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Primus and Support.com Ally to Deliver Customer Support in Real Time Bridging Support Content via Smart Routing and Rapid Response DeliverySEATTLE & REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--Nov. 6, 2000--Primus (Nasdaq:PKSI - news), a leading provider of knowledge-enabled software that drives customer satisfaction, and Support.com, Inc. (Nasdaq:SPRT - news), the leading provider of eSupport infrastructure software for eBusinesses, today announced a strategic alliance to integrate the companies' technologies to automate, enhance and personalize customer support for end-users.The integrated software solution will be designed to enable end-users to solve technical problems via online self-service and assisted-service capabilities in real time. Primus' software allows customers to access knowledgebase content through multiple channels such as Web, email, chat and voice. Support.com's infrastructure software can optimize, streamline and automate the delivery of this information to end-users -- thereby enabling businesses to seamlessly share solutions across the extended enterprise to support and maintain valuable customer relationships. Primus and Support.com will work together to integrate Primus® eServer and Primus® Interchange software into Support.com's eSupport infrastructure to enable joint customers to provide Web-based support across a spectrum of customers, supply chain partners and employees. ``This strategic alliance taps the knowledge and intellectual capital of both companies to provide one of the best possible support solutions for our customers,'' said Michael Brochu, president and CEO of Primus. ``Seamless integration of technologies is key to providing versatile and multi-faceted business solutions for companies operating in today's competitive environment.'' The planned integrated solution will leverage Support.com's SmartIssue(TM) technology and Primus' associative search technology to automate the self-service process and increase the effectiveness of search responses delivered to an end user in a support transaction. Accessing a knowledgebase from an online support site typically delivers multiple possible solutions. Utilizing Support.com's SmartIssue technology, information about the user, their system, and the problem can now be automatically captured and added to the user's problem description. The integrated solution will use this information to query the Primus knowledgebase for a personalized, automated solution. ``By allying with Primus, we are uniting our complementary technologies to offer a solution that can be leveraged to provide superior self-service and assisted service to customers,'' said Radha Basu, CEO at Support.com. ``In an integrated environment, Support.com's eSupport infrastructure and Primus' content and knowledgebase capabilities will enable a user to receive up-to-date, pertinent and personalized support for an overall optimal support experience.'' Support.com's eSupport software is designed to help eBusinesses increase customer satisfaction and retention, scale to match growth and control costs. By pushing knowledge-enabled responses to user inquiries via the highly personalized Support.com platform, the combined Primus and Support.com solution is expected to increase operational efficiency and perform intelligent routing of escalated customer inquiries. Currently, the integrated solution is available for joint customers through Support.com's professional services teams' customization of individual implementations based on specific customer requirements. ConnectedSupport, a joint customer of Support.com and Primus, will provide ASP eSupport solutions for PC problem resolutions and is committed to reducing management and maintenance costs for computing users and IT professionals. ``We are leveraging best of breed technologies from Support.com and Primus that enable us to solve end user PC problems without having to talk to someone,'' said Scott Bower, Chairman and CEO of ConnectedSupport. ``This integrated solution helps us deliver significant cost and time savings for commercial/consumer end users and provides a support experience tailored to that user's needs.'' About Primus Primus is a leading provider of knowledge-enabled software that empowers CRM implementations and helps drive customer satisfaction for Global 2000 companies. The Primus® Associative Search Engine delivers powerful search, retrieval, and authoring capabilities that enhance traditional CRM implementations with the power of knowledge in context. Primus has more than 150 customers worldwide, including such industry leaders as 3Com, 3M, Compaq Computer Corp., The Boeing Company, PSInet Inc., Bell Helicopter Textron, Gulfstream Aerospace, Ericsson, Inc., Fujitsu Limited, Inc., GTE Internetworking, Motorola, and Novell. Based in Seattle, Primus has offices throughout the United States, and in Europe and Japan. For more information, visit Primus on the Web at http://www.primus.com or call 206/292-1000. About Support.com Support.com is a leading provider of eBusiness infrastructure software that automates and personalizes user support over the Internet. The company's eSupport software is designed to help eBusinesses scale, accelerate growth, and increase customer satisfaction and retention. Support.com's software enables web-based support across an extended enterprise of customers, supply chain partners, and employees, automating the resolution and management of support requests in complex eBusiness environments. Support.com offers customers the ability to automate problem avoidance through self-healing, promote call avoidance through user self-service and improve problem resolution through optimized, assisted support. Our customers include leading eBusinesses such as IBM, Cisco, General Electric, Bear Stearns, and JCPenney, and leading service providers such as Excite@Home, Samsung SDS, Compaq, Computer Sciences Corporation and PeoplePC. For more information about Support.com, please visit the Company's web site at www.support.com. Primus, Primus eServer, and Primus Interchange are registered trademarks or service marks of Primus Knowledge Solutions, Inc. Support.com is a trademark of Support.com, Inc. in the United States and other countries. Other products and company names mentioned in this press release may be the trademarks of their respective owners. Any statements, expectations and assumptions contained in this press release that do not describe historical facts, such as statements about the use and expected outcomes of the integration of Primus' and Support.com's products and the results of this strategic alliance constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Any forward-looking statements contained in this release are based on current expectations, are not guarantees of future outcomes or performance, and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations include the following: difficulties encountered in the alliance arrangement due to marketing, strategic, corporate or technical reasons; customer's effective use of Primus' or Support.com's products; changes in fluctuations in customer demand; continued growth and use of the Web as a delivery vehicle for eCRM or support solutions; rapid technological change; the risks associated with competition and rapid consolidation of competitors; the ability of Primus and Support.com to manage its growth and integration efforts and the ability of the companies to compete successfully in the future, as well as other risks identified in the companies' filings with Securities and Exchange Commission, including but not limited to those appearing under the caption ``Factors Affecting our Future Operating Results'' in the Primus' Report on 10-K filed on March 23, 2000 and Primus' 10-Q filed on August 14, 2000 and the Risk Factors section of Support.com's Registration Statement on Form S-1 and the most recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. Neither Primus nor Support.com assumes any obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. Editorial Contact: Kristin Roberge KVO Public Relations 503/721-4258 kristin_roberge@kvo.com top of page |
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