Would one of you tech people tell me if Balisoft merge with Service Soft gives them a product simislar to Dr. Bean? If so what is your outlook for the competition? Livelink has some big names to go with it
newswire.ca
NEEDHAM, Mass. and TORONTO, Ontario, Feb. 8 /CNW/ -- ServiceSoft
Corporation and Balisoft Technologies, Inc., each industry leaders in
addressing Internet Customer Service, today announced they have signed a
definite agreement to merge. Effective immediately, the new company, named
Servicesoft Technologies, Inc., combines two organizations with the
comprehensive suite of best-of-breed solutions and proven management teams
needed to drive the burgeoning market for Internet Customer Service software.
With this merger, Servicesoft Technologies becomes the only company
offering a complete Internet Customer Service solution, comprising proven
applications for self-help, e-mail response and live customer interaction, all
driven by an intelligent knowledge base. This end-to-end offering is crucial
to enabling companies to leverage the promise of the Internet in achieving a
paradigm shift in customer service to drive initial sales, generate loyal
customers, obtain repeat business, and do it all more efficiently than
traditional methods.
"Customer service is the next major thrust over the Internet," said Steve
Robins, senior analyst at Yankee Group, Internet Computing Strategies. "Most
of the Web customer service products on the market today are disparate
solutions offered by single-product vendors. Now, for the first time, a
single vendor has emerged to provide companies with the complete product set
needed for effective Internet Customer Service. Servicesoft Technologies has
the vision, product offering and management team needed for success in this
rapidly evolving market." According to a Yankee Group forecast, the market
for Internet Customer Service is expected to grow to $1 billion by 2003.
Redefining and Driving Internet Customer Service
As companies seek to establish customer loyalty, repeat business and a
better bottom line, the key differentiation will be the level of customer
service and support they offer. The Internet enables a new playing field in
which enhanced, more sophisticated customer service is possible, with
quantifiable cost savings over traditional customer support. For example,
Forrester Research estimates that an Internet service model can decrease a
company's cost per contact by 43%.
"With this merger, Servicesoft Technologies jumps to the forefront as a
leading provider of Internet Customer Service solutions," said Hugh Bishop,
senior vice president at Aberdeen Group. "The company is poised to deliver a
unique solution that not only spans the entire spectrum of Internet Customer
Service, but also implements, at its core, a sophisticated knowledge base that
can be shared by all customer service agents and products. We see Servicesoft
Technologies' upcoming product set integration as essential to the market.
Companies attempting to use Internet Customer Service solutions from different
vendors will very quickly realize a multitude of difficulties -- not the least
of which are diminished value from less-than-complete knowledge bases and the
added time and effort required to build and maintain a seamless solution."
"Establishing excellent customer service provides a strategic advantage in
serving our small and medium-sized business customers with Internet
connectivity, Web hosting and e-commerce solutions, and is critical to growing
our profitability," said Jim Kieffer, vice president of customer operations at
Verio Inc. "We looked at the market's major Internet Customer Service
offerings and selected Servicesoft Technologies because it is the only company
that immediately offers a complete solution. Verio is implementing
Servicesoft Technologies' products and services in its state-of-the-art
Customer Care Centers and National Network Operations Center."
An Experienced and Winning Combination
In the new Servicesoft Technologies, Balisoft chairman and CEO Mark
Skapinker, former president and co-founder of Delrina Corporation, which
developed WinFax, becomes chairman and CEO. ServiceSoft president Dave
Tarrant, former president and CEO of Graphic Communications, Inc., which
developed Lotus Freelance Graphics, becomes president of the merged entity.
The company, which represents a merger of equals, will continue to maintain
offices in Needham, Mass. and Toronto, Ont., with headquarters in Needham.
Skapinker's ability to envision and deliver on next-generation products,
combined with Tarrant's expertise in foreseeing market trends and ensuring his
company executes on its vision, will drive Servicesoft Technologies' market
leadership. By combining these executives' expertise with their former
companies' award-winning solutions -- ServiceSoft's renowned Knowledge
Builder(R) knowledge base and Web Advisor(R) self-service offerings, and
Balisoft's E-mailContact(TM) and LiveContact(TM) products -- the new company
is well positioned for market dominance. It is now the only Internet Customer
Service company delivering a complete, end-to-end solution.
"The market is calling for a complete customer service solution," said
Dave Tarrant. "We explored marketing partnerships and alliances, but quickly
realized that to deliver the seamless, integrated, complete solution customers
demand, we needed all products to be managed within the same company.
Balisoft's E-MailContact and LiveContact are the best complements to
ServiceSoft's leading self-help and knowledge base offerings. Together we can
deliver a comprehensive and cohesive Internet Customer Service solution."
"The integration of our products clearly redefines the Internet Customer
Service experience," said Mark Skapinker. "This combined entity creates a
solution that is bigger than the sum of the two companies. Self-service has
delivered on its promise of empowering customers but lacks the personalized
care and escalation capabilities provided by traditional call centers. Live
interaction and e-mail response solutions lack the power and sophistication of
a common knowledge base. Servicesoft Technologies will lead the next major
wave in Internet growth by providing a complete Internet Customer Service
platform based on a common knowledge base and queuing infrastructure. This
new platform provides customers the flexibility to implement and evolve their
customer service solutions as they require, without the concerns associated
with integrating solutions from different vendors."
Delivering the Complete Internet Customer Service Solution
The merger of ServiceSoft and Balisoft brings together best-of-breed
products that deliver the complete Internet Customer Service solution. The
companies have already begun to integrate the knowledge base and self-service
capabilities of ServiceSoft's solutions with Balisoft's family of Internet
customer interaction software to deliver a comprehensive and integrated
solution.
Servicesoft Technologies' complete offering also includes tight
integration with automated call distribution (ACD) and customer relationship
management (CRM) applications. "Blending seamlessly into an organization's
call center while sharing and leveraging customer information from the CRM
application is crucial. However, these integrations are not trivial," said
Mark Skapinker. "A great synergy between our two companies is that each
brings complementary expertise and robust integrations to the table: Balisoft
with ACDs and ServiceSoft Corporation with CRMs. Combining this work saves us
months and months of development work -- and delivers yet another critical
competitive advantage in the fast-moving Internet space."
Best-of-Breed Solutions:
-- Knowledge Builder allows an organization to easily create, deploy and
maintain a knowledge base of consistent, accurate advice.
-- Web Advisor delivers intelligent self-service via the Internet and
assisted service to customer service representatives delivering
consistent, high-quality and easily accessible answers.
-- E-mailContact enables organizations to manage and monitor the growing
tide of inbound e-mail by leveraging existing e-mail infrastructure to
improve customer satisfaction.
-- LiveContact "humanizes" the way businesses and customers communicate on
the Internet. Designed using text chat, voice and multimedia
collaboration to create an environment built on personalized
interaction.
About Servicesoft Technologies
Servicesoft Technologies, Inc. (http://www.servicesoft.com) is the
breakaway leader in Internet Customer Service -- delivering the industry's
only complete end-to-end solution, comprised of best-of-breed applications for
self-help, e-mail response and live customer interaction, all driven by the
industry's most robust knowledge base. This complete offering is crucial to
enabling companies to leverage the promise of the Internet in achieving a
paradigm shift in customer service to drive initial sales, generate loyal
customers, obtain repeat business, and do it all more efficiently than
traditional methods. Major companies worldwide, such as Xerox, Wang Global,
GTE, Intel, Cisco Systems, Motorola, Verio and NB Tel rely upon the company's
award-winning offerings. The company's partners include leading call center,
system integration and customer relationship management companies. Privately
held, Servicesoft Technologies is headquartered in Needham, Mass., and has
offices throughout the U.S., Canada and Europe. For more online information,
access www.servicesoft.com or balisoft.com.
ServiceSoft, Balisoft, Web Advisor, Knowledge Builder, E-mailContact and
LiveContact are registered trademarks or trademarks of ServiceSoft
Technologies, Inc. All other brands and products referenced herein are
acknowledged to be registered trademarks or trademarks of their respective
holders.
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For further information: Cynthia Keeshan, PR Manager, 416-256-1419,
ext. 227, or cynthiak@balisoft.com, or William Saunders, Director,
Marketing Comm., 781-449-0049, ext. 236, or wsaunders@servicesoft.com,
both of Servicesoft Technologies, Inc.; or Amy Conefrey, 617-441-4000 ext.
235, or aconefrey@webergroup.com, or Bill Golden, 617-441-4000 ext. 257,
or bgolden@webergroup.com, both of The Weber Group for Servicesoft
Technologies
This press release concerns more than one organization.
To view releases from one of these organizations, please select from below.
BALISOFT TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
SERVICESOFT TECHNOLOGIES, INC.
SERVICESOFT CORPORATION |
