TMC Labs Innovation Awards, part II.

The TMC Labs Innovation Awards are intended to provide special recognition to products that help carve a new market niche or start a new trend. These awards highlight what is special about them and what sets them apart from their competitors due to one or more unique and innovative features. This is our fifth annual installment of the TMC Labs Innovation Awards for Customer Inter@ction Solutions[R] magazine.

We examined a plethora of applications, checked customer references, extensively researched the products, debated our selections and finally came up with the creme de le creme of 26 winners within the customer interaction space. Part II of the winners list is presented here, beginning with Kanisa and ending with Witness Systems. Part I of the winners list was featured in the September 2004 issue of Customer Inter@ction Solutions[R] magazine and can be accessed online at www.tmcnet.com.

We offer sincerest congratulations to all the winners.

Kanisa

Kanisa5

www.kanisa.com

Kanisa's application suite, Kanisa5, is a complete suite of knowledge-empowered customer service applications that provide knowledge management (KM) as well as CRM capabilities. The goal of Kanisa's suite is to automate the problem-resolution process, which improves agent productivity and increases customer satisfaction, both of which provide cost savings and fill in the large gap left by non-automated or incomplete customer service applications.

Kanisa5 integrates all support center channels with one knowledge platform and includes:

Kanisa Support Center: allows agents to use one application to access all content, regardless of where it resides, regardless of the channel of inquiry. With the ability to access disparate information repositories--both internal and external/structured and unstructured data--agents reduce call time and increase first-call resolution.

Kanisa Support Site: a powerful self-service application that empowers customers with knowledge to solve problems online.

Kanisa Site Search: provides customers and Web site visitors with a robust NLP search engine to navigate the site, find information and get answers--regardless of data location and structure.

Kanisa Expert Forums: enables collaboration among customer and user communities.

Some of the product's key features include interview scripting, collaboration, the ability to integrate disparate content sources and personalized self-service.

Kanisa5 automates the service-resolution process by combining robust KM technology with rich application capabilities. Kanisa5 fits under the relatively new Service Resolution Management (SRM) category, which allows companies to effectively bridge KM and CRM with a holistic enterprisewide integrated knowledge platform.

Also, Kanisa touts its "Universal Knowledge Integration and Access" features. The company states that Kanisa5 is the only product to simultaneously access structured and unstructured data in response to a single query. Kanisa makes this possible by automatically integrating and tagging disparate content sources from across the enterprise.

Kanisa also declares that the Kanisa Support Center module is the first application that integrates comprehensive resolution functionality, applies workflow to the entire resolution process and leverages a unified knowledge management platform. The Kanisa5 application suite takes disparate KM tools from support organizations and creates a holistic application, eliminating the need to have multiple windows open. Agents no longer need to mine various data sources from various applications to solve customer problems. Kanisa5 brings all of those tools into one cohesive application.

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KnowledgeBase Solutions, Inc.

KnowledgeBase.net version 4.0

www.knowledgebase.net

KnowledgeBase.net is one of the most powerful knowledge base solutions on the market today to bridge two disciplines: knowledge management and online self-service/CRM. Designed around Microsoft.NET, it leverages the numerous.NET programmers and .NET applications that can be tightly coupled with this solution. It comes in three flavors:

* KnowledgeBase.net Enterprise Edition, which targets Global 2000 companies with call centers;

* KnowledgeBase.net Hosted Edition for small and mid-sized companies; and

* KnowledgeBase.net Professional

Edition for the small/SOHO market.

KnowledgeBase.net features tight Windows integration. One unique Windows integration feature is the ability to "right mouse click" a document and send it directly to the knowledge base from any desktop. This makes creating new knowledge base entries very easy. KnowledgeBase.net also has the ability to automatically convert any of these files to HTML, if so desired, or they can be kept in their inherent file format (PDF, Word, Excel, etc.).

Additionally, it is fully interoperable with .NET so that other .NET applications can be seamlessly integrated. Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML) and Active Server Pages (ASP) code seamlessly integrate with any of KnowledgeBase.net's portal, search or article display functionality. The company says it offers the first knowledge base solution accessible via PocketPCs. Also, KnowledgeBase.net Enterprise Edition integrates with LDAP protocols, such as Microsoft's Active Directory, for easy user name and password management.

While there are numerous knowledge management and online self-service knowledge bases available, KnowledgeBase.net is marketed as the first to offer customers a choice of either a hosted or a CPE-based solution. The hosted edition is ideal for customers who do not want to manage hardware or software related to the knowledge base, and it requires no upfront investment. The on-site edition works best for companies that either require KnowledgeBase.net to reside behind company firewalls or want to more rightly control their data.

Fully integrated into a single Web-based application, KnowledgeBase.net combines content, knowledge and document management features with customized Web portals and powerful search technologies that allow knowledge to be easily put into a central location.

The product was designed to be easy for knowledge masters/creators to author information, for administrators to manage and for end users to quickly and accurately search and find the knowledge they need.

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LumenVox

LV Speech Tuner

www.lumenvox.com

We all know the benefits of speech recognition--the problem is that a speech application is often deployed and then forgotten. Like a car, any speech application needs a periodic "tune up" to make sure it has high accuracy. LV Speech Tuner is the speech recognition industry's first integrated maintenance tool allowing both transcription and testing capabilities to the channel. The LV Speech Tuner is designed to allow companies easy access to their own data so they may tune their systems and provide callers with a high-quality, consistent speech application.

After deploying a speech application, a company needs to perform tuning, transcription and testing on an ongoing basis. However, up until now, the tools for doing so required companies to incur expensive professional services fees because they needed to send their log files to the speech provider and then wait two to six weeks for the results of the tuning to be sent back. With the GUI-based LV Speech Tuner, companies can bring this side of speech recognition in-house and avoid those expensive and ongoing professional services fees. The LV Speech Tuner is a complete maintenance tool for speech applications built upon the Lumen Vox, Nuance and ScanSoft platform.

Speech recognition engines log information files detailing all the interactions between the caller and the system. With these logged files, an application designer may then use the LV Speech Tuner to analyze each stage in the call process, evaluate and then improve the speech recognition application. The developers at Lumen Vox designed the LV Speech Tuner to allow easy transcription and on-the-fly testing on actual calls. Using these features, companies deploying a speech recognition application may tightly tune it to their specific customer base.

Furthermore, the LV Speech Tuner automatically calculates a variety of performance measures, allowing companies to formulate a realistic and accurate assessment of the application's performance, as well as to evaluate the effects pin-point adjustments have on performance.

Currently, most speech systems force users to listen to each call and transcribe it by hand, often using a common text editor, which is ill-suited for scoring/evaluating speech applications. The user must then tabulate correct and incorrect responses, evaluate how to fix these responses and then make whatever changes seem appropriate to the live system. LV Speech Tuner is different--it allows a relatively novice user to easily transcribe, word for word, each caller's speech as well as indicate how the application chose to respond versus what the caller was requesting. This allows the LV Speech Tuner the ability to automatically rate performance against commonly accepted measures like WER (Word Error Rate), giving an accurate picture of details, such as average confidence scores, correct versus incorrect responses, in-grammar versus out-of-grammar performance, etc. The speech can be evaluated against the grammar as it was sent to the ASR, and call data can instantly be re-tested and re-scored to see if changes will influence the performance of the application.

Maximizer Software, Inc.

Maximizer Enterprise 8

www.maximizer.com

Large enterprise CRM vendors' products are often too complicated for the needs of the SME market, and their products are priced significantly higher than SME-focused CRM products and services. Maximizer Enterprise 8 fits both the target price point that mid-market organizations want ($500-$900 per software license seat versus $2,000-$5,000 per seat for higher-end solutions) and the rapid deployment capabilities they require (1-2 weeks versus 9-18 months for higher-end solutions), while retaining a rich feature set.

Important in any CRM application is the ability to integrate with other best-of-breed third-party applications. Maximizer Enterprise 8 supports automatic integration with Microsoft IIS, as well as automatic integration into Microsoft SQL Server or Pervasive SQL, including auto-creation of tables and other data structures. Maximizer integrates with QuickBooks, a popular accounting package in small to mid-sized businesses. It also supports built-in Crystal Reports for running powerful reports from within Maximizer. Maximizer 8.0's support for Crystal Reports includes a wide range of predefined reports, as well as a custom report engine. Additionally, it supports integration with VineyardSoft's KnowledgeSync workflow automation software.

Maximizer Software was the first CRM vendor in the SME space to leverage .NET technology, which allowed the company to write its new Calendar source code only once, for use on both Windows and Web clients. Maximizer is one of the easiest CRM applications to install and deploy while retaining a very powerful feature set. The ease of installation and fast deployment certainly sets Maximizer apart from other CRM applications.

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NICE Systems

NiceUniverse

www.nice.com

NICE Systems is well known for its recording and monitoring solutions. But what if you could take recording and monitoring to the next level, where the system could automatically detect specific key words or key phrases and highlight those calls? Or what if you could detect emotion in calls to find angry customers? Using voice analysis to detect emotion sounds like something from a futuristic Star Trek episode, but NICE Systems' NiceUniverse does indeed have this feature and more.

It can use speech analytics tools to spot key words or phrases, and it can use emotion detection to find conversations with heightened voice pitch representing angry customers who may defect. Visualization tools then present trends and root-cause analysis for business improvement. We should mention that NiceUniverse is architected around .NET.

NICE states that it is the first to unify recording, quality monitoring, coaching, customer feedback, enterprise reports, analytics and centralized storage, all in a single platform viewable through a customizable portal. The real innovation, other than the emotion detection, is that NICE has included analysis tools that allow the enterprise to extract information and value from the treasure trove of recordings that were previously untapped, now applying business analytics to them.

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Nuance Communications, Inc.

Nuance Caller Authentication 1.0

www.nuance.com

How many times have you given your mother's maiden name as a password? How many databases in the world have your mother's maiden name in them? In addition to the password being shared with many databases, how hard do you think it would be to look up that information with the Internet? Identity theft is certainly on the rise. Identity theft and fraud affect nearly 10 million people and cost businesses upwards of $60 billion per year (source: Federal Trade Commission). Simply giving your mother's maiden name is no longer a guarantee of privacy or identity-theft protection. It also opens up companies to potential liability if they inaccurately authenticate someone.

Now, with Nuance's Caller Authentication 1.0, you can authenticate simply with your voice. The product is powered by Nuance's voice authentication engine, Nuance Verifier, and uses voiceprint technology to secure access to specific information. Before transactions are authorized, users' spoken voiceprints are compared to those previously enrolled and on file. Only when an exact match is achieved can the transaction be performed. Users simply speak a set of digits--rather than entering a difficult-to-remember PIN--and are authenticated based on the unique characteristics of their voices.

Nuance Caller Authentication allows companies with call centers that handle millions of calls per year to save millions of dollars (and thousands of man-hours) by automating caller verification. Using computers to perform the authentication saves on labor costs in addition to providing a more secure authentication method than just relying on mother's maiden name or Social Security number. Nuance Caller Authentication acts as a secure "front door" to call center systems, verifying the identity of callers within a variety of scenarios: customer care (address change, order status), transactions (bill-pay applications, claims processing, trading), productivity (field service automation, sales force automation) and communication (e-mail reading). Nuance Caller Authentication (NCA) is relevant to several vertical markets, including financial services, healthcare, telecommunications, utilities and retail. While we certainly don't see the "what is your mother's maiden name?" method going away anytime soon, using innovative speech technology and applying it to thwart identify theft is a step in the proper direction.

Raindance Communications 

Raindance Meeting Edition

www.raindance.com

Raindance Meeting Edition is an integrated conferencing solution that enhances traditional audio conferences by allowing participants to see (IP video), hear (IP and PSTN audio) and collaborate on documents in real-time. Participants are able to meet from their computers to share applications, present PowerPoint slides or create virtual whiteboards--all while watching and listening to other individuals as they would in a face-to-face meeting.

Raindance is unique in that it has combined audio, Web and video into one seamless offering. In addition to the multipoint video that scales up to 125 people, the product provides tight Outlook integration. According to Raindance, in 20 seconds or less, users can join meetings on the phone and the Web through a desktop icon or simple one-click access through e-mail invitations. For advanced scheduling, Raindance's integration with Outlook allows any Outlook meeting to become a Raindance meeting with a single mouse click.

With Raindance's OpenGo audio conferencing, users are automatically called by Raindance's automated attendant, eliminating the need to remember dial-in numbers, I.D.s and PINs. Once in a meeting, users can perform onscreen annotation, such as highlighting, circling, writing or drawing arrows, to emphasize specific elements of an application, browser or document.

Raindance has a unique "follow-talker" feature to track the current speaker in the video pane or select individual participants to view their video feed. The video will automatically switch to the speaker because the integrated audio will recognize the audio stream has been activated.

Raindance optimizes both application and browser-sharing with respect to each participant's bandwidth. A meeting toolbar lets the user manage what application is being shared, as well as access participant management features. One final interesting feature is that arriving late to a Raindance meeting is not a problem--you can use a private window to view the meeting history and catch up without disrupting the meeting in progress.

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RightNow Technologies, Inc.

RightNow Service

www.rightnow.com

RightNow Technologies offers its RightNow Service solution through a multi-tenant, hosted on-demand model. RightNow coined the term "self-learning knowledge base" and has several patents to back it up. This knowledge base serves as not only a self-service mechanism for customers searching for answers on the Web, it also serves as a means for the customer service representatives (CSRs) to provide accurate, consistent answers to customers via Web, e-mail, chat or phone.

Two other innovative technologies include SmartAssistant and SmartSense.

SmartAssistant is effective for instances when customers don't bother to search the Web self-service knowledge base and simply submit an e-mail inquiry. SmartAssistant will intelligently parse the words in the e-mail and automatically push the most relevant content from the knowledge base to the customer. If those answers still don't prove helpful, the customer is then allowed to submit the e-mail question. Similarly, CSRs assisting customers via e-mail can click on the same feature (called "suggested answers") from their desktop application to ensure accuracy of the answers and save time.

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SmartSense is a unique feature. It is used within the RightNow Service agent console to display a color-coded "sense" that indicates the mood of the incoming e-mail and outgoing e-mail communications. For example, the system can be configured so that an angry customer's e-mail can be automatically escalated to the service manager or be pushed to the top of the queue list.

RightNow states that it is the first to introduce the concept of "Proactive Customer Service." RightNow Service extends its contact center functionality to include outbound e-mail communication. This new module, called RightNow Outbound, enables customer service managers to anticipate customer service needs and send targeted service-related messages to the affected customer base to preempt incoming inquiries.

RightNow can import third-party applications (e.g., billing/accounting systems, order tracking/status systems, supply chain/RMA systems) directly into the RightNow Service agent desktop screen. RightNow Service can also be integrated with a variety of phone switches and IVR (interactive voice response) systems, sales force automation, marketing automation and data warehouse and workforce management applications.

One feature that caught our attention is the product's ability to use both implicit and explicit methods to rank answers to a submitted question based on their helpfulness. For example, when a knowledge base answer is viewed by a user, the answer's rating increases. If the user continues his or her search after viewing the answer, its rating decreases. Users can also provide direct input as to how helpful the answer was by clicking on the buttons provided below each answer (on a 0-100 percent satisfaction scale). It uses time-based ranking of knowledge item relevancy, which helps ensure that the first topics the users see when they come to the knowledge base are those that are currently of the greatest interest. Considering that many users are often too busy to provide feedback on whether something did or did not solve their problem, we commend RightNow for designing an intelligent method of automatically analyzing customers self-service requests and determining the best answers for any future similar help request.

Rockwell FirstPoint Contact

FirstPoint Enterprise product leveraging Cisco CallManager

www.rockwellfirstpoint.com or www.concerto.com

(Concerto recently purchased Rockwell FirstPoint Contact.)

FirstPoint Enterprise leveraging Cisco CallManager is a great solution for enterprise-level contact centers, as it brings traditional TDM functionality, such as CTI, screen pops and contact center applications (including skills-based routing, queuing and reporting), to the VoIP world. Companies can have the full-featured functionality on an IP infrastructure that until now could only be found on a time-division multiplexing (TDM) infrastructure.

FirstPoint Enterprise utilizes Cisco CallManager IP-PBX for basic telephony functionality and extends the capabilities with the same product features that are in the TDM version of FirstPoint Enterprise. In this configuration, FirstPoint Enterprise uses a Rockwell FirstPoint Contact media server and softswitch application to integrate directly with Cisco CallManager through a JTAPI interface.

The FirstPoint Enterprise product leveraging Cisco CallManager provides several advanced features:

* Conferencing. All three- and four-party conferences are pulled back into the FirstPoint media server to allow greater flexibility.

* Monitor/barge-in. A critical contact center function that is delivered utilizing the media server component, supervisors have the ability to silent-monitor agents either when on a single call or on a conference call. They then have the ability to "barge-in" as needed and become full participants in the call.

* Personal announcements. Using the media server component to establish calls at the initial routing point, the solution allows application-specific personal greetings to be delivered to agents and callers at the time the call is delivered.

* Context-sensitive music on hold. When an agent puts a call on hold, the call is pulled back into the media server for treatment, instead of playing the Cisco CallManager music source. This allows callers to hear application-specific music or advertisements while they are on hold. Music sources can be external devices or prerecorded WAV files stored on the media server itself.

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Another innovative feature is a "Queue Optimizer" that gives callers the option to receive a callback when an agent is available or at a caller-specified time, without losing place in queue. This solution is unique in that it takes what Rockwell FirstPoint Contact does best--routing, reporting and queuing capabilities--and combines those capabilities with what Cisco does best--a scalable, reliable VoIP platform.

Siemens Information and Communication Networks

HiPath ProCenter Agile

www.siemens.com

HiPath ProCenter Agile is a contact center solution aimed at small and medium-sized businesses, or large enterprises with high-volume call-handling departments. Agile features intelligent call routing, graphical reporting and unique and innovative presence management for increased productivity. For example, using presence, you can graphically see your coworkers' statuses (lunch, on the phone, logged out, etc.), which makes it much easier to know if a particular person is available to take your call. Further, if you are trying to escalate a call to a supervisor, you can see which supervisors you can conference into the call. Once you do conference in a supervisor, billing personnel or some other department employee, that person will see the "screen pop" of caller contact information.

Agile features a user-friendly Windows interface. Agents can dock and undock toolbars simply by dragging on and off or double-clicking. This allows for easier access to other applications. In addition, the complete Agent desktop can be placed in "Icon Mode," which reduces the screen footprint to a system tray icon. A softphone is available, along with a full set of telephony tools for managing calls, including Speed Dial; Directory Look-up; and Contact Log, which tracks all inbound and outbound calls. Also within the user interface are Team Lists, Team Bars and an easy "one-click collaboration" feature to consult, conference and transfer. Agile also features a powerful, visual, drag-and-drop, workflow-style "app-gen" design tool to quickly create or revise call flows and queues. Utilizing Agile will help reduce customer hold time, prevent re-queuing, blind/dead transfers or transfers to voice mail and, most important, increase "first-contact/first-time" resolution by avoiding unnecessary callbacks, all of which will result in improved customer satisfaction and loyalty.

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Symon Communications, Inc.

Symon Enterprise Server (SES), formerly Symon 2000

www.symon.com

Symon Enterprise Server (SES) Release 8.0 is a real-time middleware application for unifying contact center and other business data solutions and displaying real-time data and alerts to many types of devices (devices such as wallboards, plasmas, televisions, PDAs, cell and landline telephones, e-mail and Blackberry). With Symon's recent acquisition of TargetVision, Symon states that SES 8.0 is the only solution with "shrink-wrapped" real-time data collection capabilities, seamlessly integrating streaming video, news feeds and customizable corporate and employee communications for LED displays, plasmas and television, as well as desktop viewing.

SES is a middleware product that enables a business to modularly build a corporate and employee communication system. Symon has incorporated all of its products into a suite of offerings driven by the SES engine that can be easily added to. For instance, a business may want to start with a wallboard and then move up to real-time data at the desktop. Workforce management is another add-on. For small to large enterprises, there are broadcast capabilities, along with an innovative authoring/editor tool called Symon Design Studio. Broadcast-quality information can be viewed on plasmas and televisions for corporate and employee communication anywhere around the world using standard IP-connected devices.

What SES can do on a single platform would typically require multiple servers to accomplish the same tasks. SES 8.0 is the engine that administers, collects, transforms and distributes real-time broadcast and historical data for use by any application or device. SES brings technology, information and communication together, eliminating data silos and reducing operating costs while increasing productivity and performance. It allows the enterprise to present data to all clients in many formats and in a manner that is meaningful for each individual.

Verio Inc.

NTT/VERIO PowerPlatform Hosting

www.verio.com

The NTT/VERIO PowerPlatform Hosting Solutions suite is designed for enterprises seeking to outsource the hosting and management of business applications such as back-office systems, Intranet operations, customer-facing Web sites and ecommerce solutions. Let's face it--a corporate Web site has become the lifeblood of any organization, whether it's a large call center or a small to medium-sized business. Often it is not economical for an organization to have redundant T1 lines or redundant Web servers in case of failure. As such, one of the best ways to ensure 100 percent up-time is to outsource Intranet and Internet infrastructure and applications.

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NTT/VERIO PowerPlatform Hosting solutions are specifically designed to enable businesses to build out their enterprise infrastructure on-demand, without making capital investments, while retaining data-center-class security, performance availability, support and wrap-around SLAs. The modular nature of the NTT/VERIO PowerPlatform Hosting Solutions suite means it can be tailored for mid-market and high-end market customers, as well as for entry-level dedicated hosting customers.

PowerPlatform gives customers the ability to build out their infrastructure on-demand by drawing on modular technology, tiered support and enhanced services. Because of its modularity and its modular pricing structure, customers are not required to pay the single "pigeon-holed" pricing scheme that is usually offered by competitors, which is usually higher.

PowerPlatform consists of many optional hosted applications. Managed Storage Solutions, for example, is a complete portfolio of backup and storage solutions that ensure data delivery. Verio's state-of-the-art data centers can scale several customers' data across all of their hardware, making the best possible use of the storage and saving money for all involved. Verio's customers pay for only the computing power and capacity they require. That is the motto for all of PowerPlatform's offerings: pay for what you use.

Witness Systems

eQuality Vision

www.witness.com

Witness Systems has always been on the sharpest edge of providing quality monitoring solutions. For instance, Witness Systems was first to market with a solution that provided synchronized voice and data recording, holding a patent for the process. The company also claims to have introduced the market's first VoIP recording solution. In addition, Witness Systems was one of the first to offer a customer interaction recording solution that captures and evaluates agent/customer contacts taking place via collaborative chat and e-mail, as well as customer self-service via the Web.

Witness Systems' eQuality performance optimization suite is designed to capture customer intelligence and optimize workforce performance. Its software delivers an integrated system for continuous performance improvement in multimedia call centers, IP telephony and back-office environments to enhance customer experiences.

Witness Systems' performance optimization suite is comprised of its browser-based eQuality software, which encompasses IP telephony, compliance, high-volume and business-driven customer interaction recording solutions, as well as performance analysis and e-learning applications. The closed-loop suite enables companies to capture and retrieve, learn and train, and report and analyze customer interactions to develop staff, generate revenue, reduce costs and achieve greater customer retention and loyalty--all by sharing captured customer and business intelligence throughout the enterprise.

eQuality Vision, one of the analytics solutions within the eQuality software suite, enables the rapid search and retrieval of recorded customer interactions, including synchronized voice and screen capture. With its powerful data visualization capabilities, management can easily pinpoint and view interesting and unusual contacts. Through its color-coding classification of calls based on nature and outcome and patterns and trends, key areas of interest are easily identifiable. This allows unique visualization that enables users to search through thousands of contact recordings and focus on those of interest.

The eQuality Balance feature can trigger a recording and a capture of specified contact types based on "business rules" that users pre-define as most critical to their operating performance, such as contacts involving key customers, new marketing campaigns, specific products and select agents.

One of eQuality Vision's notable features is its ability to show users the periods of speech and silence within each call. By looking at a waveform of the call, they can spot and skip over dialing tones, ringing tones, periods of silence and music. Because periods of prolonged silence can indicate wasted time and money, a flexible "silence threshold" setting enables users to specify what constitutes an unnatural pause. Pauses are then highlighted graphically, allowing users to find problem areas within dozens or hundreds of calls at a time, without having to listen to them all.

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Because the eQuality software retains all call characteristics--from standard holds and transfers, to custom attributes like customer, campaign and product IDs--users can perform detailed analysis and trending. In fact, users can color-code calls based on particular business conditions, making it easy to spot the interactions that exhibit particular characteristics. Then a supervisor can identify which team members are responsible for a rise in the volume of transfers and, more important, they can understand the reason behind it. A customer service director concerned about first-call resolution might be interested in reviewing repeat calls from the same customers to understand the "root causes" driving those contacts.

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Tom Keating, Chief Technology Officer & Executive Technology Editor, TMC