Concerto, Aspect to merge in billion-dollar deal, Aspect releases updated Uniphi Suite.Concerto Software Inc. and Aspect Communications Corp. announced an agreement to combine the companies. The deal is valued at approximately $1 billion. According to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. Aspect, the transaction will form the largest company solely focused on contact center products and services. Aspect shareholders will receive $11.60 in cash for each share of common stock, representing an approximate 15 percent premium to the average closing price during the 30 trading days prior to the July 5 announcement. (Please see the cover story in this issue of Customer Interaction Solutions for an exclusive interview with Concerto 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. James Foy.) In other Aspect news, the company has announced the latest release of its contact center operating environment, Aspect Uniphi Suite. The new suite offers businesses the flexibility and functionality needed for contact center application convergence, including ACD (Automatic Call Distributor) A computerized phone system that responds to the caller with a voice menu and connects the call to the appropriate agent. It can also distribute calls equally to agents. , 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. and IVR (Interactive Voice Response) An automated telephone information system that speaks to the caller with a combination of fixed voice menus and data extracted from databases in real time. , on a single, centrally managed, switch-agnostic platform. Version 6.1 aims to simplify application development, system administration and management, while also doubling the number of agents supported by last year's release. Aspect's offering is a convergence platform combining communication routing, data integration, advanced speech and reporting and analytics applications into an open standards-based software format that supports both PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network) The worldwide voice telephone network. Once only an analog system, the heart of most telephone networks today is all digital. In the U.S. and IP switches. Aspect Uniphi Suite interacts with existing enterprise applications; provides a centralized cross-media view of a customer's entire service experience; and supports contact center growth. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Uniphi Suite version 6.1 includes support for up to 500 agents (blended and voice-only), Microsoft .NET and Windows, Aspect Call Center, Cisco Call Center Manager, Sharepoint, Microsoft Exchange and eGain Service. The software is built on core standards, such as VXML See VoiceXML. , SOAP/Web Services and SIP. www.aspect.com www.concerto.com By Glenn J. Kalinoski, Executive Editor, Customer Inter@ction Solutions |
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