Alcatel and Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories, Inc, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Alcatel, have announced plans to purchase IBM`s CallPath assets.
CallPath is computer telephony software that integrates voice and data communications in contact centres. Genesys and IBM also announced an expanded relationship, which includes a joint solutions blueprint for contact centres. Financial terms were not released.
Under the acquisition agreement, the 54 IBM CallPath employees located in Research Triangle Park, NC, will be offered employment with Genesys. Genesys intends to grow operations in this location and open a development site in Research Triangle Park to work more closely with IBM.
Genesys intends to continue support for the approximately 400 CallPath customers, while IBM remains the first point of contact for service under existing agreements. Both companies will collaborate to provide service and support for CallPath products.
IBM and Genesys will also dedicate resources to offer current CallPath customers new contact centre capabilities through the IBM/Genesys solutions blueprint. This blueprint describes an architecture for contact centre solutions using IBM products for unassisted service and Genesys products for assisted service.
Agreement sets stage for joint contact centre solutions
IBM and Genesys will jointly market and deliver contact centre solutions based on a blueprint consisting of Genesys` Universal Queue Routing, Internet Contact Centre and Outbound Solutions with IBM`s DirectTalk, WebSphere Voice Server and WebSphere Application Server. This builds on existing product integration between Genesys and IBM`s DirectTalk platforms.
Genesys also announced it has joined IBM`s worldwide marketing and enablement programme, PartnerWorldTM. Through this programme, IBM and its PartnerWorld members jointly provide customers with e-business solutions encompassing the entire range of IBM products, technologies, services and financing.
This announcement extends the relationship, announced in August 2000, between Genesys and IBM Global Services (IGS), the world`s largest information technology services provider. IGS offers customers Genesys` Universal Queue routing for multi-media customer interactions, including Web-based contact centre capabilities, combined with a world-class customer relationship management transformation service.
IGS professionals have been trained and certified on the entire line of Genesys customer contact centre solutions to provide fast, global, system integration and implementation of Genesys solutions.
Included in the practice is a diverse array of offerings, including design integrations and deployment of contact centre technology using rules-based, multimedia call routing and switch connectivity, enhanced speech recognition, voice response and other contact centre technologies.
"Following last year`s worldwide agreement with IBM Global Services, today`s acquisition and agreement with IBM represents a significant milestone in our ongoing relationship," said Ad Nederlof, president and CEO, Genesys.
"Together, we will give current CallPath customers ongoing support, while leveraging IBM`s WebSphere product line with Genesys` applications to deliver joint solutions for contact centres."
"Both companies are firmly committed to supporting current CallPath customers, and in many cases, customers will continue to work with the same service and support professionals," said WS (Ozzie) Osborne, General Manager, IBM Voice Systems. "IBM`s strategy is to partner with leading companies to deliver complete e-business solutions to customers. Genesys is the CTI leader and a leading provider in the contact centre space. As a result, our joint customers will benefit from the IBM-Genesys blueprint that spans our related offerings."
CallPath is one of several IBM products targeting contact centres and other parts of the enterprise and is the only one involved in today`s announcement.
CallPath integrates incoming telephone calls and customer information. With CallPath, when a customer calls a contact centre, customer service representatives view "screen pops" containing essential information about each customer, before a call is answered.
Genesys, with its award-winning G6 suite of customer contact centre solutions, focuses on developing contact centre solutions that efficiently manage customer interactions via the phone, e-mail and the Web. IBM, through offerings such as WebSphere Voice Server, WebSphere Translation Server, WebSphere Application Server and DirectTalk, provides some of the industry`s most advanced infrastructure solutions for human-like self-service.
For more information, IBM CallPath customers can visit the following Web site: http://www.genesyslab.com/callpath/
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