Blue Pumpkin Software Announces Industry's First Open Integration Platform For Multi-Channel Contact Center Technologies.Business Editors/High-Tech Writers ICCM ICCM International Conference on Chemicals Management ICCM International Call Center Management ICCM International Centre for Culture and Management ICCM International Committee on Composite Materials ICCM International Council of Catholic Men Chicago 2000 CHICAGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 1, 2000 New integration technology enables development of industry-leading solutions with best of breed technology providers Blue Pumpkin pumpkin, common name for the genus Cucurbita of the family Cucurbitaceae (gourd family), a group that includes the pumpkins and squashes—the names may be used interchangeably and without botanical distinction. C. Software, a leading provider of workforce management Workforce Management (WFM) encompasses all the responsibilities for maintaining a productive and happy workforce. Sometimes referred to as HRMS systems, or even the larger ERP systems (Oracle, PeopleSoft, SAP). There are many software vendors within this space. solutions, announced the release of PrimeTime Exchange, a new open integration platform that will seamlessly bridge its award-winning PrimeTime forecasting and scheduling solutions with industry-leading multi-contact communications technologies Noun 1. communications technology - the activity of designing and constructing and maintaining communication systems engineering, technology - the practical application of science to commerce or industry . This new platform supports Blue Pumpkin's overall integration initiative to deliver open, easy to implement solutions that support the rapidly changing technology environments of today's multi-channel contact center. Blue Pumpkin's complete solution includes the new integration platform plus out-of-the-box integration plug-ins developed jointly by Blue Pumpkin and its communications partners. "As customer interaction evolves to include telephone, email, web and fax, Blue Pumpkin Solutions interact with an increasing number of sophisticated technologies," said Dr. Ofer Matan, Chief Technical Officer for Blue Pumpkin. "Disparate methods, protocols and databases from both existing and new vendors make the problem of integration much more complex and expensive to support. We built the PrimeTime Exchange platform to enable out-of-the-box integrations for our customers no matter which vendors they choose to help implement their CRM (Customer Relationship Management) An integrated information system that is used to plan, schedule and control the presales and postsales activities in an organization. strategy and manage their customer interactions." About the PrimeTime Integration Platform PrimeTime Exchange offers an open platform that supports data integration to a variety of contact center applications that manage voice, email, or web transactions. The core of the system is a workflow engine Workflow engine is a software application meant to manage and execute modeled business processes. It is a key component in workflow technology. It will typically make use of a database server. that manages system functionality and all vendor-specific plug-ins, offering a single umbrella under which all data exchange into and out of Blue Pumpkin PrimeTime solutions is managed. The major components of the platform include: -- A CTI (Computer Telephone Integration) Combining data with voice systems in order to enhance telephone services. For example, automatic number identification (ANI) allows a caller's records to be retrieved from the database while the call is routed to the appropriate party. engine that gathers real-time events -- A Synchronization (1) See synchronous and synchronous transmission. (2) Ensuring that two sets of data are always the same. See data synchronization. (3) Keeping time-of-day clocks in two devices set to the same time. See NTP. engine that exchanges and synchronizes updates to agent information with other contact center applications -- A Batch Processing (1) Performing a particular operation automatically on a group of files all at once rather than manually opening, editing and saving one file at a time. For example, graphics software that converts a selection of images from one format to another would be a batch processing utility. engine import historical contact statistics from ACDs, CTI servers, Email Management Systems (EMS) and Chat/Co-browsing solutions. The new platform supports data exchange via XML XML in full Extensible Markup Language. Markup language developed to be a simplified and more structural version of SGML. It incorporates features of HTML (e.g., hypertext linking), but is designed to overcome some of HTML's limitations. , SQL SQL in full Structured Query Language. Computer programming language used for retrieving records or parts of records in databases and performing various calculations before displaying the results. and a variety of native formats. This flexibility allows Blue Pumpkin and its partners to quickly develop tightly integrated solutions. It also ensures customers can easily create custom solutions to support their particular multi-contact environments. Global leaders in networking, multimedia customer care, customer relationship management and online customer communications technologies are among those integrating their products with the Blue Pumpkin platform. PrimeTime Exchange Plug-ins Blue Pumpkin's open integration platform has been used to develop 18 new plug-ins in the past 6 months. An additional 20 plug-ins are planned for the next 12 months that will provide additional support for industry-leading routing and managing systems for voice, email, and web interactions. Each plug-in provides a vendor-specific solution for receiving CTI events, agent data, or historical contact data. "Blue Pumpkin customers have a variety of different systems in place to support their customer service strategy," said Bill Harrison, vice president of strategic integration for Blue Pumpkin. "We are working hand-in-hand with our strategic partners to provide cost-effective solutions that can be deployed out-of-the-box, without extensive consulting engagements. PrimeTime Exchange has enabled us to share more data between more systems than ever before, increasing the total value of our joint solutions to the customer." "Workforce management is a key component in implementing a multi-channel CRM operation," said Robert Mirani, Director of Customer Relationship Management Strategies for the Yankee Group (the Yankee Group, Boston, MA, www.yankeegroup.com) A major market research, analysis and consulting firm founded in 1970 by Howard Anderson. It provides general consulting and strategic planning in the computer and communications field. . "The Yankee Group believes that contact centers (of the future) must be built on an open infrastructure that enables integration of best of breed components. Blue Pumpkin's PrimeTime Exchange, and its partnerships with leading companies in the contact center applications market, will enable users to more effectively assemble a platform and benefit from more timely deployment of multimedia customer contact." Pricing and Availability Available now, PrimeTime Exchange is delivered with every Blue Pumpkin workforce management system. Plug-ins and any applicable installation services are priced separately. Blue Pumpkin PrimeTime Blue Pumpkin PrimeTime products are robust workforce management software packages designed to optimize the forecasting and scheduling of agents in customer contact centers by ensuring the appropriate people with the right skill sets are available to interact with customers across a variety of channels, including phone, email and Internet chat. Recently awarded a HotPick 2000 Award by Call Center News Service and Product of the Year and Editor's Choice honors from Call Center, Call Center Solutions and CTI magazines, the PrimeTime family of products provide powerful "what-if" analyses to predict how call volume and staffing changes will affect customer contact center operations. With PrimeTime, customer contact centers reduce overstaffing costs and increase revenues by capturing previously lost sales. About Blue Pumpkin Software, Inc. Blue Pumpkin Software is a market-leading provider of workforce management solutions for multimedia customer contact centers. Blue Pumpkin develops, markets, and supports the award-winning PrimeTime suite of products designed to help companies guarantee superior customer service across a variety of contact media, including phone and email. Blue Pumpkin provides the tools necessary to efficiently schedule and manage contact center personnel, ensuring that the right person with the right skills handles customer interactions. Blue Pumpkin Software is headquartered in Silicon Valley, with offices around the world. Global leaders in the financial services The examples and perspective in this article or section may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. Please [ improve this article] or discuss the issue on the talk page. , e-commerce, telecommunications, and retail goods & services industries depend on Blue Pumpkin solutions. Current customers include ADP (1) (Automatic Data Processing) Synonymous with data processing (DP), electronic data processing (EDP) and information processing. (2) (Automatic Data Processing, Inc., Roseland, NJ, www.adp. , eToys, Airborne Express Airborne Express (IATA: n/a, ICAO: ABX, and Callsign: Abex) was an express delivery company and cargo airline. Headquartered in Seattle, Washington, its hub was at Wilmington, Ohio. , Apple Computer, AT&T, Verio, KitchenAid, Drugstore.com, Carlson Wagonlit Carlson Travel Network Carlson Travel Network can trace its origin back to a travel agency that was founded by Ward Forster in the United States in 1888 and named Ask Mr. Foster. Travel and PeopleSoft. For more information about Blue Pumpkin and its products, please visit the Blue Pumpkin web site at www.blue-pumpkin.com or call 877/257-6756. |
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