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NativeMinds Selected by Oracle to Launch Virtual Representatives for Customer Support InitiativesOracle Signs Enterprise License Agreement with NativeMinds to Deploy Automated Support Representatives Company-wideSAN FRANCISCO - Dec. 11, 2000 - NativeMinds Inc., the leading provider of software and services to create automated natural-language customer service and sales representatives for the Web, today announced that Oracle (Nasdaq: ORCL) has signed an enterprise license agreement to use NativeMinds' advanced customer support technology to provide online help desk assistance and ongoing Web-based support. Oracle has been using NativeMinds' technology on its intranet for over a year to provide its employees with an automated virtual representative, named Allen, that answers employee questions about how to install, use, and trouble shoot implementation incidents with Oracle's new e-mail system.Virtual Representatives, or vReps™, are automated online personalities built around specific company knowledge bases. vReps interact with live users in the same way that customers are used to communicating with sales and service representatives in the physical world - via two-way, conversational natural-language dialog. Oracle's intranet vRep reflects the increasing adoption of the technology by a broad range of companies to personalize online communications in sales, service, and employee support applications and to strengthen online brand identity. For its first project using NativeMinds' vRep technology, Oracle used Allen to launch its new email system on an aggressive schedule without adding additional help desk staff members. "Since his deployment, Allen has not only reduced our anticipated support costs, but also greatly improved business operations by facilitating a snag-free launch of a new email system," said Gary Roberts, Oracle senior vice president of Global IT. "Allen has proved so helpful that we are not only expanding his knowledge base to enable him to assist employees with other internal issues but we are considering the development of a vRep for our external Web site." Allen's activities are stored in the Oracle8iä database, enabling the company to run sophisticated reports and analyses to measure vRep effectiveness. The vRep also integrates with Oracle's implementation of Remedy Corp.'s customer support software. Rather than calling the help desk for trouble ticket status updates, an Oracle employee simply provides Allen his or her user and employee IDs, and via his integration with Remedy, Allen pulls the ticket status and displays it to the employee. Oracle's enterprise license agreement allows the company to create additional virtual representatives for its internal and publicly accessible Web sites. "Oracle faced a challenge that confronts many companies seeking to maximize the efficiency of limited help desk resources, namely how to hold costs down while expanding your support infrastructure," said Walter Tackett, co-founder and chief executive officer of NativeMinds. "NativeMinds' vReps provide the ideal solution by interfacing with users in natural language dialog, just as a user would expect from a live support rep, and by handling the majority of commonly asked questions, allowing human help desk staff to focus on higher-level issues." About NativeMinds NativeMinds enhances service and sales for e-businesses with its virtual online customer service agents-vReps. Using natural language responses to frequently asked product, service or user account questions, vReps reduce call center costs, increase online sales, and improve customer loyalty. Leading customers of NativeMinds' vRep solutions include Oracle, Convergys, One 2 One, Axcess.com, Misys and SmithKline Beecham. NativeMinds is a privately held corporation based in San Francisco. For more information, visit http://www.nativeminds.com Note to Editors: NativeMinds, Neuromedia, vReps, NeuroServer, and the NativeMinds logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of NativeMinds, Inc. All other names or products are the property of their respective holders. Editorial Contact: Vanessa Gaw A&R Partners 650-762-2820 vgaw@arpartners.com top of page |
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