New Product Spotlight: August 27, 2003

NetLedger and Artisoft, a developer of software-based phone systems, today announced the availability of an integrated Web-based phone support system for hosted applications. The combined solution automatically links an account number, entered by an incoming caller, to the customer record that resides on NetSuite, NetLEdger's CRM and ERP suite. The account is verified to indicate the level and type of support to be delivered and the call is then routed to the appropriate support representative and prioritized by attributes identified in NetSuite. When a support representative takes the call from the queue, the customer record instantly appears on the desktop. This saves the rep the time and effort spent in manually retrieving the customer's details and case history, according to NetLedger. Best Software has released ACT! Link 2.0, which better integrates ACT! with Intuit's QuickBooks products. The link enables critical data like sales contacts and invoice status to be automatically shared and updated between the two programs thus eliminating the need for duplicate data entry on linked contact records. Etalk has released version 1.5 of its quality management platform, etalk Qfiniti. Additions to the products monitoring and evaluation capabilities include enhanced screen-recording features to provide usability into desktop activities both inside and outside the call center; online calibration capabilities that help evaluation consistency and more frequent fine-tuning of the scoring process; simplified management features that allow more time to be spent coaching or analyzing quality trends; automated coaching options that increase agent review opportunities; remote playback that keeps quality activities on track and helps ensure critical recordings can be heard wherever Qfiniti users are located; and additional system refinements help improve ease-of-installation and onsite support requirements. Alinean has released ValueIT 3.0, a comprehensive ROI tool kit, to help CIOs, vendors, and consultants create accurate business plans for IT investment. Knowlagent has added the functionality Scorecard to its Agent Performance solution. The most significant benefits Scorecard delivers to the agent include displays of most important (three-to-five) key performance metrics critical to achieving the organization's business objectives, providing clear focus and priorities to the agent. It allows the agent to view her performance on key metrics at the start and end of a shift, ensuring awareness of goal attainment status and what is necessary to change and improve performance. It also provides the agent with not only status, but also with guidance on how to improve specific performance areas. And it eliminates the need for the agent to deduce data into action by providing the agent with the answer to the question, Now what do I do? Contact Network Corporation has released the latest version of its Contact Network product, which allows users to better access employee contacts, and store all contact information in one secure central repository. Version 2.0 includes increased privacy features, improved contact-search capabilities, full support for both Lotus Notes and Microsoft Outlook, and an upgraded administrative dashboard for IT staff.