Cintech "e-Contact Center" Technology To Be Marketed By IBM - Cintech's NetVIA telephone management system will be sold as part of an IBM e-business solution - Company Business and Marketing

Edge: Work-Group Computing Report, Nov 22, 1999

Cintech announced Thursday that its new generation of IP-based, multi-media e-contact center product, NetVIA, will be marketed by IBM as part of an e-business offering to enterprise customers with multiple branch offices or departmental environments, as well as small and mid-sized business customers.

The IBM e-business offering will help businesses deliver higher levels of service to customers, business partners and employees through more flexible and cost-effective contact center operations.

NetVIA will be marketed as part of an IBM offering that includes Netfinity server hardware, and consulting and data networking implementation and integration services supplied by IBM Global Services. Initially, IBM will market the offering to telecommunications service providers that will be able to incorporate the package into their transport, connectivity and telephony services.

NetVIA unifies voice, e-mail and web customer contact processes, giving businesses new capability to interact with their customers virtually anywhere, anytime and in anyway the customer chooses. By working with IBM and Cintech to make available a LAN-based, scalable contact center infrastructure, telecommunications providers can help businesses deliver higher levels of customer care.

"Working with IBM to deliver our e-contact center solutions will enable us to package and deliver critical e-business services around the software and hardware," said Diane M. Kamionka, Cintech President and CEO. "Customers are demanding assistance and expertise, and we are responding by taking an end-to-end offering approach to delivering our solutions. By working with IBM we are able to assist customers as they implement and integrate the e-contact center into their businesses. With IBM's exemplary reputation in e-business technology, backed by its Global Services organization and our proven experience, customers can be assured that they have access to the highest level of expertise in the industry."

"By integrating the NetVIA product into our solution portfolio, we are enhancing IBM's ability to help companies take advantage of e-business opportunities," said Paul Shaneck, Global Telecommunications Marketing Executive - Networks, IBM Global Telecommunications Industry. "The NetVIA e-contact center application will allow us to integrate the critical customer facing e-contact center as one component of our growing e-business portfolio."

An End-to-End Offering As an initial focus, IBM and Cintech plan to offer telecommunication service providers solutions and services designed to meet the needs of small and medium business entities and enterprises with multiple branch office or departmental environments.

"As companies transition from traditional telephony-based call centers to IP-based contact centers as a part of their overall e-business strategy, many will require outside assistance and expertise to help manage the transition," commented Drew Kraus, senior analyst at Dataquest. "We believe that businesses will look to leverage their existing investments in their voice/telephony networks by enhancing them with IP functionality. Further, we expect that many small and medium-size companies will look to their existing vendors, primarily the carriers, to address their evolving contact center needs. Comprehensive solutions encompassing the necessary services, applications, transport and connectivity, while allowing an evolutionary, not revolutionary, approach are likely to be enticing to many organizations."

Cintech is a leading provider of contact center solutions and services. Over ten years ago, Cintech broke new ground by introducing PC-based call center solutions to the then undeveloped small- to mid-size call center market. Today, the smaller call center market flourishes and Cintech is a leading provider of solutions to this market with over 8,000 installations. Its customers range from small and mid-size businesses to global enterprises implementing departmental, branch office, and workgroup call centers. In 1999, exploiting the Company's unique knowledge and focus on the small- to mid-size call center within an enterprise, Cintech developed a true IP-based, multi-media e-contact center solution that enables an enterprise to support its e-business strategy.

Cintech solutions and services are marketed and sold through its Business Partners including IBM, Nortel Networks and NEC. The distribution networks of its Business Partners include companies such as Williams Communications, GTE, Sprint, Ameritech and Bell Canada. For more information on Cintech, visit the web site at www.cintech-cti.com.