Business Development Specialist, Clarify Solution Selling, Implements IP Recording Solution from Witness Systems  (email this article)

LONDON, UK, 1st November 2004 – Witness Systems (Company Profile, Past Stories, Case Studies) (NASDAQ: WITS), the IP recording company and global provider of performance optimisation software and services, today announced that it has implemented eQuality® ContactStore for IP – its powerful Cisco IP-based call recording and agent coaching solution – at Clarify Solution Selling.

Clarify is a business development specialist that works with high-value, business-led technology providers to optimise their front-end sales processes. Because all of Clarify’s sales calls are non-scripted, it’s essential that conversations are monitored and analysed for quality, consistency and coaching purposes. Additionally, the Witness Systems solution, eQuality ContactStore for IP 7.3, has met the Cisco AVVID (Architecture for Voice and Video Integrated Data) Partner Program test criteria for interoperability with Cisco CallManager, Version 4.0. The company joined the Cisco AVVID Partner Program as an IP Communications participant.

Witness Systems’ eQuality ContactStore for IP provides enterprise customers with a tool to record up to 100 per cent of calls. These can then be viewed and made more widely available utilising the software’s browser-based architecture, providing individuals and departments across the organisation with easy access to archived recordings and business intelligence for analysis of the interactions’ content and effectiveness.

Following the implementation of eQuality ContactStore for IP, Clarify’s agents can now retrieve their individual calls at the desktop for immediate review, while managers assess the interactions for ongoing coaching and training purposes.

Other key factors behind Clarify’s selection of the Witness Systems eQuality IP-based recording solution were its flexibility and powerful call tagging capabilities. Call tagging enables Clarify to add a searchable index to each interaction, at any point during the call, by selecting from a menu of options on Cisco IP Phone 7940G model telephone handsets, without the complexity and expense of the CTI integration normally required for a traditional telephony solution. By choosing from a list of pre-defined call types, it is able to automatically trigger the recording of entire calls, helping significantly when further analysis is required. Interactions are also quick to retrieve through a range of selection criteria. Using the new solution, Clarify can easily analyse conversations and interpret how interactions have come together based on a call’s actual content – which directly contributes to the success of its coaching.

“We’re already finding that the Witness Systems IP recording solution is straight-forward to use and gives our managers and agents a much greater scope to monitor and analyse calls, all with a view to improve our service,” commented Claire Edmunds, managing director at Clarify. “We were also impressed with the speed and flexibility of implementation. The system was installed in just one day, so we started reaping the benefits immediately.”

“Witness Systems’ call tagging capability helps us provide better opportunities for our clients’ sales teams. We can search for and listen to specific conversations and design focused sales pitches based on actual dialogues,” added Richard Avenell, operations manager for Clarify. “It also gives us an excellent way of analysing particular campaigns for their effectiveness in terms of approach and results. We’re already finding that eQuality ContactStore for IP helps us maintain high quality service, which is a key factor in helping our clients achieve a high lead-to-sale conversion and a significant return on their sales and marketing investment.”

eQuality from Witness Systems allows organisations, such as Clarify, to gain more value from their telephone contacts by immediately recording, categorising, notifying and storing IP telephony calls. The eQuality ContactStore for IP solution resides on Clarify’s LAN server, connected to a Cisco CallManager server.

“Cisco supports open, standards-based architectures and shares a commitment to interoperable solutions with Witness Systems. Through this vision, the Cisco AVVID Partner Program delivers the power of choice to enterprises – the ability to extend the Cisco end-to-end architecture with our participants’ solid products and technologies,” said Rick Tywoniak, manger, market development, Cisco IP Communications Business Unit. “With Cisco AVVID partner offerings, such as Witness Systems’ eQuality ContactStore for IP, customers can deploy a broad range of business solutions that foster innovation and drive rapid adoption of business-critical technologies.”

About eQuality ContactStore for IP
Witness Systems’ industry leading IP telephony solution, eQuality ContactStore for IP, is a flexible system that can record up to100 per cent of telephone contacts. The solution is designed for organisations with high-volume recording and compliance requirements, as well as for sales verification purposes. Its ability to co-exist with traditional telephony recording in the same system, and support the full range of Witness Systems eQuality applications, continues to protect users’ investments as the demands of their businesses develop and change, and as they modernise and evolve their network infrastructures.

About Clarify Solution Selling
Clarify Solution Selling is a sales and marketing partner of high-value business-led technology organisations. Clarify provides integrated, measurable and sustainable routes to market delivered through a proven methodology. Clarify assists its customers to differentiate themselves throughout the initial stages of a marketing and sales engagement, taking a consultative approach with all customers across four service areas:
• New business opportunity identification
• Customer development
• Support services including research, profiling and database services
• Consultancy and training

For additional information about Clarify Solution Selling, visit www.clarifysolutions.co.uk.

About Witness Systems
Witness Systems (NASDAQ: WITS) provides the contact centre industry’s first integrated performance optimisation software suite to help global enterprises capture customer intelligence and optimise workforce performance. The browser-based eQuality® software is comprised of compliance, high-volume and business-driven recording solutions for customer contact centres 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 analyse 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 organisations to maximise 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 September 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.