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Verizon Provides Its Managers With Mobile Access to Company's Operations Systems to Boost Customer Service, Efficiency

Posted on: Wednesday, 6 May 2009, 12:00 CDT

Company-Developed Software Program Pumps Both System Performance and Individual Customer Data to BlackBerry Smartphones, Allowing Prompt Attention to Service Issues

ORLANDO, Fla., May 6 /PRNewswire/ -- Verizon customer-service managers now can have anytime, anywhere access to the company's systems and records that support service delivery, via a new software program developed for BlackBerry(R) smartphones.

The new program, called iSite, was unveiled Wednesday (May 6) by Charles Henry, vice president of IT program management, ITO and systems automation for Verizon's Telecom team, at Wireless Enterprise Symposium (WES) 2009 in Orlando. Verizon's information technology team developed the open-source software to leverage the power of wireless communications in the management of telecommunications operations.

"With iSite, Verizon managers who are addressing customer service issues have instant access -- no matter where they are -- to both systems and individual customer records, so that they can intervene and more quickly resolve problems or issues affecting customer service," Henry said.

The new software offers views of ordering systems, provisioning processes and repair records, among others, eliminating the need to contact personnel manning the systems. Managers working on a DSL installation issue, for example, can access the relevant records to check whether service has been established, whether site visits were scheduled, or to examine recent attempts to remedy a problem. Once any issues are identified, attention can be immediately focused on the problem and corrective action taken.

The program also features up-to-the-minute analyses of the performance of various systems, allowing managers to make decisions on both current and projected problems involving local, regional or national processes that underpin service.

For individual customer accounts, iSite allows detailed account reviews, including, for instance, whether the appropriate service discounts have been applied, should customers complain about billing issues.

"The key here is the versatility and mobility that access to these systems via Verizon Wireless high-speed data service allows," Henry said. "This kind of instant, detailed scrutiny of performance factors can even impact revenue because we can tend to customer issues before the customer gets frustrated and seeks another service provider."

At the WES conference last year, Henry unveiled a BlackBerry-based tool for field technicians to use in arranging and tracking their customer installation and repair efforts. That system substituted BlackBerry smartphones for bulky laptop computers and simplified work-process tracking.

The iSite program includes the following features:

• Ability to provide critical operations measurements so corrective action can be hastened.
• Holistic and predictive analyses of service-quality processes, allowing work-management adjustments to improve service delivery in real time.
• Analysis tools that identify root causes of problems with service-level maintenance in customer-service processes.
• Instant access to details of individual customer-account status so executives or technicians can promptly address a customer's service issue.
• Work-list management tools to improve field personnel efficiency.

"This is a strategic tool that will directly improve customer service and help position Verizon service as better than what the competition offers," Henry said. "With service quality an increasingly important differentiator in the marketplace, a tool like iSite gives Verizon another competitive advantage."

The iSite program is currently in use by the IT team to manage systems and will soon be available for full field deployment in telecommunications operations.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE: VZ), headquartered in New York, is a global leader in delivering broadband and other wireless and wireline communications services to mass market, business, government and wholesale customers. Verizon Wireless operates America's most reliable wireless network, serving more than 86 million customers nationwide. Verizon's Wireline operations provide converged communications, information and entertainment services over the nation's most advanced fiber-optic network. Wireline also includes Verizon Business, which delivers innovative and seamless business solutions to customers around the world. A Dow 30 company, Verizon employs a diverse workforce of more than 237,000 and last year generated consolidated operating revenues of more than $97 billion. For more information, visit www.verizon.com.

VERIZON'S ONLINE NEWS CENTER: Verizon news releases, executive speeches and biographies, media contacts, high-quality video and images, and other information are available at Verizon's News Center on the World Wide Web at www.verizon.com/news. To receive news releases by e-mail, visit the News Center and register for customized automatic delivery of Verizon news releases. The BlackBerry and RIM families of related marks, images and symbols are the exclusive properties and trademarks of Research In Motion Limited.

SOURCE Verizon

Source: PR Newswire

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