Business Editors & High-Tech Writers

Call Center & CRM Solutions Las Vegas 2003

SANTA ANA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 4, 2003

Call Center Executives and Managers Meeting Feb. 10-13 Will See the

Latest Innovative Solutions in Customer Service

Thousands of call center professionals will examine the technologies, solutions and strategies that will be used to carry the customer-care industry forward toward economic stability and positive growth at the 13th Annual Call Center Conference and Exposition featuring the 1st Annual Sales, Marketing & Enterprise Customer Management Conference, being held next week at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center in Las Vegas. (http://vegas.iccm.com)

Challenging economic conditions have put customer contact and call center managers under more pressure than ever to improve customer service and retention without increasing expenses. Call and customer contact center executives and managers are responding with new and innovative approaches to human resource management, technology management and operational management.

The Call Center Las Vegas Exposition is a showcase of the newest and most innovative of those approaches. The Exposition, featuring more than 115 exhibitors will be open Tuesday and Wednesday, Feb. 10 and 11. The exhibit hall opens each day at 10:30 a.m.

Among the companies and their products, services and promotions scheduled for presentation at Call Center Las Vegas are:

-- Genticity -- Customer1 version 2.0 Web Service Edition -- The Customer1 product is based on Dot.Net technology from Microsoft. This approach provides innovative delivery and pricing options. Up until now, the standard model in the industry has been a license model for application delivery. Customer1 WSE differs from the license model by providing a flexible pricing scheme based upon monthly access fees. These monthly fees can be expensed and are much less expensive than the one time big ticket license purchase. This approach lowers the barrier to entry for organizations that desire a high end issue management product, but without the high end price.

-- Call Center and Learning Solutions -- CIAC Certification Courses -- CCLS is offering four new workshop seminars for call center professionals providing the core skills, knowledge and competencies to effectively manage in a call/contact center and to prepare for the CIAC Professional Certification assessments. CCLS is also presenting BCR Information Technology Courses for technology professionals. primarily targeted to end users in leading Fortune 1000 companies, universities, hospitals, government agencies, military, and providers of communication services and equipment.

-- Exstream Software -- WebVerse -- Exstream's newest suite to their Dialogue enterprise personalization software allows business users, such as call center representatives or marketing personnel, to rapidly develop and deploy Web applications that dynamically create personalized Web pages and documents on the fly -- without Java programming. From letters, proposals and statements, to policies, enrollment kits and other types of fulfillment, there is no limit to the types of personalized communications that can be generated interactively in real-time using WebVerse.

-- Dictaphone Corp. -- New applications to the Freedom Recording Platform -- A suite of enhanced technologies from the Communications Recording Systems group for digital video surveillance, high-speech word search, call authentication and non-CTI data capture are among the new offerings from Dictaphone aimed at customers who record voice conversations such as public safety agencies, financial markets, and contact centers. The enhanced technologies bring additional recording solutions to Dictaphone's Freedom recording system and allow customers to expand the functionality of their core voice recording system.

-- Symon Communications -- SYMON VISTA -- SYMON VISTA creates real-time browser-based reporting displays of key metrics, calculations and filtered data from many different business sources. It is paramount to understand your business operations to control risks and opportunities. You can manage your enterprise productivity and profitability using VISTA dashboards and scorecards with powerful drilldown views.

-- Inova Corp. -- LightLink Direct -- LightLink Direct is Inova's low-cost, IP-based LED wallboard that receives data directly from the data source, without requiring a server. LightLink Direct brings data monitoring and display capabilities to smaller sites that don't need the complexity -- or the cost -- of a server-based system.

-- Centergistic Solutions -- SnapView -- SnapView allows contact center managers to compare current metrics against forecasted performance, using interval histogram reporting. Users can input their own benchmark performance goals and test them against actual performance using whatever time intervals they wish. Typical metrics might include service level, abandoned calls, agents staffed, longest call waiting, etc. These reports can also be printed and routed to others throughout the organization.

-- TargetVision -- Call Center Las Vegas Event Promotion -- For a limited time, purchasers of a package of TargetVision's most popular call center communications products can receive a free 42-inch plasma flat panel television.

-- Incoming Calls Management Institute -- Web Seminars and Membership Program -- ICMI Web seminars combine dynamic presentations, active attendee participation, value-added reference materials and Web seminar leaders with years of industry experience. Call center professionals learn fundamental principles of excellent call center management and how these principles apply to their day-to-day responsibilities. Topics include workforce management, monitoring and coaching, strategic planning, improving service levels, understanding metrics and more. The ICMI Membership program refines and expands its training seminars, consulting services, networking resources, publications and products into an annual full-service education program.

-- Agility Recovery Solutions -- Satellite/ACD Solutions -- Using ergonomic mobile facilities, advanced satellite communications and the latest, cutting-edge technology, Agility Recovery Solutions introduces an automatic call distribution (ACD)-over-Satellite recovery solution that fully recovers local call center applications. Agility's satellite solutions utilize dedicated bandwidth and advanced technologies to facilitate complete, comprehensive communications solutions virtually anywhere.

-- GMT Corp. -- GMT Planet-Jupiter Edition 8.02 -- GMT Corp.'s workforce management software helps managers get a handle on employee information. GMT Planet is the first workforce management package to allow users to track not only scheduling effectiveness but also employee events that do not directly relate to scheduling. GMT Planet 8.10 focuses on scheduling for work that is time-sensitive but has a greater response timeline such as e-mail, outbound calling and check processing. In partnership with eOn Communications, the companies offer a solution that will allow real-time transfer of eQueue information to create staffing forecasts and schedules based on service level targets and monitor real-time adherence.

-- Richardson -- Richardson Live -- Richardson Live is an audio-based sales performance support tool designed for sales professionals. Short, clear, and prescriptive, these comprehensive audio tracks provide listeners with the skills, strategy, and motivation to build relationships and close business.

-- eGain -- eGain Service 6 -- The first complete customer service management solution for global businesses includes a comprehensive suite of contact center and Web self-service applications and provides end-to-end service process automation. Based on an open platform, the solution enables unified multi-channel assisted customer service and effective self-service.

-- Mercom -- Mercom Call Center Suite -- The Mercom Call Center Suite features the next-generation Audiolog 3.1 call recording server, IRIS scheduling software, and Mercom's Interaction Quality (IQ) software for agent evaluation. The product suite decreases the cost of ownership through the use of industry-standard PC components, ease of installation and training, and intuitive operation. The Mercom Call Center Suite provides tools that help clients to retain customers and agents, enhance agents' skills, and minimize training costs.

Members of the media are invited to attend the industry's first annual call center conference and tradeshow. Registration is free at http://vegas.iccm.com/press.

Principal sponsors of Call Center Las Vegas 2003 include AG Communications Systems, AVAYA, Oracle, Peppers and Rogers Group, SAP, and Siebel.

About Advanstar Communications

Call Center Las Vegas is produced and managed by the Call Center & CRM Group, a division of the Advanstar Technology Group which is a comprehensive portfolio of market-leading publications, events and Web sites, reaching more than 1.5 million technology buyers worldwide. Advanstar Communications Inc. is a worldwide business information company serving specialized markets with high quality information resources and integrated marketing solutions.

Advanstar has 92 business magazines and directories, 79 exhibitions and conferences, numerous Web sites, and a wide range of direct marketing, database and reference products and services. Advanstar serves targeted market sectors in such industries as art, automotive, beauty, collaboration/e-learning, CRM/call center, digital media, entertainment/marketing, fashion & apparel, health care, Internet/e-business, manufacturing and processing, pharmaceutical, powersports, science, telecommunications and travel/hospitality.

The company has more than 1,300 employees and currently operates from multiple offices in North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia. For more information, visit www.advanstar.com.