Johannesburg, 08 Nov 2005
CosmoCom, the contact centre on demand company, has been awarded its second US patent, centred on its pure IP call centre technology. The company, represented locally by Intelleca, was awarded Patent 6 614 783, "Multimedia telecommunication automatic call distribution system using internet/PSTN call routing". It is a continuation of CosmoCom`s first patent 6 046 762 and so inherits that patent`s priority date of 1 April 1996.
The patent enables calls and messages originating on telephone and data networks to be queued and routed to universal contact centre agents connected to an IP data network.
The disclosure shows how clearly and how far in advance the founders of CosmoCom foresaw the evolution of call centres toward processing not only telephone, but also e-mail and Web contacts. It emphasises the fact that CosmoCom`s technology was developed from the ground up as a multimedia, multi-channel ACD using IP to create a single virtual call centre regardless of the agents` physical locations.
"Now that IP has proven itself as the best technology for call centres, all legacy vendors are adding IP to their products, and several recent start-ups have joined the game," says Freddy Motsepe, business manager, contact centre on demand at Intelleca.
"Patents exist to ensure that the visionaries and entrepreneurs, who make this kind of progress possible, benefit from their hard won insights, and now it`s up to us to determine the way to maximise the value of these patents as a company asset. Of course, CosmoCom has achieved its best protection by starting early and by having the most advanced and most field proven IP call centre."
CosmoCom is a key partner of Microsoft, focusing on the CRM 3.0 platform. It has integrated its CosmoTracker CIM (customer interaction management) solution with CRM 3.0 to create a CIRM, or customer interaction relationship management solution which is packaged with CosmoCom`s Contact Centre On-Demand.
"This partnership, along with CosmoCom`s new patent, underscores the maturing contact centre on demand sector," adds Motsepe. "In effect, the contact centre on demand can now become the single point of interaction and fulfilment for customers. IP has emerged as the ideal technology platform for contact centres; packaged with Microsoft`s CRM 3.0, it provides corporations of all types and sizes with a one-stop, location-independent customer management hub.
"What is becoming clear to forward-looking companies is that multiple business mandates can be fulfilled through contact centres on demand, from cyclical or emergency call centres, to strategic CRM exercises."
"Datamonitor has long recognised CosmoCom as an IP call centre technology innovator," says Robin Goad, senior analyst in the Datamonitor CRM Group and the author of many studies of the contact centre industry. "It is not surprising that it is a leading provider of hosted contact centre platforms to telcos, since IP is a key enabling technology for the hosted model. It is also an important participant in the premises market through its OEM relationship with BT Contact Central, one of the best selling IP call centres in the UK. The broad claims of its latest patent can only strengthen CosmoCom`s position as a player to be reckoned with in the growing IP call centre segment."
Intelleca distributes, implements and supports Cosmocom in South Africa. It is in advanced discussions with a number of South African corporations regarding contact centres on demand.
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