The Week in Review: July 16, 2004

In the news... Unica Corp. announced results for its third fiscal quarter ended June 30, 2004. The company reported a more than 50 percent year-over-year revenue growth, profitability, and positive cash flow from operations for the first nine months of the fiscal year. Unica also gained several customers during the third quarter, including Cabela's, CUNA, Lenox, and Collette Vacations in the United States, AIS in Thailand, and a new division of Vodafone in Europe. TIBCO Software announced the completion of its acquisition of Staffware, now called the TIBCO BPM Group. The TIBCO BPM product offering for business automation and optimization solutions includes principal offering for standalone BPM and the ability for the TIBCO Staffware Process Suite to seamlessly interoperate with TIBCO's real-time business integration platform via new standards-based connectivity by Q4 2004, according to the company. The suite also offers enhanced Microsoft .NET support, additional database and systems management integration, a new look process definer, and a Linux version. Maximizer Software announced the successful adoption of Maximizer 8 in its Americas region, the first region in which the new contact manager was launched. Between May 7 and May 31, the Americas region sold a total of 1,941 copies of Maximizer 8, which is approximately four times the normal sales volume for a typical three-week period. Maximizer's vice president of sales and marketing, Peter Callaghan, attributes this success to the solution's ability to efficiently track sales from lead to close. "The accounting link for QuickBooks enables customers to create quotes and invoices, and review their customers' credit histories instantly. [Users can also] read, send, and save Outlook email from within Maximizer using the Microsoft Outlook user interface" Deals of the week... Best Buy has entered into an agreement for a seven-year strategic relationship with Accenture for consulting and outsourcing services. RightNow Technologies announced that Japan's Matsushita Electric WorksCorporation has chosen RightNow Service for its customer support services in China. S1 Corporation announced that KBC Bank & Insurance Group is live with S1 Corporate Banking, and is deploying the solution in more than eight countries and in more than eight languages to standardize its corporate electronic banking operations. ChannelWave announced that Xpedite, a global provider of integrated data messaging services, has selected ChannelWave's Web-based PRM solution for its agent and reseller sales channels. QlikTech and brij, a PeopleSoft U.S. distribution channel partner, have partnered. The companies announced their first joint customer, Greer Laboratories, a provider of allergy immunotherapy products and services for humans and animals. Executive changes... BlueRoads Corporation has named David Bortolin its vice president of sales. Bortolin was vice president of sales and business development for software provider Covigo. Envision Telephony appointed Ted Lubowsky its vice president of sales and marketing. Lubowsky is a telecommunications industry veteran, most recently serving as president of the national, government and education accounts division of Inter-Tel. New products... Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories launched its G plus Adapter for Microsoft Business Solutions CRM. According to the company it was designed to share customer data between Microsoft CRM and Genesys' call center suite. The technology offers a single agent-facing application for access to customer information and interaction management; automated popup of customer information upon incoming calls; support for CTI call control functionality; single click outbound calls; multiple platform support; and support of international character sets. SPG Solutions announced the relaunch of its Click4Talk service, which has been renamed ZiffTalk. The new ZiffTalk service incorporates two new features--the ability to choose from a list of countries worldwide to allow prospective customers to connect to their salespeople, and the ability for clients to manage their availability by setting a standard schedule to receive calls. Mitel and ASC have extended their partnership by integrating ASC's new product range into Mitel's technology. This initiative extends Mitel's capabilities from traditional TDM into software-based VoIP. Exact Software has made available Exact Focus for Sarbanes-Oxley, a corporate governance solution that provides internal control systems that adhere to the financial compliance and auditing processes mandated by Sarbanes-Oxley. The solution allows businesses to create a real-time internal control system that connects the documents, processes, and individuals responsible for financial reporting within an organization. Call Compliance will release a new Wireless Number Blocking service to the teleservices sector. This new service is offered in partnership with TeleBlock licensed telephone carriers, including MCI, Qwest, Paetec, XO, Covista, and others. With the service TeleBlock subscribers will be able to screen and block outbound calls against the database of numbers ported from wireline to wireless service at no additional charge. CRMGuaranteed has launched a guaranteed CRM product called CMPro Plus, available in a client/server version and as an online edition. CMPro Plus uses a process called STEP for business delivery, which identifies and establishes key strategies for each client based on their needs.