The Week in Review: June 11, 2004

Epsilon announced both the launch of Technology in Play, a center for database marketing innovation, and the conversion of its mainframe-based computing platform to a fully open-systems operating environment. The conversion provides marketing infrastructure and tools for database management, BI, analytic processing, and multichannel campaign management. The Technology in Play center enables clients and prospects to prototype, experiment, and test database marketing tools and platforms, to learn how to leverage best practices, and to design customized solutions to best support their targeted marketing objectives. The center also includes Epsilon's parallel processing solution for insurance, banking, and credit marketers. Deals of the week... British Telecom announced that it will standardize its global service management program using Amdocs across all business units. Click Commerce announced that its Allegis eBusiness Suite was selected by Carrier Corporation, a heating, ventilation, and air conditioning company, to improve its channel management processes. Click also announced that The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UTHCSCA) has chosen its Webridge Compliance Extranet to automate human subject research oversight. Etalk announced that SITEL, a global provider of outsourced customer support services, has selected etalk's Qfiniti suite of Performance Impact contact center quality management solutions. SmartDM has signed agreements with four more NBA teams to provide data management and CRM services. NBA teams the Miami HEAT, the Golden State Warriors, the Dallas Mavericks, and the Los Angeles Clippers will use the technology to manage their data, analyze fan preferences, and execute marketing communications campaigns to their ticket purchasers and fans. Trillium Software announced that Raymond James Financial has deployed the Trillium Software System for data quality management. IntelliCare announced that McLaren Regional Medical Center, a teaching hospital within the McLaren Health Care Corporation, has agreed to outsource the company's medical contact center operations. NoInk Communications announced that Rehabilicare, an international provider of electromedical pain management and rehabilitation products, has deployed the company's hand-held sales force automation software. Merkle Direct Marketing, a provider of information-based database marketing services, has chosen Inktel Direct to support nationwide recruitment efforts of the U.S. Marine Corps. MicroStrategy announced that AMB Generali Information Services (AMB-Informatik) has chosen the MicroStrategy Business Intelligence Platform for enterprisewide sales reporting and analysis. Executive changes... RightNow Technologies appointed high technology financial executive Rick Allen to its board of directors and as chairman of its Audit Committee. Allen was formerly the director, executive vice president, and CFO of J.D. Edwards & Company. Best Software named Joe Bergera the senior vice president and general manager of contact management solutions, comprised of the ACT! product line. Prior to joining Best Bergera was most recently senior vice president of worldwide marketing for InfoVista, a global infrastructure management software company. New products... Cognos announced that it will release PowerPlay 7.3, the latest version of its OLAP data-analysis module, in late August. The updated version will include drag-and-drop Web-based analysis, enhanced ability to focus on and govern access to smaller subsets of data, and extended integration with Microsoft Office and Excel. OnStation, a provider of customer retention and satisfaction solutions for the automotive services industry, introduced AutoCards, a new enhancement to its OnStation ShopConnect CRM service. According to the company, the new AutoCards feature extends the sales-building capabilities of OnStation ShopConnect to customers who do not have email by sending out fully personalized and customized postcards via regular mail to remind them of auto maintenance schedules and announce promotional offers. Avidian Technologies launched Prophet 2004 1.5, which offers enhancements to both its single-user platform and the Prophet 2004 Server Edition. The technology is compatible with Outlook 2003; can send HTML and images in the personalized Group Email Wizard from within Outlook in addition to standard text formats; provides access to exchange public folders from the integrated Outlook and Prophet 2004 interface; and offers additional custom reporting features. Dendrite International unveiled a new technology framework built on Microsoft .NET to serve as the core architecture for new CRM systems for the pharmaceutical industry. Dendrite's new platform features integration components from TIBCO, as well as support for Microsoft Office technologies including ASP.NET and ADO.NET, Microsoft Office Outlook 2003, Microsoft Exchange 2003, Microsoft Windows Server 2003, electronic data management, validation, storage, and auditing solutions, and Microsoft IIS 6.0. EmergeCore Networks, a provider of hardware and software solutions for SMBs, announced a new CRM application integrated as a no-cost module with the IT-500 IT IN A BOX all-in-one network appliance. IT-500 provides users with an instant wired or wireless network that can support up to 75 users. Pragmatech has released version 6 of its proposal automation suite. Pragmatech focuses on allowing sales and marketing teams to quickly assemble, manage, and repurpose corporate knowledge to meet RFP requirements with greater speed and accuracy. With the new version of the software, proposal leaders can more easily farm out key questions to be addressed in the proposal to team members, then automatically incorporate the emailed responses, as well as distribute content to subject matter experts for revision. TransUnion, a global information solutions company, has made available its TransUnion Prospects on Demand, a new solution for direct access to the company's multisource database and business analytics tools. The technology provides users with continuously updated information on the buying behavior of over 190 million consumers, incorporating over 450 credit characteristics, risk score and demographic elements, and campaign management tools.