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RightNow Picks Up Convergent VoiceRightNow Technologies has completed acquisition of Convergent Voice. By DAVID SIMS TMCnet CRM Alert Columnist Bozeman, Montana-based RightNow Technologies, a provider of on demand CRM software, is announcing completion of the acquisition of voice automation vendor Convergent Voice, Inc. RightNow officials say the acquisition puts them as "the only CRM solutions provider with packaged voice applications." It's also the launch for the company's "Voice-Enabled CRM" initiative, RightNow Voice. RightNow acquired Convergent Voice's intellectual property, its core development team, accounts receivable, and contract rights. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. RightNow has partnered with Convergent Voice's since 2002. In related news, RightNow is also announcing it has been awarded a patent for Voice-Enabled CRM -- U.S. patent No. 6,850,949, for a "system and method for generating a dynamic interface via a communications network." It covers a system for dynamically adapting selections in an automatic phone support system that responds to voice command. RightNow currently has six granted patents, and ten other United States patents currently pending. This is RightNow's first voice-related patent. Telephone response systems, such as automated voice response units, traditionally rely on a human administrator to design the hierarchy of menus and information within the system. Thus, if the database and search logic are not properly installed, programmed or maintained, the familiar "Press 1 for billing inquiries, press 2 for order status..." sequence may, for instance, require most callers to exhaust an entire list of options before reaching their desired selection. Using artificial intelligence, RightNow allows callers, while waiting in a customer service queue, to withdraw from the queue with a voice command and vocalize menu responses for information. The best current research shows that voice is the most prolific communication channel with customers. Paradoxically voice channel solutions have not seen the level of innovation other customer engagement channels have. Greg Gianforte, CEO and founder of RightNow, said voice interactions still account for 60% to 90% of all interactions a company has with their customers, "and yet CRM to date has focused either on internal processes or electronic customer interactions. Bringing pragmatic automation to voice interactions drives much higher customer satisfaction and significantly lower operating costs." RightNow is announcing the availability of eight modules, including voice access to the knowledge base, voice incident management system, location finder, order status, repair tracking, refund status password reset, and customer surveys. Select RightNow clients are already in full production with these modules "Voice applications are a rapidly growing sector that provides an excellent growth opportunity for enterprise software vendors," Art Schoeller, Senior Analyst at Yankee Group, said. "Having an on demand, packaged voice application within a common platform will allow customers to rapidly deploy this solution and achieve ROI much quicker than with other solutions." RightNow also announced the hiring of Joseph G. Brown as vice president of Voice Solutions, former CEO and general manager of Edify Corporation. David Lanning, president and CEO of Convergent Voice, will become the director of Voice Solutions and will report to Brown. ----- David Sims is contributing editor for TMCnet. For more articles by David Sims, please visit: http://www.tmcnet.com/tmcnet/columnists/columnist.aspx?id=100005&nm=David%20 Sims |