Jacada Announces New Contact Center Agent Portal to Drive Process Optimization

Business Wire, Sept 19, 2005

ATLANTA -- Jacada(R) Fusion Agent Portal Boosts Agent Satisfaction and Productivity by Simplifying the Desktop Environment and Providing Advanced Tools That Improve the Customer Experience

Jacada Inc. (Nasdaq: JCDA), a leading software provider of contact center productivity solutions, today announced the general availability of Jacada(R) Fusion Agent Portal, an innovative desktop solution that optimizes workflow processes across business systems within a contact center, providing a single point of access to systems and resources to improve agent satisfaction and the customer experience.

Jacada also announced today that Cox Communications, the third largest communications company in the United States, and West Corporation, one of the world's largest contact center outsourcers, have both licensed Jacada Fusion Agent Portal.

Jacada Fusion Agent Portal is an agent productivity solution that utilizes patented technology to deliver significant efficiencies within a contact center. Jacada Fusion Agent Portal is:

--  A Web-based, thin-client workspace which incorporates all
        critical functions required by the contact center agent to
        successfully complete customer interactions, and

    --  A process optimization platform that simplifies the agent's
        interaction with the business applications in use.

Jacada Fusion Agent Portal provides advanced tools that simplify tasks for the customer service representative (CSR), reduce new hire training time, reduce keystroke errors, automate workflows and automate redundant processes. A dynamic scripting environment provides guided navigation for agents, and innovative 'in-call intelligence' technology helps automate tasks such as call disposition and wrap-up.

Jacada Fusion Agent Portal is the latest innovation in a set of solutions Jacada is bringing to the contact center market to help companies maximize productivity where CSRs are either burdened with multiple desktop applications or where complex business rules -- whether regulatory or process-oriented -- hamper CSR productivity. These disparate, complex environments cause CSR inefficiencies, resulting in higher costs through increased training time, increased average handling times, and ultimately, in decreased CSR and customer satisfaction.

According to analysts, the contact center productivity optimization market is one of the fastest-growing spaces for solutions providers today. With more than 100,000 contact centers worldwide, there is a critical need for solutions like Jacada Fusion Agent Portal that positively impact CSR productivity across all industries.

"Companies like West Corporation and Cox Communications are breaking the mold and strategically focusing on the future of the agent desktop as a means to improve agent satisfaction, which has a dramatic effect on the customer experience these companies provide," commented Art Schoeller, senior analyst for Yankee Group. "Enabling efficiencies and creating intuitive workspaces for CSRs can boost staff morale and eliminate training costs associated with learning to navigate systems that are entirely too complex for completing customer requests."

About Jacada Fusion Agent Portal

Jacada Fusion Agent Portal is a Web-based, thin-client workspace which incorporates all critical functions required by the contact center agent to service customer calls. Features include:

--  Dynamic call scripting - driving call flow for the agent, and
        automated access to business applications

    --  Automated navigation and workflow within and across business
        applications

    --  Notification and alerts

            --  Rules-based script and caller-based alerts for
                up-sell/cross-sell and enhanced call handling

            --  Supervisor-to-agent and system-wide messaging

    --  SmartPad - intelligent 'auto-fill' capability that automates
        redundant data entry

    --  Context-sensitive help and frequently asked questions (FAQs)

    --  Knowledgebase access tools

    --  Agent-level customization of desktop layout and look-and-feel

    --  CTI integration for "screen-pop" and Soft-Phone support

Jacada Fusion Agent Portal is also a process optimization platform that simplifies the agent's interaction with the business applications they must use. Jacada Fusion Agent Portal is powered by the Jacada Fusion non-invasive integration platform that works with any existing business application to automate processes and improve workflows, without requiring any change to existing applications. For contact centers, Jacada Fusion can deliver:

--  Single sign-on / automated login

    --  A single view of the customer or single view of a process

    --  Automated call wrap-up

    --  Automation of any redundant or cumbersome process

    --  In-Call Intelligence - an understanding of the interaction of
        the agent with the business systems, which can be used to:

            --  Automate call disposition

            --  Enforce adherence to processes and regulations

            --  Provide real-time alerts for supervisors and the agent