With more than 87,000 students, Portland Community College (www.pcc.edu) is the largest community college in the State of Oregon. PCC serves over 1,000,000 college-age residents in a five-county, 1,500 square mile area in Northwest Oregon through distance learning programs, three comprehensive campuses and dozens of locations throughout the community.
PCC wanted to improve its daily telephone communications with its constituents, but quickly realized that its existing telephone system was unable to provide key information, such as what call volumes were and how calls were being processed. “We also wanted a way that could provide us with greater agility in the work environment,” said Sharlene Norton, PCC Telecommunications Manager. “Specifically, we were looking for a new telephony solution that would enable our staff to work remotely through desktop and Web clients while staff appeared to be at PCC locations. We also wanted a way that we could have our phone calls follow us by routing calls to a number where we could be reached in the field.”
In 2008, PCC developed and issued a request for proposal (RFP) to eight different VoIP (voice over IP) vendor companies. The RFP team consisted of representatives from PCC Purchasing, along with technology management and staff, an outside consultant and internal customers. Vendor companies were invited to participate in a “bake-off” where each company had a three-week period to install and demonstrate its telephony solution in PCC’s environment. Nearly 20 PCC staff members participated by exercising each system that was installed. At the end of trials, KRP Communications’ Interactive Intelligence VoIP system received the highest rating from PCC’s RFP committee and was awarded the contract. “Customers liked the sound quality of the speaker phones, the desktop client, the customer service from KRP, and KRP’s technical support,” said Norton.
For purposes of system installation, PCC organized its project into multiple phases, with an overall goal of completing all installations by December, 2011.Thus far, nearly 300 users at two call centers, the Technology Solutions Services department and three campus locations are using the system. Seven more PCC locations are scheduled to complete system installation by December of 2011.
“This is a major installation, and we have four main committees guiding this project,” said Norton. “A steering committee is comprised of senior technology management, a campus technology manager representing the various customer groups, network, telecommunications and customer service staff. They provide oversight and guidance to the project. We also have an infrastructure committee that is comprised of telecom, network and server administration staff. It is charged with providing recommendations to the steering committee and implementing approved recommendations.”
Norton says that PCC call centers now can see how many calls are in queue and receive regular reports on call volumes and how calls are being processed. “Our technology help desk has increased the handling of calls by over 33 percent without increasing staff,” said Norton. “We can see missed calls on our desktop client or phone screen and connect with people who didn’t leave voice mail. This is a better use of technology than we have had in the past, and a major portion of that technology is our VoIP system.”
Once end to end implementation is completed, PCC plans to add more capability to its call centers and possibly its Remedy work order system.
“VoIP implementation requires a lot of work and planning, plus working with other departments,” said Norton. “But with excellent project management and consistently strong support from KRP, it has been a good experience. We are grateful to have KRP as a business partner.”
Download the PCC Case Study PDF here.
INDIANAPOLIS, Jun 03, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Frost & Sullivan’s global program director, Ashwin Iyer, shared emerging contact center trends in a keynote he delivered last week at the 2010 Interactive Intelligence (Nasdaq: ININ) User Forum.
The forum, held at the company’s global headquarters city of Indianapolis, Indiana, drew approximately 350 customers and more than 500 total attendees.
In his keynote titled “Your Passport To The Future Of Customer Care,” Iyer discussed the following contact center trends: customer interaction channels; proactive customer contact; hosted contact centers; and social media customer engagement.
Highlights about these emerging trends, which were based on a Frost & Sullivan North American customer survey conducted in April, included the following:
•Customer satisfaction back as a top priority – A full 50 percent of respondents were profiled as “customer-oriented,” with 35 percent profiled as seeking the “latest and greatest” applications, and the remaining 15 percent profiled as “cost-focused.”
•Growth of hosted services; increasing adoption by large contact centers – The fastest growing segment for hosted contact center adoption were respondents representing contact centers with more than 500 seats (from 35 percent in 2009, to 47 percent in 2010); among all size segments, a total of 30 percent indicated they would use hosted services in 2010, up from 24 percent in 2009.
•Rapid growth of social media customer interactions- Of respondents surveyed, 30 percent indicated they support social media customer activity and interactions on external social media sites (facebook, twitter, etc.), and 29 percent indicated they monitor and extract intelligence from this activity; of social media benefits, the top three cited were to “provide better customer service,” (75 percent), “drive sales,” (58 percent), and “drive customer loyalty” (54 percent).
•Growth of Web collaboration, text and video – Of supported inbound interaction channels, growth from 2009 to 2010 was highest for text/SMS (25 percent increase), video (15 percent increase), and Web-based interactions (8 percent increase).
•Consistent customer experience across channels continues to be a high priority across industries – The largest majority of respondents – 67 percent – rated ensuring consistent service across channels as a “very high priority” or “high priority.”
•Significant increase in proactive customer contact activity across industries – Of three types of outbound customer programs, the majority — 65 percent — indicated they would increase their “proactive, value-add customer contact” programs over the next two years; 43 percent said they would increase their “sales and marketing” programs, and 42 percent said they would increase their “collections” programs.
“It was good to learn that Interactive Intelligence has uncovered among its own customer base virtually the same trends Frost is seeing,” Iyer said. “Even more pleasing was learning how the company is working to address these trends.
“Examples shared at its User Forum included the vendor’s outbound agentless dialing feature, enhanced hosted services that now include a Web portal for simplified administration, and upcoming integrations with providers of social media analytics applications. Clearly, Interactive Intelligence is listening to its customers and responding with innovative and unique solutions,” concluded Iyer.
Frost & Sullivan is a global industry analyst firm that helps clients accelerate growth by providing disciplined research and best-practice models. The firm employs 1,800 analysts, consultants, and visionaries who cover more than 300 markets and 250,000 companies from its 40-plus global offices. To learn more about Frost, visit www.frost.com.
About Interactive Intelligence
Interactive Intelligence Inc. (Nasdaq: ININ) is a global provider of unified business communications solutions for contact center automation, enterprise IP telephony, and business process automation. The company was founded in 1994 and has more than 3,500 customers worldwide. Interactive Intelligence is among Software Magazine’s top 500 global software and services suppliers, is a BusinessWeek “hot growth 50″ company, and is among Fortune Small Business magazine’s top 100 fastest growing companies. The company is also positioned in the leaders’ quadrant of the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Contact Center Infrastructure, Worldwide report (Feb. 22, 2010). Interactive Intelligence employs approximately 650 people and is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. It has 14 offices throughout North America, Latin America, Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific. Interactive Intelligence can be reached at +1 317.872.3000 or info@inin.com; on the Net: www.inin.com.
This release may contain certain forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially are described in the company’s SEC filings.
Interactive Intelligence Inc. is the owner of the marks INTERACTIVE INTELLIGENCE, its associated LOGO and numerous other marks. All other trademarks mentioned in this document are the property of their respective owners.
ININ-G
SOURCE: Interactive Intelligence Inc.
Interactive Intelligence Inc.Christine Holley, Director of Market Communications, +1 317-715-8220christine.holley@inin.comorFollow Interactive Intelligence:Twitter: www.twitter.com/IN_IntelligenceBlog: www.inin.com/blog
Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 R2 will deliver on software-plus-services vision and include CRM integration and online payment service.
PRAGUE — May 19, 2010 — As part of Microsoft Corp.’s commitment to providing leading enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions to midrange organizations worldwide, the company today unveiled Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 R2 at Directions EMEA 2010. Because of the investment in architecture for Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009, customers are able to take advantage of the benefits of the software-plus-services vision through the R2 release more quickly than scheduled, including built-in integration with Microsoft Dynamics CRM and online Payment Service. Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 customers will benefit from the following:
• Microsoft Dynamics CRM integration. Today’s fast-paced business environment demands instant access to customers and vendors. Microsoft is providing built-in integration with Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Benefits of customer relationship management (CRM) integration include eliminating redundant data entries, keeping information up to date in both ERP and CRM solutions, and providing salespeople with the ability to quickly access detailed business information about contracts, pricing and product availability. Customers can choose between integration to on-premises Microsoft Dynamics CRM or Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online with the option to migrate to either option over time.
• Online Payment Service for Microsoft Dynamics NAV. This enables customers to process payment transactions from the Microsoft Dynamics NAV interface across multiple channels, including e-commerce, point of sale and call center transactions. The Payment Service works with leading payment processing services and all major credit cards.
• RoleTailored interface access for remote or roaming users. Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 R2 supports direct access from the Microsoft Dynamics RoleTailored experience over the Internet. This allows for remote or roaming users to take advantage of the richness and Microsoft Office integration of the RoleTailored interface and the many integration features connected to local resources, such as the operating system and Microsoft Office. This reduces the complexity and overhead compared with using other applications such as Citrix Systems and Terminal Services, especially for hosting partners offering cloud-based Microsoft Dynamics NAV deployments.
• Microsoft Application Virtualization support. The Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 R2 RoleTailored interface can be deployed using Microsoft Application Virtualization (App-V) technology, which is relevant for both on-premise and hosted solutions. This provides a better experience for the end user as all integration with local applications is done on the desktop. It also cuts IT costs by centrally managing Microsoft Dynamics NAV client installations with automatic deployment to the desktop after an update.
• Windows 7 user experience improvements. Through Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 R2, jumplists can be used to open recently accessed customers and vendors for increased business productivity and efficiency, and the icon overlay functionality provides information on system events and status streamlined with the Windows 7 user experience.
• Treemap visualization. Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 R2 showcases the possibilities around business data visualizations abilities in Microsoft Dynamics NAV through rich ad hoc data visualization. It provides treemap analysis that enables the comparison of any two values, for example sales and profits, which increases business productivity and business insight. The innovative client extensibility framework used allows partners to extend the user experience of Microsoft Dynamics NAV to integrate visualizations into any end-user scenario.
“We’re delivering this release in response to customer and partner feedback,” said Crispin Read, general manager of Microsoft Dynamics ERP at Microsoft. “Microsoft is committed to continuously bringing forth innovation in our ERP solutions, including the integration with cloud services. These latest enhancements to Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 are an important step in delivering solutions that drive real business productivity.”
“The new features in Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 R2 improve our business opportunities and benefit our customers. The fact that Microsoft is able to deliver faster than planned reaffirms our decision to build our solutions on Microsoft Dynamics NAV,” said Christian Sega, managing director at agiles Informationssysteme GmbH, an industry solution provider and consulting company specializing in horizontal workflow solutions built on Microsoft Dynamics NAV.
Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 R2 will be available in the fourth quarter of 2010.
About Microsoft Dynamics
Microsoft Dynamics is a line of easy-to-use, integrated and adaptable ERP and CRM applications that enable business decision-makers to quickly respond to market shifts, take advantage of new trends, increase their competitive edge and drive business success. Microsoft Dynamics solutions are delivered through a world-class network of reselling partners providing specialized services and additional innovation to help customers excel in their industries.
About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.
Note to editors: For more information, news and perspectives from Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft News Center at http://www.microsoft.com/news. Web links, telephone numbers and titles were correct at time of publication, but may have changed. For additional assistance, journalists and analysts may contact Microsoft’s Rapid Response Team or other appropriate contacts listed at http://www.microsoft.com/news/contactpr.mspx.
PRAGUE — May 19, 2010 — As part of Microsoft Corp.’s commitment to providing leading enterprise resource planning (ERP) solutions to midrange organizations worldwide, the company today unveiled Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 R2 at Directions EMEA 2010. Because of the investment in architecture for Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009, customers are able to take advantage of the benefits of the software-plus-services vision through the R2 release more quickly than scheduled, including built-in integration with Microsoft Dynamics CRM and online Payment Service. Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 customers will benefit from the following:
• Microsoft Dynamics CRM integration. Today’s fast-paced business environment demands instant access to customers and vendors. Microsoft is providing built-in integration with Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Benefits of customer relationship management (CRM) integration include eliminating redundant data entries, keeping information up to date in both ERP and CRM solutions, and providing salespeople with the ability to quickly access detailed business information about contracts, pricing and product availability. Customers can choose between integration to on-premises Microsoft Dynamics CRM or Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online with the option to migrate to either option over time.
• Online Payment Service for Microsoft Dynamics NAV. This enables customers to process payment transactions from the Microsoft Dynamics NAV interface across multiple channels, including e-commerce, point of sale and call center transactions. The Payment Service works with leading payment processing services and all major credit cards.
• RoleTailored interface access for remote or roaming users. Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 R2 supports direct access from the Microsoft Dynamics RoleTailored experience over the Internet. This allows for remote or roaming users to take advantage of the richness and Microsoft Office integration of the RoleTailored interface and the many integration features connected to local resources, such as the operating system and Microsoft Office. This reduces the complexity and overhead compared with using other applications such as Citrix Systems and Terminal Services, especially for hosting partners offering cloud-based Microsoft Dynamics NAV deployments.
• Microsoft Application Virtualization support. The Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 R2 RoleTailored interface can be deployed using Microsoft Application Virtualization (App-V) technology, which is relevant for both on-premise and hosted solutions. This provides a better experience for the end user as all integration with local applications is done on the desktop. It also cuts IT costs by centrally managing Microsoft Dynamics NAV client installations with automatic deployment to the desktop after an update.
• Windows 7 user experience improvements. Through Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 R2, jumplists can be used to open recently accessed customers and vendors for increased business productivity and efficiency, and the icon overlay functionality provides information on system events and status streamlined with the Windows 7 user experience.
• Treemap visualization. Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 R2 showcases the possibilities around business data visualizations abilities in Microsoft Dynamics NAV through rich ad hoc data visualization. It provides treemap analysis that enables the comparison of any two values, for example sales and profits, which increases business productivity and business insight. The innovative client extensibility framework used allows partners to extend the user experience of Microsoft Dynamics NAV to integrate visualizations into any end-user scenario.
“We’re delivering this release in response to customer and partner feedback,” said Crispin Read, general manager of Microsoft Dynamics ERP at Microsoft. “Microsoft is committed to continuously bringing forth innovation in our ERP solutions, including the integration with cloud services. These latest enhancements to Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 are an important step in delivering solutions that drive real business productivity.”
“The new features in Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 R2 improve our business opportunities and benefit our customers. The fact that Microsoft is able to deliver faster than planned reaffirms our decision to build our solutions on Microsoft Dynamics NAV,” said Christian Sega, managing director at agiles Informationssysteme GmbH, an industry solution provider and consulting company specializing in horizontal workflow solutions built on Microsoft Dynamics NAV.
Microsoft Dynamics NAV 2009 R2 will be available in the fourth quarter of 2010.
About Microsoft Dynamics
Microsoft Dynamics is a line of easy-to-use, integrated and adaptable ERP and CRM applications that enable business decision-makers to quickly respond to market shifts, take advantage of new trends, increase their competitive edge and drive business success. Microsoft Dynamics solutions are delivered through a world-class network of reselling partners providing specialized services and additional innovation to help customers excel in their industries.
About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.
Note to editors: For more information, news and perspectives from Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft News Center at http://www.microsoft.com/news. Web links, telephone numbers and titles were correct at time of publication, but may have changed. For additional assistance, journalists and analysts may contact Microsoft’s Rapid Response Team or other appropriate contacts listed at http://www.microsoft.com/news/contactpr.mspx.
INDIANAPOLIS, May 17, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Interactive Intelligence (Nasdaq: ININ) CEO, Dr. Donald E. Brown, has been honored with the Career Achievement Award by the Indiana University School of Informatics.
The Career Achievement Award, now in its second year, is given to an alumnus in recognition of outstanding contributions and innovation that bring national acclaim and recognition to the field of informatics, as well as honor and distinction to the university, according to Bobby Schnabel, dean of the Indiana University School of Informatics.
“The leading role that Don has played in the information technology economy in Indiana makes him a compelling choice for our career achievement award,” Schnabel said. “Don’s efforts in business and entrepreneurship are inspirational to our students and faculty, and we’re honored to include him in our growing group of distinguished alumni.”
Dr. Brown founded his third software company, Interactive Intelligence, in October 1994 and serves as its chairman of the board, president, and CEO. Dr. Brown has helped grow Interactive Intelligence into one of the 200 largest software companies in the world. The publicly-traded, 650-employee-company posted 2009 revenues of $131.4 million and has earned consecutive quarterly profits since Q1 2004. Interactive Intelligence has been a pioneer in advanced communications technologies such as voice over IP, and has licensed its products to thousands of companies around the globe.
Prior to Interactive Intelligence, Dr. Brown co-founded Indianapolis-based Software Artistry, a developer of expert, systems-based help desk software that went public in March 1995 and was subsequently acquired by IBM in early 1998. Dr. Brown’s first software company was acquired by Electronic Data Systems in 1987.
Dr. Brown graduated from the Indiana University School of Medicine in 1985. He also holds a master’s degree in computer science and a bachelor’s degree in physics (Phi Beta Kappa) from Indiana University.
“I don’t feel completely worthy of such recognition — I’m way too young for one thing — but I’m honored nonetheless,” Dr. Brown said. “I’ve been blessed to have been able to work with many incredible people and any success I’ve had reflects more on them than on me. I’ll always appreciate the education that I received at Indiana University and am proud to be an alumnus. After three degrees, I think they were ready to get rid of me.”
The Indiana University School of Informatics selects its Career Achievement Award recipient each year by soliciting nominations from school staff, faculty, and graduates. An awards committee reviews each nomination and selects its top finalists, who are then ranked based on a weighted scale.
“Don stood out from the rest of the finalists because he has not only built a successful technology company that is a leader in its field worldwide and in the state of Indiana, but also because his efforts have encouraged an entirely new generation of technology entrepreneurs and companies throughout central Indiana,” Schnabel concluded.
About the IU School of Informatics
Founded in 2000 as the first school of its kind in the United States, the Indiana University School of Informatics is dedicated to research and teaching across a broad range of computing and information technology disciplines, with emphases on science, applications, and societal implications. The school includes the School of Informatics at IUPUI and the School of Informatics and Computing at Bloomington, where programs include computer science and informatics. The school administers a variety of bachelor’s and master’s degree programs in computer science and informatics, as well as Ph.D. programs in computer science and the first-ever Ph.D. in informatics. The school is dedicated to excellence in education and research, to partnerships that bolster economic development and entrepreneurship, and to increasing opportunities for women and underrepresented minorities in computing and technology. For more information, visit www.informatics.indiana.edu.
About Interactive Intelligence
Interactive Intelligence Inc. (Nasdaq: ININ) is a global provider of unified business communications solutions for contact center automation, enterprise IP telephony, and business process automation. The company was founded in 1994 and has more than 3,500 customers worldwide. Interactive Intelligence is among Software Magazine’s top 500 global software and services suppliers, is a BusinessWeek “hot growth 50″ company, and is among Fortune Small Business magazine’s top 100 fastest growing companies. The company is also positioned in the leaders’ quadrant of the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Contact Center Infrastructure, Worldwide report (Feb. 22, 2010). Interactive Intelligence employs approximately 650 people and is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. It has 14 offices throughout North America, Latin America, Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific. Interactive Intelligence can be reached at +1 317.872.3000 or info@inin.com; on the Net: www.inin.com.
This release may contain certain forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially are described in the company’s SEC filings.
Interactive Intelligence Inc. is the owner of the marks INTERACTIVE INTELLIGENCE, its associated LOGO and numerous other marks. All other trademarks mentioned in this document are the property of their respective owners.
ININ-G
SOURCE: Interactive Intelligence Inc.
Interactive Intelligence Inc.Christine Holley, +1-317-715-8220Director of Market Communicationschristine.holley@inin.comorFollow Interactive Intelligence:Twitter: www.twitter.com/IN_IntelligenceBlog: www.inin.com/blog
Vancouver, B.C.—April 27, 2010—KRP Communications was recently awarded the Microsoft Gold Partnership Level Certification for 2010, which Microsoft presents annually to its elite business partners. As a Microsoft business partner, KRP provides Microsoft solutions and technologies to its client base, and features an engineering division that is skilled in Microsoft technologies.
“We are proud to have attained gold-level business partner certification with Microsoft,” said KRP CEO Keith Macdonald. “It attests to a premium level of service and product competency that is directly in line with our ongoing commitment to premium levels of service and solutions for our clients.”
About KRP Communications:
KRP Communications (www.krpcomm.com, telephone 877-775-6620) is a complete voice and data communications solutions provider delivering intuitive, open standards-based solutions which can integrate to or replace legacy technologies to offer a wide range of added functionality for voice and data communications. Its computer telephony solutions include Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), enterprise IP PBXs, and contact centers. KRP is also expert in Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software integrations and offers Microsoft CRM (MSCRM). KRP partners with technology leaders such as Interactive Intelligence, Microsoft, HP, Polycom, and Cisco.
ATLANTA — April 25, 2010 — Microsoft Corp. opens Convergence 2010 today with Microsoft Business Division President Stephen Elop and Corporate Vice President of Microsoft Business Solutions Kirill Tatarinov demonstrating how the company is delivering on its vision of the Dynamic Business by providing customer-driven advancements across Microsoft Dynamics CRM and ERP applications to help organizations embrace change and seize opportunities that drive enduring business success.
As part of their joint keynote address, Elop and Tatarinov announced the May 2010 service update for Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online that delivers seamless integration with Microsoft Dynamics GP, new language support, portal accelerators and cloud-based developer tools that help improve business connectivity. They also disclosed the road map for the expected international availability of the next generation of Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online to 32 markets worldwide. The executives also previewed Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010, which will be generally available May 1, 2010, and announced a new promotion for Microsoft Dynamics GP customers to get a license for Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online at a rate of $19 (U.S.) per user, per month.
“The true competitive differentiator for Microsoft is the value customers derive through a consistent and world-class user experience and well-designed interoperability across our solutions,” Elop said. “Our upcoming Microsoft Dynamics ERP and CRM releases light up this philosophy by delivering solutions that work well together and take advantage of existing IT investments.”
Offering New Innovations With Microsoft Dynamics CRM
Continuing on its commitment to deliver the best value in the industry to more than 22,000 customers and 1.1 million users, the May 2010 service update for Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online, available at no additional charge for Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online customers, focuses on improving the connectivity of the business to other systems, data and people through developer tools and resources. Key details include the following:
• Expanded language support for Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online. The May 2010 service update is the first wave for moving Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online into international markets with multilingual capabilities for North American customers who have departments or teams with French, Spanish or Brazilian Portuguese language requirements.
• New Portal accelerators. The service update adds new Portal accelerators for Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online. These accelerators include Event Management, eService and Partner Relationship Management and allow organizations to extend their reach and extend the power of CRM to external constituents.
• New developer tools and resources. The service update provides new developer tools in the updated Microsoft Dynamics CRM Software Development Kit (SDK) to enable the connection of Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online with other on-demand and on-premises applications and services such as Windows Azure.
• Microsoft Dynamics GP and Microsoft Dynamics CRM integration. A new built-in integration framework for Microsoft Dynamics GP and Microsoft Dynamics CRM enables customers to easily connect the two systems to help provide business insight and improve user productivity across financials, supply chain, and sales and service. The integration is supported with both on-premises and cloud versions of Microsoft Dynamics CRM for Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010 and Microsoft Dynamics GP 10.0.
“We are very excited about the May 2010 service update for Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online,” said Steven Bowles, president of Pelagic Solutions Inc., a Microsoft Gold Certified Partner. “With the new portal solutions, we can easily tailor Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online to meet the unique needs of our customers and extend out the powerful capabilities to external audiences. We have already seen phenomenal growth with Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online, and with these new capabilities we expect that growth to continue.”
Disclosing the road map for international availability, Microsoft announced that it is slated to expand the next release of Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online to 32 global markets in the second half of 2010. In addition to the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico, those markets are Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. Customers can get Microsoft Dynamics CRM as a service in those markets today, with solutions and consulting from an extensive network of Microsoft partners.
Delivering Enterprise Resource Planning Excellence
Convergence attendees also previewed Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010, an easy-to-use ERP solution for midsize businesses that want advanced functionality, strong business intelligence reporting options and interoperability with other line-of-business applications. More information about Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010 can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/dynamics/en/us/products/gp-overview.aspx.
Delivering even more value to Microsoft Dynamics GP customers, Microsoft is offering them a license for Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online at a promotional rate of $19 (U.S.) per user, per month. Starting today, the promotion is available to all Microsoft Dynamics GP customers until June 30, 2010. More information about this offer can be found at http://crm.dynamics.com/CRMGPOffer.
“Data, information and analytics are at the heart of everything we do,” said Steve Diakowsky, president and CEO of The Allan Candy Co. Ltd. “Fundamentally, the design of Microsoft Dynamics GP 2010 will greatly facilitate putting information into the right people’s hands, including my own, so that we can make business decisions that are timely and accurate.”
Investing in key industries, Microsoft also disclosed that Microsoft Dynamics AX for Retail, a new end-to-end offering designed for midsize specialty retailers, will be available in 16 countries on Aug. 1, 2010, with additional countries to follow early next year. In anticipation of this release, new and existing Microsoft Dynamics partners such as Avanade Inc., Columbus IT, Fujitsu, Hitachi Consulting Corp., Ideaca, Junction Solutions and Tectura Corp. are establishing new practices that focus on delivering retail solutions based on Microsoft Dynamics AX.
Expanding Microsoft Dynamics Communities
Microsoft Dynamics, by bringing its customer community and partner community closer together to help them get more from their Microsoft Dynamics software investments, has established an alliance with the Microsoft Dynamics AX User Group, Microsoft Dynamics CRM User Group, Microsoft Dynamics GP User Group, and the Microsoft Dynamics NAV User Group, which are independent user groups based in the U.S. The alliance will allow members of those groups to seamlessly utilize the Microsoft Dynamics Community site and bring a significant amount of new, high-quality content and resources to benefit all community users, including nonuser group members. Customer feedback has allowed the alliance to also include the user groups that are driving most of the user-created content at Convergence 2010. Customers and partners can get involved by participating in their product user group at http://www.dynamiccommunities.com and the Microsoft Dynamics Community at https://community.dynamics.com.
About Microsoft Dynamics
Microsoft Dynamics is a line of easy-to-use, integrated and adaptable ERP and CRM applications that enable business decision-makers to quickly respond to market shifts, take advantage of new trends, increase their competitive edge and drive business success. Microsoft Dynamics solutions are delivered through a world-class network of reselling partners providing specialized services and additional innovation to help customers excel in their industries.
About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.
INDIANAPOLIS, Apr 21, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) — Interactive Intelligence (Nasdaq: ININ), a global provider of unified IP business communications solutions, has received the 2009 Product of the Year Award from Technology Marketing Corp.’s (TMC) Customer Interaction Solutions magazine.
Interactive Intelligence received the award for its new communications-based process automation solution, Interaction Process Automation(TM) (IPA).
Customer Interaction Solutions magazine honors vendors with its Product of the Year Award for demonstrating excellence in contact center technologies, as well as providing return-on-investment for the companies that use them, according to TMC’s CEO, Rich Tehrani.
“With IPA, Interactive Intelligence has taken its proven contact center applications — functions such as routing, presence and collaboration – and used them to automate and move work through each step of a business process,” Tehrani said. “In effect, IPA has created a functional bridge between contact centers and the enterprises they serve, thus resulting in increased efficiencies and improved customer service.”
IPA leverages the Interactive Intelligence IP-based unified communications platform to orchestrate the delivery of work, thus giving organizations everything they need to capture, prioritize, route, escalate and track each step of a business process.
Interactive Intelligence developed IPA as an alternative to traditionally complex and costly process management systems, and to “tool-kits” that simply embed communications into applications, which are limited to soft ROI.
IPA targets mid-size to large organizations across all industries that require the automation of multi-step, people-centric business processes. Examples include new employee on-boarding, lead management, insurance claims processing, loan application management, new student enrollment, requests for government services, order discount approvals, and many others.
For more information about IPA, visit http://www.inin.com/ipa.
For more information about Customer Interaction Solutions magazine’s 2009 Product of the Year Awards, or any of the TMC media properties, visit www.tmcnet.com.
About Interactive Intelligence
Interactive Intelligence Inc. (Nasdaq: ININ) is a global provider of unified business communications solutions for contact center automation, enterprise IP telephony, and business process automation. The company was founded in 1994 and has more than 3,500 customers worldwide. Interactive Intelligence is among Software Magazine’s top 500 global software and services suppliers, is a BusinessWeek “hot growth 50″ company, and is among Fortune Small Business magazine’s top 100 fastest growing companies. The company is also positioned in the leaders’ quadrant of the Gartner 2009 Contact Center Infrastructure, Worldwide Magic Quadrant report. Interactive Intelligence employs approximately 650 people and is headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. It has 14 offices throughout North America, Latin America, Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific. Interactive Intelligence can be reached at +1 317.872.3000 or info@inin.com; on the Net: www.inin.com.
This release may contain certain forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially are described in the company’s SEC filings.
Interactive Intelligence Inc. is the owner of the marks INTERACTIVE INTELLIGENCE, its associated LOGO and numerous other marks. All other trademarks mentioned in this document are the property of their respective owners.
ININ-G
SOURCE: Interactive Intelligence Inc.
Interactive Intelligence Inc.Christine Holley, Director of Market Communications, 317-715-8220christine.holley@inin.comorFollow Interactive Intelligence:Twitter: www.twitter.com/IN_IntelligenceBlog: www.inin.com/blog
REDMOND, Wash. — April 7, 2010 — Microsoft Corp. today announced the availability of Microsoft Dynamics CRM for nonprofits and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs). The solution provides out-of-the-box constituent relationship management functionality as well as customizations for donation and pledge management, basic membership management, basic volunteer tracking, campaign management, dashboard reports, and support for online payment solutions.
For nonprofits and NGOs interested in the on-demand deployment, the solution is available through Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online — an on-demand service hosted and managed by Microsoft. Pricing for Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online for qualifying nonprofits and NGOs is $9.99 per user, per month. Customizations for nonprofits and NGOs are offered free of charge.
“Nonprofits and NGOs are always challenged with doing more with less,” said Sarah Barnhart, senior program manager of community affairs at Microsoft. “We see technology being a key enabler of helping nonprofits to reduce administration and focus their resources on where they can have the biggest impact. Microsoft Dynamics CRM for nonprofits and NGOs includes customized features that simplify administration and management for organizations of every size.”
By consolidating an organization’s essential information in one place, Microsoft Dynamics CRM improves constituent insight and management, facilitates collaboration, streamlines business processes, reduces IT costs, and helps improve security in the following ways:
• Accessing information and improving constituent insight and management. No matter where people work in an organization, it’s now possible for them to have a 360-degree view of constituents and access tools to effectively nurture different types of relationships.
• Helping people collaborate. People across an organization can increase individual productivity by using technology that’s familiar, and by sharing information and repurposing existing campaign, marketing and customer service materials.
• Complying with various accounting, tax and reporting guidelines. Business processes and enforcement of content compliance procedures are streamlined.
• Reducing IT costs and helping improve security. Simplifying the management of the CRM solution helps improve accessibility and reliability while decreasing costs.
“Microsoft Dynamics CRM will provide greater efficiency and functionality of our donor management and database tools, which directly impacts the approximately 1,000 girls we serve annually by increasing the depth and breadth of individual donor giving that supports the work of our organization,” said Elizabeth Nye, executive director, Girls Inc. of NW Oregon. “In addition, we are excited about its capabilities to help us integrate and synthesize program-related data, further enhancing our ability to monitor and track program outcomes — something all donors care about deeply.”
Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online for nonprofits and NGOs is available in the U.S. and Canada. Those interested in more information and starting a free trial can visit the web site for more information.
About Microsoft Dynamics
Microsoft Dynamics is a line of easy-to-use, integrated and adaptable ERP and CRM applications that enable business decision-makers to quickly respond to market shifts, take advantage of new trends, increase their competitive edge and drive business success. Microsoft Dynamics solutions are delivered through a world-class network of reselling partners providing specialized services and additional innovation to help customers excel in their industries.
About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.
Note to editors: For more information, news and perspectives from Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft News Center at http://www.microsoft.com/news. Web links, telephone numbers and titles were correct at time of publication, but may have changed. For additional assistance, journalists and analysts may contact Microsoft’s Rapid Response Team or other appropriate contacts listed at http://www.microsoft.com/news/contactpr.mspx.
REDMOND, Wash. — March 25, 2010 — Microsoft Corp. today announced the Community Technical Preview 3 (CTP3) for the next generation of Microsoft Dynamics CRM, code-named “CRM5.” This CTP is primarily aimed at software developers within the broad partner base of Microsoft Dynamics CRM, including independent software vendors (ISVs), global system integrators (GSIs), hosting partners and value-added resellers (VARs), giving them an opportunity to start early development and testing of their solutions for this new release.
The CTP software is available as on-premises software, as well as through pre-release versions of Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online running in datacenters in North America; Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA); and Asia Pacific (APAC). The availability in international datacenters is in preparation for the global expansion of the Microsoft Dynamics CRM Online service beyond the U.S. and Canada today and into EMEA, APAC and Latin America.
More than 400 select partners are engaged in the CTP3 program, and that number will be expanded in the coming months.
“We see Microsoft Dynamics CRM driving innovation and focus in the customer relationship management (CRM) marketplace. It continues to raise the bar on ease of use, and delivers real and measurable value to our customers,” said Aziz Virani, executive vice president of the Avanade Technology Solutions Group. “This next generation of the product provides us with more opportunities to create innovative solutions for our customers.”
“With this next version, Microsoft is continuing to drive new levels of user productivity and collaboration, giving customers deep core CRM capabilities, low total cost of ownership, and fast and easy deployment options for their CRM applications,” said Brad Wilson, general manager of Microsoft Dynamics CRM.
The next generation of Microsoft Dynamics CRM will support more than 40 languages, and will be offered as an online service, as on-premises software and via partner-hosted offerings. Availability of the new product will begin in the second half of 2010.
More information about “CRM5” is available at the Microsoft Dynamics CRM team blog at http://blogs.msdn.com/crm/default.aspx. More information on partner opportunities with Microsoft Dynamics CRM can be found at the Microsoft Partner Network Web site, https://partner.microsoft.com/global/productssolutions/dynamics/microsoftdynamicscrm.
About Microsoft Dynamics
Microsoft Dynamics is a line of easy-to-use, integrated and adaptable ERP and CRM applications that enable business decision-makers to quickly respond to market shifts, take advantage of new trends, increase their competitive edge and drive business success. Microsoft Dynamics solutions are delivered through a world-class network of reselling partners providing specialized services and additional innovation to help customers excel in their industries.
About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.
Note to editors: For more information, news and perspectives from Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft News Center at http://www.microsoft.com/news. Web links, telephone numbers and titles were correct at time of publication, but may have changed. For additional assistance, journalists and analysts may contact Microsoft’s Rapid Response Team or other appropriate contacts listed at http://www.microsoft.com/news/contactpr.mspx.
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