Chordiant Software and MCI Systemhouse Revolutionize Customer Service for Thomas Cook; Thomas Cook Call Center to Handle More Than 75,000 Calls Per Day in 30 Languages.

PALO ALTO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 20, 1998--Chordiant Software and MCI Systemhouse have implemented the world's most ambitious call center for travel giant Thomas Cook, and in record time.

The joint solution from Systemhouse and Chordiant has allowed Thomas Cook to launch its new Global Services business, a virtual worldwide call center providing a complete traveller assistance service which includes emergency, legal and medical services, emergency cash, and ticket replacement, among others.

These advanced capabilities were realized as a result of the first live European implementation of Chordiant CCS (Customer Communications Solution), a next generation software package which takes call centers into the new era of relationship marketing. Chordiant CCS is the core platform on which the company, together with Systemhouse, will provide companies with unique Enterprise Business Centers, making effective relationship marketing a reality.

Located in Thomas Cook's Global ServiceCenter in Peterborough, England, the Chordiant/Systemhouse solution will provide Thomas Cook Global Services with an unrivalled telephone-based customer service operation which will set new standards in the delivery of travel services and support.

Fully operational this summer (1998), the center will offer travellers a comprehensive range of services varying from emergency cash facilities to medical and legal assistance. With a single telephone call to the Peterborough center - from anywhere in the world, at any time, night or day - Thomas Cook customers will have access to a complete range of travel and financial expertise, as well as emergency support, in over thirty languages.

Commenting on the reasons for selecting the Chordiant CCS/Systemhouse solution, Mike Hughes, CIO for Thomas Cook Global Services said, "As one of the most widely recognized and trusted brands in the world, we wanted to set a new standard in care and service for travellers, and fast. The call center market is still characterized by complexity and product fragmentation. The Chordiant/Systemhouse partnership was amongst a rare few suppliers have who could offer customers anything other than expensive custom-built systems which, though complex, offer far from a complete solution. Using their solution, the Global Service Center was able to be built in fifteen weeks rather than the three years that would otherwise be the norm."

The customer contact center as Enterprise Business Center

This is the first implementation to be announced by the strategic partnership of Chordiant Software and Systemhouse, an international leader in telecommunications supply and integration. Formed in early 1998, the alliance will provide, ultimately, a branded set of customer contact center solutions for large corporations. The solutions will be based on the powerful combination of Chordiant CCS as the core technology platform and Systemhouse's integration expertise and implementation and support services.

The Chordiant/Systemhouse solution will also be instrumental in helping Thomas Cook Global Services develop and implement a relationship marketing approach by enabling anticipation and response to the increasingly sophisticated demands of both business and pleasure travellers.

Chordiant's CCS platform, together with Systemhouse's implementation expertise, will provide customers with unique Enterprise Business Centers, giving them access to unparalleled relationship marketing solutions.

Commenting on the Enterprise Business Center, Carol Realini, Chairman for Chordiant said, "Consumers want to be taken a step further than is currently available from the average call center. Call centers still promise more than they deliver. What customers actually want is a highly personalized service and the kind of one-to-one marketing they'd expect from face-to-face contact." She added, "To date, there has been no unified software system capable of handling any customer request through a single point of contact. Even the most sophisticated user organizations have developed networks of small call centers focused on specific products and services, or geared to handling specific technologies such as e-mail interactions.

"The result is customers are passed from one center to the next, causing delays, misunderstandings and frustration for the customer and lost business opportunities for the companies involved."

"When we began offering customer interactions solutions, we knew that it was possible to deliver world class integrated customer interaction centers," said Scott Ross, president and COO of MCI Systemhouse. "The Thomas Cook implementation shows how quickly that vision can become a reality for other companies contemplating such transformations. When we compare the Thomas Cook Global Services call center against the patchwork of independent call centers that many companies have today, it seems obvious that unified centers are the wave of the future," Ross added.

About Thomas Cook

Thomas Cook has been serving customers for 156 years. Today the Group provides services at more than 3,000 locations in around 100 countries, and employs over 13,000 people who serve more than 20 million customers each year. Thomas Cook is the world's largest supplier of travellers cheques outside North America and owns the world's largest network of retail foreign exchange bureaus.

About Chordiant Software

Chordiant Software builds consumer loyalty and growth for Fortune 500 companies through innovative software that personalizes every customer interaction. Its call center and Internet software puts the consumer at the heart of the business from request to fulfillment. With Chordiant, a company can create a highly flexible, responsive and consistent system for all customer needs, whether they come through the call center, the Internet, an ATM or another method.

Headquartered in Palo Alto, California, Chordiant maintains regional offices in Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Atlanta, New Jersey, and London. The company can be contacted via telephone at 1-888-CHORDIANT in the United States and [phone] in Europe. The company's Web site can be found at www.chordiant.com.

About MCI Systemhouse

MCI Systemhouse, The Network Enterprise Company, is MCI's global information technology services company. The industry's only single-source provider of convergence products and services that address businesses' total networking, communications and consulting needs, MCI Systemhouse has 120 offices and approximately 9,400 professionals worldwide. With a comprehensive offering of Network Enterprise solutions and services for the new millennium, Systemhouse serves major corporate, mid-sized and public sector clients throughout North and South America, Europe and Asia. You can visit the company's web site at http://www.systemhouse.mci.com.

Note to Editors: TRADEMARKS: CCS-Customer Communications Solution and Enterprise Business Center are trademarks of Chordiant Software, Inc.

The comprehensive range of services provided by Global Services is enhanced by Thomas Cook's speed of delivery, for example, replaced cash within 10 minutes. The range of services include:

-0-

====================================================
Emergency                   Travel
====================================================
Emergency cash and bill     Air and hotel
payment                     information and
                            reservations

Medical and legal           Car hire information and
referrals                   reservations

Advice and assistance for   Rail and sea information
lost travel documents       and reservations

Lost and stolen card        Travel and health advice
reporting

Card replacement

====================================================
Financial                  Convenience Services
====================================================
Money transfers            Translation and
                           interpretation services


Money access points        Global directory
                           inquiries

Home or hotel delivery     Global messaging
of travellers cheques
and FX

Currency advice            Courier services

Travel insurance           Card and document
                           registration

                           Gift delivery service



    CONTACT: Chordiant Software
              David Radoff, 650/493-2506 ext. 191

              [e-mail]
                  or
              Spiralgroup for Chordiant Software
              Nancy Scott Lyon, 626/403-2362
              [e-mail]
                  or
              Thomas Cook Global Services
              Rachel Shirbon, 0170-408-4157
              0850-094690
                  or
              MCI Systemhouse
              C. David Sutton, 800-644-NEWS
              [e-mail]