Gregory Newman
Marketing Director
IslandData Corporation
Phone: (760) 517-4100
Fax: (760) 930-9889
E-mail: gnewman@islanddata.com
Gay Lynn Moore
JPR Communications
Phone: (818) 386-0403
Fax: (818) 386-0940
http://www.jprcom.com
For Immediate Release
EXPRESSRESPONSE BY ISLANDDATA SIGNS NOVELL FOR TOTAL E-SATISFIED CUSTOMERS
CARLSBAD, Calif., Nov. 9, 2000 - IslandData, the leading e-Services solutions provider for the online customer service market, announced today that it has signed Novell, Inc., (Nasdaq: NOVL) the leading provider of Net Services software, as a customer of its flagship product, ExpressResponse.
With the implementation of three new online services, digitalme, instantme, and JustOn Inc., Novell looked to ExpressResponse by IslandData as a solution that would provide a timely and cost-effective means of supporting new customers' e-mail requests and questions, and provide comprehensive reporting tools so they would know more about their customers.
"ExpressResponse not only met our expectations, it dramatically exceeded them," said John Gailey, vice president of product management, Net Content services, Novell. "Within two weeks, it was implemented and answering calls. In just one month, 90 percent of the FAQs could be answered online without the customer having to resort to calling in. It represents a tremendous reduction in e-mail handling costs."
Because of the prohibitive nature of answering questions manually and the need to provide timely support and quick response, Novell needed a solution that did not depend on human interaction. ExpressResponse leads the way in the "Tier Zero" response, an automated system that interacts with the customer before the customer's electronic inquiry reaches the call center. Acting as an intelligent "virtual agent," ExpressResponse is able to route and escalate messages according to user-defined rules, which helps companies avoid common pitfalls associated with the handling of electronic inquiries by call center personnel such as slow response times, inadequate or incorrect information, and irrelevant responses, among others. By fully leveraging the benefits of this Tier Zero system, companies can recognize substantial returns on investment and increased customer satisfaction.
For four months, IslandData engineers worked with Novell to create a knowledge base from existing documents, such as frequently asked questions (FAQs), service bulletins, product literature, corporate information and any other frequently requested information. The system went live two weeks after initial implementation. More than 261 documents are contained in Novell's proprietary knowledge base, which is hosted offsite. Novell system administrators are able to create and upload new knowledge documents or edit existing ones as changes dictate.
"As the world's leading provider of Net services software, Novell is well versed in simplifying the online experience for its customers," said Guy Jones, senior vice president of strategic marketing at IslandData. "With ExpressResponse, they are able to provide their valued customers with relevant, accurate answers to their e-mails in a fast, efficient way."
ExpressResponse allows corporations to cost-effectively manage large volumes of inbound or outbound end-user e-mail and Web requests with minimal impact on call center workflow operations. Using natural language processing techniques, ExpressResponse automatically reads and analyzes user inquiries and presents the requested information or the best next course of action to the user within seconds. With its new Response Matrix (RM) technology, ExpressResponse is capable of handling 100 percent of a company's inbound e-mail. This enhanced message analysis system determines the level of service each message needs and responds accordingly. Data about inbound traffic is then collected and presented in a report through a newly expanded user interface. With its 24/7 ASP-hosted delivery and rapid implementation, ExpressResponse enhances any call center infrastructure and workflow in today's competitive environment.
About IslandData
IslandData is a leading e-Services solutions provider for online business. Founded in 1995, the company is recognized as marketing the first ERM product, and as being the first ASP-delivered solution. Since its inception, IslandData has expanded its product offering to include greater features and functionality, including powerful analysis and comprehensive reporting of electronic inquiry activities. IslandData's goal is to help managers perform customer service and support in a proactive manner by using its user-facing solution to engage customers more quickly and efficiently.
IslandData is ideally suited to serving larger companies with CRM systems installed, and counts among its customers companies such as Adobe, Agilent, Canon, Hewlett Packard, Juno Online Services, Novell and Pagoo. Because of the efficiencies of ExpressResponse, IslandData has been successful serving dotcoms and other small companies with limited existing infrastructure. For more information, contact Gregory Newman, Marketing Director, at (760) 517-4100 or gnewman@islanddata.com, or visit IslandData's Web site at http://www.islanddata.com.
ExpressResponse is a trademark of IslandData Corporation.