Call Center & CRM Solutions Conference and Expo Draws More Than 4,700 Industry Professionals to Dallas.

Business Editors/High Tech Writers

Call Center 2001

SANTA ANA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 31, 2001

Bill Bradley Addresses Standing Room Only Crowd; Best of Show Awards

Announced; and Thousands Network With More Than 175 Exhibiting

Companies

Last week, 4,700 professionals in the call center industry packed the aisles at the 11th annual Call Center & CRM Solutions trade show and conference, which was held in Dallas.

More than 175 exhibiting companies showcased the latest software, equipment, technologies, applications, and services for call centers and customer relationship managers.

"The Dallas marketplace has been a magnet for call center activity and we are thrilled that we were able to bring together so many industry professionals to network and test the newest products and services in the marketplace," said Suzanne Graf, show manager and group conference director for Advanstar. "The call center industry is big business in Texas and more so in the Dallas-Ft. Worth region, home to about 700 of the state's estimated 2,000 call center facilities."

The show floor was packed with hundreds of companies offering their latest products and services. Sixteen exhibitors were presented with the Best of Show Awards, selected by a panel of industry analysts, consultants and journalists who judged the products. The winners were Click2Coach for the best agent monitoring solution; Knowledge Impact KnowledgeMate for the best agent training product; Call Center Technology Prizm 2.5 for the best management/staff communication tool; Siebel eService/eCollaboration 2000 for the best online customer service tool; CenterForce Technologies CenterForce Optimizer for the best outbound product; Microlog UniQue for the best Web enabling product; IEX TotalNet Call Routing for the best ACD product; FrogJazz/FrogDial for the best IVR product; NetByTel Connected for the best speech product; IEX Total View Workforce Management for the best scheduling and workforce management tool; Intecom PointSpin for the best PBX/Switch Product; E.piphany E.5 System for the best knowledge base/data warehousing and data mining product; IQ Services StressTest for the best service bureau; Assessment Solution Inc. REP eValuator for the best staffing/recruiting service or tool; Interior Concepts Pro-Fit for best furniture design; and Ericsson Solidus eCare for best contact center solution.

In addition to all of the new products that were available on the show floor, more than 750 of the attendees participated in the extensive conference program that addressed issues facing IT managers today. Paul Hebner, executive vice president of the Call Center Network Group, said, "It's just been in recent years that it's become acceptable for companies to admit that they are operating call centers. It's not surprising to see so many professionals at this event; the past year has been rife with development news about the industry, which now encompasses 80,000 call centers nationwide."

More than 175 exhibiting companies exhibited on the show floor including Siebel Systems, IEX, Nortel Networks, Aspect, PricewaterhouseCoopers, and Avaya Communications. Many of these companies introduced new products and services. According to Jay Elshaug, director of marketing at exhibiting company FrogJazz: "As a first year exhibitor we found tremendous value and exposure for our products and services at the event. It would be difficult to find another event with as high a concentration of call center professionals."

A highlight on the show floor was eCRMLive, an area that demonstrated the successful deployment of best-in-class solutions that can lead organizations into a new millennium of profitability. eCRMLive was a real-time demonstration of a functioning, state-of-the-art multimedia customer contact center. PricewaterhouseCoopers, as project manager and systems integrator, brought together powerful technologies in order to demonstrate the delivery of exceptional customer relationship management.

About Advanstar CRM Group

Advanstar Communications produces a series of events for the call center and CRM industry. Upcoming events include the 13th Annual Call Centre Solutions Canada; it will be held March 26-28, 2001 in Toronto, and The 2ND Annual Customer Contact Week, the co-location of ICCM, CRM Solutions and Field Service Solutions, will be held July 30-Aug. 2, 2001 at the McCormick Place Convention Center in Chicago. These events will attract thousands of call center managers and technology professionals from around the globe.

In addition, next year's 12th annual Call Center & CRM Solutions Conference & Exposition will move from Dallas to Las Vegas and will be held Feb. 12-14, 2002 at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

Advanstar is the world's largest producer of customer contact events. The practice includes Customer Relationship Management, Computer Telephony, Call Center, Field Service, Internet Commerce, and Telecommunications. Each of the 18 events are leaders in their marketplace, providing participating companies with an unmatched global outreach program.

The conferences are considered the best of the best -- timely, targeted and rich in content. The expositions are the largest and most comprehensive, providing attendees a one-stop-shopping experience. For additional information about Call Center and CRM Solutions Dallas and other Advanstar CRM Group events, contact customer service at 800/265-5665 or 218/723-9130, or visit the Web site at www.callvoice.com.