NICE Systems at MWC2013

This originally appeared on Rich Tehrani’s (News - Alert) Communications and Technology Blog.

At Mobile World Congress (News - Alert) 2013 in Barcelona, NICE had a very compelling story regarding its multiple product lines, which are generally analytics, security, financial and the contact center. In a conversation with Yaniv Zukerman and Eyal Kirshner, I learned the company will be focusing more on its multichannel analytics solutions across its product lines. Moreover, we will see more cloud solutions from them as well - including in the anti-fraud space. This technology will be rolled out across product lines and used to allow for CFPB compliance. The solution tells agents what they can and can't say, including disclaimers. In fact, the company showed this product at the show - complete with providing an activity trail that can be provided to regulators in case of an audit. Speaking of the back office, Zukerman tells me there are increasing threats in this area and the company's anti-fraud technology tracks patterns and can help determine malicious activity and fraudsters.

Yaniv Zukerman and Eyal Kirshner of NICE at Mobile World Congress 2013 in Barcelona

In addition, the company's Voice of the Customer solution allows an innovative way of using text messaging to allow free-form survey responses via text post interaction which can be live, via phone, visit to website, etc. Again, this is free-form text messaging allowing a customer to respond however they want and the analytics kick in to respond accordingly. They could say, for example, "I really think the agent I just spoke with, Jim Smith is atrocious." The information supplied by the customer is then used to alter training of the particular agent if needed. It can further be used to modify products or product training. The idea is acting in real-time to business challenges. In one example, a survey after a flight allowed the crew manager to get the results immediately and then call a meeting to adjust before the next flight took off.

The product also is able to determine which interactions could be used as an upsell opportunity. Speaking of which, the company's Service-to-Sales solution in conjunction with IBM (News - Alert) uses analytics to determine if an upsell opportunity exists on a service call. At this point, the agent is guided through the process of selling the customer in a seamless manner, which Zukerman tells me shortens the sales cycle.

The company also discussed its Mobile Network Optimization solution designed to help wireless carriers see a 3D view of a city's wireless coverage based upon its deployment of base stations, small cells and femtocells. The system does its best to approximate what real-world coverage will be indoors where most of large city traffic emanates from.

NICE also showed a real-time-authentication solution using voice-biometrics. It auto-enrolls customers based on past conversations and shows the agent if the person is verified or not. If there is a doubt about the caller's identity, an authentication process can be launched.

Another product designed to lubricate the sales and service process is Mobile Reach, which the company tells me integrates with mobile apps and allows a user to instantly connect with a call center if there is a problem with a transaction. At this point, the agent is able to follow the exact context of what the user is doing and can subsequently push information back and forth. For example, an agent can push the specifics of a special plan the prospect could be eligible for and callers can send a photo of their ID to prove who they are.

It's interesting to see the numerous product lines NICE has - they seem to overlap more and more as time progresses. For example, security, which once was needed primarily in financial services is now needed more broadly as threats have become more common. Biometrics, once used primarily by the military, is being rolled out to call centers across all sorts of companies looking to reduce the amount of time agents spend on the phone and to improve customer service and retention.

The silos that once existed seem to be eroding and as this continues, it seems NICE is well-positioned to provide solutions across a wide range of markets.