Melita International Announces PhoneFrame Explorer
DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 27, 1997--
New Platform, New Architecture Linked with Proven Call Center
Performance
Melita(R) International (NASDAQ:MELI), provider of integrated customer contact and call management solutions, today
announced details on the PhoneFrame(R) Explorer call center solution at the Incoming Call Center Management trade show
here.
PhoneFrame Explorer is the company's new customer contact and call management solution incorporating the proven
performance of the PhoneFrame product line with an innovative new architecture. PhoneFrame Explorer provides call centers
with powerful new capabilities to meet today's increased-productivity pressures on a platform designed to meet tomorrow's
business demands.
PhoneFrame Explorer consists of the new Universal Telephony Platform(TM), based on Melita's breakthrough MPower(TM)
architecture, new software applications and new system packaging.
MPower and UTP
PhoneFrame Explorer incorporates Melita's new MPower architecture, which enables the implementation of advanced
business solutions based on open systems and industry standards. MPower is a fully distributable, object-oriented architecture
based on the Common Request Broker Architecture (CORBA) object standard. MPower uses industry standard interfaces to
integrate with other technology platforms.
``Tomorrow's call centers will require new flexible architectures if they are to handle changing business and technology trends,''
said Aleksander Szlam, Melita's chief executive officer. ``In developing MPower, Melita made investment protection a key
design criterion, ensuring our customers the opportunity to migrate legacy systems to newer and more robust technologies.
MPower will support rapid implementation of new multi-media applications, reducing the complexity of system management
and doing so with a highly resilient platform.''
PhoneFrame Explorer's Universal Telephony Platform(TM)(UTP(TM)) provides state-of-the-art telephony and call
management functionality. UTP is designed to also incorporate future functionality for video, Internet and other multi-media
applications.
UTP benefits include:
Open systems architecture: UTP's industrial quality communications platform is capable of supporting multiple
concurrent applications running on industry-standard hardware and software.
Standard hardware and software: UTP incorporates numerous industry standards, including Windows NT, SCSA,
CORBA, SNMP and ISDN, allowing ease of integration and interoperability.
Scalability: As business needs expand, additional UTP nodes can be easily added.
CTI enabled: UTP is capable of being fully Computer Telephony Integration-enabled to support the entire Melita family
of PBX/ACD CTI solutions.
Dependability and reliability: UTP is rugged and highly resilient, offering redundancy for most internal components. Dual
load-sharing power supplies, disk mirroring and on-board diagnostics assure maximum up-time. Further, remote
management capability is offered through the use of SNMP, allowing customers' IT and Melita support personnel to
remotely monitor and manage PhoneFrame Explorer telephony components.
International compatibility: The UTP directly supports international network protocols including T1-based National
ISDN 2(NI2), T1-based AT&T 41459, T1 Loop-Start, E1-based Euro ISDN (ETS-300) and E1 MFCR2.
UTP has been well received by Melita beta test users. ``My customers are extremely pleased,'' says Pascal Bourse, technical
director of SIS France, one of Melita's international value-added resellers, who has installed a system at Caisse d'Epargne
Pays de Loire, a large bank in France. ``UTP and PhoneFrame Explorer combine Melita's extensive application knowledge in
call center automation with the exciting new MPower architecture that sets a new open system standard for call center
technology.''
Software Suite
PhoneFrame Explorer supports new applications with the proven capabilities of the PhoneFrame product line. These include:
Dynamic Record Manager(TM): Allows call records to be inserted dynamically into active calling lists in real time.
Campaigns can be immediately updated to reflect current activity from a variety of sources.
WebContact: Allows consumers browsing a website to request an immediate or scheduled call back from a
PhoneFrame-based call center. WebContact provides qualified outbound leads and personal customer service.
MAGELLAN(TM): A new version of Melita's desk-top application suite, providing customer data, host and database
connections. The MAGELLAN user-customized application guides call center agents through each customer
interaction. The software supports transparent, real-time access to enterprise-wide customer and product information,
presenting it in a Single System Image View(TM) -- Melita's term for the unified presentation of disparate information at
the agent's desktop resulting from combining real-time data from multiple, enterprise-wide sources (host sources,
relational databases, Windows applications and more).
Other Benefits
PhoneFrame Explorer is Year 2000 compliant. Melita works closely with its major software and hardware component
providers to ensure their products are also Year 2000 compliant.
While PhoneFrame Explorer significantly expands call center capabilities, the supporting hardware has decreased in size. All
base system components, including the server and UTP, can fit inside a single compact cabinet, offering a more advanced,
cost-effective solution with a compact footprint.
Melita's migration philosophy allows many of its customers to upgrade their systems to achieve PhoneFrame Explorer
functionality. PhoneFrame Explorer is expected to be generally available in the fourth quarter of 1997.
About Melita
Melita International (Norcross, Ga.), which began operations in 1983, is a leading provider of customer contact and call
management systems that enable businesses to automate call center activities and enhance their telephony-based customer
interaction.
Melita's customers worldwide include leading banking, financial services, retail, communications and service bureau
organizations that engage their current and prospective customers in frequent telephone contact.
This press release contains forward-looking statements relating to future product functionality and expandability, marketing
strategies and product development processes. Such statements are made based on management's belief as well assumptions
made by, and information currently available to, management, pursuant to the 'safe harbor' provisions of the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. While these statements reflect our best current judgement, they are subject to risks and
uncertainties that could cause a change in focus and direction. A discussion of certain risk factors that may cause actual results
to differ from these forward-looking statements can be found in Melita's Form 10-Q on file with the SEC.
Contact:
Melita International
Maryjane Stout, 770/239-4402
Fax: 770/239-4489
Email: mstout@melita.com
Website: melita.com |
