Nortel Launches New SIP Contact Center Capabilities to Add New Dimensions to Customer Service Communications
05 Dezembro 2006 - 7:00AM
PR Newswire (US)
Video, Voice, IM in One Customer Session TORONTO, Dec. 5
/PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Nortel(x) (NYSE/TSX: NT) today announced
new capabilities for its SIP Contact Center 6.0 solution that adds
new dimensions to customer service through a versatile range of
communication choices. Customers benefit from capabilities that
will let them interact with agents via video or start a call with
one means of communication then change to another within the same
session. If a customer is waiting for agent assistance, information
relevant to their inquiry can be pushed to them through web pages.
"Nortel's SIP Contact Center solution creates a breakthrough
consumer experience by providing customers a range of methods
through which they can receive support," said Dave Murashige,
general manager, Multimedia Applications, Nortel. "It helps
businesses drive ongoing competitive advantage by offering
customers a multi-modal approach such as starting a call with
voice, moving to video and using Instant Messaging at the same
time. What once would have taken multiple sessions can now be done
in one." Nortel's SIP Contact Center 6.0 helps customers get
information faster when they access the contact center via the
company's web site because they are automatically pushed a web page
that references the information they need while they wait for an
available agent. Also, once they are speaking with an agent, expert
advice is not limited to one agent. A virtual team of knowledge
experts can collaborate via phone, web, email, chat, IM, or video.
Companies such as Vantis Credit Union, a financial company based in
Winnipeg and serving 22,000 members, are already using the Nortel
SIP Contact Center solution to improve customer service and
employee productivity. "As a result of Nortel's SIP-based solution,
we are restructuring our internal processes for easy retrieval
access of our member files to provide excellent service at any
time, all while reducing our cost base," said Michel Audette,
President and CEO, Vantis Credit Union. "It is about bringing in
new tools, that can be deployed easily, and ultimately help us
better communicate with our members." The Nortel Contact Center
uses industry-standard SIP interfaces, simplifying solution
deployment and enabling true integration with a multivendor SIP
architecture. Having a native SIP application means there is no
data interpretation needed so information can pass through the
network faster, allowing companies to easily add multimedia
services. SIP is the first technology protocol designed to support
multimedia communications across any device. "SIP is
revolutionary," said Alec Ko, executive consultant, CGI. "A
customer will make the decision to buy - or not buy - a particular
item based on customer service. Today's savvy buyer wants more for
their money; they want a company that stands behind their
offerings. What better way than to give them a quick, one-stop
arena for getting the answers they need to be productive. At the
end of the day, that's what they'll remember most." Nortel's
Contact Center 6.0, is a next-generation SIP-based multimedia
contact center designed to be open and interface with any endpoints
whether mobile, IP, SIP or TDM. It offers a single architecture
that enables managers to adapt any contact center to meet diverse
customer needs and accelerate customer resolution, often in a
single session. About Nortel Nortel is a recognized leader in
delivering communications capabilities that enhance the human
experience, ignite and power global commerce, and secure and
protect the world's most critical information. Our next-generation
technologies, for both service providers and enterprises, span
access and core networks, support multimedia and business-critical
applications, and help eliminate today's barriers to efficiency,
speed and performance by simplifying networks and connecting people
with information. Nortel does business in more than 150 countries.
For more information, visit Nortel on the Web at
http://www.nortel.com/. For the latest Nortel news, visit
http://www.nortel.com/news. Certain statements in this press
release may contain words such as "could", "expects", "may",
"anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "targets",
"envisions", "seeks" and other similar language and are considered
forward-looking statements or information under applicable
securities legislation. These statements are based on Nortel's
current expectations, estimates, forecasts and projections about
the operating environment, economies and markets in which Nortel
operates. These statements are subject to important assumptions,
risks and uncertainties, which are difficult to predict and the
actual outcome may be materially different. Further, actual results
or events could differ materially from those contemplated in
forward-looking statements as a result of the following (i) risks
and uncertainties relating to Nortel's restatements and related
matters including: Nortel's most recent restatement and two
previous restatements of its financial statements and related
events; the negative impact on Nortel and NNL of their most recent
restatement and delay in filing their financial statements and
related periodic reports; legal judgments, fines, penalties or
settlements, or any substantial regulatory fines or other penalties
or sanctions, related to the ongoing regulatory and criminal
investigations of Nortel in the U.S. and Canada; any significant
pending civil litigation actions not encompassed by Nortel's
proposed class action settlement; any substantial cash payment
and/or significant dilution of Nortel's existing equity positions
resulting from the approval of its proposed class action
settlement; any unsuccessful remediation of Nortel's material
weaknesses in internal control over financial reporting resulting
in an inability to report Nortel's results of operations and
financial condition accurately and in a timely manner; the time
required to implement Nortel's remedial measures; Nortel's
inability to access, in its current form, its shelf registration
filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission
(SEC), and Nortel's below investment grade credit rating and any
further adverse effect on its credit rating due to Nortel's
restatements of its financial statements; any adverse affect on
Nortel's business and market price of its publicly traded
securities arising from continuing negative publicity related to
Nortel's restatements; Nortel's potential inability to attract or
retain the personnel necessary to achieve its business objectives;
any breach by Nortel of the continued listing requirements of the
NYSE or TSX causing the NYSE and/or the TSX to commence suspension
or delisting procedures; (ii) risks and uncertainties relating to
Nortel's business including: yearly and quarterly fluctuations of
Nortel's operating results; reduced demand and pricing pressures
for its products due to global economic conditions, significant
competition, competitive pricing practice, cautious capital
spending by customers, increased industry consolidation, rapidly
changing technologies, evolving industry standards, frequent new
product introductions and short product life cycles, and other
trends and industry characteristics affecting the
telecommunications industry; the sufficiency of recently announced
restructuring actions, including the potential for higher actual
costs to be incurred in connection with these restructuring actions
compared to the estimated costs of such actions and the ability to
achieve the targeted cost savings and reductions of Nortel's
unfunded pension liability deficit; any material and adverse
affects on Nortel's performance if its expectations regarding
market demand for particular products prove to be wrong or because
of certain barriers in its efforts to expand internationally; any
reduction in Nortel's operating results and any related volatility
in the market price of its publicly traded securities arising from
any decline in its gross margin, or fluctuations in foreign
currency exchange rates; any negative developments associated with
Nortel's supply contract and contract manufacturing agreements
including as a result of using a sole supplier for key optical
networking solutions components, and any defects or errors in
Nortel's current or planned products; any negative impact to Nortel
of its failure to achieve its business transformation objectives,
including completion of the sale of its UMTS access business to
Alcatel-Lucent; additional valuation allowances for all or a
portion of its deferred tax assets; Nortel's failure to protect its
intellectual property rights, or any adverse judgments or
settlements arising out of disputes regarding intellectual
property; changes in regulation of the Internet and/or other
aspects of the industry; Nortel's failure to successfully operate
or integrate its strategic acquisitions, or failure to consummate
or succeed with its strategic alliances; any negative effect of
Nortel's failure to evolve adequately its financial and managerial
control and reporting systems and processes, manage and grow its
business, or create an effective risk management strategy; and
(iii) risks and uncertainties relating to Nortel's liquidity,
financing arrangements and capital including: the impact of
Nortel's most recent restatement and two previous restatements of
its financial statements; any inability of Nortel to manage cash
flow fluctuations to fund working capital requirements or achieve
its business objectives in a timely manner or obtain additional
sources of funding; high levels of debt, limitations on Nortel
capitalizing on business opportunities because of support facility
covenants, or on obtaining additional secured debt pursuant to the
provisions of indentures governing certain of Nortel's public debt
issues and the provisions of its support facility; any increase of
restricted cash requirements for Nortel if it is unable to secure
alternative support for obligations arising from certain normal
course business activities, or any inability of Nortel's
subsidiaries to provide it with sufficient funding; any negative
effect to Nortel of the need to make larger defined benefit plans
contributions in the future or exposure to customer credit risks or
inability of customers to fulfill payment obligations under
customer financing arrangements; any negative impact on Nortel's
ability to make future acquisitions, raise capital, issue debt and
retain employees arising from stock price volatility and further
declines in the market price of Nortel's publicly traded
securities, or the share consolidation resulting in a lower total
market capitalization or adverse effect on the liquidity of
Nortel's common shares. For additional information with respect to
certain of these and other factors, see Nortel's Annual Report on
Form 10-K/A, Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and other securities
filings with the SEC. Unless otherwise required by applicable
securities laws, Nortel disclaims any intention or obligation to
update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a
result of new information, future events or otherwise. (x) Nortel,
the Nortel logo and the Globemark are trademarks of Nortel
Networks. DATASOURCE: Nortel CONTACT: Mary Pretotto, (905)
863-7777, ; Ben Roome, +44-1628-433-113,
Copyright