BEDFORD, Mass., -- iPhrase‚ Technologies, Inc., a leading provider of innovative search and customer interaction solutions, today announced that PeopleSoft has licensed the iPhrase Contact Classification Server‰ (ICCS, formerly known as Banter Server) for integration into PeopleSoft‚ Enterprise CRM 8.9, the most significant CRM release in PeopleSoft’s history. Together, the companies will provide users with a solution that optimizes customer interactions, saves time and ensures consistency across multiple service and support channels and applications.
iPhrase and PeopleSoft expect the joint technology integration to dramatically improve the customer experience by automating online communication and enhancing self-service and agent-assisted service. Leveraging ICCS, PeopleSoft Enterprise CRM 8.9 will suggest even faster, more accurate and consistent responses to customers and agents across multiple channels. With the flexibility to ask questions in their own words, customers and service agents will receive quick and relevant responses, increasing customer satisfaction and reducing customer service costs.
“The integration of the iPhrase Contact Classification Server with PeopleSoft Enterprise CRM 8.9 Service will enable organizations to advance service automation and deliver differentiated customer service by truly understanding the intent of customer communications," said George Ahn, group vice president and general manager of PeopleSoft CRM. "With the combined strength of our industry-leading technologies, PeopleSoft and iPhrase will give organizations the ability to dramatically improve the total experience they provide to customers while saving both time and money."
ICCS offers robust natural language functionality for multi-channel customer interactions. Unlike other solutions that rely on simple keyword matching or statistical classification, ICCS is able to understand the intent of highly dynamic and informal communications such as e-mail, chat sessions and free-form self-service queries.
The product also has the unique ability to learn in real time from customer and agent interactions and increase its accuracy over time. These capabilities can reduce implementation and maintenance costs without sacrificing consistent, accurate responses.
“Potentially, 40 percent to 75 percent of the information required to fully meet customer and enterprise needs is not resident in a single system or interface,” said Esteban Kolsky, research director in Gartner Research, customer relationship management (CRM), customer service, e-service and e-business. “The ability for products to identify and reach the correct information, regardless of location or medium is key to resolving customer issues and thereby increasing customer loyalty.”
“We are extremely pleased to be working on technology integration with PeopleSoft,” said Dan Keshian, chairman and chief executive officer, iPhrase. “We are confident that the iPhrase Contact Classification Server, coupled with the PeopleSoft Enterprise CRM 8.9 solution, will provide companies with a greater understanding of customer needs and a superior venue for improving interactions and overall business processes.”
iPhrase develops solutions for financial services, manufacturing, high technology, retail and travel and leisure. The products address business challenges across the enterprise including customer and employee service and support, email deflection, contact center management, commerce, technical support and customer analytics. Many of the company’s customers have seen business improvements including flat customer service headcount after years of linear growth; inquiry resolution rates improved more than 58 percent and a rise in customer satisfaction by more than 30 percent.
