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Announcements/Press Releases

January 4, 2017

Announcements / Press Releases
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Announcements / Press Releases






Richelle Litteer Joins DialAmerica As Vice President, Business Development

MAHWAH, N.J. – DialAmerica, one of the nation’s largest teleservices companies, announced that Richelle Litteer has joined the company as vice president, business development. In her new position, Litteer will be responsible for building upon DialAmerica’s key strengths to leverage new business initiatives and enhance existing accounts.

“We’re thrilled to welcome Richelle back to DialAmerica – she was a key player in past growth and success and we’re certain that pattern will repeat itself as she rejoins our team,” said John Redinger, senior vice president, sales and marketing at DialAmerica.

Litteer previously spent over a decade with DialAmerica and was a top revenue generator specializing in financial institutions, healthcare, and telecommunications clients. Overall, she has 35 years of marketing, sales and management experience.

In the interim between her departure from DialAmerica and return, Litteer served as senior development officer at the UMC Foundation, where she contributed heavily to the completion of a multi-million dollar capital campaign to open Diamond Children’s Medical Center at the University of Arizona. She played the role of chief fundraiser for all verticals of the health network for more than a half-decade, developing Diamond Children’s major gift pipeline and spearheading the institution’s fundraising events and business partnerships development.

Litteer also previously worked as director of marketing and professional relations at Radiology Ltd. and as regional director of marketing and recruitment at Berwick Insurance group.

Litteer will operate from Tucson, A.Z.

About DialAmerica
One of the nation's largest privately held teleservices companies, DialAmerica provides customized, cost-effective customer acquisition and customer service contact center solutions. Started in 1957, the company was named one of the 'Top 50 Teleservices Agencies for 2014' by TMC. DialAmerica's contact center agents conduct more than 300,000 customer interactions, per day, for a diverse portfolio of clients in multiple industry sectors, including consumer products, communications, energy, financial services, food services, fundraising, healthcare, leisure, pharmaceutical, technology, travel, among others. Headquartered in Mahwah, N.J., DialAmerica's network of U.S.-based contact centers spans 21 locations across 13 states. To learn more about DialAmerica, visit www.dialamerica.com.

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Alorica Announces Acquisition of Several West Corporation's Agent Services Businesses
Alorica announced its acquisition of several of West Corporation’s (NASDAQ: WSTC) agent services businesses for a consideration of $275m. The acquisition makes Alorica one of the largest US-based Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) providers at a projected $1.2 billion in revenue this year.

BPOs have matured beyond simple call centers to offer first-rate customer service globally. This acquisition proves Alorica CEO Andy Lee’s mission to provide better service at a lower cost. The deal brings the company one step closer to its goal of becoming the number one BPO provider in its addressable markets, and strengthens Alorica’s market position in three key areas:

•Global footprint: Increased presence in US, LatAm and Philippines; adds market-leading work-at-home capabilities
•Markets: Enters company into new markets (healthcare, utilities and government) strengthens position in existing markets (communications, retail, travel, financial services, consumer products)
•Services: Expands current services offerings in customer care, technical support and sales, and adds receivables management and direct response capabilities

For more information: http://www.alorica.com/_templates/PressReleaseDetail.aspx?id=6442451492

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Empereon-Constar Announces Mark Lambert Vice President of Sales

Strategic sales leader brings proven record of building long term business relationships and driving strong revenue growth to rapidly expanding contact center

Phoenix, Arizona – Empereon-Constar, a leading provider of comprehensive contact center, back office, and accounts receivables solutions, today announced that Mark Lambert has joined the company as Vice President of Sales. At Empereon-Constar, Lambert will report directly to CEO, Travis Bowley, and will be responsible for driving new business development in consumer finance verticals while fostering additional growth and services in existing markets.

“We are pleased to welcome a sales executive of Mark’s caliber to the Empereon-Constar team,” said Travis Bowley, Chief Executive Officer. “We will benefit tremendously from Mark’s experience in selling customer management services, expertly managing high profile client relationships, and developing sales strategies to drive revenue as we execute our next phase of growth in new markets."

Lambert is a highly accomplished sales executive with more than 20 years of contact center industry experience, most of which was focused on serving Fortune 500 clients representing financial services, telecommunications, and retail industries. Prior to joining Empereon-Constar, he served as Vice President, Sales, DialAmerica, where he helped achieve significant growth in revenue and market share.

“I am excited to join the team at Empereon-Constar,” Lambert stated. “I look forward to leveraging Empereon-Constar’s extensive experience and unique solutions to meet the business objectives of our clients.”

Mark can be reached by phone at 704.239.6260 or via email Mark.Lambert@empereon.com.

About Empereon-Constar
The Empereon–Constar organization delivers a full array of outsource services spanning the entire lifecycle of a consumer account in an inbound and or outbound call center environment - from sales, new account set up, customer acquisition, activation, billing, customer service, tech support, customer care/retention, loan processing and servicing, active collections, to third party contingency recovery, back office support solutions, email and chat services for order processing and fulfillment 24 X7 day operations.

Empereon Marketing, LLC is a leading provider of comprehensive contact center solutions specializing in multi-media, customer-centric interactions. Representing companies nationwide, we develop customized solutions that increase customer satisfaction and loyalty, generate strategic advantage, and provide measurable value. A pioneer in call center services, Empereon’s experienced leadership team, highly trained staff, and leading technology offers our clients the power to connect to their customers through proactive customer communications.

Constar Financial Services, LLC is a full service accounts receivable management company delivering collection services to Fortune 100 and 500 companies globally servicing the consumer auto finance, e-commerce, technology, telecommunication, entertainment media, retail finance and direct lending industries. Constar continues to expand by consistently delivering outstanding competitive performance and quality service to our clients. To learn more about Empereon-Constar, email Yvonne Torrijos at Yvonne.Torrijos@constarfinancial.com.

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OpenMarket Aims to Transform Enterprise Customer Service with
Mobile Messaging Solutions

Award-winning Mobile Engagement Platform Offers Enterprises an Alternative to Legacy Customer Service Processes and Communication Strategies

SEATTLE, Washington— OpenMarket, a leader in enterprise mobile engagement, announced new mobile messaging solutions to help enterprises deliver a better customer engagement experience. The company’s award-winning Mobile Engagement Platform powers the new customer service solutions, enabling two-way global SMS for immediate and direct interaction at various points along the customer journey, providing valuable insight, faster response times and lower operational costs. OpenMarket will be exhibiting its mobile messaging solutions at the Gartner Symposium/ITxpo October 6-9 in Orlando, Florida (Booth #135 – Applications Marketplace).

A recent study[1] revealed the number of active devices worldwide now equates to nearly 93 percent of the world’s population – making mobile the best channel for direct, intimate interaction with consumers around the world. Additionally, ICMI’s mobile customer service strategy survey[2] shows that 68 percent of experts believe mobile improves the overall customer experience.

To meet this changing landscape, many Global 2000 enterprises are using SMS as an integral part of their mobile approach to customer satisfaction. OpenMarket’s Mobile Engagement Platform is a SaaS-based solution, allowing global enterprises to easily create and deploy smart, interactive mobile engagement services worldwide with connectivity to over 200 countries. The platform integrates with an enterprise’s customer relationship management system (CRM), using existing customer data to create automated, personal and real-time mobile interactions with their customers.

The OpenMarket Mobile Engagement Platform is flexible to support a vast number of uses cases across the enterprise, as companies are looking to improve customer service in a variety of ways:

· Customer Alerts – delivering informative, time-sensitive mobile alerts such as order and delivery notifications, scheduling and appointment reminders, bill reminders, sales offers and urgent notifications such as changes to itineraries or services.
· Customer Engagement – two-way mobile messaging services boost engagement by gathering customer feedback, administering customer surveys, and providing customer greetings and salutations upon arrival or after purchases.
· IT/Technical Support – two-way mobile messaging enhances the customer support function through issue tracking and resolution, account activation and updates, help requests and contact center-to-consumer messaging.

“Customer service is a key differentiator for major enterprises,” said Jay Emmet, General Manager at OpenMarket. “Consumers want to communicate with customer service on their preferred channel, which is mobile, and get quick resolution of their issues. They do not want to wait on hold after navigating an IVR system. Enterprises decision-makers should be leveraging the mobile channel as much as possible to accomplish this goal. By implementing two-way SMS communication through OpenMarket’s Mobile Engagement Platform, enterprises can provide a better customer experience that closely aligns with the increasing consumer demand for mobile messaging interactions.”

For more information on mobile solutions for customer service, download the white paper, “How Mobile is Transforming Enterprise Customer Experience” here: http://www2.openmarket.com/customer-service-white-paper

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Outstanding Service Brings National Award

Call 4 Health Wins CAM-X Award of Excellence

Call 4 Health of Boca Raton, FL has been honoured with the exclusive 2014 Award of Excellence. The Award is presented annually by the Canadian Call Management Association (CAM-X), the industry’s Trade Association for providers of call centre services including telephone answering and message delivery. Call 4 Health was presented with the Award recently at the CAM-X 50th Annual Convention and Trade Show held at the Fairmont Chateau Laurier, Ottawa, ON

Independent judges are contracted by CAM-X to evaluate message services throughout North America over a six-month period. The criteria for scoring include courtesy, response time, accuracy and overall service to their clients. If the company scores 80% or better in ALL categories, they are presented with the coveted Award of Excellence. The program is now in its 25th year.

“The CAM-X Award of Excellence is a bench marking program designed and proven to enhance customer service for the Telephone Answering Service Industry across North America and throughout the world." says CAM-X President, Bill Tucker. "Technological advancements combined with professional customer service provides the industry with the ability to deliver consistent excellent customer service solutions. The CAM-X award of Excellence Program ensures that consistent professional customer service levels are not only met but exceeded. Since the inception of this Awards Program, the level of customer service provided by member participants has improved significantly. I congratulate Call 4 Health for their achievements. “

CAM-X extends its congratulations to the staff of Call 4 Health on their proven quality service to their customers.

About CAM-X: Founded in 1964, CAM-X began as a national trade Association representing live answering services. The Canadian Call Management Association now encompasses companies across North America offering specialized and enhanced operator based services including: call centres, contact centres, inbound telemarketing (order entry), paging, voice messaging, emergency dispatch, fax, and Internet-based services, among others. Please visit www.camx.ca for more information.



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CITY OF JACKSONVILLE PROCLAIMS AUGUST 20 AS ALORICARES DAY

Mayor Pro-Tem Michael Lazzara Presents Proclamation to Alorica For Company’s Veterans Employment Initiative

JACKSONVILLE, N.C. — The City of Jacksonville named Wednesday, August 20th as AloriCares Day. Alorica, a worldwide leading provider of customer management outsourcing solutions, was recognized for its continual community involvement and support for military veterans through its AloriCares initiative. Mayor Pro-Tem Michael Lazzara presented Alorica with a proclamation at the Hiring Our Heroes Hiring Fair at Camp Lejeune yesterday.

“Alorica has positively impacted our Jacksonville community by providing support and jobs to local residents, including military veterans and their spouses. It’s fitting that we proclaim Aug. 20th as AloriCares Day at the hiring event,” said Michael Lazzara, City of Jacksonville Mayor Pro-Tem. “Their continued efforts will provide many new employment opportunities to our community members in the coming years.”

Alorica realized several years ago that veterans often have difficulty finding long term and fulfilling professions when they return home. The AloriCares initiative was implemented to assist veterans in establishing careers after completing their military service. AloriCares offers professional employment for both military veterans and active duty spouses. A sponsor is also provided to help guide families through the transition process.

“Our AloriCares program was created to help ease veterans’ transition into the workforce and to combat the current level of unemployment in the military community,” said Marianne Strobel, vice president of the AloriCares initiative at Alorica. “By providing new jobs in the Jacksonville area, we hope to offer many military families a bright future.”

Employees are also encouraged to develop their leadership skills and position within the company. AloriCares has provided numerous stipends allowing employees to expand their knowledge and pursue a bachelor’s or master’s degree. The children of AloriCares’ staff are also eligible for college scholarships to help further their education.

To learn more about AloriCares, please visit www.aloricares.com or for more information on Alorica’s Jacksonville site, please call 910-989-4700.

About Alorica

Alorica is a worldwide leading provider of customer management outsourcing solutions spanning the entire customer lifecycle. From customer acquisition and sales, to customer care and support, to logistics and fulfillment, Alorica offers a seamless customer experience across all service channels. Alorica’s award-winning Business Process Outsourcing services span both the Business-to-Consumer (B2C) and Business-to-Business (B2B) sectors across all industries for Fortune 1000 companies. Headquartered in Irvine, Calif. with more than 20,000 employees in 40 domestic, near shore, and offshore customer management centers, Alorica offers the proven industry experience and know-how to provide a total customer management solution. For more information, please visit www.alorica.com.

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EZ TEXTING LAUNCHES FREE & EZ SERVICE

First-Ever Free Product for SMS Marketing Enables Businesses and Organizations of Any Size to Reach Customers via Text Message

Santa Monica, Calif., - Ez Texting, the SMS marketing company that provides an easy, affordable way for organizations to market and communicate via mobile,  announced the release of a new free product for all businesses, Free & Ez. The new offering enables organizations to quickly and easily send out text messages to various audiences for free each month through the Ez Texting platform. Free & Ez offers customers the complete Ez feature set, with the only limitation being the number of messages that can be sent from one account per month. Common uses of Ez Texting include emergency alerts, bill notifications, coupons and special offers, appointment reminders, and more.

“We are using the same philosophy at Ez Texting as we did when I was with NetZero”, says Ron Burr CEO of CallFire, the parent company of Ez Texting and a founder of value-priced ISP NetZero (UNTD), “provide a great free product and allow customers to upgrade when (and if) their needs require more. NetZero proved the freemium model was a highly efficient channel to reach and service millions of customers, and we’re bringing that same strategy to Ez Texting.”

Free & Ez Functionality includes:

· Unlimited access to the full range of current Ez Texting features, including an easy to use self-service platform, up to 250 monthly text messages sent for free, no limitations on number of contacts that can be uploaded, and chat, email, and web product support.

· Integration with CRM systems, enabling users to easily upload and manage an unlimited amount of contacts.

· A self-serve interface as well as the Ez Texting developer API.

· TCPA regulation guidance, including specific prompts and reminders that are built into the system.

· Introductory offer of 500 free text messages for Free & Ez customers.

· One free demo keyword for you to use for your short code.

“Most free products are offered as a one-time use, within a limited time window, or with a severely restricted feature set, but we set out to approach our free product in a completely unique way,” said Shane Neman, Chief Product Officer, CallFire. “In building Free & Ez, it was important that we provide customers with full access to a rich product set, not a limited offering that would make them need to upgrade. We wanted to deliver a great product that makes them want to upgrade.”

“Texting is one of the few modes of communication that provides immediate connection, with 95 percent of users opening texts within five minutes,” continued Neman. “But many businesses have not had access to the benefits. With Free & Ez, we are text enabling every business in America.”
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Americans Most Responsive to Emergency Alerts on Their Cell Phones


CallFire Study Reveals Text as Preferred Method of Communication in Emergency Situations


Santa Monica, Calif. – As much of the country continues cleanup from tornadoes, hurricanes and ongoing severe summer storms, findings from a new study released by CallFire and conducted online by Harris Poll among 2,100 U.S. adults 18 and older show that three in five Americans (59%) say they are more likely to pay attention to emergency alerts, from hurricane warnings to Amber alerts, sent to their phone as opposed to other methods such as roadside signs or TV. The study provides insight into cell phones as the preferred first mode of communication in an emergency, but also as the means by which many Americans prefer to conduct other, more commonplace, daily tasks.

Findings from the study include:

This is an emergency; this is not a test
In an emergency situation, 90% of adults say the first way they try to reach friends and family is by phone.

*Two-thirds of Americans (67%) say they would like to receive real-time text updates on potential weather related emergencies in their area 
    *75% of parents of children under 18 agree 
    *64% of adults without children under 18 agree 
    *59% of adults say they are more likely to pay attention to emergency alerts sent to their phone over another method

*Millennials (18-34), perhaps surprisingly, are the least likely to say they try to reach loved ones by phone first in an emergency (85%) as compared with 95% of those 65 and older, 92% of those 55-64, 93% of those 45-54 and 87% of those ages 35-44.

Don’t call us, we’ll text you
It’s not just emergency notifications that Americans find useful on their cell phones. As our devices have become an integral part of our daily lives, consumers look to them more and more for daily tasks. A majority of Americans (59%) say they would prefer to do any of the following activities via text rather than by phone or email: receive reminders for appointments or to pay bills, receive discounts or coupons, change a password, or get updates about flight changes or cancellations.

Specifically, among those who would like to conduct these activities by text:
*Three-quarters of U.S. adults (75%) would prefer to receive an appointment reminder via text
*Three in five (60%) would like to receive a reminder to pay bills or pay their bills by text
*Over half (52%) want to receive a discount code or coupon
*Nearly half (47%) would prefer to receive flight cancellations or changes over text
*One in five (21%) would rather change a password via text rather than phone or email

Ignorance is bliss?
A strong majority of Americans (71%) say they have found themselves in a severe weather or emergency situation without power and/or access to Internet or television and 41% have been unaware of a local disaster in real-time.
*Despite being constantly connected, those 18-34 were the most likely (46%) to say they’ve been in a situation where they were unaware of a local disaster or emergency in real time, as compared to those ages 35-44 (40%), 45-54 (39%), 55-64 (41%) and 65 and older (35%)
*Men are more likely than women to have been unaware of a local emergency, at 44% vs. 38%

To learn more about CallFire, the cloud-based text and voice communications platform that helps organizations market to prospects and customers, go to: www.callfire.com

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Support.com Announces Elizabeth Cholawsky as New President and CEO

Transformational leader with success in high-growth SaaS businesses

Redwood City, CA – Support.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: SPRT), a leading provider of cloud software and services for technology support, announced that its Board of Directors has appointed Elizabeth Cholawsky as President and Chief Executive Officer. Cholawsky comes to Support.com from Citrix Systems, Inc. (Nasdaq: CTXS) where she most recently served as General Manager and Vice President of the IT Support and Access lines of business.

“Elizabeth has the vision, the experience, and the passion to take Support.com to its next stage of growth,” commented Jim Stephens, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Support.com. “She is a customer-centric leader who has transformed markets, driven technology innovation, and is exactly who Support.com needs as we start our next exciting chapter.”

Cholawsky has over 20 years of experience as an executive in technology industries, and she is an award-winning product thought leader who has grown businesses through organic innovation and acquisitions. Cholawsky’s deep expertise in cloud products and support markets coupled with her years of experience leading client services organizations are tremendous assets as she joins Support.com as President and CEO. At Citrix, Cholawsky held executive positions in the Citrix SaaS division, with leadership roles spanning product management, general management, global client services and the contact center. In her time at Citrix SaaS, Cholawsky revitalized product development and client services, grew customer satisfaction and retention to their highest levels, and expanded GoToAssist® to the IT support market, all while continuing the product’s uninterrupted streak of being #1 in its market (IDC) for five consecutive years.

“I am honored to be chosen to lead Support.com as President and CEO. Support.com has a strong customer base, a terrific portfolio of technology and great teams in both its software and services groups,” Cholawsky said. “We now have the opportunity to combine these assets and meet the new demands of the changing support marketplace. I look forward to working with our customers and employees to build a bright and successful future,” Cholawsky stated.

Before her leadership roles at Citrix, Cholawsky served in senior marketing and product strategy roles at Move, Inc. (NASDAQ: MOVE) and ValueClick, Inc. (NASDAQ: CNVR). Cholawsky has been frequently recognized for her business leadership, including receipt of prestigious Stevie Awards in 2010, 2012 and 2013. Cholawsky has a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Minnesota, and a B.A. (Phi Beta Kappa, cum laude) from Franklin & Marshall College. Cholawsky will be relocating to the San Francisco Bay Area from her current home in Santa Barbara, California, where she is an avid triathlete and a volunteer with Exceeding Expectations, a non-profit that encourages at-risk children to move their lives in a positive direction using the sport of triathlon as the vehicle.

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CorvisaCloud Secures $30 Million in Funding

Additional capital will fuel growth for cloud communications provider

Milwaukee, Wis. – Cloud-based communications provider, CorvisaCloud, LLC.,  announced that it has secured $30 million in funding from parent company Novation Companies, Inc. (OTCQB: NOVC). The additional capital will be devoted to expanding CorvisaCloud’s sales, marketing and operational development efforts and potential acquisitions. The funds will also be used to accelerate product development and customer acquisition of CorvisaCloud’s CorvisaOne™ contact center software products and platform.

“CorvisaCloud is experiencing strong momentum in the cloud contact center arena and as a result, we believe the time is now to take this company to the next level,” said Lance Anderson, CEO, Novation Companies. “The additional funds will drive substantial enterprise value while helping propel operations and allowing us to look at potential acquisitions. We look forward to accelerating CorvisaCloud’s initial success and building upon its increasing roster of globally recognizable brand name clients.”

“This infusion of capital from Novation arrives at the perfect time as we make our mark in the cloud communications space,” said CorvisaCloud President Matt Lautz. “Novation clearly recognizes the significant market opportunity and this additional funding is a great vote of confidence in CorvisaCloud’s vision, value and future.”

Businesses of all sizes are increasingly migrating their IT operations to the cloud. Contact centers are a key part of customer service, but powering and maintaining legacy systems is expensive and the data can be difficult to collect and manage. According to DMG Consulting's Cloud-Based Contact Center Infrastructure Market Report, more than 62% of organizations were using some type of cloud-based contact center solution as part of their operation in September 2013, and approximately half (45.6%) of the organizations that are not yet using cloud-based contact center solutions are planning to move in this direction in the next 18 months.

Founded in 2011, CorvisaCloud offers a cloud-based communications suite, including inbound and outbound contact center solutions, business phone systems (PBX) and robust platform customization options. Its cloud-based solutions remove the upfront costs and high maintenance associated with on-premise legacy solutions, offering immediate scalability and broader flexibility.

CorvisaCloud’s products have helped businesses of all sizes gain operational efficiencies, improve customer service and lower costs. Companies such as Direct Buy and Heartland Payment Systems use CorvisaCloud’s technology to streamline workflow and deliver the best customer experience possible.

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CorvisaCloud Launches Private Connectivity Service to Enhance Quality of Service

CorvisaCloud Taps Equinix to Extend Security, Control to Enterprise Contact Center Communications

Milwaukee, Wis. – Cloud-based contact center provider, CorvisaCloud, LLC.,  announced the addition of private network connectivity between the CorvisaCloud network and customer office locations to deliver increased control, scalability and data security. Through an agreement with the leading data center and interconnection provider, Equinix, the new service will extend the enterprise-ready capabilities of CorvisaCloud’s contact center software with increased quality and uptime.

Private connectivity enables assurance of voice quality/Quality of Service (QoS), added control over scalability and increased data security for clients of CorvisaCloud’s CorvisaOne™ contact center software and VoIP business phone platform. By creating a direct link between the CorvisaCloud network and client locations, the private connection removes the need to transmit data over the public Internet thereby bringing peace of mind to enterprise contact centers.

“Nothing is more important than reliability, quality and security for enterprise communications,” said CorvisaCloud Vice President of Engineering, Andy Brezinsky. “Our goal is to create the best contact center solution that combines the ease, cost-savings and efficiency of the cloud while meeting the stringent requirements of enterprise customers. By working with Equinix to offer private connectivity, we have strengthened our ability to consistently deliver a level of service that ensures our customers’ success.”

The CorvisaOne contact center suite uniquely supports rich inbound and outbound contact center functionalities, a full VoIP PBX business phone system and seamless CRM integration,designed to help businesses make the most of every interaction with their customers.

The Equinix Ethernet Exchange offers CorvisaCloud access to all metro Ethernet providers on the exchange, covering major markets in North America, Europe and Asia. CorvisaCloud will also be utilizing Equinix’s Internet Business Exchange™ (IBX®) data center as its primary point for interconnections to customers and carriers, which will help to facilitate and optimize the private connectivity services.

The CorvisaCloud private connectivity service is an important option for enterprise communications, however private connections are not required to use CorvisaCloud’s products. To learn more about the service, visit www.corvisacloud.com.

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Inbound Call Experts (ICE) Deploys Support.com’s Nexus® Service Platform

Nexus Service Platform powers ICE’s technology sales & support for consumers with connected devices

Redwood City, CA – Support.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: SPRT), a leading provider of cloud-based technology services and software, announced that Inbound Call Experts (ICE) has deployed Support.com’s Nexus Service Platform to power its premium technology sales and support for consumer connected devices. The Nexus Service Platform will enable ICE to deliver the full support lifecycle, including customer onboarding and ongoing enablement as well as traditional issue resolution while providing a seamless sales and service experience for both the customers and support agents.

“The Nexus Service Platform will enable us to deliver a world-class customer experience with key features such as automated workflow for agents, remote support, and rich real-time analytics. Nexus provides our customers with an improved experience while providing us with a next generation platform to continue our growth” said Scott Grushoff, Senior Vice President of Operations, Inbound Call Experts. “We are a leader in converting phone leads into revenue for our Partners, and we wanted to work with the leading technology support platform.”

At ICE, the Nexus Service Platform replaces several third-party applications with one powerful user friendly environment. The cloud-based Nexus Service Platform enables groundbreaking levels of automation and analytics that radically improve customer experience and operational performance. Nexus is used in service delivery for 3 of the top 5 cable companies in North America, many of the top US retailers with consumer tech support programs, and other leading brands in software and connected technology. Nexus’ flexible architecture means that companies can take advantage of additional functionality as their business requirements change, and can add in additional analytics, marketing and subscription management, and additional apps to resolve issues.

Through its “Advanced Tech Support” brand, Inbound Call Experts has hundreds of US-based agents that provide premium technology sales and support for partners in security software, PC Optimization, and PC Utility Tools. Founded in 2011 and based in Boca Raton, Florida, ICE is dedicated to ensuring that its clients are monetizing their online traffic and getting the highest return on their marketing spend while keeping customer satisfaction as its highest priority.

“We are dedicated to providing the best technology support platform for a connected world” said Rich Matta, Senior Vice President and General Manager, SaaS. “We have been great admirers of ICE’s phenomenal growth over the last two years and I’m delighted that they’ve selected Nexus as the platform on which to continue to expand their business.”

Nexus Service Platform Overview

Key features of the Nexus Service Platform include:

• Automated Workflow: Nexus is the only software to provide patent-pending workflow automation that codifies the best practices of your highest-performing techs and ensures compliance with standard operating procedures (SOPs).

• Remote Support: Support.com is the leader in remote tech support technology, powering support programs for many of the country’s leading brands and providing the data and tools needed to manage programs at scale.

• Data and Analytics: Nexus’ leading-edge data architecture brings Big Data to technology support, and includes built-in analytic capabilities, capturing business insights from rich data captured during service delivery.

• Comprehensive Premium Support: Nexus Revenue enables custom-branded, turnkey premium technology support programs to drive recurring revenue streams, execute ecommerce transactions, and manage subscriptions.

• End User Apps: drive a seamless subscriber experience with mobile, desktop and networking apps for end users.

For more information on how to experience Nexus, learn more at www.support.com.
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Genesys Delivers Record Growth and Innovation in 2013

2013 Marks the Second Consecutive Year of Double Digit Growth,

With Over $740 Million in Revenue and Over $200 Million in EBIT


DALY CITY, CA,  — Genesys (www.genesys.com), a leading provider of customer experience and contact center solutions, announced record performance for 2013. In its second year as an independent company, Genesys achieved record growth, with 2013 revenue surpassing $740 million (representing over 20 percent annual growth) and EBIT surpassing $200 million (representing over 15 percent annual growth). In addition, the company expanded its cloud-based offerings through award winning customer experience solutions and strategic investments. Genesys generated over 20 percent of its revenue from its cloud-based solutions and is now one of the largest cloud players in its industry.

The company received industry-wide recognition for its technology innovation and customer experience leadership throughout 2013. Frost & Sullivan named Genesys the “Company of the Year for North America,” noting the company’s creative roadmap, improved services offerings and promising cloud strategy. Gartner rated Genesys a leader in its Magic Quadrant for Contact Center Infrastructure, a challenger in its Magic Quadrant for Contact Center Workforce Optimization, and awarded Genesys with a strong positive rating in its MarketScope report for IVR Systems and Enterprise Voice Portals. In addition, IDC named Genesys an Asia-Pacific contact center market-leader, and SpeechTEK Magazine awarded Genesys as its 2013 Speech Analytics Market Leader.

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Voxbone Helps Wengo with International Expansion
of its Telephone Expert Advice Service

Leading European Provider of Expert Phone Advice
and Part of the Vivendi Group Relies on Voxbone Inbound Service Numbers


BRUSSELS – Voxbone announced that Wengo, provider of telephone expert advice, has selected Voxbone’s inbound service numbers to quickly expand its services internationally while cutting costs by consolidating existing service with Voxbone.

Wengo is a subsidiary of Vivendi, the French mass media and telecommunications company that owns the Universal Music Group, French mobile operator SFR and TV channel Canal+. Wengo’s consultancy services are available in France, Germany, Spain and Portugal. Its decentralized group of experts delivers immediate help and advice over the phone, by online chat or video conferencing in various domains such as Finance, Healthcare, Career or Legal Advice.

Voxbone is a licensed provider of PSTN telephone services in 50 countries. Calls to service numbers operated by Voxbone in all of these countries are delivered over Voxbone’s global private VoIP backbone to the customer anywhere in the world. Voxbone is the only service provider of its kind with telecommunication licenses, self-owned number ranges and local network infrastructure ensuring the best possible quality of service.

Choosing Voxbone enables Wengo to achieve considerable savings in overhead costs by consolidating its telecommunications infrastructure in all the countries in which it operates. Further, Voxbone’s unique business model – in which customers no longer pay per-minute charges for international transport of calls – allows Wengo to save even more without compromising on quality of service. In addition, Wengo can open new service numbers in new countries, with just a couple of mouse clicks.

“We are excited to add Wengo to our rapidly growing base of customers active in the contact center business,” said Voxbone CEO Itay Rosenfeld. “Having a high-profile company such as Wengo relying on Voxbone for something as critical as its service numbers confirms that our unique business model matches the needs of the contact centers that have stringent quality-of-service requirements.”

“Voxbone is a perfect match for a company like ours,” said Alain Delhaye, CTO at Wengo. “Telephone access to our expert advice service now costs considerably less in terms of vendor management as well as in telecom expenditure. It allows us to focus on where we can make a difference: innovation of our services and geographical expansion.”

Wengo is the latest addition to Voxbone’s growing customer base in the contact center industry, including LiveOPS, Contactual, inContact, Telax and many more.

For more information, visit www.voxbone.com
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CallFire Launches New Platform with Improved UI and Navigation, New Developer Tools and Better Billing Plans

Enhancements Have Helped Drive 100 Percent Growth in 2013, Pushing CallFire Over 200,000 Customer and 200 Million-Campaign Mark

Santa Monica, Calif., -- CallFire, the cloud-based text and voice platform that enables businesses to reach customers directly, officially launched the its new Cv3 Platform, designed to improve outbound communication through enhanced design and content. The Cv3 Platform, rolled out in beta earlier this year, includes significant interface and navigation upgrades, as well as updated billing features, and has helped amplify CallFire’s growth to over 200,000 brands and 200 million voice and text campaigns.

“Companies are increasingly looking at voice and text as the obvious way to automate business processes and communicate everything from marketing messages to logistics with customers and other audiences, and this adoption shows no sign of slowing down,” said Dinesh Ravishanker, CEO of CallFire. “A key priority for any customer is getting up and running quickly and cost effectively, and our new customizable platform makes this easier than ever.”

The enhanced platform allows clients to set up and launch campaigns via mobile devices, as well as access a variety of new text and calling templates.

Leveraging the Twitter Bootstrap Framework, the CallFire Cv3 Platform enhancements include:

· New UI and Improved Navigation:

o Responsive UI, enabling CallFire customers to view and interact with interface from multiple desktop and mobile devices

o Improved user error recovery, providing better feedback and preventing user errors whenever possible

o Content specific filters based on actions customers take on the CallFire Platform (e.g. Voice vs. text vs. Call tracking services)

· New Developer Tools:

o Full SOAP & REST API support, enabling developers to easily integrate with CallFire solutions to build new text and voice enabled applications

o New API that supports IVR (interactive voice recognition) via a state machine -- the only solution on the market to provide this level of support

o PHP Toolkit with detailed documentation and sample codes, enabling all levels of developers get up and running on the CallFire system quickly and easily

· New Billing Plans:

o CallFire now offers new subscription billing plans to simplify pricing and offer regular customers greater value (note: Pay as You Go plans still in place, offering each customer choice around how they want to pay for CallFire solutions)

· Updated Rich and Static Site Content, including a comprehensive Site Tutorial

· Additional Platform Upgrades:

o Cassandra Big Data implementation, stress tested to well over 1M simultaneous calls -- maintaining high call quality and zero performance degradation

o Easy phone number porting from alternate systems to CallFire

o Improved contact management, with a validation and cleansing system that enables users to easily upload contacts without duplicates or the erroneous porting of data

CallFire passed the 200,000 users milestone in August, simultaneously reaching the 200 million campaign mark for executing customer voice and text campaigns for clients including Allstate, Domino’s Pizza and Pepsi. CallFire has also seen 100 percent growth in the last 12 months, with new user growth increasing more than 50 percent quarter over quarter since rolling out the new platform in beta.


About CallFire:
CallFire is a Text and Voice platform that helps businesses reach customers, drive revenue and increase sales. We make telephone messaging simple. CallFire products include Business Text Messaging, Voice Broadcast, Toll Free Numbers, Local Phone Numbers, Call Tracking, IVR, Power Dialing for agents and more. Call analytics enable our 200,000 users to reach customers more often using text marketing, virtual numbers, autodialers and mobile messaging. To learn more about how to Grow your Business, visit http://www.CallFire.com

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Enkata Launches Action Center to Boost Employee Productivity

Intelligent Analytics Technology Delivers Insight to Unlock Potential, Fuel Change; Automated Reporting and Coaching Improves Employee Efficiency
 
Redwood City, Calif.- Enkata,the leader in Employee Performance Optimization (EPO), launched the Enkata Action Center, a new enhancement to the company's flagship cloud-based solution. The Action Center automatically identifies ways employees can improve performance using pattern recognition technology, proactively sends details about these opportunities to employees and managers, and then reinforces improvements by following up with reminders and recognition over time.

Enkata's Action Center is available immediately and has already been deployed by Fortune 100 companies in industries such as healthcare claims processing and financial services.

Enkata created the Action Center to help organize the data and insights Enkata provides into automated and targeted improvement opportunity notifications for employees and their managers. Traditionally, performance analytics projects fail to deliver true value because of the gap between the analysts who recognize the problems and the employees who can change those behaviors and improve. Managers are often too busy to provide the individual coaching and attention employees need to perform at their best. With the addition of the Action Center to the Enkata solution, managers and employees get both the insight and guidance they need to improve performance, and the follow-up to show if it's working.

Built into the award-winning Enkata Solution, the Action Center unlocks employee potential and drives performance improvements in three key ways:
· Recognizes: The Action Center uses pattern recognition rules to recognize behaviors and activities that prevent employees from reaching their potential.
· Educates: Tailored communications called "Improvement Opportunities" are sent to managers and/or employees with suggestions about how to close performance gaps.
· Reinforces: The Action Center keeps employees informed about their progress towards new goals, and sends recognition when they reach those goals.

"Our benchmark research shows that analytics is the most important business technology innovation for many organizations," said Richard Snow, vice president and research director at Ventana Research. "Managers need to know what their employees are doing in order to reduce errors and improve productivity, and analytics provide them with this knowledge. Enkata's Action Center takes the value of analytics one step further by automatically identifying the specific actions people can take to improve, and then providing relevant information to employees that need help."

The powerful, predictive analytics-based engine of the Enkata Action Center detects employee work patterns that lower productivity or are likely to cause errors and rework. For example, Enkata can detect when employees skip key process steps, or multi-task during complex processes that require focus. If the behavior is consistent, then a pattern is recognized, and the Action Center creates and sends an Improvement Opportunity to the employee. This communication includes detailed information about the behavior, its frequency, best practices for addressing it and even performance targets so that employees can track their progress against the set goals.

"With Enkata, employers gain unmatched visibility into workforce performance, what slows employees down and what help they need. The Action Center adds support for managers by automatically recognizing problematic work patterns that might otherwise have gone unnoticed," said Dave Stamm, CEO of Enkata. "As a result, managers can take action with more tailored, effective coaching, and employees can receive support and recognize areas for improvement. Together, both can help each other meet their shared team goals.

"By actually creating action instead of just 'actionable data,' the Action Center enables managers and employees to adopt and reinforce successful, new behaviors. The Enkata solution is designed to ensure that the employee performance improvements it generates are both meaningful and sustainable for employees, managers and the business overall," added Stamm.

About Enkata
Enkata's employee performance optimization solution provides visibility and insight into how employees work and then helps employees improve through automatic identification and delivery of coaching opportunities. Enkata's totally unique approach uses powerful data visualizations to help people understand exactly how work is being performed from high level overviews to individual process steps. Enkata uses this insight to find patterns of behavior that limit productivity or lower quality. The Enkata Action Center then recognizes when these patterns occur, and helps employees and their managers develop new habits and behaviors that improve performance dramatically. Clients achieve impressive gains in front and back office functions from claims processing to customer service call centers to other back office task based operations. Fortune 100 companies trust Enkata to examine millions of customer and employee interactions each day ensuring that each is delivering value to the organization. For more information, please visit www.enkata.com.



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ALLIANCE DATA CUSTOMER CARE CENTERS ACHIEVE EIGHT-TIME ‘CENTER OF EXCELLENCE’ CERTIFICATION BY INTERNATIONALLY RECOGNIZED BENCHMARKPORTAL

DALLAS – Alliance Data Systems Corporation, a leading provider of loyalty and marketing solutions derived from transaction-rich data, announced that its Retail Services business has again achieved the prestigious “Center of Excellence” certification by BenchmarkPortal for the quality of its care center operations and service delivery. Alliance Data also received second-place honors in the “Top 100 BenchmarkPortal Call Centers list” in the “large centers” category which compares the performance of centers throughout North America by evaluating their key metrics against industry peers. Founded in 1995 by Purdue University, BenchmarkPortal is a global leader in the contact center industry providing benchmarking, certification, training, consulting and industry reports.

The recertification of its customer care centers marks the eighth time Alliance Data has received BenchmarkPortal’s Center of Excellence ranking – more times than any company or organization in the financial services/credit industry. The Center of Excellence designation is reserved for the top 10 percent of all customer care centers surveyed by BenchmarkPortal, and is based on best-practice metrics for quality, cost, efficiency, effectiveness, and superior performance. These metrics are drawn from the world’s largest database of objective and quantitative data, which is audited and validated by researchers from BenchmarkPortal.

“It’s an exciting time for Alliance Data’s customer care centers. We view this part of our business as a competitive differentiator for our organization, and as an asset to our client partners,” said Sallie Komitor, vice president of customer care operations for Alliance Data. “Achieving the Center of Excellence recertification and earning ‘Top 100 BenchmarkPortal Call Centers list’ honors is a direct reflection of our ongoing, significant investments in people, process and technology. We know the customer interactions that drive our performance metrics are key to delivering customer care excellence; we view every customer touchpoint as an opportunity to enhance customer loyalty with our partner brands.”

In developing its call center measurement parameters, BenchmarkPortal found that 22 Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) strongly correlate to quality and quantity of calls handled in call center operations. For the benchmarking survey, BenchmarkPortal monitored and measured Alliance Data’s performance against these KPIs and their large call center database to determine each center’s level of efficiency and effectiveness.

Results Include:

· High caller satisfaction. Customers calling into Alliance Data customer care centers gave ‘top box’ satisfaction ratings 23 percent higher than the industry average. ‘Top box’ satisfaction refers to the highest possible survey score customers can use to rate the service they experienced.

· Best-in-class service. Alliance Data customer care center associates answer customer service phone calls 55.4% faster than industry average.

“Certification is an important distinction because it is based on best-practice metrics drawn from BenchmarkPortal’s database of contact center metrics, which was founded at Purdue University and is the largest in the world,” said Bruce Belfiore, chief executive officer of BenchmarkPortal. “This achievement confirms Alliance Data’s commitment to service excellence; the obvious beneficiaries of which include the center’s customers, employees, and shareholders. This is an achievement of distinction.”

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WS iNet Achieves Top Payment Card Industry Data Protection Standards

Contact Center Technology Provider Recognized for Keeping Credit Card Data Safe and Secure

PLANO, Texas – WS iNet, a premier provider of on-demand contact center technology, announced it has achieved certification of Payment Card Industry Data Security Standards (PCI DSS) Level 1, the most rigorous industry-recognized payment card security standard available globally.

The certification is the result of a meticulous audit by an independent Quality Assurance Assessor, Coalfire Systems, to ensure WS iNet® meets best practices and security controls that keep credit card data safe and secure during transit, processing and storage. WS iNet will be listed on VISA’s Global Registry of PCI DSS Level 1 service providers.

“Achieving PCI certification is a major milestone for WS iNet,” said Bob Moseley, vice president and general manager of WS iNet. “Our business is based on maintaining the trust of our customers and their customers. With this certification, WS iNet is recognized as meeting the industry’s most stringent security standards for protecting stored cardholder data.”

The PCI DSS is a proprietary information security standard for organizations that handle cardholder information for the major debit, credit, prepaid, e-purse, ATM and POS cards. Founded by the PCI Security Standards Council, PCI DSS facilitates the broad adoption of consistent data security.

The comprehensive, 288-point PCI standards checklist includes restricting, tracking and monitoring all access to network resources and cardholder data, as well as firewall installation, encrypted transmission of cardholder data, and regular testing of security systems and processes.

“Businesses and consumers want to know their credit card details are being handled and stored securely,” said Tim Houlne, CEO of WS iNet and Working Solutions. “As a pioneer of the home-agent virtual business model, data protection and secure customer information storage is consistently a top priority. Achieving PCI compliance demonstrates our ongoing commitment and investment in delivering the most secure, ahead-of-the-curve contact center solutions.”

About WS iNet®
WS iNet, an affiliate company of Working Solutions, innovates and hosts intelligent, on-demand contact center technology. Partnering with clients requiring flexible, robust, cost-effective solutions, WS iNet supports optimum customer engagement, satisfaction and loyalty. Founded in 1996, Working Solutions was the first company to utilize an entire workforce of home-based customer sales and service agents. Today, with a community of more than 110,000 registered agents, Working Solutions improves results and controls costs by providing the right people and technology delivered at the right time. Services include Agents OnDemand® and multichannel, social and mobile engagement tools. For more information on WS iNet, visit www.wsinet.com. To learn more about Working Solutions, visit www.workingsolutions.com.

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Working Solutions Appoints John R. Harris as Chairman of the Board of Directors

Former EDS Executive Brings Proven Track Record in Driving Business Growth

PLANO, Texas – Working Solutions, a nation-wide leader in custom contact center solutions, today announced it has appointed industry veteran John Harris as non-executive chairman of its board of directors.

Harris has more than 35 years of experience in the information technology and services industry having served as Communications Industry Group president and corporate officer at EDS, the world’s largest independent information technology outsourcing company; and as CEO of eTelecare Global Solutions, a global business process outsourcing (BPO) firm. In addition, Harris was CEO at several private equity backed companies.

Harris, who serves as operating partner at glendonTodd Capital, a Dallas-based venture capital firm, serves on the boards of technology conferencing company, Premier Global Services; business process consultancy, the Hackett Group; Digital Generation, a next-generation advertising distribution leader; and Banctec, which provides BPO solutions to the financial services industry.

“We are extremely pleased to add someone of John’s caliber and experience to Working Solutions as we look to accelerate our long-term growth,” said Tim Houlne, chief executive officer of Working Solutions. “John has made his mark leading companies at various stages of maturity. We expect John will tap his industry resources, advise us on the latest on social and mobile customer experience platforms and energize our strategic outlook.”

“I am eager to collaborate with the strong executive team at Working Solutions,” commented Harris. “Throughout my career my passion has been building high-performance organizations with strong sales and operational capabilities and I am excited about the chance to work in a similar environment at Working Solutions.”


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Amtelco and Telescan Announce Merger Agreement

McFarland, WI – Two major TAS vendors, Amtelco and Telescan, announced a merger agreement. The announcement was made simultaneously by Roger Young, President of Telescan, Tom Curtin, President of Amtelco and Joe Everly, CEO of Amtelco, at Telescan in St. Louis, Missouri.

“The merger of Telescan with Amtelco provides a big boost to both companies and their customers,” said Roger Young. “It gives Telescan and our Spectrum System users access to Amtelco development resources, innovations and products.”

Tom Curtin said, “Amtelco and Telescan have been innovators for over 35 years. Together, the companies will offer the TAS industry a unique breadth and depth of technology and service to meet their call center business needs. Telescan’s development team and loyal customer base will be a much welcome addition to the Amtelco family.”

Amtelco was founded in 1976 by Bill Curtin and quickly became a trusted name in the Telecommunications industry. Amtelco introduced the first telephone switching system in the marketplace. Amtelco’s three major divisions, TAS call center, 1Call healthcare, and XDS digital switching, form a winning combination, backed by an esteemed service and support department.

Telescan was founded in 1976 by TAS visionary, George Meyer. Roger Young became president in 2002. Telescan’s TAS operating system, Spectrum, first introduced in 1990, has been a leader in call center innovations, helping business owners reduce operating expenses and increase profits.

The merger will not affect the daily operations of either company. Telescan will become a Division of Amtelco and will continue to operate in St. Louis, and Amtelco will continue to be headquartered in McFarland, WI. Amtelco looks forward to working with TUNe (Telecommunication Users Network) and NAEO (National Amtelco Equipment Users) to encourage the sharing of ideas, mutual support, and product development.

For more information, contact AMTELCO at (800)356-9148, or Telescan at (800)770-7662. 

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