Contact Center Solutions Featured Article

August 15, 2008

President of Altitude Software to Speak at ITEXPO

By Rich Tehrani


Altitude Software (News - Alert) is an independent contact center vendor for unified interaction solutions. Altitude uCI (unified customer interaction) suite over IP manages, measures and improves relationships with each interaction from small to large organizations worldwide. I recently had the chance to interview Mark Lepko, the company’s North America president, who is speaking at the ITEXPO (News - Alert).
 
RT: What has been your company’s biggest achievement in 2008 so far?
ML: We’ve helped a Leading Pharma Company to Unify its Multimedia Customer supporting their sales, marketing and customer support strategy to key lines of product. This organization is now able to provide a quicker and better service to its clients, delivering an outstanding customer experience, increasing agent productivity and improved service levels across all media types of interactions (voice, email and web).  Additionally, we are seeing major expansions with our Global outsourcers in North America who are providing services to the Fortune 500.
 
RT: What can we expect to see from your company for the next 12 months?
ML: Our continuous commitment to support our customers` strategy by delivering a unique contact center suite. For the past two years, we’ve experience a double-digit growth reflecting our customer’s trust in our solutions and we’ll continue to expand our operations in North America, conquering new customers and enlarging our customer base.
 
RT: How do you see the communications market evolving?
ML: More and more people and organizations will truly become available 24/7 and this brings new and compelling challenges. With an internet connection or Wi-Fi with a PC or PDA, I can be on the other side of the world conducting business in the U.S. or before buying a specific product I can quickly search for that item in a worldwide marketplace, assuring I’ve got the best deal.
 
Communications are evolving rapidly and changing not only almost every industry business model but also our lives.
 
RT: What company made the biggest contribution to communications this year?
ML: Depending on the specific markets different players had a decisive impact in the industry. Apple (News - Alert) and Google are just two of many examples. Clearly the hottest product was the Iphone, this is an example of how on demand communications are important and the next generation is communicating via social networking sites.
 
RT: How has Google changed our markets?
ML: Google is expanding to new and complementary markets capitalizing on its success. This type of approach energies the industry and new opportunities are bound to appear for those that take a risk and invest in the future. Google has flattened the world, and has broken down the barriers to entry for smaller companies in just about any market.
 
RT: How about Apple?
ML: All the hype around iPhone (News - Alert) has awaken and stimulated the industry. In the process, put all the competition on their toes trying to catch up and provide similar offers. Competition is the strongest market driver and it is good for the industry and ultimately the customers.
 
RT: What mobile phone(s) do you use?
ML: 3G Smartphone from Nokia (News - Alert), 3G Motorola RZR, and Blackberry PDAs.
 
RT: Who will win in an Apple/RIM war?
ML: Both. Apple will rule the consumer market and RIM will continue to dominate the corporate market that, although smaller, it is more profitable.
 
RT: What do you think the communications market might look like in five years?
ML: If there is something we’ve learned in the past is that, in this industry, it’s impossible to predict what will happen in five years. There are too many possibilities; new paradigms are emerging as old ones disappear. From a Call Center perspective, all barriers will be broken, the call Center will be an on demand multichannel resource, which will include interaction with social networking sites.
 
RT: What will attendees learn about in your session at ITEXPO this September?
ML: A business perspective to identify the moving parts and strategies to centralize technology deployments with decentralized human resources: managing the intelligence of your customer’s preferences and needs; managing the status (presence) of customer service professionals and knowledge workers; delivering customer interactions to the right party securely; managing latency of voice and data communications; managing all communications channels under a unified customer interaction strategy; and managing mission critical expectations for resiliency and business continuity.
 
RT: What type of attendees do you think should come to your session?
ML: Everyone interested in better understanding the way SIP has revolutionized communications and how it is reshaping the contact center industry by unleashing new business models but also new challenges.
 
RT: Why should customers choose your company’s solutions?
ML: Altitude Software solutions have a proven successful track record with more than 800 live installations worldwide in about 60 countries, serving close to 200,000 agents worldwide. Our flagship product suite, Altitude uCI, has been acclaimed by the industry and received more than 30 awards in the last couple of years. If an organization is looking for a cutting edge contact center that combines the traditional functional with the power of SIP then Altitude uCI is definitely an option to be considered.
 
RT: Please make one surprising prediction for 2009.
ML: Altitude Software will be in the TOP 5 suppliers of contact center solutions in 2009.

Rich Tehrani is President and Group Editor-in-Chief of TMC. In addition, he is the Chairman of the world�s best-attended communications conference, INTERNET TELEPHONY Conference & EXPO (ITEXPO). He is also the author of his own communications and technology blog.


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