AGL Resources Extends Deployment of eQuality Software from Witness Systems (email this article)

ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 11, 2004-- Witness Systems (Company Profile, Past Stories, Case Studies) (NASDAQ: WITS - News), a global provider of performance optimization software and services, today announced that AGL Resources, Inc. (NYSE: ATG - News), has extended the deployment of its eQuality® performance optimization software by adding its e-learning and compliance recording solutions in the contact center operations of utility subsidiaries Atlanta Gas Light and Virginia Natural Gas.

AGL Resources is a regional energy holding company with business segments in natural gas distribution operations, wholesale services and energy investments. With over 2,100 employees, it has more than 1.8 million customers across 250 communities in five states: Georgia, Tennessee, Virginia, Texas and Arizona. Atlanta Gas Light has used Witness Systems' eQuality Balance and eQuality Evaluation solutions since 2000 to capture and evaluate customer interactions for coaching and performance feedback purposes to more than 150 customer service representatives (CSRs) across two sites, refining and enhancing business processes, heightening productivity, and ensuring service excellence and customer satisfaction.

The deployment of Witness Systems' e-learning solutions - eQuality Producer and eQuality Now - was part of a company-wide initiative to use technology to streamline business process execution, increase productivity and extend AGL Resources' business capabilities across the company. In addition to implementing the e-learning modules in Atlanta Gas Light's Atlanta-based contact center operations, AGL Resources also deployed eQuality ContactStore - the 100 percent compliance recording solution - in its Virginia Natural Gas center located in Norfolk.

"We've used the eQuality customer interaction recording and performance evaluation solutions for nearly four years. In that time, we've been able to advance performance excellence in our customer service organization by increasing first-call resolution, as well as customer satisfaction," reported AGL Resources Technology Systems Delivery Manager, Myron Holder.

"The success using eQuality was certainly a compelling factor in AGL Resources' decision to invest in these additional software modules. We also extended our deployment based on the level of service we always receive from Witness Systems' support organization and the Witness Consulting Network (WCN)," explained Holder. Before implementing the e-learning solutions, Witness Systems' WCN team conducted a Performance Optimization Workshop with Atlanta Gas Light management, supervisors and CSRs to help re-align its performance evaluation form in order to identify and measure key skill areas that could be targeted using the eQuality Now solution. "That gave us a real head-start in putting the solution to work quickly and getting the most out of it from the start," added Holder.

Meeting AGL Resources' Best Practice and Actionable Learning Needs
With eQuality Producer - the customized contact center e-learning solution that uses real-life scenarios CSRs encounter on a daily basis to create unique, company-specific learning content - Atlanta Gas Light is equipped to leverage "best practice" agent/customer call recordings for hard and soft skill training with both new hire and tenured CSRs, all based on actual recorded customer interactions. eQuality Producer also allows the company to respond quickly to change by producing "disposable learning" without the high cost or substantial time investment associated with other courseware development.

"We wanted to implement technology that would help us provide best practice examples of authentic customer interactions that we could use for new hire and continuous training," commented Lee Lively, manager of performance solutions. "There is nothing more powerful from a training perspective than being able to address skill deficiencies with e-learning based on actual recorded customer interactions. Being able to demonstrate how to handle critical calls is extremely valuable, as it helps prepare our agents prior to them being in an actual situation."

In addition to being able to create learning using these real-life scenarios, Atlanta Gas Light also had a need for a solution that would manage and deliver e-learning to its CSRs. While Atlanta Gas Light has a corporate learning management system (LMS), its call center operations were not able to leverage best practice examples and disseminate training clips through the corporate LMS. "It did not meet the functional needs of what we were doing in the call center," explained Lively. "We had an immediate need for a system that would be compatible with the e-learning scenarios we were creating, and eQuality Now had the seamless integration to the eQuality solutions we already had in place."

eQuality Now was evaluated and selected by Atlanta Gas Light to serve as the contact center operations' e-learning management solution. The solution identifies, schedules and delivers training directly to the desktops of Atlanta Gas Light's CSRs for timely performance improvement, based on skill gaps identified through their performance scores in eQuality Evaluation. By recording and evaluating customer contacts, and then applying e-learning to strengthen skills, Atlanta Gas Light benefits from the eQuality suite's closed-loop performance optimization model to strengthen customer relationships, reduce costs, and retain and develop its staff on a continuous basis.

Meeting AGL Resources' Compliance Recording Needs
In addition to deploying e-learning modules for its Atlanta-based contact center operations, AGL Resources has implemented eQuality ContactStore - Witness Systems' full-time, compliance customer interaction recording solution - in its Virginia Natural Gas center. To comply with regulatory standards, the company needed the ability to capture 100 percent of calls coming in through its "leak line," which customers call to notify the company of potential gas leaks.

"There were several vendors we considered, however, eQuality proved to be the most cost efficient and highly functional solution to met our requirements," said Holder. "eQuality ContactStore is extremely reliable and allows calls to be tagged with specific information for easy indexing, which enables efficient search and retrieval of them when needed. That's critical in our industry."

Designed to capture agent-customer voice and data interactions, the flexible eQuality ContactStore solution provides full-time, 100 percent recording of customer interactions. The solution is designed specifically for organizations with high-volume recording needs and compliance requirements.

About AGL Resources
AGL Resources (NYSE: ATG - News) is an Atlanta-based energy services holding company, and was named 2003 Gas Company of the Year by Platts Global Energy Awards. Its utility subsidiaries - Atlanta Gas Light, Virginia Natural Gas and Chattanooga Gas - serve approximately 1.8 million customers in three states. Houston-based subsidiary Sequent Energy Management provides natural gas asset management and producer services. As a member of the SouthStar partnership, AGL Resources markets natural gas to consumers in Georgia under the Georgia Natural Gas brand. AGL Networks, the company's telecommunications subsidiary, owns and operates fiber optic networks in Atlanta and Phoenix. For more information, visit www.aglresources.com.

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. The browser-based eQuality® software is comprised of compliance, high-volume and business-driven recording solutions for customer contact centers and IP telephony, as well as performance analysis and e-learning applications. The closed-loop suite enables companies to capture and retrieve, learn and train, and report and analyze customer interactions and back office transactions to develop staff, increase revenue, reduce costs, and achieve greater customer retention and loyalty. An integrated business consulting, implementation and training methodology enables organizations to maximize their return on investment. For additional information about Witness Systems and its eQuality software suite, visit www.witness.com.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements: Information in this release that involves Witness Systems' expectations, plans, intentions or strategies regarding the future are forward-looking statements that are not facts and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. They are identified by words such as "anticipates," "expects," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates," and similar expressions. These statements are based upon information available to Witness Systems as of the date of this release, and the company assumes no obligation to update any such forward-looking statement. Forward-looking statements believed true when made may ultimately prove to be incorrect. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond our control and may cause actual results to differ materially from our current expectations. Some of the factors that could cause actual future results to differ materially from current expectations include 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 international sales as the company expands its markets, including the risks associated with foreign currency fluctuations; the ability of the company to complete and integrate successfully any acquisitions or investments it may make; 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 quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the period ending June 30, 2004, 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 laws of the U.S. and other countries. All other trademarks mentioned in this document are the property of their respective owners.