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Inference Announces k-Commerce Support Enterprise 1.0
100-percent Web-Architected Solution Broadens Access to Unstructured Information and Dramatically Reduces the Need for Traditional Knowledge Base Development
NOVATO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 26, 1999-- Inference Corp. (Nasdaq:INFR - news), a leading provider of software and services for customer relationship management and e-Commerce, today announced the launch of k-Commerce(TM) Support Enterprise 1.0, a scalable, Web-architected customer service and support solution that replicates the experience of the best customer service representatives to provide fast, accurate and consistent answers to customers.``k-Commerce Support Enterprise is designed to be the hardest working application in any customer service organization, ''said Charles Jepson, chief executive officer, Inference Corporation. ``With its powerful conversational search capabilities, new Web architecture and knowledge gateways, k-Commerce Support Enterprise can scour multiple document and data repositories, and provide access to a wealth of information that was, until now, unavailable to customer service representatives. That's a powerful advantage for our customers.''
Leveraging Inference's twenty years of experience in the customer support industry, k-Commerce Support Enterprise features a new multi-tier architecture for added flexibility and scalability, improved multi-language support for rapid global deployment and knowledge gateways to access an increasing volume of external information from a single Contact Center.
``Knowledge has little value unless it is accessible and usable by the constituencies it is intended to serve,'' said Chris Martins, senior analyst with the Aberdeen Group. ``Inference's k-Commerce Support Enterprise can expand the utility of knowledge repositories by making them accessible a variety of audiences through multiple access methods.''
Because of its proven reliability, scalability and comprehensive implementation of enterprise Java standards, k-Commerce Support Enterprise is built upon the BEA WebLogic application server platform. Server-based security enables administrators to control access to the knowledge base by specifying individual access rights or restrictions. The new multi-tier architecture allows k-Commerce Support Enterprise components to run on one server or across many servers for optimal flexibility.
``In most customer service situations, the 'Eighty-Twenty' rule prevails'', said Ralph Barletta, senior vice president of engineering, Inference Corporation. ``Eighty percent of the inquiries relate back to the same twenty percent of the possible problems. k-Commerce Support Enterprise makes it possible to focus the knowledge development efforts on the most common queries, while allowing solutions for the less commonly occurring problems to be stored as unstructured content (tech notes), that can be accessed through gateways. This enables our customers to accelerate the deployment of their k-Commerce solution and significantly increase their return on investment.''
Using knowledge gateways, customers can expand their universe by leveraging additional knowledge resources. Direct connectivity to Lotus Notes and Microsoft Site Server provides immediate access to support libraries, product development databases and existing documents. Support agents and customers receive intuitive, conversation driven searching of everything, from Lotus Notes databases to Microsoft Office and HTML documents.
k-Commerce Support Enterprise simplifies global deployment by allowing multiple languages to be stored and searched from a single knowledge base. Changes made to the knowledge base are automatically tagged for review. The text can be translated to meet the needs of specific geographic regions by anyone familiar with the language and does not require that person to have the skills of a knowledge engineer. This makes it easier for an organization to keep multiple locations up to date and synchronized for maximum efficiency.
``To support a quickly growing and changing environment, PeopleSoft IT turned to Inference's capabilities,'' said Tracy Leighton, Support Services Technology Manager, PeopleSoft and recent participant in Inference's Beta Program. ``We are looking forward to the broadening of our support realm using the features that k-Commerce Support Enterprise provides. With this technology, we will be able to link our groupware, knowledge bases and document libraries under the same User Interface. This will enable our employees to be more efficient and spend more time focusing on their job, not searching for information.''
The initial release of k-Commerce Support Enterprise links the Call Center, Web sites and email management systems into an integrated Contact Center to offer consistent customer support across the entire organization.
``Providing quality customer service has rapidly become a priority for most companies doing business on the Web,'' added Jepson. ``k-Commerce Support Enterprise represents the next generation of technology available to those organizations offering web self-service. By delivering personalized, one-to-one service and support to their customers, k-Commerce Support Enterprise will help these companies take their e-commerce relationships beyond the transaction.''
Pricing and Availability
k-Commerce Support Enterprise is available immediately under Inference's new Hosted Solutions program. Customers who opt for this Application Service Provider model pay a setup fee of $20,000. Monthly fees start at $4,000 and vary based on the number of self-service sessions.
The Windows NT version of k-Commerce Support Enterprise will be available for customer site implementation later this year.
About Inference Corporation
Inference Corporation (Nasdaq:INFR - news) is a leading provider of software and services for customer relationship management and e-Commerce. Inference's k-Commerce product family leverages a company's knowledge, integrating personalized, one-to-one, sales, service and support across the Web and the Contact Center. Inference helps companies raise customer care to the next level while taking e-commerce beyond the transaction.
Headquartered in the San Francisco Bay area, with international headquarters near London, England, Inference supports its customers from offices throughout North America, Europe and Asia Pacific through a global professional services organization. For further information, contact Inference at 415/893-7200, send an e-mail to info@inference.com or visit www.inference.com.
Note to Editors: The Inference logo, k-Commerce and the k-Commerce logo are trademarks of Inference Corporation in the United States and other countries. All other company names and products are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies.
Editorial Contact:
Carrie Cassee
Inference Corporation
415/893-7208
carrie.cassee@inference.com
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