February 17, 2005

IN THE NEWS Concerto Software has posted fourth-quarter 2004 revenue of $70 million, a massive 147.3 percent jump from its fourth-quarter 2003 revenue of $28.3 million, fueled in part by a series of acquisitions during the year. Its fourth-quarter 2004 revenue represents a 38.9 percent increase from its third-quarter 2004 revenue of $50.4 million. Product revenue for the fourth quarter was $30.1 million, an increase of 131 percent from the same period last year and a 32 percent increase from third-quarter 2004. Total revenue for 2004 was $188.5 million, an increase of 75.7 percent over 2003 total revenue of $107.3 million. Product revenue for 2004 was $84.7 million, an increase of 76.4 percent over 2003 product revenue of $48 million. NEW PRODUCTS Angel.com, a Web-based technology solutions provider, has launched its Virtual Call Center, a hosted, customizable solution combining the company's on-demand IVR solutions with Web-based ACD. Solution features include call routing and queuing, integrated IVR, and call monitoring and reporting. Avaya will demonstrate the latest version of its Avaya Interactive Response solution at SpeechTEK West 2005. The solution, which integrates with IBM WebSphere Voice Server, ScanSoft OpenSpeech Recognizer, and Nuance speech recognition software, will be generally available March 7. The company will also announce that it will offer ScanSoft SpeechAttendant through its North America sales channels. CUSTOMER WINS Omniture has announced that Sears, Roebuck and Co. has deployed Omniture's SiteCatalyst solution to measure and improve its understanding of its overall sales and marketing performance of its Web site, including products and lines purchased, Web-traffic sources, and conversation rates. The solution also equips the retail powerhouse with the ability to compare in-store sales performance against online purchases. TeleTech Holdings, a customer management and BPO solutions provider, has announced a three-year agreement with Best Western International to provide multilingual support for the hotel chain's customer loyalty program and reservations. TeleTech will also work to improve the company's customer satisfaction, brand loyalty, and operational effectiveness. IBM and BlueWare, an electronic health-management solutions provider, have announced that West Branch Regional Medical Center is using the companies' integrated solution, Wellness Connection, based on IBM DB2 Content Manager software and IBM eServer iSeries and developed by BlueWare, to digitize all of its patient care records allowing doctors and nurses to get real-time access to historical patient data. The solution replaces the hospital's paper-based medical-records system. GSI Commerce, an e-commerce solution provider for retailers, branded manufacturers, entertainment companies, and professional sports organizations, has announced that adidas has selected the vendor for its online store. The integrated solution will include e-commerce technology, managed hosting, and order management. The company's e-commerce platform will integrate with adidas' third-party fulfillment provider. Related articles: Concerto Acquires Legendary Contact Center System To the Rescue: VoIP Helps Deliver the Vote Analyzing Web Analytics for CRM