Genesys and IBM Expand Partnership in China
Helps Businesses Implement a Scalable, Low Cost "Contact Center in a Box" Solution in 90 Days or Less
ARMONK, NY and SAN FRANCISCO, CA - 21 Dec 2007: Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories, an Alcatel-Lucent company (EURONEXT PARIS: ALU) (NYSE: ALU), and IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced a significant expansion of their global Strategic Alliance for Contact Center Solutions to co-develop, implement and sell a new collaborative solution in China. This marks the first time both companies are offering a solution targeting the growing call center market in this region, while also continuing their global work together.
Contact centers have become increasingly strategic assets for businesses worldwide, as customer service continues to play a major role in establishing competitive differentiation and building long-term customer loyalty. Contact center application revenue in China grew 15.6% in 2006 vs. 2005, and is projected to annually grow 18.2% in 2007 and 20.9% in 2008.*
The new IBM Contact Center in a Box solution enables businesses to easily deploy a simplified contact center solution, in 90 days or less. This solution is a scalable option intended to meet the needs of small, mid-sized and enterprise-level businesses as needed. Working together, IBM and Genesys will deliver full functionality in one solution, providing critical customer service functions such as customer enquiry and complaints, product promotion, sales, appointment management, and activity management.
Based on a survey of over 300 small, mid-sized and enterprise customers, IBM market research has shown that clients in the China region are looking for contact center solutions that are easy to upgrade and maintain, have a lower overall implementation cost and are stable and reliable. The new IBM Contact Center in a Box solution brings together all of these components, along with system security, scalability, and a low total cost of ownership.
This solution is powered with IBM open architecture, running on IBM Blade servers, DB2, WebSphere and Tivoli software. Genesys technology provides the advanced call routing with Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) support, computer telephony integration and self-service capabilities, directing the incoming customer call to the proper agent or resource. Siebel Call Center Applications from Oracle offer the sales and after sales support to this bundled solution, helping companies analyze and provide support based on the data collected on the call and stored in the database.
"Throughout our 8-year history together, IBM and Genesys have delivered innovative contact center and self-service solutions to the global marketplace with more than 13,000 agent seats deployed together worldwide," said Michael McBrien, senior vice president, Asia Pacific, Genesys. "We're now tapping into IBM's sales and marketing expertise to expand our presence in the Greater China market."
Genesys and IBM share 300 joint customers worldwide. By expanding this partnership, the two companies will focus on further growing business in the Greater China region in core verticals such as banking, insurance, telecommunications and government. IBM's commanding presence in this geography will contribute significantly to the growth and sale of Genesys' solutions to new customers, as well as creating value for their existing customers in the region.
As part of the alliance, IBM and Genesys will focus on several key initiatives in Greater China, including:
o IBM to provide increased sales and technical coverage for Genesys' solutions in Greater China;
o IBM will provide consultants and technical experts on Genesys technology solutions for localized customer support;
o IBM and Genesys will co-develop industry-specific solutions to provide localized products for China, including use of the IBM China Research Lab;
o Utilization of the IBM Innovation Center in Beijing to build and test solutions and provide sales support and solution demonstrations for the local market.
"IBM continues to remain committed to the success of its partners," said Mark Hanny, vice president of strategic partnerships, IBM. "The new contact center solution presents an enormous opportunity for both companies to deliver support to their current customers worldwide, and capture new customers in this growing segment of the Greater China market."
*Asia Pacific Contact Centre Applications Market CY 2006, Frost & Sullivan, May 2007
About Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories, Inc.
Genesys, an Alcatel-Lucent company, is the only company that focuses 100% on software to manage customer interactions over the phone, web and in e-mail. The Genesys software suite dynamically connects customers with the right resources - self-service or assisted-service - to fulfill customer requests, optimize customer care goals and efficiently use resources. Genesys software directs more than 100 million customer interactions every day for 4,000 companies and government agencies in 80 countries. These companies and agencies can leverage their entire organization, from the contact center to the back office, to improve the overall customer experience. As a result, Genesys helps stop customer frustration, drive efficiency, and accelerate business innovation. For more information, go to www.genesyslab.com
About Alcatel-Lucent
Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris: ALU) (NYSE: ALU) provides solutions that enable service providers, enterprises and governments worldwide, to deliver voice, data and video communication services to end-users. As a leader in fixed, mobile and converged broadband networking, IP technologies, applications, and services, Alcatel-Lucent offers the end-to-end solutions that enable compelling communications services for people at home, at work and on the move. With operations in more than 130 countries, Alcatel-Lucent is a local partner with global reach. The company has the most experienced global services team in the industry, and one of the largest research, technology and innovation organizations in the telecommunications industry. Alcatel-Lucent achieved adjusted proforma revenues of Euro 18.3 billion in 2006 and is incorporated in France, with executive offices located in Paris. [All figures exclude impact of activities transferred to Thales].
For more information, visit Alcatel-Lucent on the Internet: www.alcatel-lucent.com.
About IBM
For more information, go to: www.ibm.com/partnerworld.
Contact(s) information
Faye Abloeser
IBM Media Relations
908-770-0762
abloeser@us.ibm.com
David Radoff
Genesys Media Relations
650 466-1078
dradoff@genesyslab.com
