Unified IP platform combined with portal-based CRM solution builds customer satisfaction and loyalty through real-time interaction and enterprise-wide information sharing
MELVILLE, N.Y. and BELLEVUE, Wash., August 14, 2000 - CosmoCom, Inc. today announced a strategic alliance with Onyx Software Corporation (NASDAQ: ONXS) to provide businesses the ability to leverage multi-channel customer interactions to strengthen and enhance customer relationships. The alliance pairs CosmoCom's patented IP-based contact center platform with Onyx 2000, a customer-centric e-business application that provides seamless relationship management functionality for employees, customers and partners. The joint platform allows live and message-based business transactions that are conducted across any channel - telephone, Internet-enabled PC, interactive TV, PDA or wireless device - to be gathered, processed and shared across one enterprise-wide IP network.
"The customer relationship has become a 24-hour conversation in a multimedia environment and many companies are struggling to keep up," said Brent Frei, Onyx Software president and CEO. "Smart companies are recognizing the promise of this new landscape by integrating multiple communication and information channels to make every single point of interaction an opportunity to increase customer satisfaction and loyalty, and boost revenue. The CosmoCom-Onyx partnership will provide businesses with a cost-effective, proven solution to help them gain competitive advantage."
While traditional customer integration and relationship management (CIM/CRM) solutions rely on the loose integration of a complex collection of technologies developed by numerous vendors, the CosmoCom/Onyx solution streamlines the technology environment into one unified IP platform while expanding its functionality. Together, CosmoCom and Onyx offer a complete Web- and telephone-based multimedia contact center and relationship management system that relies solely on software and IP-ACD (automatic call distributor) technology, freeing companies from costly circuit-switched telephone equipment or computer telephony integration (CTI) middleware typical of most call center technology.
"This initiative is a real breakthrough in the race to gain market share and retain loyal customers," said Steve Kowarsky, CosmoCom executive vice president. "Onyx provides their CRM software to many of the same customers, application service providers (ASPs) and end users we see as prime candidates for our CIM platform. Those companies stand to benefit a great deal from a single unified system that will provide everyone in the organization with real-time information to assure their customers can conduct business anywhere, anytime, through any channel, and have a positive experience."
The joint system utilizes the award-winning CosmoCom CIM platform called CosmoCall Universeä, which connects both traditional and e-businesses with their global customers in live multimedia sessions via the Internet and telephone, as well as through email and voicemail messages, all in a single unified IP-ACD platform. In recognition of this pioneering technology, Frost & Sullivan recognized CosmoCom in a recent report as the market leader in its industry.
The CosmoCall Universe, the only true unified contact center technology available today, supports live online customer care with an IP-based architecture designed for high-capacity, high-availability operation and global distribution. Once routed through the CosmoCall Universe, communications are then funneled into Onyx's customer, partner and employee portals delivered via the Onyx e-Business Engineä, the backbone of the Onyx product suite, giving companies the framework for successfully managing, accessing and processing customer information across all facets of an organization. The end result of the combined platform is streamlined operations, improved customer services and elimination of the inefficiencies of isolated data systems.
About Onyx Software Corporation
Onyx Software Corporation (NASDAQ: ONXS) is a global supplier of enterprise-wide, customer-centric e-business applications. Onyx Software's software connects and powers a company's entire e-business world, including customer, partner, sales, marketing, service and call center functions. Onyx's award-winning products are known for flexibility, reliability and quick deployment, resulting in high return on investment, low total cost of ownership and industry-leading customer satisfaction. Onyx supports large, medium and small companies, including Agile Software, American Express, BroadWing, Cognos, CommerceOne, Credit Suisse, Dreyfus, Ericsson, FirstWorld Communications, Kana Communications, NTL Group, Portland Trail Blazers, Sierra Health Services and Singapore Cable Vision. For more information, email info@onyx.com or download our annual report at www.onyx.com/annualreport.
About CosmoCom, Inc.
Headquartered in Melville, N.Y., CosmoCom, Inc. is the industry leader in unified contact center technology, enhancing customer relationship management for both e-business and the traditional brick-and-mortar enterprise with a patented, IP-enabled solution that supports live and message-based customer interaction throughout the business transaction cycle. With offices throughout North America and Europe, CosmoCom has received an array of awards for its next-generation eCareä technology and holds a 50 percent share of the U.S. IP-ACD market, twice the market share of its nearest competitor, according to a Spring 2000 report by international market consultants Frost & Sullivan, entitled "U.S. Web Enabled Call Center Markets." For more information, visit http://www.cosmocom.com
