Amdocs Announces Agreement With XACCT Technologies for IP Mediation; Addition of XACCT Software Enables Usage-Based Pricing Models for IP Applications.SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 21, 1998--Amdocs (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange :DOX DOX Design of Experiments DOX Direct Operational Exchange ), a major international provider of customer care and billing solutions to the telecommunications industry, and XACCT Technologies, which develops IP mediation solutions for Internet Service Providers Internet service provider (ISP) Company that provides Internet connections and services to individuals and organizations. For a monthly fee, ISPs provide computer users with a connection to their site (see data transmission), as well as a log-in name and password. , announced today that Amdocs will integrate the XACCTusage(TM) network usage metering and mediation solution with its Ensemble(TM) customer care and billing platform. XACCTusage captures relevant Internet usage transaction details, in real time, from a range of network elements and application servers. It then performs policy-based filtering, aggregation and merging to produce "pre-billing" records similar to telephone switch Call Detail Records (CDRs). The integration of XACCTusage with Amdocs' Ensemble will enable Internet Service Providers to obtain the comprehensive network usage information needed to price and bill for IP services based on actual usage, instead of relying on "best-guess" flat-rate billing models. "Our partnership with XACCT Technologies represents the latest step in our strategy to offer new and existing customers a competitive edge through unique functionality," said Norman Rafalowitz, senior vice president of International Marketing at Amdocs. "Using our convergent Ensemble platform, Network Service Providers and Internet Telephony Service Providers (communications) Internet Telephony Service Providers - (ITSP) Companies providing IP Telephony. can now utilize detailed billing data to formulate creative and economically sound pricing initiatives, which reflect actual customer usage patterns and market demands." "By integrating the XACCTusage IP mediation engine into Ensemble, Amdocs expands the potential of its customer care and billing platform to meet the needs of a rapidly growing Internet services market," said Eric Gries, president and CEO (1) (Chief Executive Officer) The highest individual in command of an organization. Typically the president of the company, the CEO reports to the Chairman of the Board. of XACCT. "Together, XACCT Technologies and Amdocs now bring the benefits of carrier-class customer care and billing functionality to the ISP (1) See in-system programmable. (2) (Internet Service Provider) An organization that provides access to the Internet. Connection to the user is provided via dial-up, ISDN, cable, DSL and T1/T3 lines. market." Amdocs' Ensemble system supports convergent customer care and billing activities in multi-service fixed-line and mobile environments including local, cellular, paging, long distance, international, cable, Internet and Voice over the Internet Protocol (VoIP). Ensemble includes advanced capabilities such as a flexible customer hierarchy facility and a multi-service rating engine. The system utilizes a scalable, client-server UNIX UNIX Operating system for digital computers, developed by Ken Thompson of Bell Laboratories in 1969. It was initially designed for a single user (the name was a pun on the earlier operating system Multics). platform and has been proven to support the high-volume performance requirements of leading carriers. XACCTusage provides comprehensive, real-time service metering and mediation functions, enabling accurate usage-based accounting and automated provisioning of IP network services, such as IP Telephony, video, VPN (Virtual Private Network) A private network that is configured within a public network (a carrier's network or the Internet) in order to take advantage of the economies of scale and management facilities of large networks. , and file transfer (FTP FTP in full file transfer protocol Internet protocol that allows a computer to send files to or receive files from another computer. Like many Internet resources, FTP works by means of a client-server architecture; the user runs client software to connect to ). In addition, XACCTusage allows service providers to bill based on specific Quality-of-Service (QoS) parameters, varying levels of security, destination, protocols and application types, as well as bandwidth consumption during peak or off-peak hours. About Amdocs Amdocs is the leading provider of product-driven customer care and billing solutions to premier telecommunications companies worldwide. Human resources of over 2,600 information systems professionals are exclusively dedicated to the telecommunications industry. Amdocs has an unparalleled success record in project delivery. Amdocs' installed base includes over 250 successful projects in more than 50 major telecommunications companies throughout the world. More information is available at www.amdocs.com. About XACCT Technologies XACCT Technologies, Inc., founded in May 1997, is headquartered in Santa Clara, Calif. The company develops and markets a new class of intelligent software solutions that enable Service Providers and enterprises to accurately account and bill for network services and applications. XACCT markets its software directly and through network systems integrators to Network Service Providers and Fortune 1000 companies. A privately held corporation Noun 1. privately held corporation - a corporation owned by a few people; shares have no public market close corporation, closed corporation, private corporation , XACCT is funded by venture capital investors. More information is available at www.xacct.com. Note to Editors: XACCTusage and XDR (1) (EXternal Data Representation) A data format developed by Sun that is part of its networking standards. It deals with integer size, byte ordering, data representation, etc. and is used as an interchange format. are trademarks of XACCT Technologies, Inc. Ensemble is a trademark of Amdocs. |
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