today unveiled CTEDGE, its second in a series of planned business object components that are part of IMA's new technology platform, the Internet Component Architecture (iCA). CTEDGE is the industry's first true Java-based CTI platform for managing voice channels that can be seamlessly integrated with comprehensive multi-channel management technologies to support any number of communication channels within the enterprise.

CTEDGE, which will be available by the end of 1999, is a component-based product that manages all voice channels in the enterprise. Through a consistent process, CTEDGE normalizes all demand requests over each voice channel, allowing the enterprise to apply flexible business rules and workflow to each request in a fully distributed manner. CTEDGE, like IMA's recently announced ChannelEDGE, utilizes a powerful rules engine which is supported by the iCA. ChannelEDGE, the first product built on the new component-based iCA, provides multi-channel synchronization across all channels of communication for the enterprise.

"IMA has seized the technology leadership position in both the multi-channel and CTI middleware markets with the introduction of these two business components built on our powerful iCA architecture. IMA offers the most robust capabilities, features the highest degree of openness and scalability available today, and spans the largest number of channels, all on the industry's only true Java architecture," said Al Subbloie, President and CEO of IMA. "While other vendors strive to merely offer the span of channels across voice and the Web, IMA delivers these capabilities on the industry's most powerful Object-Oriented architecture. Our offerings facilitate the implementation of full Demand Chain Management (DCM), enable all interactions within the enterprise, and provide a complete development environment for the integration and development of CRM and eCRM applications by solutions integrators or enterprises themselves."

CTEDGE provides a universal view of all voice demand requests to the desktop in an inbox paradigm, and can be fully integrated into IMA's call center product suite, EDGE, as well as other leading CRM and eCRM applications. With iCA's open architecture, full blending is easily handled, both for the agent and administrator.

CTEDGE combines IMA's new iCA architecture with its vast experience of CTI middleware implementations worldwide. IMA's CTI products are among the most widely installed solutions being used today, spanning a wide range of industries. IMA's products are installed in some of the largest high-volume call centers in the world, and have proven their scalability and ease of integration in multiple technology environments. By combining CTEDGE and ChannelEDGE, IMA's CTI offerings provide complete "cradle to grave" reporting across all communication channels in an enterprise.

Unlike most other CRM, eCRM, and CTI products on the market, CTEDGE is based on open industry standards. The use of the iCA's business rules makes CTEDGE extremely scalable and layered so that it can be easily integrated with all extended third-party CRM and eCRM components. The iCA rules engine also eliminates the problem inherent with proprietary rules which compel enterprise or systems integrators to integrate incompatible business rules within a multi-vendor system.

This initial release of CTEDGE supports Lucent, Aspect, Rockwell, and NEC switches, with plans to immediately support Nortel and Siemens. Support for Periphonics VRU's will be expanded to include Edify, Intervoice, IBM's Direct Talk, and Lucent's Conversant voice response units. CTEDGE also provides an open-interface Telephony Software Developer's Kit (TSDK) to support most other switches with minor integration efforts. CTEDGE can also be seamlessly integrated with IBM's Callpath and Genesys Tserver products.

"Every vendor is talking about handling many channels through applications, but very few true channel management technologies are actually available on the market," Subbloie said. "Placing an application behind multiple channels for agent response support does not measure up to IMA's approach of providing middleware for full channel access, routing, consistent normalization, and full blending at the server and desktop levels."

iCA is the industry's "first and only" open object-oriented (OO) Java-centric component software architecture specifically designed to support CRM, eCRM and CTI application development. This true OO component architecture offers n-tiered scalability and promotes best-of-breed solutions through re-useable e-business components such as a robust open-rules engine, personalization services, interactive web development, content development, self-service, and legacy integration. Developed over the past two years, iCA fully supports IMA's vision of Demand Chain Management, by "DCM enabling" all existing IMA EDGE desktop and CTI products, as well as most other industry leading solutions in the CRM and eCRM market.

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