Each year, Customer Inter@ction Solutions[R] magazine bestows its Product of the Year awards on companies that have demonstrated excellence in technological advancement and application refinements. These are products and services that have gone the extra mile to help improve both the customer experience and the ROI for the companies that use them.

In this time of shrinking budgets, every dollar spent on technology is precious, so it is viral that capital investment in technology and services be invested as wisely as possible in order to speed return on investment and improve the business processes and bottom line of the companies that purchase these technologies.

To this end, the editors of Customer Inter@ction Solutions[R] have compiled a list of the best of the best for our readers. These products span a range of product categories, but all represent the top of the heap in their chosen arenas. As always, we encourage you to do research to help you select those technologies and companies that best suit your company's business needs and, ultimately, your most important company asset of all -- your customers.

ACCPAC International, Inc.

Pleasanton, CA

www.accpac.com

ACCPAC eCRM

ACCPAC eCRM is an integrated sales, marketing, customer support and call center automation solution. It is completely Internet- and WAP-enabled, helping provide users access anytime, anywhere via a Web browser.

Acxiom Corporation

Little Rock, AR

www.acxiom.com

Personicx

Personicx is a household-level segmentation system that places each U.S. household into one of 70 life stage segments, based on its specific consumer and demographic characteristics, allowing a greater precision of targeted marketing and true accuracy of segmentation.

Advanced Information Systems, Inc

Las Vegas, NV

www.aisinfo.com

iBizFlow

iBizFlow is an open, XML-based business rule engine providing scalable, redundant business solutions. Using iBizFlow, businesses are better able to create a single set of business rules that are applied to processes regardless of processing media.

Applied Innovation Management

Las Vegas, NV

www.lizsystems.com

LIZ

LIZ combines state-of-the-art computer-telephony integration hardware with powerful help desk software in one compact unit, bringing 24-hour voice automation capabilities to the call center.

Apropos Technology

Oakbrook Terrace, IL

www.apropos.com

Apropos Version 5

Apropos helps empower organizations by providing real-time knowledge about each customer interaction. Whether it's a phone call, email, Web or fax interaction, Apropos provides information about who initiates contact and why, plus the current status, resolution and pending tasks.

Aspect Communications

San Jose, CA

www.aspect.com

Aspect eWorkforce Management

Aspect eWorkforce Management (eWFM) v6.2 provides an enhanced mission-critical architecture and new functionality required for staffing today's cost-conscious contact centers.

Austin Logistics Inc.

Austin, TX

www.austinlogistics.com

CallSelect

CallSelect software from Austin Logistics quantifies the impact of collection calls and other actions to help maximize dollars collected and agent productivity.

Authoria, Inc.

Waltham, MA

www.authoria.com

Authoria HR 3.5

Authoria HR 3.5 is the next generation of Authoria's flagship software that delivers intelligent, personalized Web-based answers to employee benefit and HR policy questions.

Avaya

Basking Ridge, NJ

www.avaya.com

Avaya Interaction Center

Avaya Interaction Center 6.0 is the core product of Avaya's Multimedia Contact Center solution, allowing consistent service across multiple channels and multi-vendor environments.

Avolent

San Francisco, CA

www.avolent.com

BizCast 5.0

BizCast 5 offers technology to streamline the entire invoice-to-pay process. BizCast 5 is an EIPP enterprise software solution for companies wanting to add invoice-to-pay automation to existing Internet-based e-commerce applications.

BEST Software's ACT!

Scottsdale, AZ

www.act.com

ACT! 6.0

ACT! is a contact management database product.

Blue Pumpkin

Sunnyvale, CA

www.bluepumpkin.com

Blue Pumpkin Workforce

Optimization Suite

Blue Pumpkin's Workforce Optimization Suite is a closed-loop system to accelerate employee and organizational performance. It was designed to perfect "the science behind the art of managing people."

Brooktrout Technology

Needham, MA

www.brooktrout.com

ReslBLOCS DR-A

Brooktrout Technology's RealBLOCs DR-A is a call recording platform that emphasizes recording accuracy and clarity for building scaleable, open system, call logging and quality monitoring applications.

Call Compliance, Inc.

Glen Cove, NY

www.callcompliance.com

TeleBlock Do-Not-Call Blocking System

Call Compliance's patented TeleBlock system is the first and only blocking product that automatically screens and blocks outbound calls against state, in-house and third-party do-not-call and do-not-fax lists.

CenterForce Technologies, Inc.

Bethesda, MD

www.cforcetech.com

CenterForce Analyzer

CenterForce Analyzer measures agent, team and contact center performance against user-defined goals, providing immediate browser and e-mail based access to accurate, well-organized performance results.

Clear Technologies

Coppell, TX

www.clearc2.com

C2 CRM

C2 CRM helps mid-market companies increase organizational efficiency, strengthen customer loyalty, boost sales, improve business processes and increase marketing effectiveness, and is Web-based for maximum accessibility.

Concerto Software

Westford, MA

www.concerto.com

ContactPro 4.2

Concerto's ContactPro 4.2 leverages real-time knowledge about customer relationships in delivering a personalized, consistent experience across all communication channels -- voice, fax, e-mail and the Web.

CosmoCom

Melville, NY

www.cosmocom.com

CosmoCall Universe

CosmoCall Universe (CCU), is a carrier-class system providing next-generation capabilities for mission-critical contact center applications. CCU supports multichannel customer interactions via telephone and Internet.

Data-Tel Info Solutions

Mesa, AZ

www.datatel-info.com

xSELLerator 6.0

Data-Tel's xSELLerator 6.0 is a contact center suite for inbound, outbound and Web-bound call blending.

Digisoft Computers, Inc.

New York, NY

www.digisoft.com

Telescript 5.4

Telescript 5.4 is a modular and scalable call center management solution designed to integrate with telephone, database and other call center-related systems.

Discern Communications

Menlo Park, CA

www.discern.com

Discern

Discern is a customer self-service application that interprets customers' Web-based or spoken queries and provides them direct answers from multiple information sources. Language-understanding capabilities automate question answering at the entry point of customer service.

divine, Inc.

Chicago, IL

www.divine.com

divine MindAlign 2002

divine MindAlign is a secure, real-time collaboration tool that combines chat and instant messaging to provide a community-based communication medium.

eAssist Global Solutions, Inc.

San Diego, CA

www.eassist.com

eAssist Solution Suite 2.1

The eAssist Solution Suite is a fully integrated suite of customer care software and services; it enables companies to gain a unified view of their customers across geographies, products and points of interaction.

Edify Corp.

Santa Clara, CA

www.edify.com

Edify 8

Edify 8.0 is a comprehensive multi-channel platform including CRM applications and infrastructure components that automate, assist and analyze customer interaction across all touchpoints and for all modes of communication including voice, wireless and Web.

eGain

Sunnyvale, CA

www.egain.com

eGain Live Web 5.0 suite

eGain Live Web 5.0 is a suite for real-time assisted customer service over the Web. It provides applications for chat, co-browsing, remote diagnostics and repair, and online meetings.

Empirix

Waltham, MA

www.empirix.com

Hammer On-Call

Hammer On-Call testing services help contact centers find and resolve scalability problems before they adversely affect operational performance and customer satisfaction.

enGenic Corp.

Vancouver, BC

www.engenic.com

TaleFlow 2003

TeleFlow 2003 is a voice application development suite designed to remove the complexity of building voice solutions -- such as call management, interactive voice response (IVR), voice mail, call centers, computer-telephony integration (CTI) and voice portals -- by encapsulating complex functions into simple-to-understand icons.

Envision Telephony, Inc.

Seattle, WA

www.envisiontelephony.com

Click2Coach MultiSite Edition

Click2Coach is a software solution designed to provide integrated qualify monitoring, training and motivation tools to help develop effective, well-trained agents.

eOn Communications

Kennesaw, GA

www.eoncommunications.com

eQueue Multi-Media Contact Center Solution

eOn's eQueue Multi-Media Contact Center Solution offers a comprehensive and unified solution for customer interaction management (CIM). The universal or single queue approach enables contact centers to efficiently interact with their customers, regardless of the media they choose for communication.

ePeople

Mountain View, CA

www.epeople.com

ePeople Teamwork

ePeople Teamwork 4.0 is a Web-based, collaborative customer support application that enables cross-functional teams to better service customers. There are four modules that make up the ePeople Teamwork application: Team Sourcing, Team Workspace, Team Analytics and Team Resolution Engine.

Epicor Software Corp.

Irvine, CA

www.clientele.epicor.com

Clientele Customer Support 8.0

Clientele Customer Support 8.0 is a complete call management solution for supporting external customers, and is built entirely on the Microsoft.NET platform.

EPOS Corp.

Auburn, AL

www.epos.com

Call Center Director

Call Center Director is designed for small to medium-sized call centers that wish to improve customer satisfaction and agent efficiency through the use of screen pops and case management integration.

e-talk Corp.

Irving, TX

www.etalk.com

Qfiniti

The e-talk Qfiniti platform empowers customer contact centers with a comprehensive and integrated qualify management solution for the enterprise.

Expertcity, Inc.

Santa Barbara, CA

www.desktopstreaming.com

Desktop Streaming Phone Mode DesktopStreaming is a Web-based service that allows businesses to remotely assist their customers or employees and conduct online sales demos, It enables shared screen, mouse and keyboard control without installing software on the users computers.

Firepond, Inc.

Minneapolis, MN

www.firepond.com

Firepond eServicePerformer Suite 2002

Firepond's eServicePerformer 2002 system delivers online customer service in a way that deflects customers from costly assistance channels, It provides immediate, accurate and qualified responses, regardless of contact channel.

Firstwave Technologies

Atlanta, GA

www.firstwave.net

Firstwave eCRM

Firstwave eCRM is a 100 percent Web-based CRM application designed to make marketing, sales and service organizations more efficient by streamlining processes and building solid relationships with customers and prospects.

FurstPerson

Chicago, IL

www.furstperson.com

FurstSelect Hiring System

The Web-based FurstSelect Hiring System is an integrated, end-to-end staffing solution designed exclusively for the call center environment.

Fused Solutions

Potsdam, NY

www.fusedsolutions.com

FS-Virtual Agent

FS-Virtual Agent is a Web-driven, self-service contact-center application designed to provide level one and level two technical support by front-ending a custom-built knowledge base used by Fused Solutions' live agents.

Genesys Telecommunications Labs, Inc.

Daly City, CA

www.genesyslab.com

Genesys Voice Portal

Genesys Voice Portal is an advanced software-only product designed to bring Internet technologies to the world of voice, helping deliver voice self-service applications. It removes the constraints of legacy IVR systems and offers standards-based development, flexible deployment opt ions, simplified integration and improved time to market for speech-directed voice applications.

GMT Corp

Norcross, GA

www.gmt.com

GMT Planet -- Jupiter Edition 8.02

GMT Planet -- Jupiter Edition is a workforce management software for call centers, multimedia contact centers, financial institutions, processing centers, service industries and the entire enterprise. Includes real-time adherence, compliance reporting and a meeting planner.

GN Netcom, Inc.

Nashua, NH

www.gnnetcom.com

GN 9050

The GN 9050 is a headset designed to allow professionals the mobility and freedom to answer, conduct and end calls from 150 feet away from their telephones. The new system features 2.4 GHz Digital Spread Spectrum (DSS) technology for secure communications.

IEX, a Tekelec company

Richardson, TX

www.iex.com

Total View Workforce Management Version 3.3

Multimedia contact centers, both single and multisite, rely on TotalView Workforce Management to improve service levels while lowering operating costs.

Inova Corp.

Charlottesville, VA

www.inovacorp.com

LightLink Direct LED Displays LightLink LED displays are network ready, full matrix displays optimized for maximum readability and viewing distance. They feature bright LED technology, large display characters and a wide viewing angle. In addition, they are equipped with an integrated Ethernet TCP/IP connection.

Island Data

Carlsbad, CA

www.islanddata.com

nsight RT

nsight RT captures customer feedback from various sources, analyzes the concepts and intent of the unstructured feedback, and converts the feedback into insights that can be acted upon in real-time.

Kaidara Software

Los Altos, CA

www.kaidara.com

Kaidara Advisor

Kaidara Advisor is an advanced application for complex product support. It helps enable organizations to efficiently share expert knowledge across language and geographic boundaries and provide consistent responses to inquiries regardless of the user's preferred language.

KANA

Menlo Park, CA

www.kana.com

KANA Response 7.5

KANA Response software version 7.5 helps enable global enterprises to provide immediate and effective response to customer inquiries in most major languages. One of the modular solutions that make up the KANA CARE suite of products, KANA Response 7.5 is the latest in a series of product releases dedicated to providing features and functionality that meet the needs of global enterprises.

KnowledgeBase Solutions, Inc.

Los Angeles, CA

www.knowledgebase.net

KnowledgeBase.net

KnowledgeBase.net combines the most relevant features of document and knowledge management, customized portals and search technology to deliver a comprehensive support self-service knowledge base.

Linktivity, a division of SpartaCom Technologies

Tucson, AZ

www.linktivity.com

WebDemo

WebDemo is a Web-based, real-time collaboration tool designed to provide a simple way for presenters to deliver online presentations from their desktops and to interact with an audience of remote participants, all of whom require nothing more than a PC and an Internet connection.

LumenVox

San Diego, CA

www.lumenvox.com

Speech Driven Information System Speech Driven Information System (SDIS) is an easy-to-use GUI wrapped around LumenVox's Speech Recognition Engine (SRE). It was designed to allow companies to develop their own speech recognition application in three easy steps.

Mitel Networks

Ottawa, ON

www.mitel.com

Mitel Networks 6150 Multimedia Contact Center

The 6150 is a modular offering that integrates with Microsoft Exchange 2000 and Outlook 2000 to support automatic e-mail routing, historical reporting and real-time monitoring of all contact types.

MoonFire Corp.

Mead, CO

www.dialvision.com

DialVision

DialVision is a 100 percent Web-based CIM/telemarketing software application designed to be accessed through the Internet Explorer Web browser.

Motive Communications

Austin, TX

www.motive.com

Motive Enterprise Software Service Suite

Motive's Enterprise suite enables vendors to build intelligent service directly into their software applications. Designed to deliver proactive, targeted assistance throughout the customer lifecycle, these solutions were designed to enable software vendors to increase revenue.

Multima Corp.

East Greenwich, RI

www.netkeeper.com

Net Keeper HD Mail Pro v7.5

Net Keeper HD Mail is an automatic incoming e-mail processing system designed to cut the cost of running a customer service center.

NativeMinds, Inc.

San Francisco, CA

www.nativeminds.com

NeuroServer 3.5

Unlike traditional natural language search engines that scan Web sites and return long lists of results, NeuroServer 3.0 enables virtual service agents to gauge customers' questions based on question type, tone and customer history, and answer precisely with accurate, personalized replies.

NetByTel

Boca Raton, FL

www.netbytel.com

OpenVoice Application Platform NetByTel's OpenVoice Application Platform includes application and functional components and is used exclusively by NetByTel to design, build, deploy, enhance and manage sophisticated, high-quality phone self-service solutions.

NICE Systems

Rutherford, NJ

www.nice.com

Business Analyzer

NICE's Business Analyzer capabilities combine state-of-the-art technologies including automatic speech recognition (ASR), word spotting and stress/emotion analysis to enable businesses to extract the spoken and unspoken content from interactions.

Nortel Networks

Richardson, TX

www.nortelnetworks.com

Symposium Call Center Web Client Nortel Networks Symposium Call Center Web Client is a new, browser-based thin client introducing management tools which better equip call center managers to make improved business decisions and respond faster to customer needs.

Nuance Communications

Menlo Park, CA

www.nuance.com

Nuance 8.0

Nuance 8.0 is an accurate, scalable and reliable speech recognition software product.

Oncontact Software

Cedarburg, WI

www.oncontact.com

Client Management Software - Version 6.0

Client Management Software (CMS) is Oncontact Software's CRM system for mid-market companies. OMS houses the critical business information an organization needs to develop effective sales, marketing and customer service strategies.

Oracle Corp.

Redwood Shores, CA

www.oracle.com

Oracle Service Contracts

Oracle Service Contracts enables users to create and manage service contracts, warranties and extended warranties. It makes contract entitlements visible, and it acts on contractually specified commitments.

Pivotal Corp.

North Vancouver, BC

www.pivotal.com

Pivotal Contact Center

By leveraging client data across the organization, Pivotal Contact Center was designed to transform tactical call centers into strategic contact centers, delivering more personalized, "one and done" interactions at lower costs, resulting in increased revenues, margins and customer loyalty.

Princeton Softech

Princeton, NJ

www.princetonsoftech.com

Princeton Softech's Archive for Servers

Princeton Softech's Archive for Servers supports the leading database management systems, including Oracle, DB2/UDB, SQL Server, Sybase and Informix and provides the capabilities needed to implement an effective active archiving strategy.

Pronexus Inc.

Ottawa, ON

www.pronexus.com

VBVoice 5.0

VBVoice 5.0 is a telephony development environment to leverage the power of Microsoft Visual Studio. Net. It features support for voice over IP (VoIP), comprehensive telephony controls such as speech recognition and text-to-speech and a highly scalable architecture.

Prosodie Interactive

Fort Lauderdale, FL

www.prosodieinteractive.com

FasTrack

Prosodie Interactive's FasTrack is a "find-me, follow-me, connect-me" communications service. Using proprietary technologies, FasTrack unifies all telecommunications -- work, home, cellular, pager, voice mail and fax -- into one number.

RightNow Technologies, Inc.

Bozeman, MT

www.rightnow.com

RightNow Locator 2.0

RightNow Locator 2.0 is an advanced solution for providing customers with information about sales and service locations over the Web.

Rockwell FirstPoint Contact

Wood Dale, IL

www.rockwellfirstpoint.com

FirstPoint Business Edition

FirstPoint Business Edition lowers the cost of entry for small to medium-size businesses by up to 30 percent by providing an "out-of-the-box," multichannel contact center solution, with all of the flexibility, functionality and integration offered to large companies.

salesforce.com

San Francisco, CA

www.salesforce.com

salesforce.com

Enterprise Edition

salesforce.com

Enterprise Edition allows companies to simplify and standardize complex customer operations through a single online solution that can be deployed across multiple departments and divisions -- without requiring the purchase or installation of a single line of code.

SAP

Newtown Square, PA

www.sap.com

mySAP CRM

With mySAP CRM, SAP delivers an integrated CRM solution designed to align and connect employees, partners, business processes, information and technology within a closed-loop customer-interaction cycle.

SAS Institute, Inc.

Cary, NC

www.sas.com

SAS Marketing Automation Release 2.2

SAS Marketing Automation combines data warehousing, advanced analytics and campaign planning/ management methodologies to synthesize customer data across all lines of business.

Siemens Information and Communication Networks

Reston, VA

www.siemensenterprise.com

HiPath ProCenter Suites

The newest release of Siemens HiPath ProCenter solution offers "real world" CRM features such as a new graphical user interface for business rules routing, Web collaboration and e-mail fully-integrated at the agent/supervisor desk.

Spanlink Communications

Minneapolis, MN

www.spanlink.com

EagleView Reporting Engine

EagleView is a secure, scalable, Web-based reporting engine that allows contact centers to incorporate data from any compliant data source.

Spectel

Andover, MA

www.spectel.com

Spectel MeetingManager

Especially designed for small to medium-sized businesses, the Spectel MeetingManager platform provides anytime, anyplace voice conferencing for up to 60 concurrent participants.

Spectrum Corp.

Houston, TX

www.specorp.com

IP Wallboards

The 3004 series is a collection of two-line wallboards, with IP address-ability, for the call center industry.

Stratasoft, Inc.

Houston, TX

www.stratasoft.com

StrataDial VC2 -- Virtual Contact Center

StrataDial VC2 -- Virtual Contact

Center is a set of essential telephony applications, including outbound predictive dialing, inbound automatic call distributor, voice mail and an auto-attendant on an open standards-based, application-ready platform.

SupportSoft

Redwood City, CA

www.supportsoft.com

Resolution Suite

SupportSoft's Resolution Suite Web-based software was designed to help enterprises automate the support process for their employees by quickly identifying problems and automatically resolving them.

SYMON Communications, Inc.

Sugar Land, TX

www.symon.com

Contact Center COMMUNITY 2.0

Contact Center COMMUNITY 2.0 is a 100 percent Web-based workforce management solution that provides timely contact center schedules and performance data to agents and supervisors in both local and remote settings.

TeleDirect International, Inc.

Scottsdale, AZ

www.tdirect.com

DialogGuide

The Dialog Guide, a component of Dialog Manager, is divided into three different viewing panels for agents: Data Display Panel, Call Flow Topics Panel and Action/Statistics Panel. The layout was designed to improve navigation and reduces the agent's learning curve.

Telephony @ Work

La Jolla, CA

www.telephonyatwork.com

CallCenter @ nywhere Version 6.0 CallCenter @ nywhere is an integrated communications server platform that can integrate or replace legacy switching infrastructures. The platform provides infrastructure for, and applies skills-based routing discipline to, every medium of communication, including inbound phone calls, faxes, e-mail, voice mail, chat sessions, Web callback and voice over P transactions.

Teloquent Communications

Billerica, MA

www.teloquent.com

Teloquent Interchange 6.0

A browser-based interaction platform, Interchange provides voice, email and Web-based contact, integrated with any customer relationship management (CRM) application.

Ulysses Learning

Mooresville, NC

www.ulysseslearning.com

CallMentor

CallMentor is a complete simulation-based e-learning system for service, sales and coaching.

VBrick Systems

Wallingford, CT

www.vbrick.com

Video on Demand Server (VBVoD)

The Video on Demand Server (VBVoD), designed for a range of applications including distance learning, corporate training and news distribution, streams high-quality video to the desktop, TV monitors, projectors and other standard video display devices.

Verint Systems

Woodbury, NY

www.verintsystems.com

ULTRA IntelliMiner

ULTRA IntelliMiner is an advanced Web-based analytical solution that extracts critical trends from contact center data and delivers this information as actionable intelligence directly to decision makers' desktops.

Vision-X

Los Angeles, CA

www.vxiusa.com

Vision Log

VisionLog is a digital recording system that captures, stores, archives and plays back telephony and computer activities.

VorTecs, Inc.

Shelton, CT

www.vortecs.com

Spot It!

Spot It! is an application that uses speech recognition software and key word spotting to listen to conversations in real time. It can detect trigger words and phrases chosen by the administrator, identify agents talking over customers, detect volume changes and enable real-time monitoring with alerts for supervisor intervention if required.

WebEx Communications

San Jose, CA

www.webex.com

WebEx Support Center

With WebEx Support Center's interface, support agents can view, diagnose and solve problems by sharing their applications and desktop to demonstrate products and features, or by accessing customer-selected applications or desktops.

WhisperWire

Austin, TX

www.whisperwire.com

PowerSeller

PowerSeller is an interactive selling system built on a communications-focused knowledge base that helps enable salespeople to sell high-value products and services.

Witness Systems

Roswell, GA

www.witness.com

eQuality software suite

eQuality is an integrated contact center performance optimization software suite designed to help global enterprises capture customer intelligence and optimize workforce performance.