April 2001
Castcom Strengthens Interactive Solution
Castcom AB launched version 2.0 of its contact center solution, Castcom
Contact, designed to enable improved customer service via the Internet and
to handle both traditional and Internet telephony. The system provides
uniform queue-management for all types of contacts: telephony, chat,
e-mail, co-browsing and video. Both phone calls and Internet-based
contacts are handled in a joint queue and automatically distributed to the
correct administrator in customer services. Enhancements include:
enterprisewide communications for customer interactions; callback
functionality allied with the Castcom Contact co-browsing application;
improved, customizable reporting tools for analyzing customer information
and contact center operations (traffic details for all channels, agent
volumes, etc.); and increased report categories. www.castcom.com
eOn Offers Web Chat Feature
eOn Communications Corporation added browser-based Web chat for its eQueue
and eNterprise communications systems. The Linux-based Web chat software,
called Agent WebSpace, is part of the WebCenter suite of customer
interaction management solutions. Agent WebSpace is designed to provide
live customer interaction through multiple channels, including text-based
chat, document and form sharing, and the ability to "push" pages
and information. Customer service agents can also use instant messaging to
collaborate with one another for improving customer service. Supervisors
can assist and monitor the live interaction between customers and customer
service representatives. A full-featured response library allows Web site
visitors to receive frequently requested information, such as product
literature or FAQ libraries, with minimal agent intervention. www.eoncc.com
IEX Small Contact Center Workforce Solution
IEX Corporation, a subsidiary of Tekelec, Inc., rolled out its TotalView
SC Workforce Management solution, designed to address the needs of
organizations with smaller contact centers. Based on the same technology
as its TotalView workforce management product, the SC solution is geared
to provide sites with less than a hundred agents a cost-effective,
full-featured solution to address the issue of scheduling customer service
representatives. The company said a smaller contact center with fewer
resources is challenged to provide the same levels of service as larger
centers. IEX developed TotalView SC to give smaller operations access to
the same advanced, scalable workforce management technologies used by
larger centers. The TotalView SC package includes software licenses for
100 agents and onsite installation and training. www.iex.com
3Com Adds New Solution To Its IP PBX Product Line
3Com Corporation debuted its new 3Com SuperStack 3 NBX Networked Telephony
Solution. 3Com aims at meeting customers' business requirements for
increased flexibility and cost savings with a system that is simpler to
use and maintain than traditional PBX systems. This latest addition to the
NBX 25 and NBX 100 product line expands to 600 users. The solution
includes an enhanced call processor and a newly designed gateway at its
core. It delivers 10/100 business telephones providing improved displays
and easier connections. The phones are also available with a built-in
infrared port, as well as software that integrates Palm computing
applications. 3Com's NBX dialing application for Palm computing devices is
shipped with every system. The SuperStack 3 NBX solution addresses the
communication needs of larger organizations by giving customers the
ability to network multiple locations with up to 600 users per site. The
solution includes nine built-in, easy-to-deploy localized language
options. Enhancements to system management utilities include 3Com Network
Supervisor and NBX NetSet administrator, and improved system flexibility. www.3com.com
Forecasting Software For Workforce Management
HTL Telemanagement, Ltd. recently introduced Hills-B Optimizer, a
forecasting software tool developed for contact center professionals
responsible for predicting and analyzing operational cost-efficiency and
service quality. The software focuses solely on resource and cost
forecasting and is intended to provide quick and accurate forecasting
results for short- and long-term planning purposes. Designed for
convenience, Hills-B Optimizer lets users perform and analyze results of
"what-if" scenarios on one spreadsheet, and is a flexible add-in
to MS Excel 97 (or greater). It generates detailed results of 26 areas of
importance, ranging from operating costs and service qualities to FTE and
agent requirements. The product includes templates and a Wizard for
forecast customization. www.htlt.com
Motive Extends Customer Care To Mobile And Wireless
Devices
Motive Communications, Inc. announced its Mobile Customer Care solution to
provide online service for users of mobile and wireless devices, such as
Microsoft Pocket PCs and wireless phones, supporting the Wireless
Application Protocol. Motive's solution is designed to deliver instant
access to relevant and dynamic self-service answers based on the context
of what users are trying to do. With one click, a mobile or wireless user
can also connect and interact directly with specific service personnel
having expertise with the problem they are experiencing. Service personnel
are automatically presented with customer, context, process and device
information to help them provide accurate and timely resolution to
customers' service problems. www.motive.com
GMT Enhances The Planets
GMT Corporation released new versions of its workforce management
offerings, GMT Planet-Jupiter Edition 7 and Mercury Edition 7. Jupiter
Edition 7 features enhancements to its Employee Time Center (allowing
employees to be involved in the scheduling process) and the Team
Scheduling feature, with which organizations can schedule groups of people
at the same time or within the same timeframe. Team Scheduling also can be
used to construct special group schedules. The "One-Click-Sick"
digital wizard can be used to find replacements having comparable skills
to an absent worker. Jupiter Edition 7's Auto-Scheduling component has
improved optimization and options for more consistent start times. Planet
Mercury Edition 7, targeted toward small and medium size call centers, is
a wizard-based interface designed for creating complex scheduling with
minimal training. Pop-up screens are designed to allow for easy input of
information into Mercury. Enhancements were made to the Setup, Daily,
Schedule and What-If wizards, and its new Campaign Forecasting feature
allows smaller call centers to prepare for events that can significantly
impact daily call volume; e.g., a catalog mailing, holiday period, special
premium program, etc. www.gmtcorp.com
Voice-Driven Application Enablers From Nuance
Nuance Communications announced availability of the Nuance Customer
Support Suite and the latest release of the Nuance Order Management Suite.
The two suites are intended to offer software components to voice-enable
customer relationship management and e-commerce applications, reduce the
cost of customer service, leverage existing investments in CRM/eCRM
applications and extend customer self-service to any telephone. It
voice-enables service requests, service request tracking, frequently asked
questions and service bulletins. The new release of the Nuance Order
Management Suite brings e-commerce to the telephone with new shopping cart
and checkout functionality. The suite can handle the entire ordering
process, enabling order entry, order review and access to product
information through voice commands. www.nuance.com
YellowBrick Produces Campaign Management Solution
YellowBrick Solutions announced the general availability of Visitant
Experience Manager Version 2.0. The release is an application that plugs
into YellowBrick's CRM software platform, providing marketers with a tool
to create dynamic and seamless customer communications. Version 2.0 is
designed to deliver consistent customer dialogs across multiple channels,
learn and make decisions in real-time, provide access to real-time
campaign response data and enable fast access to any data resource. These
features are intended to empower database marketing professionals to
create and modify targeted campaigns and dialogs that help to achieve
effective customer acquisition and retention. Features include: campaign
management integration and synchronization that can collect, analyze and
act on customer data from all inbound and outbound channels
simultaneously; capture of customer behavior data and personalized,
dynamic campaigns based on marketing rules; and monitoring of campaign
response in real-time, allowing for on-the-fly campaign modification and
management. www.yellowbricksolutions.com
eRMNow! Version 2.0 Debuts
Neteos, Inc. announced the release of eRMNow! Version 2.0, its
Internet-based eCRM solution. Version 2.0 is designed to deliver enhanced
levels of adaptability, personalization and customization through its
Design Studio, enable wireless connectivity through its Connected
Enterprise and provide enhancements to Neteos' Active-Web technology.
Design Studio, a menu driven, drag-and-drop interface, is intended to
allow nontechnical users to modify or build eCRM application add-ons,
customizations, third-party integrations, etc. The Design Studio
post-processing engine builds all HTML screens, wireless device
renderings, database schema and table definitions and prepares an
application meta-data definition that drives the Neteos core eRMNow!
platform. Connected Enterprise delivers standardized interfaces to mobile
personal organizers, including wireless Palm and WAP devices. Active-Web
links any element of the core eRMNow! application into any e-commerce
portal, partner and customer Web environment or corporate home page, and
maintains rules, permissions, formats and context relevant to the native
environment. www.neteos.com
Presto!: Magic's eContact Version 2 Appears
Magic Software Enterprises unveiled Magic eContact Version 2, an
integrated desktop application designed to furnish contact center agents
with tools for more efficient customer interaction management, including
the ability to drive targeted marketing campaigns in response to market
changes. The solution also is intended to give contact center managers the
ability to rapidly modify any variable, from small data items to complex
business rules, without the need for coding. A key feature is its dynamic
scripting engine that guides agents through all conversational phases. The
scripting mechanism allows agents to give customers personalized attention
and improved service based on the customers' unique profiles. www.magic-sw.com
Acxiom Delivers Family Of Solutions
Acxiom Corporation introduced a new group of offerings, the AbiliTec-Enabled
Services (AES). The services will utilize AbiliTec software in the
creation and delivery of pre-packaged, application-specific Acxiom service
solutions. The services are: Customer Preference Solution, designed to
help financial institutions and services comply with privacy regulations
of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act deadline of July 1, 2001; Mergers &
Acquisitions Solution, for helping businesses to segment, analyze, retain
and expand relationships, and build customer trust during merger
activities and the integration of systems, processes and information;
Customer Information File Clean-Up Solution, designed to improve the
accuracy of aging, duplicative and inaccurate information.; and Merge
Purge Service, for improved accuracy in merging information and purging
duplicates, and faster performance. www.acxiom.com
Hammer Out The Telephony Bugs
Empirix, Inc. released Hammer CallMaster 2.5, its automated testing tool
for customer-facing telephony applications in contact centers, including
interactive voice response (IVR). In combination with the Hammer IT test
platform, CallMaster 2.5 is designed to reduce test development and
execution time for new or modified IVR applications, so that contact
centers can deploy error-free applications and improve the overall quality
of customer experiences. Hammer CallFlow Designer freeware provides for
call flow diagram creation that can be imported directly into CallMaster,
which uses path generation technology to find paths through the
application and test all application call flow objects. CallMaster creates
a Hammer IT test that is scheduled and run on a Hammer IT automated test
system. Test scripts can be modified by editing the call flow diagram, and
CallMaster 2.5 regenerates the test scripts for automated execution on the
Hammer test platform. www.empirix.com
eContact.Center Server From Pyderion
Pyderion Contact Technologies Inc. launched the eContact.Center Server (eCCS),
designed to furnish enterprises with e-business analytics applications to
analyze and manage data at all customer touch points. eContact.Center
Server software provides enterprises with centralized management control
over decentralized contact center environments and offers consolidated
reporting and real-time views across all locations, vendors and media
sources. It consolidates current agent status information, historical
reporting, workforce management, text chat and e-mail router software. The
open client server architecture supports multiple PBXs and contact center
servers with a consistent interface, making data more compatible across
the enterprise. eCCS is flexible and can be customized to create the key
performance indicators pertinent to a particular business, and presents
the metrics in easy-to-read formats. www.pyderion.com
PeopleSoft Accelerates Solution For Mid-Size
Enterprises
PeopleSoft Inc. recently introduced PeopleSoft 8 Accelerated Enterprise, a
turnkey solution combining Internet e-business applications, rapid
implementation services, training and financing. Accelerated Enterprise is
designed to allow mid-size enterprises to rapidly implement and manage
PeopleSoft 8 Internet e-business applications, including CRM, supply chain
management, human resources management, financials and professional
services automation. Accelerated Enterprise targets companies looking for
a single vendor that can provide quick deployment of e-business
applications rapidly and at a cost-effective price. www.peoplesoft.com
Upgraded Interaction Dialer For Distributed Contact
Centers
Interactive Intelligence Inc. upgraded its add-on predictive dialing
product, Interaction Dialer. Interaction Dialer version 1.3C, is designed
to give contact centers multiserver campaign support and new campaign
monitoring capabilities. Other enhanced features include: support for
outbound campaigns across multiple distributed dialer servers, a pause
campaign facility, real-time statistical displays, improved reporting,
enhanced call list record distribution and enhanced campaign and agent
statistical information. Interaction Dialer is an add-on product to
Interactive Intelligence's Customer Interaction Center. The solution is
intended to enable skills-based routing to be applied to outbound calls,
messages or prompts to be played prior to calls being routed to an agent
and "agentless" campaigns to be initiated for message playing,
e-mail or fax blasting. www.inin.com
TASKE Offers Call Management Tools For Avaya System
TASKE Technology Inc. announced the release of TASKE Call Center
Management Tools 8.0 for the Avaya MERLIN MAGIX 2.0 telephone system.
TASKE's offering is a suite of integrated management solutions designed to
empower supervisors and agents to handle heavy call volumes, help
supervisors coordinate and optimize call center resources with advanced
reporting and analysis capabilities and assist in providing improved
customer service. Call Center Management Tools 8.0 provides advanced
management functionality for call centers of any size. The suite features
real-time agent monitoring, an ACD monitor GUI, more than 150 standard
reports including real-time intra-day, statistical alarms, forecasting,
readerboard messaging and call-traffic analysis. www.taske.com
Chordiant Adds Unified Rules Component
Chordiant Software, Inc. released Chordiant Unified CRM Solution v3.0 with
new Chordiant Unified Rules. Chordiant Unified Rules is an enterprise
class, customer integration management application designed to provide
real-time rules functionality enabling sophisticated customer management
algorithms to be implemented by nontechnical business users. The Unified
Rules component aims at delivering consistent offers and interaction with
customers and guiding customers to the appropriate cross-sell and upsell
processes. The customizable business rule language feature allows the
creation of business rules using terminology specific to an industry or a
company. www.chordiant.com
Cisco Completes Acquisition Of Active Voice,
Pronexus
Cisco Systems, Inc. has completed the acquisition of Active Voice, Inc.
and its subsidiary company, Pronexus, Inc. The new company will be
privately held and retain the Active Voice and Pronexus names. Cisco
stated the acquisition of Active Voice supports its vision to deliver
unified communications and a single, end-to-end IP network combining data,
voice and video for the corporate enterprise. Pronexus will continue
selling its application generator, VBVoice, and Active Voice will continue
selling its voice and unified messaging solutions, including Repartee,
PhoneSoft, Replay, Lingo and its embedded solutions.
Siemens Intent On Efficient Networks
Siemens Information and Communication Networks Group and Efficient
Networks, Inc. announced they have entered into a definitive merger
agreement, subject to regulatory clearances and approvals. Efficient
Networks is a global provider of DSL customer premises equipment for the
broadband access market. The transaction will enable Siemens and Efficient
Networks to offer innovative DSL solutions to the market more quickly by
leveraging their complementary technologies, and Siemens extends its
broadband access portfolio with enterprise and end-user equipment.
Efficient Networks' product line includes DSL modems, routers, integrated
access devices (IADs) supporting voice and data services, management
systems and software.
Call_Solutions Rings Up ATI
Call_Solutions continued its expansion with the acquisition of American
Telecom, Inc. (ATI) of Horsham, Pennsylvania. The newly acquired ATI
centers, located in Altamonte Springs, Florida, and Horsham, will focus on
delivering quality outbound telemarketing and inbound response services
along with related Management Information Systems (MIS), reporting and
account management services. Call_Solutions specializes in customer
relationship management through a combination of advanced technology, a
quality-of-service focus on both client and customer satisfaction and an
experienced team of teleservices professionals.
CELLIT Expands Alliance Program
CELLIT Technologies, a provider of customer interaction management (CIM)
solutions, recently expanded its Global Alliance Program. The program
focuses on development of and support for CELLIT's worldwide network of
strategic partners to deliver state-of-the-art customer interaction
solutions. In support of the program, additional partner categories were
created, including Consulting and Integration Alliances, Software
Alliances and Platform Alliances. Within each category, three levels of
partnership are available. The program seeks to extend the reach of
CELLIT's solutions and technological capabilities to address clients'
needs for multichannel customer interaction and real-time shared knowledge
in a dynamic environment.
Silvon Support For IBM eServer And AIX
Silvon Software, Inc. announced support for IBM eServer pSeries systems
running AIX, IBM's UNIX operating system. This extends Silvon's commitment
to bring its Stratum suite of business performance management and CRM
analytic applications to supply chain enterprises through an open,
cross-platform architecture. Silvon's Stratum solutions are designed to
monitor business performance indicators such as product profitability,
customer purchasing patterns, customer loyalty, Web site performance and
marketing campaign effectiveness.
Echopass Up In The Air With Tenzing
Echopass Corporation announced it will support Tenzing Communications
Inc.'s trials of in-air e-mail and Internet service for airline
passengers. Beginning with Air Canada, Echopass will move customer service
telephone calls originating from planes to the front of the Tenzing's
customer care center queue. Besides air-to-ground call routing, Echopass
will channel calls to Tenzing according to specific needs, such as
technical support or service registration. Echopass also will route calls
according to language preference in support of Tenzing's multilingual
service commitment. Echopass will provide statistical reports on types and
frequency of calls, developing a historical record to assist Tenzing in
the introduction of further efficiencies in customer care from the air.
iemagine Adds Multilingual Support
As part of its strategy to extend its turnkey ASP enabling solutions to
the global market, iemagine Inc. reported it now provides multiple
language support for all 12 products in its Rent & Ready! Instant
Webware Suite. In addition to English, iemagine's products support
Finnish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Portuguese,
Spanish, Swedish, Thai, Vietnamese and major dialects of Chinese. The new
language support enables endusers to setup and deploy business functions
(surveys, auctions, newsletters, CRM functions, sales tools, etc.) in any
or all of the languages. The multilingual support in iemagine's suite is
designed to give endusers high-quality business functions for deployment
in up to 15 languages with the scalability and reliability their
applications require.
Call Center Community Founded By Initiatives
Initiatives Three Inc., a call center consulting company, launched Agent
Initiatives, a Web community created for call center representatives.
Initiatives Three believes that the intercompany agent affiliation offered
by this Web community can elevate the call center industry and, by
extension, the business community at large. Agent Initiatives stated three
major goals in launching the site: to provide community, resources and
support to help call center agents understand how to apply their personal
values to their business life and how this can elevate job performance and
satisfaction; to deliver insight on developing personal skills (e.g.,
juggling priorities, managing stress and improving customer interactions);
and to furnish information agents need to keep current on technology
issues that impact their business life. The Web site is located at www.agentinitiatives.com.
Matthews Forms New Company
Dr. Terence Matthews has embarked on a new venture, the Mitel Networks
Corporation, subsequent to signing an agreement with Mitel Corporation to
acquire its Worldwide Communications Systems division and purchasing the
Mitel name. Mitel Networks will focus on migrating products to IP
telephony solutions for the broadband network. Matthews also named Paul
Butcher chief operating officer of the new company. Butcher was formerly
general manager and executive vice president of Mitel Communications
Systems division.
EDS to Establish Customer Interaction Base In Nova
Scotia
Port Hawkesbury, Nova Scotia, is the intended site of Electronic Data
Systems Corporation's (EDS) second customer interaction center to be
established on Cape Breton Island. EDS is proposing an expansion of its
current 800-person facility in Sydney, Nova Scotia through the
establishment of a state-of-the-art center in Port Hawkesbury. The new
center will be housed in a 55,000-square-foot facility, which EDS will
lease after construction is completed. The customer interaction center,
slated to be operational this spring, will support clients throughout
North America and handle inbound customer service inquiries by telephone,
fax, e-mail and Internet, and support CRM programs for its clients. EDS
CRM solutions consist of custom strategy and solutions consulting, and
turnkey and outsourced services.
CCAS Selects Sebring
Cross Country Automotive Services (CCAS) announced plans to open its
fourth contact center in Sebring, Florida. The 37,184 square foot center
is expected to open in June 2001 and will employ over 365 people, most of
whom will be recruited from the local community. The 260-seat facility
will support CCAS' 24/7 emergency response services for individuals
covered under new car warranty programs, insurance policies or affinity
memberships to obtain road emergency or other immediate services. CCAS'
clients include automotive companies, property-casualty insurance
companies, wireless carriers, financial institutions and affinity groups.
Quaero Opens In Colorado
Quaero, a provider of customer relationship management services, has
opened a regional office in Denver, Colorado to support its business
development and client relationships in the western United States. Bill
Secrest, as senior vice president of client services, will head the office
and lead Quaero's initiatives in the region.
Compaq And Motive Partner In Mobile Arena
Compaq Computer Corporation and Motive Communications, Inc. have allied to
develop a mobile customer care solution for Compaq's iPAQ line of handheld
devices. Under the terms of the agreement, Motive will extend its online
customer-care platform, which currently provides full-service support for
Compaq PCs, to encompass the Compaq iPAQ handheld devices. The companies
are developing a mobile customer care solution that will deliver
end-to-end service to business professionals and enterprise IT
departments, markets where the iPAQ has established itself as the leader
in the handheld industry. Motive is embedding its customer care technology
directly into the handheld devices to provide a customized support
solution for each user, providing iPAQ users with service whether they are
connecting by wireless to the Internet or managing their devices through
their PCs.
Witness And Remedy Integrate Solutions
Witness Systems, Inc. announced a new software integration and
co-marketing alliance with Remedy Corporation. The partnership is designed
to help organizations improve support processes (especially those
requiring highly efficient self-service support), enhance service delivery
and heighten customer loyalty. Under the terms of the agreement, Witness
Systems' eQuality multimedia recording and analysis suite will integrate
with Remedy's Action Request System, the underlying technology platform
for its help desk and CRM application suite, to monitor and evaluate
complete customer contacts. This integration expects to provide businesses
using Remedy Help Desk with greater insight into the effectiveness of
their employee and customer interactions.
PRC Incorporates A NewChannel For Acquisition
Precision Response Corporation (PRC), a division of USA Networks, Inc. and
a provider of outsourced customer care and CRM, announced a strategic
partnership with NewChannel Inc., provider of e-sales and customer
acquisition solutions. PRC was named NewChannel's preferred outsourced
teleservices solutions provider and, as part of the alliance, PRC has
incorporated the NewChannel Solution into PRC Netpro, its online customer
acquisition tool. The PRC Netpro technology uses client-defined rules to
select Web visitors who would benefit from a live sales interaction. PRC
representatives can proactively invite visitors to a real-time sales
consultation. If the visitor accepts the invitation, they are connected
via text chat or telephone to a PRC Cyber Representative who facilitates
the completion of the sale.
QUIQ And Quaero Combine For Mass Collaboration
Solutions
QUIQ, Inc., a provider of mass collaboration customer service software,
and Quaero LLC announced a strategic alliance whereby Quaero will help
QUIQ deploy its flagship product, QUIQ Connect, and integrate customer
data with third-party software applications. QUIQ Connect taps into a
company's largest available source of detailed product knowledge: its
customers and partners, and answers customer inquiries without involvement
by call and e-mail centers. Quaero offers experience and expertise in
consulting, design, development and deployment of multichannel CRM
programs.
eSupportNow Chooses eStara's OneClick Voice
Solution
eSupportNow signed an agreement making eStara, Inc. its preferred voice
over the Web provider. The eStara OneClick Contact Web voice was added to
eSupportNow's electronic customer relationship management platform, eSP.
eStara connects Web site visitors with contact center agents via a voice
call over the Web from any PC with microphone and speakers, and OneClick
Contact technology is compatible with existing call center systems and
requires no additional hardware or software. By integrating Web voice,
eSupportNow's outsourced and hosted clients can better manage two-way
communication and customer intelligence, and achieve their online business
goals and objectives.
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