FrontRange Solutions SA and black empowerment company, Sourcecom Technology Solutions - a wholly-owned subsidiary of Lithalelanga Technologies (Pty) Ltd, have signed two agreements that will position both organisations to exploit major market shifts in telephony services and customer relationship management (CRM).
The first deal sees Sourcecom becoming the Internet Protocol (IP) telephony implementation partner for FrontRange`s new contact centre product for SME and distributed enterprises.
Because it is based on IP technology - enabling voice and data to be carried on the same data infrastructure - FrontRange Contact Centre reduces the costs in creating and running call centres. It therefore has the potential to exponentially expand the telephony services market by enabling the creation of many new businesses and associated jobs.
Sourcecom is a Cisco silver partner and one of only three South African companies skilled and certified to deploy Cisco IP telephony and associated voice-related technology and services.
FrontRange Solutions SA managing director, Tracey Newman, says the synergies in the deal for both companies are exceptional. "FrontRange Contact Centre has become available just as the telecommunications industry in SA is about to be freed up and everyone is expecting a proliferation of telecoms services companies - as has happened in the rest of the world as deregulation has made convergence of voice and data possible.
"At the same time, SA is positioning itself as a global centre of excellence for call and contact centres, with government fully behind new commercial initiatives in that field."
Sourcecom`s managing executive for engineering and services, Tim Pryce, adds that FrontRange Contact Centre has the rare advantage of having been conceived from the outset as a customer relationship management (CRM) tool rather than an adjunct to a piece of telephony equipment.
"In other words, it`s a software application in which voice plays a part. It`s not a piece of telephone equipment to which some software has been added. So, not only are the application and the voice capability fully integrated, but the functionality of the solution is focused on CRM not on telephony. It`s therefore much more comprehensive, flexible and effective a solution than most others."
The second deal between the two companies extends Sourcecom`s status as a reseller of FrontRange`s category-leading service management solution, HEAT.
As Pryce points out: "Most companies are beginning to consider consolidating their various helpdesks, call centres and CRM facilities, because they all contribute to the effective delivery of service to customers. It makes no sense either to duplicate service activities or isolate them from one another.
"This trend opens up a whole new market for us. As resellers of the full FrontRange ecosystem of products, including FrontRange Contact Centre, we can now offer our customers a complete set of fully integrated CRM solutions, customised to their specific needs.
"And, of course, with more than 300 HEAT sites in SA and out-of-the-box integration between HEAT and FrontRange Contact Centre, both FrontRange and Sourcecom have a ready-made gateway into the service consolidation market."
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