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March 2001
E-Learning Starter Kit From GeoLearning
GeoLearning, Inc. has developed the E-Learning Starter Kit, a useful
resource package identifying the key pieces of information that can mean
the difference between e-learning success and failure. The free e-learning
resource kit includes a planning workbook, ROI calculator, evaluation
criteria and more. The resources included in the kit will show users how
to calculate the cost-savings and ROI of implementing e-learning, help
them make informed decisions on e-content and hosting options, select a
learning management system that meets their objectives, understand how
their technical infrastructure can affect their e-learning platform; see
how chat, scheduling and other communication technologies can enhance and
reinforce the e-learning experience, etc. The E-Learning Workbook,
subtitled "25 Questions to a Successful E-Learning System
Launch," is a series of questions that get organizations thinking
about the major decisions that need to be made prior to implementing an
e-learning system. Anyone responsible for implementing e-learning in his
or her organization can request a free E-Learning Starter Kit online. www.geolearning.com/kit
Silvon Adds Customer Relationship Analytics Stratum
Silvon Software, Inc. released a customer analysis solution that will be
marketed and sold under the company's Stratum suite of business
performance management applications. This latest software module is
designed to allow companies to adopt a more customer-centric approach to
doing business through in-depth analysis and grouping of customers based
on purchasing behavior, future marketing opportunities and customer
service levels. Stratum Customer Relationship Analytics includes several
pre-packaged analytical views and reports, including: Customer Value
Assessment, for examining customer and channel value from multiple
perspectives and by factors that affect profitability; Customer
Acquisition/Targeted Selling, for additional profiling, segmentation and
ranking of customers based on propensity to buy, order frequency and
overall purchasing behavior; and Customer Management, for understanding
the impact of order fulfillment, returns and call center activity on
actual sales performance. The Stratum Customer Relationship Analytics
module does not require implementation of a CRM application. For
businesses that already have a contact management, sales force automation
or call center solution in place, the module can be used to leverage the
value of data contained within these CRM applications through its
pre-built analytical views and reports. www.silvon.com
Elk Traveler Delivers CRM Functionality To
PalmPilots
StayinFront, Inc. has introduced Elk Traveler, a fully featured PalmPilot
application designed to function as a companion to StayinFront's Visual
Elk system. Key functions supported by Elk Traveler include customer
profiling, call planning and management reporting applications. Elk
Traveler also provides full synchronization so business users can move
seamlessly between desktop, laptop and Palm products. Elk Traveler is a
Palm-based companion for Visual Elk systems and operates on Palm III (or
greater) devices with 300Kb of free space. Visual Elk 8.1 is required. www.stayinfront.com
ASC's InspirationPro Bows
ASC Telecom, L.P. introduced its new InspirationPro, a multimedia,
quality-monitoring solution designed for contact centers. InspirationPro
coordinates evaluation and training of customer service representatives (CSRs)
for contact centers via its browser-based GUI interface. The interface
allows supervisors to attach comments to real-time or recorded calls and
obviates the need for proprietary software on the desktop. Using a
standard browser, authorized employees can use InspirationPro to access
management information, recorded calls, reports or quality-measurement
tools using any PC from any location. The system monitors voice, screen
capture, video, fax, data and e-mail, and Web chat, collaboration and
browsing. The application uses a distributed Web-based architecture that
allows for recording all activity or may be used to selectively record
specific calls or agents through computer-telephony integration or ASC's
Call Commander module. The solution manages call-related data through
tables in a central database, and archiving procedures allow for
integration of modern memory solutions (such as RAID arrays, tape
libraries and jukeboxes). Specialized criteria for testing and customized
reports are available. www.asctelecom.com
New Version Of VIPCenter From Kovair
Kovair, Inc. released of Version 2.0 of VIPCenter, its collaborative
Web-based platform that connects the people, applications and processes
for managing specific strategic cross-company relationships. New and
enhanced features include: e-mail integration enabling e-mail discussions
via any e-mail system and the ability to view relationship e-mail history;
wireless access to relevant VIPCenter information, contacts and tasks
using WAP and WML; "content locking" for cross-company editing
of information; live Web meetings through integration with WebEx
technology; and integrated desktop publishing so users can save
information to the VIPCenter directly from Microsoft Office applications
and their desktop. Version 2.0 also provides mouse-over menus for faster
access to VIPCenter features, new wizards to make user interactions faster
and simpler and updated online help for using the new features and
functionality. Kovair's relationship management architecture provides
enterprise-class scalability and extensibility, and its open
interoperability engine offers rapid integration with CRM, ERP and other
enterprise applications. www.kovair.com
eProject: Midmarket Solution For Professional
Services Automation
Epicor Software Corp. has ushered in an integrated solution for
professional services organizations. Epicor eProject is a Web-enabled
solution designed to cover the entire professional service lifecycle, from
selling to delivery to management reporting. As an integral part of
"e by Epicor," the company's suite of Internet-enabled
applications, Epicor eProject is designed to meet the needs of midmarket
organizations for integrated professional services automation (PSA).
eProject offers a robust solution to organizations with complex project
management, resource planning and project accounting requirements. The
software provides the essential tools for the administration and
management of professional services organizations, and ties together all
the activities pertaining to a specific project, including ongoing
visibility of personnel commitments, time and expenses, and contractor
fees. Integration with e by Epicor applications enables virtually everyone
involved with the delivery of services to collaborate effectively across
all points of customer contact. eProject is available immediately as part
of the Epicor eIndustry vertical initiative for professional services. www.epicor.com
IBM Unveils Translation Server Software
IBM Corp. launched the IBM WebSphere Translation Server, designed to
enable enterprises to provide Web pages, e-mail messages and chat
conversations in multiple languages, in real-time, and to help remove
language as a barrier to global communication and e-commerce. The
WebSphere Translation Server is intended to allow for the creation and
global distribution of Web content without the need for special Web pages
or separate Web infrastructures. It also enables chats in multiple
languages for both internal and external communications. The software
supports bi-directional text translation between English and French,
German, Spanish and Italian, as well as from English to Chinese (both
simplified and traditional), Japanese and Korean. Also, as an integrated
component of IBM's WebSphere and Lotus family, the Translation Server can
help any size business increase its global reach with a limited
investment. www.ibm.com
Enhanced Telution Solution
Telution, Inc. announced the latest release of Communication Exchange (COMX)
3.0. It provides enhanced features such as automated work task management,
online bundled service ordering and quotation, and integrated analysis.
COMX 3.0's workflow engine provides dynamic routing and re-routing of work
tasks, boasts an enhanced, workflow-driven trouble management tool and
provides an advanced user interface (in a call center or on the Web) for
both ordering and obtaining price quotes across voice, video and data
services sets. An XML-based quotation engine prices, configures and
presents the order to customers online or via e-mail before provisioning
it. COMX 3.0 includes an upgraded version of the Executive Portal,
Telution's business analytics application. COMX 3.0 includes the Software
Development Kit (SDK), which combines an open system architecture with
customer-oriented development tools. The product has been upgraded to work
with Microsoft Windows 2000 and SQL Server 2000. The new OS and database
offer native support for XML and OLAP, which add enhanced integration,
data exchange, and data mining capabilities to the application suite. www.telution.com
Multivendor Telecommunications Management Tool
Tone Software Corp. introduced ReliaTel, a management tool designed to
enable corporate telecommunications departments to monitor and control
multivendor telecommunication devices from one location. The system is
intended to reduce the cost of maintaining in-house corporate voice
systems, simplify global monitoring and provide a complete audit trail of
alarms for each device. ReliaTel enables authorized staff to control local
and remote devices, enabling global monitoring from one location with a
common interface. ReliaTel's automatic alerts notify staff of potential
difficulties, enabling them to quickly diagnose problems and take action
to prevent service outages. A Java-based GUI permits remote control of
devices, thereby eliminating waiting for problem diagnosis by a service
provider and allowing staff to avoid time-consuming manual checking of
devices for error messages. Customizable alerts notify staff by e-mail,
video display, alphanumeric paging, trouble-ticketing systems and
text-to-speech processing. Staff may set alarm escalation based on the
device, problem length, and number of alarms. ReliaTel maintains a
complete alarm audit trail for each device, which can be used to analyze
system problems and generate customized reports. www.tonesoft.com
Real-Time Marketing Channel Platform From Unica
Unica Corp. introduced a platform for serving analytically based,
context-sensitive customer information to real-time marketing channels.
Affinium Interact is designed to leverage information gathered from
multiple data sources to create a complete and predictive view of customer
behavior and to deliver highly personalized, up-to-the-minute
recommendations for interacting with customers via Web, contact center,
wireless or other real-time channels. Affinium Interact creates and
leverages four types of information: historical (service level,
transactions frequency, past purchase values, etc.), predictive analysis
that defines cross-sell/upsell potentials, context of the current customer
interaction (shopping cart contents, current Web page, time online, etc.),
and predefined business rules and objectives. The product combines this
data to develop personalization profiles that, in real-time, can trigger
specific content, offers, treatment or events. The product can handle up
to 1,000 requests per second per server. Its open and extensible
architecture is compatible with popular content management, e-commerce and
contact center platforms. Its open XML architecture supports HTTP, Java,
J2EE, EJB, C++, COM/DCOM, Visual Basic and CORBA interfaces to ensure
compatibility across systems and applications. www.unicacorp.com
Bizfon Connects With Combination Key/PBX Phone
System
Bizfon, Inc. launched the BizTouch3, a key system phone designed to give
users functionality normally associated with big business digital
handsets. The BizTouch3 works in combination with the Bizfon 680, a
communications switch that is intended to provide small businesses with
features such as multiple voice mailboxes, automated attendant,
music-on-hold, call forwarding and conference calling. The phones and
operating system are designed for easy installation and "out of the
box" functionality. The BizTouch3 Call Appearance phone is intended
for help desks, sales offices and other service-oriented environments
needing to handle multiple calls at the same time. The BizTouch3 Line
Appearance phone is geared to retail stores, multiple tenant offices and
other professional settings where people need to pick up a call from
anywhere at the location. Features of both phone versions include one
button access to voice mail, a built-in speaker phone, a view of each
extension's call activity, call transfer, five-way conferencing, speed
dial and do not disturb. Both systems support handset, speakerphone or
headset operations and are Caller ID capable. www.bizfon.com
Interactive Self-Help Alternative: TroubleTree
TroubleTree Software, a subsidiary of CCT Group, launched its flagship
product, TroubleTree, an interactive solution for inbound contact centers
designed to quickly and efficiently answer common customer queries. By
targeting the top 80 percent of most often asked questions, it aims at
avoiding obscure and "low confidence" responses. The software is
designed to enable a customer to describe a problem step-by-step in an
interactive manner. With TroubleTree, the customer selects the relevant
topic, locates a description of the difficulty and then responds to a
series of diagnostic questions. The "decision tree" created by
these responses is clearly visible to the customer and may be scrolled
backward to enter a different response at any time. In addition, during
the session, advice is supplemented with charts and images as well as
additional information about the client's product. Clients can modify the
script of questions through a maintenance interface. TroubleTree is
customized to client products upon installation and integrates seamlessly
into their Web site. www.troubletree.com
Daleen Rolls Out BillPlex Plus For Wireless
Daleen Technologies Inc. has enhanced its Web-enabled billing and customer
management solutions to support the wireless data market, a key component
of its strategic plan to develop industry-specific products for emerging
vertical markets. Daleen's new BillPlex Plus wireless data market package
is designed to enable service providers to quickly adapt to rapidly
evolving market conditions with a flexible, highly scalable,
Internet-based platform for billing and customer management. The new
software package includes expanded functionality that is intended to
provide rapid time-to-market and support for GSM, CDMA and TDMA networks
as well as 2.5G and 3G networks. www.daleen.com
It's A Breeze: XML Studio Release 2.2
The Breeze Factor, LLC released the latest version of its XML data binding
product, Breeze XML Studio. Release 2.2 adds XML structure display, code
generation and performance enhancements. Breeze XML Studio
("Breeze") converts XML structure to Java classes in a process
called data binding. The new version provides a more detailed view of the
actual document type definition (DTD) structure giving the user a more
complete view of the constructs specified by the DTD. With the associated
editing functions of the visual environment, the user can edit default
values, add typing information and add constraints that will be validated
in the generated code. Release 2.2 also includes advanced code generation
techniques for handling complicated content models, including nested
choices and sequences. Breeze XML Studio 2.2 now incorporates a SAX 2
compliant parser within its runtime framework, which provides more robust
and higher performance XML and DTD parsing for both the Studio and the
toolkits. www.breezefactor.com
PegaRULES For Business Rules Management
Pegasystems Inc. announced PegaRULES, its business rules development and
deployment engine designed for automating rules management for a wide
range of business functions. PegaRULES features a rules-based relational
database; rule control by authorized HTML Web browser users, who can view
and change their rules while still providing control for modification,
deployment, security and auditing; an execution engine that executes
actions dictated by rules in real-time as they evolve; enterprise rules
hierarchy that organizes rules through a patented architecture and
reconciles both similarities and specializations across an enterprise; and
component deployment architecture that can provide rapid, incremental
integration of rules-based capabilities with an organization's existing
systems. The PegaRULES engine will be released through the PegaRULES
Workflow Broker during the second quarter this year. Initial
implementations of PegaRULES are available on Sun Solaris and Oracle or
Windows NT and SQL Server. www.pegasystems.com
Origin Internet Voice Recorder
Origin Data Realisation developed what it states to be the first Voice
over Internet Protocol (VoIP) recorder. Origin's product, called voiplog,
was designed for a wide range of environments where it is useful to record
conversations for purposes such as employee monitoring or training.
voiplog works by identifying the specific packets of data belonging to
each conversation, converting the data into a WAV file and records/stores
them on a PC. The file can be replayed at any time, using standard
multimedia replay tools. By synchronizing packet reception and recording
in the call's WAV file, all packets are positioned and corrected for
network delays, so the call clarity is often greatly improved, especially
over slow modem connections. Origin said as more managed networks are
developed and VoIP conversations increase, the corporate market will be
the major beneficiary of voiplog technology. Origin is offering users a
free 30-day trial period to test out the product prior to purchase. The
product can be downloaded directly from its Web site. www.voiplog.com
Streaming Services Solutions From V-SPAN
V-SPAN, Inc. announced availability of comprehensive streaming services,
designed to allow enterprises to communicate via IP connections to viewers
using an Internet browser for meetings, events and training. Using V-SPAN
Streaming Services, customer-provided content is streamed across corporate
LANs, Intranets or Web connections as a live event or on-demand.
Information is communicated in a timely, accurate manner, reaching viewers
in a consistent, highly cost-effective manner. Several streaming packages
are available, based upon the number of participants, the duration of the
event and the streaming data rates. Each package comes with a certain
level of online reporting of the event. The host enters a secure log-in
name and password to access the total number of participants, names and
e-mail addresses. www.v-span.com
Customer DataMart 2.0 Available From Aspect
Aspect Communications Corp. released Aspect Customer DataMart 2.0,
engineered to consolidate data from multisite, multichannel contact
centers and make it available for reporting and analysis. Businesses can
view geographically distributed contact centers as one virtual contact
center. The product supports the blending of contact channels within its
analytical database, allowing businesses to optimize their resources and
manage the customer experience, regardless of customers' communications
methods. The software is the reporting and analysis solution for the
Aspect Customer Relationship Portal, which provides the infrastructure to
support a fully integrated multichannel contact center for Web, e-mail and
voice self-service and live service. Designed for business analysis,
Aspect DataMart's analytical database enables the use of state-of-the-art
analytical techniques, such as OLAP (online analytical processing). It is
designed to provide an open, extensible platform for business analysis.
Users can enhance the value of their contact center data by integrating it
with data from other data sources, front-office applications or sales
tracking systems. www.aspect.com
Unicorn Release 5 Available From UshaComm
Usha Communications Technology (UshaComm) launched Unicorn Release 5, its
next-generation billing solution designed to deliver and integrate
communications service providers' revenue management processes. The
solution, which includes local exchange carrier, mobile voice and data, IP
billing, and customer care modules, is based on an open architecture that
is CORBA-compliant and supports JAVA and XML. Unicorn Release 5 also
features billing, mediation, rating, revenue assurance, electronic
billing, service management, settlements and roaming modules. The solution
is database-independent, allowing the use of any database platform. The
rules-based configuration and multitier architecture are geared to provide
rapid implementation and scalability to serve millions of subscribers. The
system is designed to handle telecom voice, data and content-based billing
for IP services and products downloaded via wireless data appliances.
Release 5 supports broadband cable and wireline, Global System for Mobile
Communications (GSM), General Packet Radio Services (GPRS), Enhanced Data
GSM Environment and Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS). www.ushacomm.com
Enhanced CIMphone From Composit
Composit Communications USA made its CIMphone v2.0 solution available in
the United States. CIMphone (pronounced symphony) has been enhanced to
offer additional advantages targeted at the medium-sized call center
market. CIMphone is designed to enable contact center agents to provide
personalized and more responsive interaction with customers. Additional
features of the latest version include: CRM and back-office software
integration; collaborative Web browsing; enhanced CTI support, including
softphone capabilities that allow full GUI call control for functions such
as call answer and place, conference and transfer; call recording for
auditing and quality management; and fully customizable solutions for
rapid implementation, including support for call center, IVR, intelligent
interaction routing and dialer capabilities. www.composit.net
Remote Assistance Solution For Web Sites
Expertcity, Inc. recently launched its ASP Web site, DesktopStreaming.com.
The new site will be home to DesktopStreaming, a Web-based integrated
application service intended to allow enterprises to create a
remote-assistance solution on their Web sites or via Intranets and
Extranets, putting their support and customer service personnel in
interactive communication with their users. DesktopStreaming Remote
assistance features include ChatLink (real-time interactive chat), Web
page "push," whiteboard, and view and screen sharing
capabilities. www.expertcity.com
Nuance Releases Text-To-Speech
Nuance rolled out Nuance Vocalizer, a line of advanced text-to-speech (TTS)
software products designed to convert text-based information into audio
for access over the telephone. Vocalizer brings a human-sounding voice to
a wide range of applications such as e-mail reading, voice dialing, stock
quotes, driving directions, order management and customer support.
Vocalizer is designed to deliver a natural-sounding voice that can be
easily understood by callers. Vocalizer will be integrated with the Nuance
7.0 speech recognition engine and Nuance Verifier 2.0 voice authentication
software, and will use Nuance's distributed architecture to provide a
robust and scalable speech solution. This architecture will enable the
system to load balance between servers, maximizing CPU utilization and
performance, while minimizing downtime. Vocalizer will offer flexible
deployment options and easy integration with Nuance partner telephony
platforms. The product will be available in a number of languages,
including North American and U.K. English, Dutch, French, Italian, German,
Norwegian, Spanish and Swedish. Vocalizer will also offer support for
Windows NT and Solaris. www.nuance.com
Alcatel Enhances OmniTouch With Functionality From
Genesys
Alcatel enhanced its pre-packaged Alcatel OmniTouch contact center suite,
integrating the contact center functionality from its subsidiary Genesys
Telecommunications Laboratories, Inc. Alcatel OmniTouch now features
Genesys' outbound dialing technology in its new outbound module (automatic
generation of outgoing calls) and plans to leverage Genesys' Internet
contact center solution to provide more advanced features for managing
customer interactions over the Internet. Alcatel OmniTouch offers
comprehensive and packaged solutions with multimedia (voice, e-mail, fax,
Web, and chat) contact and a single management application. The initial
Genesys G6 solution included with OmniTouch, CCoutbound, leverages the
Genesys G6 Outbound Contact solution and provides automatic generation of
outgoing calls from a pre-configured list. Additional modules of Genesys
functionality will be available this year as direct replacements of
previous components (of OmniTouch) and will follow the same pre-integrated
paradigm as for the CCoutbound module. www.alcatel.com
Service911 Gets The BizWorks, Changes Identity
Service911, an e-support solutions provider, announced the acquisition of
BizWorks, an e-learning company, in a stock transaction. The deal
transfers BizWorks' products and services to Service911, enabling the
company to embed an e-learning component into its electronic support
infrastructure solutions. BizWorks' core product is DigiPoint, which
synchronizes recorded audio, video, graphics and text, and integrates them
into an electronic publishing medium to facilitate Web-based learning.
Service911 also announced it began operating under the name Attenza to
better reflect its expanding product and service offerings. Attenza has
already integrated the former BizWorks' core learning content into its
Webskin delivery system and will build and expand upon its e-learning
offerings in the coming months. Bob Kaiser and Jim Pollock, the founders
of BizWorks, were appointed Attenza's senior vice president of business
development and vice-president of product development, respectively.
Service911's former chief operating officer, Ray Balestri, was promoted to
chief financial officer of Attenza. In addition, former BizWorks chairman,
Max Hopper, will join Attenza's board of directors. Mr. Hopper is the
retired chairman of the SABRE Technology Group. The former BizWorks office
in Richardson, Texas, will become Attenza's interactive services division.
Chordiant Announces PrimeResponse Deal
Chordiant Software, Inc., a developer of unified customer relationship
management solutions, announced it signed a definitive agreement to
acquire PrimeResponse, Inc., a provider of business-to-consumer
relationship marketing solutions and expertise. The combined company would
be called Chordiant Software, Inc. The transaction should be completed
during the second quarter of 2001. The combined company will have a global
corporate structure with geographic coverage in the U.S., England, France,
the Netherlands, Germany, Australia and Singapore. The combined company
expects to benefit from opportunities through existing relationships with
major corporations worldwide, positioning it as a global provider of
customer acquisition, retention, relationship management and CRM
infrastructure software for intelligent communications. During the first
quarter of 2001, Allen Swann, current president of international
operations for PrimeResponse, will assume responsibility for its worldwide
field operations. PrimeResponse also accepted the resignations of Paul
Lavallee, president of the Americas, and James Carling, chief technical
officer, effective January 12, 2001.
Pyderion Joins Intecom's Fold
Intecom, a provider of communication solutions for e-business, has
acquired Montreal, Canada-based Pyderion Contact Technologies, Inc., a
developer of e-business analytics software. Intecom will integrate
Pyderion's e-business analytics software and consulting services with
Intecom's customer strategy consulting company, Keste, which provides
independent e-business, CRM and contact center consulting services.
Intecom said the addition of Pyderion enhances its offerings to the
contact center market, particularly in the realm of integrated and
optimized customer contact solutions. Pyderion will retain its current
management team and continue to operate under the Pyderion name.
InteliData Acquires Home Account Network
InteliData Technologies Corp. announced the acquisition of Home Account
Holdings, Inc. and its operating subsidiary, Home Account Network, Inc.
Home Account provides a suite of UNIX-based Internet banking and
Electronic Bill Presentment and Payment (EBPP) products and services in an
ASP environment. The combined firm has a strong base of leading financial
services clients representing 10 of the top 50 banks, four of the top 10
brokerage firms and several of the industry's leading credit card issuers.
Company spokespersons said the acquisition expands InteliData's investor
base and significantly broadens its product suite and technology
competency. Former Home Account president and CEO, Charles A. White, will
join InteliData as Vice Chairman.
FirePond Sets Sights On Brightware
FirePond Inc., a provider of integrated e-business selling solutions,
announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Brightware,
Inc., a supplier of e-customer assistance software. The acquisition
leverages the strengths of both companies to create an intelligent sales
and service interaction suite to acquire and retain customers. FirePond
expects the acquisition to extend its position in the eCRM market, adding
Brightware's Contact Center and line of Assistance applications to its
suite of e-business solutions. Brightware's customer base is aligned with
FirePond's targeted vertical markets (financial services,
telecommunications, high tech, retail and travel). The combined entity
will deliver a range of intelligence and automation capabilities intended
to drive sales transactions and manage customer interactions across sales
and communication channels. FirePond will retain Brightware's San Rafael,
California facility as its West Coast development hub. Under the terms of
the agreement, FirePond will purchase Brightware for $9 million in cash
and 3 million shares of its common stock.
eSpeed Purchases Ascendant Centers
Ascendant Solutions, Inc. and eSpeed Fulfillment Inc. jointly announced
the sale of Ascendant's call center division to eSpeed. The sale
represents the final step in a series of actions that Ascendant announced
last September when the company said it would exit the fulfillment and
call center businesses to focus on providing business-to-business
solutions. Ascendant has licensed its proprietary Lynx system and Omnigy
hosted solution to eSpeed Fulfillment to provide the software solution to
support eSpeed Fulfillment's customers. Under terms of the sale, eSpeed
will continue to provide call center management services for Ascendant's
clients.
HP Completes Bluestone Deal
Hewlett-Packard Company completed its acquisition of Bluestone Software,
Inc., of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in a stock-for-stock merger.
Bluestone is a provider of B2B, B2C and wireless open platform solutions
designed to help clients develop, integrate, deploy and manage open
systems applications for services-based computing to support trading
communities and mobile transactions and devices. The Bluestone acquisition
expands the HP Internet software portfolio by adding J2EE-XML-based
application servers and tools to the HP core software mix. Bluestone's
software will become the point of integration for HP's current Internet
software offerings, which include integrated service management software,
security software, Internet service tracking and billing, e-services
integration software, etc. HP Consulting will provide implementation and
integration services in support of the Bluestone technologies.
Convergys Gets A Keane Duo
Convergys Corporation has purchased two technical help desk customer
contact centers from Keane, Inc., a business and information technology
consulting firm. The acquisition involved Convergys' purchase of Keane's
technical support centers in Tucson, Arizona, and Kirkland, Washington,
which together employ approximately 1,000 people. These two technical
support centers currently provide integrated technical help desk support
services for firms in high-tech software, hardware and financial services.
Convergys said the acquisition adds to its technical support resources in
what they term a high-growth sector and strengthens its position in CRM
provisioning.
Racal Name Change
Racal Recorders is now Thales Contact Solutions. The change follows the
recent renaming of Racal's parent company, Thomson-CSF, to the Thales
Group. Racal was acquired by Thompson-CSF in July 2000. Thales Contact
Solutions is a provider of voice/data recorders and application software
for customer contact performance management in call centers, financial
services and public safety. In announcing the name change, the company
also said it will accelerate its substantial investment program to boost
research and development, strengthen its existing North American
operations and build new distribution partnerships.
Motivation Online Modifies Moniker
Motivation Online, a provider of Internet-based performance management and
incentive solutions (referred to as behavior consequence management) to
large corporations, has changed its name to CultureWorx. Founder and
chairman Craig Muller said the term reflects a stronger focus on the
importance of company culture to an organization's success, and mirrors
the company's ability to leverage technology and proven behavioral science
to effect positive change in any workplace. The new name also reflects
CultureWorx's focus on serving corporate needs beyond the traditional
realm of incentive fulfillment and process improvement.
Cisco Introduces Powered Network Contact Center
Services Designation
Cisco Systems, Inc. announced its new Powered Network Contact Center
Services designation for companies delivering hosted services based on the
Cisco customer contact software platform. The designation recognizes eCRM
ASPs, outsourcers and service providers who are deploying Cisco's
Intelligent Contact Manager (ICM) and/or Network Applications Manager
(NAM) software components of the Cisco customer contact software platform
to provide outsourced or managed customer contact services for enterprise
customers. The new designation permits eCRM service providers, ASPs and
outsourcers to differentiate their value-added hosted customer contact
service offerings delivered on an end-to-end Cisco software and hardware
infrastructure. In order to gain the designation (in addition to deploying
ICM/NAM software), a company needs to undergo a complete assessment of
their end-to-end network architecture based on Cisco's data center, wide
area network (WAN), "Last Mile" and Customer Premise Equipment (CPE)
solutions.
Shareholders Approve New Intelect Identity
Intelect Communications, Inc., a digital signal processing (DSP) products
and optical networking equipment manufacturer, announced the company's
name was changed to TeraForce Technology Corp., and the NASDAQ stock
symbol for its common stock was changed to TERA. The company said the name
change better expresses the energy, focus and dedication it brings to its
mission and move through the execution of its new business plan. A key
element of TeraForce's new strategy is the incorporation of strategic
partners into its new product initiatives at an early stage to ensure the
successful and timely introduction of new technology into the market.
Motorola Gets Fulfillment From EDS
EDS was selected by Motorola to provide fulfillment and other services
from its suite of customer relationship management offerings in support of
Motorola's new manufacturer/direct-to-reseller distribution model,
Motorola Messaging Express. The announcement is part of Motorola's
initiative to offer easier ordering and quick delivery to the reseller
channel. EDS will provide product fulfillment services and CRM resources
including order management, customer interaction center service and
distribution for Motorola Messaging Express. EDS services will include:
call center fulfillment services, integrated catalog and inventory
capabilities, distribution, payment processing, and inventory, transaction
and returns reporting and management.
Front Office For Channel Partners From OnDemand
OnDemand, Inc. recently inaugurated the Partner Accelerator services, its
front office for channel partners. A set of Internet-based software and
consulting services, Partner Accelerator delivers tight integration with
CRM, sales force automation and e-commerce applications to provide a
single interface for all customer interactions. Partner Accelerator
integrates a specific lead with the appropriate selling tools (such as
customizable direct mail, case studies and online learning) to help the
reseller close deals. Integrated services include relevant, customized
product information, training, marketing programs and funds, team selling
and more. New e-commerce capabilities allow partners to browse multimedia
catalogs, get pricing, quote and track orders directly through Partner
Accelerator.
Epilepsy Foundation Selects Epsilon For Marketing
Assist
Epsilon, a marketing solutions provider, was chosen by the Epilepsy
Foundation to develop the strategy for and implement the organization's
direct marketing program for private donations. Epsilon said that its
goals are to blend the Foundation's successful premium-based approach with
a mission-based program and strengthen donor relationships through
personalized communications. Epsilon will implement the renewal program,
as well as lead and manage supporting programs (acquisition, subscriptions
and online fundraising). The Foundation expects Epsilon's marketing
solution to generate information-driven decisions that increase the donor
base and donor contributions. Epsilon's services also include database
design and management, data mining, Web site design and deployment and
online and offline campaign management.
IRT Grows In Florida
IRT, a provider of customer relationship marketing services and programs,
announced it is expanding its Fort Lauderdale facilities in response to
the growing demand for customer relationship management outsourcing
services. The company has leased an additional 8,900 square feet, bringing
its total contact center operation to 34,000 square feet, and leased
another 6,000-square-foot freestanding building for a new state-of-the-art
training and learning center. IRT plans to increase its workforce by 150
employees by the end of the year.
Composit Opens U.S. HQ
Composit Communications International, a provider of customer interaction
solutions for the contact center industry, recently opened its U.S.
headquarters in Norcross, Georgia. Composit chose the greater Atlanta area
for its high-technology talent pool, infrastructure and access to larger
markets. The 5,000-square-foot facility is in addition to support offices
located in Florida, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Texas.
New Mexico Connections
The Connection, a provider of outsourced inbound call center services,
recently opened four call centers in New Mexico, representing 800 new
workstations. The Connection now has ten call centers in the Midwest and
Southwest, bringing the total number of its call center workstations to
over 1,500. All of the stations are Web-enabled PCs. Capabilities of The
Connection include all types of inbound direct response, e-mail response,
Web chat, digital recording, etc.
Velaro Conceived By e.magination
e.magination network, LLC announced the formation of Velaro, Inc. The
company will offer software and services that focus on enhancing the
consumer's online experience by enabling organizations to understand,
interact with and serve their customers better. e.magination has appointed
Jasen Fici, former vice president of marketing for Sequoia Software as CEO
of the new company. Velaro's initial product offering is version 2.0 of
e.magination's customer service application, Livefluence. Re-branded as
Velaro/Support, the product is a hosted service that allows organizations
to add real-time, interactive chat and customer support to their Web
sites. During the next two quarters, Velaro will begin rolling out what it
describes as the first consumer controlled profile exchange network. The
network of consumers, Web sites and Internet Service Providers will be
equipped with the information needed to tailor the Internet experience, in
real-time, to each consumer's personal tastes and interests. This
personalized Web experience will take place while providing users with
complete control over their online, anonymous profile.
Canadian Expansion For Stream International
Stream International, Inc., a provider of CRM solutions for technology
companies and e-businesses, announced it will expand its operations in
Belleville, Ontario, by adding capacity for up to 300 additional
employees. Belleville currently hosts more than 950 employees who provide
customer care and technical support using voice and Internet technologies.
The company also reported that Stream University, the company's training
and career development curriculum, has been very successful in Belleville.
Employees enrolled in Stream University work with "counselors"
to develop training programs around their own individual career goals,
aimed at preparing them for careers that will maximize their skill sets
and meet those goals. According to the company, Canada is a critical
component of Stream's North American expansion plans.
MindArrow And Onyx Integrate Multimedia Messaging
With CRM Software
MindArrow Systems Inc., a provider of Web-based ASP solutions for delivery
of targeted multimedia Internet communications, announced a strategic
alliance with Onyx Software Corp., a supplier of customer-centric
e-business applications. The integrated solution will enable Onyx
customers to send MindArrow's multimedia eBrochures directly from within
Onyx's e-business portals. eBrochures are highly compressed,
self-contained files containing high-quality video, audio, graphics and
interactive hyperlinks that can be distributed via e-mail or downloaded
from a Web page. The integration of Onyx's CRM with the enriched sales and
marketing messages offered by eBrochures is intended to enable companies
to engage their customers at an enhanced level, helping to develop
stronger relationships with customers and prospects. As part of the
agreement, Onyx has joined the MindArrow Alliance Program. In addition,
MindArrow and Onyx will integrate their application suites to showcase how
their respective solutions will work together.
SITEL, Avaya Ally To Offer CRM Solutions
Avaya, Inc. and SITEL Corp. announced that SITEL has selected Avaya as its
platform of choice for communications solutions. The three-year deal will
allow SITEL to build a converged network infrastructure based on Avaya's
CRM solutions and to offer its customers the capability for multimedia
customer contact. Under this agreement, Avaya will offer a full range of
its solutions to support SITEL's contact center outsourcing and consulting
business, including infrastructure products for communications networking
and multimedia customer contact applications. In addition, SITEL joins
Avaya's CRM Solutions Alliance Network at the strategic level. The
Alliance supports Avaya's CRM Solutions portfolio, a broad range of
systems, software and professional services. Under the alliance, the SITEL
and Avaya sales teams will cooperate to develop business opportunities. As
part of the agreement, the companies also announced plans to jointly
develop CRM technology showcase centers, with the initial center to be
located at SITEL's North American headquarters in Omaha, Nebraska. The
North American showcase center will serve as a Contact Center of the
Future and briefing center for both companies and as a CRM road map that
customers can use to help plan their strategic IT investments. It will
also be used to demonstrate vertical industry eBusiness applications. The
showcase center will feature Avaya's CRM Central software platform.
NEW And GENCO Offer Product Assist
National Electronics Warranty Corp. (NEW), a provider of extended service
contracts and buyer protection programs for consumer products, partnered
with product life cycle logistics services provider GENCO Distribution
Systems. Together, they provide Product Assist, an online solution for
retailers, manufacturers and Internet portals, and after-market support
for consumer-direct sellers. Product Assist offers a suite of services
that accesses strategic databases and the business resources of NEW as
well as GENCO's distribution and reverse logistics networks. The NEW
Product Assist CustomerCare Center consists of Quick Assist, My Warranty
File, My Purchase File, Return and Exchange, Service Center Online, and
24/7 Customer Care. All of the modules are tailored to provide a
responsive, complete customer care solution online that serves to build
and enhance customer loyalty.
Gold, Avaya And Nuance Ally For Voice-Driven
Enterprise Solutions
Gold Systems, Inc., a provider of voice and wireless Web solutions,
announced an alliance with Avaya, Inc. and Nuance Communications geared to
help companies improve customer service levels with voice-driven
applications. Gold Systems has integrated its Vonetix technology with
Nuance's SpeechObjects (which enable code reuse to significantly reduce
deployment times for natural language speech recognition applications)
onto Avaya's Version 8 CONVERSANT System for interactive voice response
(IVR). Vonetix is voice and wireless interface middleware that connects
databases, enterprise software packages, speech recognition engines and
wireless, mobile commerce interfaces. The integration is expected to
benefit Avaya customers who implement the network-based integrated
solution by enhancing customer relationship management initiatives and
realizing shorter time-to-market and reduced deployment costs in their
speech recognition implementations.
NEC Will Integrate Quintus Suite
NEC America, Inc. (NEC) Corporate Networks Group and Quintus Corp., a
provider of contact center solutions for electronic customer relationship
management (eCRM), announced a new agreement to integrate Quintus'
eContact Suite with CCDesign, NEC's multimedia contact center solution. By
integrating Quintus' eCRM expertise, NEC expects that this combination
will offer businesses a comprehensive, powerful tool for delivering
customized service and support to customers through multiple media types
such as voice calls, e-mail and Web contacts.
Acxiom Inks IBM Accord
Acxiom Corp., a provider of multichannel customer data integration (CDI)
allied with IBM Corp. to focus on providing clients of both companies with
end-to-end solutions for business intelligence, data management and
customer relationship management. The alliance combines Acxiom's CDI
experience with IBM's e-business and business intelligence solutions. IBM
will incorporate Acxiom's AbiliTec CDI software within its customer
relationship management solutions provided to its business customers
worldwide. IBM also will partner with Acxiom to increase overall sales of
Acxiom's InfoBase Data Products and complement its offering of targeted
business intelligence solutions with data supplied by InfoBase and
AbiliTec-compliant data products. Acxiom will increase its offerings of
IBM technology, e-server series and storage products together with Acxiom
software. The pre-packaged configurations will be made available to Acxiom
customers with financing available to qualified customers through IBM
Global Financing.
Witness And Knowledge Impact E-Learning
Knowledge Impact, Inc. and Witness Systems announced a new relationship
intended to offer enhanced e-learning capabilities to their customers. The
partnership has been specifically designed to further develop customer
sales/service representatives' skills, knowledge levels and quality of
service delivery in order to more effectively meet customers' needs.
Knowledge Impact will provide predefined electronic learning content for
customer relationship management (CRM) and enterprise resource planning (ERP)
applications, as well as services to create custom content. This training
will then be delivered directly to agents' desktops through Witness
Systems' eQuality Now solution. The companies said the partnership also is
intended to help customers achieve accelerated returns on their enterprise
investments, beginning with the most frequent customer interaction point,
a company's customer service representatives. Delivering the right blend
of e-learning solutions and services will help improve performance, reduce
the risks associated with enterprisewide implementations and result in a
better-trained, more motivated CSR workforce.
Concentric Circles In Accord With CSC
Concentric Enterprises, Inc., a provider of Internet-enabled technology
solutions and operational services for the contact center industry, has
entered into an exclusive agreement with Communications Service Centers (CSC),
a full service call center and fulfillment company serving small to large
corporations. Under the agreement, Concentric will handle the distribution
of Palettech, a Web-based product developed by CSC. Palettech is a fully
scalable product suite that delivers leads management, scripting,
fulfillment, customer service, order entry and queued e-mail management in
a single engine platform.
Talisma eCRM Links With Jamcracker
Talisma Corporation, a provider of eCRM solutions, announced a partnership
agreement with Web-based applications and service provider Jamcracker,
Inc. Through the partnership, Talisma's eCRM solutions become part of
Jamcracker's online portfolio of applications of hosted solutions from a
range of ASP providers. Currently, Talisma offers several eCRM software
products through Jamcracker, including: inbound e-mail management, Web
forms management, phone logging, outbound electronic direct marketing,
campaign management performance statistics, service trends and management
reporting.
InternetSpeech, Selectica Offer Voice Enabling
Alternative
InternetSpeech has partnered with Selectica, Inc. to enable customers, who
prefer using the phone for conducting "online" transactions, to
take advantage of voice-enabled e-commerce Web sites using any telephone.
By accessing e-commerce sites powered by Selectica and InternetSpeech over
the telephone, users can hear options, make choices and buy products using
speech recognition technology. Customers can shop online using Web sites
powered by Selectica's Internet selling systems and InternetSpeech's
netECHO technology. netECHO automates the process of voice-enabling Web
pages without rewriting them into Voice Extensible Mark-up Language. It
integrates text-to-speech, speech recognition, telephone interface,
multimedia and intelligent agents to read pages in real-time.
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To The March 2001 Table Of Contents ]
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