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Witness Systems Enables Contact Centers to Reduce Total Cost of Ownership With Industry's First Software Suite for Optimizing Enterprise Performance

Integrated eQuality contact center software suite streamlines installation and administration

CHICAGO & ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 30, 2002-- Witness Systems (NASDAQ: WITS - News), a leading global provider of performance optimization software and services, today announced accelerating market demand for its Web-based eQuality® software suite - the contact center industry's first integrated, comprehensive solution deployed by global enterprises to capture customer intelligence and optimize workforce performance.

The eQuality suite provides a common platform for companies to capture multimedia customer interactions - including telephone, e-mail and Web transactions - analyze performance and apply organizational learning.

Recording and analyzing customer contacts has become an instrumental business practice, making corporate contact centers the hub of customer intelligence. Because the contact center's strategic value has been elevated, companies are increasingly looking for integrated recording, analysis and e-learning solutions from a single provider to simplify installation and administration while reducing costs. With a tightly integrated performance optimization software suite, organizations can minimize the risks associated with managing multiple vendors and disparate systems/databases, improve the degree of intra-application integration, and reduce the total cost of ownership.

According to analysts at Meta Group, organizations will accelerate their customer relationship management (CRM) application suite investments relative to niche products. Further support that organizations are favoring suite software offerings comes from researchers at the Robert Frances Group: "Well designed and tightly integrated software suites facilitate effortless installation, management and maintenance, and empower the enterprise to optimize contact center applications and provide customers with the best service across all media."

"A common challenge our customers and prospects face in today's ROI-driven economy is discovering the best ways to maximize their staff performance, while at the same time providing high quality customer experiences," said Nancy Treaster, senior vice president of global marketing for Witness Systems. "This means setting high standards designed to meet customer expectations, training staff to succeed, and establishing a method to track improvement and measure satisfaction in a meaningful way. As multimedia customer interaction recording, analysis and learning have become intertwined, we're experiencing an increased demand for our eQuality software as more companies are embracing the suite approach to optimize their customer relationships."

Increasing Competitive Edge Through Suite Software

Witness Systems' Global 2000 customers such as The Telvista Company (Telvista) - a full-service provider of contact center solutions that include an outsourcing division - are benefiting from the eQuality suite approach. Telvista first implemented eQuality Balance and eQuality Evaluation to capture samples of agent-customer contacts by telephone, from both a voice and screen capture perspective, and then evaluate the effectiveness of those interactions to help ensure consistent, quality service.

Recognizing the value a fully integrated workforce optimization suite provides, Telvista added eQuality Now for personalized staff training delivered to customer sales/service representatives' (CSRs) desktops based on skill gaps identified through their performance evaluation scores. The company also will be piloting the eQuality Analysis solution that analyzes agent and contact center performance by combining evaluation results with other service delivery metrics. This closed-loop, single suite approach to capturing customer intelligence and optimizing workforce performance offers a strategic advantage when marketing its services.

"Today, maximizing investments in technology and resources that place an equally important focus on customer and staff retention are imperative to running a healthy business. It's a delicate balance to reach, but an achievable one by leveraging the right tools and processes. Because we're committed to providing our clients with the highest level of service, consistency and know-how to meet and exceed their customers' expectations, we must have partners that operate in the same way. That's why we've invested in the eQuality suite from Witness Systems," said Suzy Weaver, vice president of operations for Telvista.

"One of the key reasons we implemented eQuality initially - and are continuing to expand that investment - is that it offers a robust suite - one that we've been able to grow into and leverage as our requirements have expanded. The fact that eQuality works as an integrated platform with advanced functionality and interoperability among solutions is quite compelling. That's a strong combination that enables us to leverage our investment to enhance our service, develop our staff and provide our clients with the feedback they need to move business forward," added Weaver.

Leveraging Suites for Maximum Benefits

The suite approach for capturing customer intelligence and optimizing workforce performance can help companies maximize their resources and better leverage their technology investments. Specific benefits include:

Lower Total Cost of Ownership: Companies that implement suite solutions benefit from significant multi-product savings, decreased administration costs and reduced professional services fees, which equates to stronger investments and more value.
Complete Maintenance and a Structured Upgrade Path: Suite offerings, all under a complete and single maintenance agreement, enable users to gain the support access they need, as well as benefit when new versions of the software are rolled-out. Additionally, upgrades to the entire suite are orchestrated to ensure all solutions are moving forward in a coordinated fashion, simplifying the process and requiring less resources and time.
Targeted Business Consulting, Simplified Installation and Comprehensive Training: Suite providers can offer an integrated business consulting, installation and training methodology that focuses on the suite as a whole, as well as individual solutions. For instance, Witness Systems provides services to support an effective, rapid deployment of eQuality that enables users to leverage the software immediately. Formalized business consulting practices support the ability to quickly identify and link company business drivers with agent performance indicators to ensure consistency in performance evaluation and a positive ROI. Implementation Performance Management Online (IPMO) - the industry's first interactive, Web-based project management portal used during the deployment process - helps ensure installations are on track and on time. Customized training through Witness University provides guidance and insight into how to use features and leverage functionality, as well as define business objectives that support individual, center and corporate-wide goals.
Deeper Interoperability: Interoperability is instrumental in deploying a performance optimization software suite successfully. Linking products together through tight integration from a single suite vendor provides advantages in pricing, service levels, features and functionality, and upgrades.
Support from a Single Provider with a Dedicated Support Organization: A single toll-free and Web support center for suite applications simplifies service requests. Users benefit from one source that provides the support they need - whether by telephone, e-mail or the Web - and a direct path to gain insight and help 24-hours-a-day, seven- days-a-week.
Common User Interface Leading to Shorter Learning Curves: Implementing a suite of performance optimization solutions helps ensure shorter learning curves. Suite vendors build their offering from an anchor product and core competency, such as customer interaction recording, that has been embraced and successfully expanded to include products such as performance analysis and e-learning. As the suite grows to include new solutions, customers benefit from familiar user interfaces and administration, such as a common Web-based architecture and pre-defined integrations, simplifying the ability for agents, training and quality management, and executives to operate the system with ease and confidence.
About Witness Systems

Witness Systems (NASDAQ: WITS - News) provides the contact center industry's first integrated performance optimization software suite to help global enterprises capture customer intelligence and optimize workforce performance. Comprised of business-driven multimedia recording, performance analysis and e-learning management applications, the browser-based eQuality® solution is designed to enhance the quality of customer interactions across multiple communications media, including the telephone, e-mail and Web. The closed-loop suite enables companies to record, evaluate and analyze customer contacts, and then launch e-learning to develop staff, generate additional revenue, and achieve greater customer retention and loyalty. An integrated business consulting, implementation and training methodology provides services to support an effective, rapid deployment of eQuality that enables organizations to maximize their return on investment. For additional information about Witness Systems and its eQuality software suite, visit www.witness.com, or call 1.888.3.WITNESS.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Information in this release that involves Witness Systems' expectations, beliefs, hopes, plans, intentions or strategies regarding the future are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. These statements include statements about Witness Systems' strategies in the marketplace, its market position and its relationship with customers. All forward-looking statements included in this release are based upon information available to Witness Systems as of the date of the release, and the company assumes no obligation to update any such forward-looking statement. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results could differ materially from our current expectations. The factors that could cause actual future results to differ materially from current expectations include, but are not limited to, fluctuations in customer demand and the timing of orders; the company's ability to manage its growth; the risk of new product introductions and customer acceptance of new products; the rapid technological change which characterizes the company's markets; the risks associated with competition; the risks associated with international sales as the company expands its markets; and the ability of the company to compete successfully in the future, as well as other risks identified under the caption "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" in the company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2001 and any other reports filed from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Witness, eQuality and the Witness logo are United States registered trademarks of Witness Systems, Inc., protected by of the US and other countries. All other trademarks mentioned in this document are the property of their respective owners.





 
Editorial Contact:
Shana Peterson
Porter Novelli
404.995.4505
shana.peterson@pnicg.com
 
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