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Siemens Enhances OpenScape(R) Contact Center Portfolio With Shared IVR Solution and Hosted Service Management Option

Posted on: Wednesday, 10 September 2008, 06:00 CDT

BOCA RATON, Fla., Sept. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Siemens Enterprise Communications, Inc. today announced enhancements to the OpenScape(R) Contact Center portfolio that will provide customers with advanced interactive contact center features and monitoring in a more cost-effective and easier to deploy hosted package. The new shared interactive voice response (IVR) solution and hosted service management offering will help enterprises deploy contact automation in an effort to deliver superior customer services.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070904/SIEMENSLOGO )

Natural speech technology, enabled by an IVR solution, is an important tool for contact centers today, as they strive to make each customer interaction as positive and effective as possible. However, the costs of a stand-alone IVR system can be too high for many businesses, which makes a hosted solution the ideal choice. Working with Contact Solutions, Inc. (CSI), Siemens will now offer customers world-class hosted IVR applications and services to deploy a more cost-effective and readily available solution.

"Shared IVR services are a more effective way to improve contact automation without excessive costs," said Don Greco, Director of Solution Management for the U.S. for Siemens Enterprise Communications, Inc. "By adding CSI's premier solution and expertise to the robust OpenScape Contact Center portfolio and Siemens' existing value-added services offering, Siemens can now expand the options available to customers who want an IVR application, but not the added costs and management challenges."

CSI delivers shared IVR and contact automation services to customers throughout North America, helping them leverage the latest technology while helping to stay within their budgets and expertise. With the "Continuous Improvement" Process that is imbedded in the offering, customers can be assured that the application will be reviewed and scrutinized continually to in an effort to provide improved results.

The offering from Siemens and CSI will include integrated contact automation, platform management, robust reporting tools and enhanced caller interaction, all on a per minute or per transaction pricing model. Plus, since Siemens' OpenScape Contact Center solution is an open solution, the new offering will integrate more seamlessly when live agent interaction is required. This provides customers with a more flexible, feature rich solution with a focus on business process optimization to help improve customer satisfaction, drive agent productivity and reduce costs.

"The Siemens and Contact Solutions alliance brings significant value to call centers across North America," said Paul Logan, Contact Solutions CEO. "Siemens' contact center clients are now assured that their end user customers will receive high quality self-service at the IVR. This means contact center enterprises will be better positioned to save costs while increasing customer satisfaction."

"With Contact Solutions, Siemens has chosen to deliver their hosted self service offering with not only an experienced partner, but one with a highly valued core selling proposition," according to Sheila McGee-Smith, Principal Analyst at McGee-Smith Analytics. "CSI's 'secret sauce' is continuous improvement, working with customers to automate more transactions each month. That strikes at the very heart of the reason most companies choose to deploy self service applications."

About Contact Solutions, Inc.

Contact Solutions (CSI) saves its call center clients millions of dollars by significantly improving their contact automation while uplifting customer satisfaction levels. Deploying time-tested shared IVR services, world-class IVR applications and procedures, and an industry-leading project management approach focused on Continuous Improvement around six distinct Centers of Excellence, the company has helped the contact center industry redefine contact automation standards. Large enterprises such as American Express, Delta Airlines, Motorola and many government entities benefit from the company's focused, cost-effective contact automation approach. Contact Solutions is based in Reston, VA. Visit Contact Solutions at http://www.contactsolutions.com/.

About Siemens

Siemens AG is one of the largest global electronics and engineering companies with reported worldwide sales of $107.4 billion in 2006. Founded 160 years ago, the company is a leader in the areas of Medical, Power, Automation and Control, Transportation, Information and Communications, Lighting, Building Technologies, Water Technologies and Services and Home Appliances. With its U.S. corporate headquarters in New York City, Siemens in the USA has sales of $21.4 billion and employs approximately 70,000 people throughout all 50 states and Puerto Rico. Eleven of Siemens' worldwide businesses are based in the United States. With its global headquarters in Munich, Siemens AG and its subsidiaries employ 480,000 people in 190 countries. For more information on Siemens in the United States: http://www.usa.siemens.com/.

About Siemens Enterprise Communications, Inc.

Siemens Enterprise Communications, Inc. is an affiliate of Siemens Enterprise Communications GmbH & Co. KG, one of the world's leading suppliers of Unified Communications technologies. The company's unique Open Communications approach to providing software, solutions and services for enterprises of all sizes enables business processes to be more productive, faster and more secure -- with any device, network or information technology infrastructure. Siemens Enterprise Communications, Inc. and Siemens Enterprise Communications GmbH & Co. KG are wholly owned subsidiaries of Siemens AG with global headquarters in Munich.

For more information about Siemens Enterprise Communications, visit: http://www.siemens.com/open

Note: OpenScape, OpenStage and HiPath are trademarks of Siemens Enterprise Communications GmbH & Co. KG. Siemens is a registered trademark of Siemens AG or its subsidiaries and affiliates. All other company, brand, product and service names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.

This release contains forward-looking statements based on beliefs of Siemens management. The words "anticipate,""believe,""estimate,""forecast,""expect,""intend,""plan,""should," and "project" are used to identify forward-looking statements. Such statements reflect the company's current views with respect to future events and are subject to risks and uncertainties. Many factors could cause the actual results to be materially different, including, among others, changes in general economic and business conditions, changes in currency exchange rates and interest rates, introduction of competing products, lack of acceptance of new products or services and changes in business strategy. Actual results may vary materially from those projected here. Siemens does not intend or assume any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20070904/SIEMENSLOGOPRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com

Siemens Enterprise Communications, Inc.

CONTACT: Amy Martin, Siemens Communications, Inc., +1-408-492-2785,amy.martin@siemens.com

Web site: http://www.siemens.com/openhttp://www.contactsolutions.com/http://www.usa.siemens.com/

Source: PRNewswire

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