For CRM and, by extension, every company, information is job one. As the old saw goes, information is power. Yet the power often remains unchanneled due to the proliferation of media channels though which customers can contact a company, often each with its own data silo, none speaking to another. But efforts to implement a planned, concise way of compiling, categorizing and providing access to the vast amounts of data that are the results of thousands of customer interactions, myriad islands of corporate information and the scattered knowledge of how a business actually works (the know-how of front-line personnel, who are charged with actually dealing with and solving the problems of customers versus the often idealized business plans of upper management) have often resulted in a veritable Gordian knot of processes (how many GUIs are opened at one time on your agents’ screens) that are dying for an Alexander to cut through. Add to this the increased demand for customer self-service channels, and it’s enough to drive the most reasonable IT manager mad.
Thankfully, the idea of standards that began with the data world are migrating to the formerly closed/proprietary voice world and are being used to allow the commingling of the various data sources. Web technologies, XML (and its cousin, vXML), J2EE and others allow companies such as the following to provide knowledge and database management solutions, many of which can compile data from various structured and unstructured sources within an enterprise to provide information to whomsoever needs it, when they need it, no matter where they are in the enterprise (or in the case of customers, where they are in the world), no matter through which channel they request information, so that they can process and act upon the information and transform it into knowledge.
Following are providers of diverse software solutions that will help manage and deploy the knowledge in your organization. Some companies have chosen to provide further information they would like to share with the readers of Customer Inter@ction Solutions. We invite you to learn more.
Astute, Inc.
www.astutesolutions.com
Authoria, Inc.
www.authoria.com
BMC Software
www.bmc.com
Braxtel Communicatons
www.braxtel.com
Broad Daylight, Inc.
www.broaddaylight.com
ClearForest
www.clearforest.com
Control-F1
www.control-f1.com
DecisionPoint Applications
www.dpapps.com
Digimine
www.digimine.com
Documentum
Naomi Miller
naomi.miller@documentum.com
925-600-5088
www.documentum.com
Product: Documentum 4i eBusiness Platform
4i eBusiness Platform is used for managing, distributing and exchanging large volumes of content within and beyond the enterprise ‘ to customers, employees, partners and suppliers. By integrating dynamic content, complex business processes and people everywhere, Documentum 4i enables seamless collaboration, communication and knowledge sharing around the globe
eConvergent, Inc.
Dave Michaud
dave.michaud@econvergent.com
925-790-2570
www.econvergent.com
Product: EMerge
EMerge increases CRM effectiveness by connecting information silos that prevent organizations from gaining a complete view of customers. Customer-facing employees can see everything about their customers’ needs in a single window that connects communications across the phone, Web, e-mail, fax, chat room or more. eConvergent installs in just 60 days.
Emoxsha, Inc.
Himanshu Bhatnagar
hb@emoxsha.com
978-670-8100
www.emoxsha.com
Product: QuickResponse
QuickResponse is a suite of knowledge-driven support solutions. ProCHAT server is an Instant Messaging-driven application that learns from interactions. FirstServ accepts the ‘learnt’ knowledge and makes it available for SelfService. IssueTrakker is a hosted, affordable e-mail driven help-desk/ issue tracking software. QuickFAQs is a personal knowledge management tool that is useful for organizing usable knowledge, with the capability to expose to others as generated FAQs. THe FAQs can be tracked and re-arranged based on usage.
Enviz, Inc.
Carol Carpenter
carol.carpenter@enviz.com
650-298-0900
www.enviz.com
Product: Enviz Insight
Enviz Insight enables an understanding of what users see, do and think while engaging in business processes through a Web-based interface. Those users can include partners interacting through your Extranet, customers purchasing products online or employees utilizing your Intranet or corporate portal. We help users understand where their visitors are experiencing problems, why they’re not able to complete processes, and what can be done about it.
FrontRange Solutions
Lynne Dolan
lynne.dolan@frontrange.com
719-532-7537
www.frontrange.com
Product(s): GoldMine Sales & Marketing, HEAT Service & Support
GoldMine Sales & Marketing offers mainstream businesses a full-featured, robust and affordable solution to manage every facet of prospect and customer relationships. HEAT Service & Support software delivers an easy-to-use, full-featured customer service and support solution with a single view of the customer, enabling your organization to reduce IT costs, streamline customer support interactions and improve customer retention.
Fused Solutions
Jeffrey Yette
jeffy@fusedsolutions.com
315-265-3400
www.fusedsolutions.com
Product: Support Management System (SMS)
SMS provides Web-native help desk solutions for multi-tenant, multi-tiered, multi-location CRM applications. Features include custom scripting, agent decision trees, automatic ticket aging/escalation, e-mail notification, agent messaging, callback scheduling, real-time monitoring and call metric reporting.
Gupta Technologies
Anne O’Callahan
anne.ocallahan@guptaworldwide.com
650-596-4676
www.guptaworldwide.com
Product: SQL Base
SQLBase is a fully relational, zero-administration, embeddable database that allows companies to manage data closer to the customer. It offers the strongest encryption available for a database and it is the ideal choice for distributed and mobile organizations and software vendors creating packaged applications. SQL Base has been used by Global 2000 companies in multiple industries including finance, transportation and manufacturing.
The Haley Enterprise
www.haley.com
High Tower Software
www.high-tower.com
infoUSA, Inc.
www.infousa.com
Innerprise
Greg Gurath
greg@innerprise.net
480-425-8274
www.innerprise.net
Product: Enterprise Search
Enterprise Search is designed for information and knowledge management. Information is gathered from your corporate Web site, Intranet/Extranet and from any public Web site on the Internet. Searching is performed through your Web browser from your corporate Web site, allowing public or restricted access, or from your Intranet/Extranet.
Intraspect Software, Inc.
www.intraspect.com
Kaidara
www.kaidara.com
Kana Communications, Inc.
www.kana.com
Kanisa Inc.
www.kanisa.com
KnowledgeBase Marketing, Inc.
www.knowledgebasemarketing.com
KnowledgeBase Solutions, Inc.
James Segil
james@knowledgebase.net
323-857-1250
www.knowledgebase.net
Product: KnowledgeBase.net
KnowledgeBase.net is a native Web-based knowledge management application that provides a scalable, enterprisewide environment where organizations store and publish data, content and help files. KnowledgeBase.net delivers an easy-to-use and dynamic application delivering a simple process and structure to create, import, organize and manage knowledge that empowers customers, partners, employees and suppliers with online self-help and knowledge management.
Knowledge Impact
www.kimpact.com
Knowledge Junction Systems
www.kjunction.com
Message Time Inc.
Gene Roush
generoush@messagetime.com
800-210-0074
www.messagetime.com
Product: Message Time Business Center
Message Time is a suite of high-technology tools of the 21st century integrated into a single, total solution package which includes communications, phone system, fax, e-mail, contact management, information-gathering and CRM tools. The system is ‘instantly available’ from any telephone and/or Web-enabled computer… no matter where you are. You always have access to your customer data.
MetaMatrix, Inc.
Greg Milbank
gmilbank@metamatrix.com
212-209-6461
www.metamatrix.com
Product(s): MetaMatrix Information Integration Server, MetaBase
The MetaMatrix System, which comprises the MetaMatrix Information Integration Server and the MetaBase metadata management system, offers organizations a way to manage and describe the information within their myriad enterprise information systems. Companies can integrate these enterprise information systems into a complete Distributed Information Access solution using the MetaMatrix System.
Oracle Corp.
www.oracle.com
OTG The Ottawa Telephony Group, Inc.
www.otg.ca
PeopleSoft
www.peoplesoft.com
Primus Knowledge Solutions
www.primus.com
RightNow Technologies
www.rightnow.com
Selectica
www.selectica.com
Selltis, LLC
Brian Gardner
sales@selltis.com
985-727-3455
www.selltis.com
Product: Selltis
Selltis is a developer of SFA, CRM, and PRM software based on a proven ‘front-end’ team-selling philosophy, which proactively identifies and manages opportunities throughout the sales cycle – from lead to quote. The Selltis software is a complete system for sales teams to centrally access, document and manage all information and activities.
ServiceWare
www.serviceware.com
Siebel Systems, Inc.
www.siebel.com
Soffront Software, Inc.
Satish Kumar
SatishK@soffront.com
510-413-9000, ext. 105
www.soffront.com
Product(s): Soffront CRM Suite, Soffront Sales, Soffront Support, Soffront Marketing, Soffront Leads, Soffront Tickets, Soffront Knowledge Management, Soffront Call Center
SOFFRONT CRM provides a true suite of powerful CRM features including: effective e-mail campaign management, time and cost tracking for help desk and defect tracking, internal or external help desk management, work order and RMA management, asset management with automatic auditing and remote data synchronization.
Soliloquy, Inc
www.soliloquy.com
Sopheon
Connie Foust-Fowler
connie.foust-fowler@sopheon.com
800-833-8330
www.sopheon.com
Product: Accolade business process system
Sopheon’s software systems provide integrated access to both documented information and human expertise, whether internal or external to an organization, within a single application. Solutions come pre-loaded with content and are specifically designed to enhance knowledge-intensive business processes such as customer relationship management.
Stream International
Sales dept.
www.support.stream.com
www.stream.com
Product: The Stream Support Center
The Stream Support Center from Stream International is a fully integrated Web portal that provides technical support end users of leading desktop applications and operating systems. The Stream Support Center is built upon an extensive knowledge base that evidences Stream’s vast support capabilities. The knowledge base and FAQ database are continually refreshed with updated information on the latest software applications and operating systems.
Tacit Knowledge Systems, Inc.
www.tacit.com
TechExcel, Inc.
www.techexcel.com
ThinkDirectMarketing.com
www.thinkdirectmarketing.com
Tigerpaw Software
www.tigerpawsoftware.com
TroubleTree Software, Inc.
www.troubletree.com
WhiteCross Systems
www.whitecross.com
YellowBrick Solutions
www.ybsolutions.com
Source: Customer Interaction Solutions / PDF
For CRM and, by extension, every company, information is job one. As the old saw goes, information is power. Yet the power often remains unchanneled due to the proliferation of media channels though which customers can contact a company, often each with its own data silo, none speaking to another. But efforts to implement a planned, concise way of compiling, categorizing and providing access to the vast amounts of data that are the results of thousands of customer interactions, myriad islands of corporate information and the scattered knowledge of how a business actually works (the know-how of front-line personnel, who are charged with actually dealing with and solving the problems of customers versus the often idealized business plans of upper management) have often resulted in a veritable Gordian knot of processes (how many GUIs are opened at one time on your agents’ screens) that are dying for an Alexander to cut through. Add to this the increased demand for customer self-service channels, and it’s enough to drive the most reasonable IT manager mad.
Thankfully, the idea of standards that began with the data world are migrating to the formerly closed/proprietary voice world and are being used to allow the commingling of the various data sources. Web technologies, XML (and its cousin, vXML), J2EE and others allow companies such as the following to provide knowledge and database management solutions, many of which can compile data from various structured and unstructured sources within an enterprise to provide information to whomsoever needs it, when they need it, no matter where they are in the enterprise (or in the case of customers, where they are in the world), no matter through which channel they request information, so that they can process and act upon the information and transform it into knowledge.
Following are providers of diverse software solutions that will help manage and deploy the knowledge in your organization. Some companies have chosen to provide further information they would like to share with the readers of Customer Inter@ction Solutions. We invite you to learn more.