December 23, 2004

NEWS Amdocs announced that its board of directors has extended the company's share buyback program by authorizing the repurchase of up to $100 million of its outstanding ordinary shares. The company will be able to purchase its ordinary shares in open market or privately negotiated transactions at times and prices considered appropriate.
Nuance has announced that David Nagel, president and CEO of PalmSource, has joined Nuance's board of directors. He was elected at Nuance's board meeting earlier this month. Prior to joining PalmSource, Nagel served as CTO at AT&T and president of AT&T Labs. His resume also includes serving as senior vice president at Apple Computer and as the head of NASA's human factors research. In 1997 he was named to President Clinton's Presidential Information Technology Advisory Committee. CUSTOMER WINS Interface Software has announced that Mills & Reeve, a U.K.-based 290-lawyer firm, has selected InterAction to integrate with Microsoft Outlook, Firmware practice management system, and Desktop letter generation system to create a centralized Relationship Intelligence resource for lawyers, marketing, business development teams, and administrative users. Prior to the implementation the firm lacked an effective process for pulling together client information. Additionally, Mills & Reeve hit roadblocks when trying to identify who in the firm had a relationship with a prospective client. The solution's built-in data quality and data change-management functionality, however, will allow the firm to uncover relationships and revenue opportunities while improving client service. Voxify has announced that Ireland's national carrier, Aer Lingus Airlines, has selected Voxify's Automated Agents to support its phone reservations, including fare shopping, bookings, itinerary changes, seat assignments, and reconfirmations. With the hosted solution Aer Lingus travelers can book reservations anytime, without waiting on hold and the airline is able to reduce the per-call cost of these calls. Customers are also feeling the effects of the airline's cost savings: Premier business class fares have fallen by over 50 percent and lead-in economy fares have dropped by 20 to 30 percent. Related article: Keeping Pace With the Evolution of CRM Amdocs ClarifyCRM lays out its road map, highlighting its focus on integration.