LOS ANGELES, CT Expo, March 5 /PRNewswire/ -- Telephony@Work, maker of open-architecture call center and e-contact technology, today announced the launch of its CallCenter@nywhere(TM) 4.0 e-contact center solution for call centers, Telcos and Application Service Providers (ASPs).

CallCenter@nywhere 4.0 includes a complete suite of browser-based supervision, provisioning and report generation interfaces as a complement to the previously released browser-based agent interface delivered in the platform's 3.0 release last year. This release completes the platform's migration to thin-client, browser-based computing and enables contact center supervisors and systems administrators to perform all tasks from anywhere in the world using any computer equipped with a web browser.

This release includes a browser-based version of the platform's award-winning Administration Manager(TM) interface and is the industry's first browser-based instant-provisioning and administration tool. This technology empowers enterprise call center managers and Telco Enhanced Services/ASP subscribers to do their own ``Service Creation,'' provisioning of sophisticated contact center infrastructure on the Web and report generation -- with no training, programming or custom development whatsoever. As a result, it eliminates the human resource barrier associated with deployment by freeing service providers of the need to deploy thousands of programmers in order to achieve significant market share.

Supervision Manager(TM) 4.0 is also browser-based and allows supervisors using any web-enabled computer to access supervision functions on the web, such as the ability to listen in on calls, whisper coach agents, join calls, record calls and view agent screens (i.e. to monitor chats, email responses, etc.) and even take over agent screens of agents who are behind corporate firewalls.

CallCenter@nywhere 4.0 also includes new Multi-Host Data Streaming Technology(TM), which allows Telco or ASP subscribers of hosted CallCenter@nywhere services to have their real-time contact center data streamed into their on-premises databases -- even through firewalls. It also enables ASP subscribers to keep their enterprise data private by granting subscriber companies the ability to stream and store all consent-to-transaction recordings, quality monitoring recordings, interaction history data and all other private information behind their enterprise firewall -- while the logic flow and application that creates and directs the call center lives in the carrier or ASP network.

Perhaps most significant for many carriers, CallCenter@nywhere 4.0 can now be hosted on multiple UNIX platforms, including both Compaq Tru64 UNIX on AlphaServer and Sun Solaris UNIX, as an alternative to Windows NT/2000. This allows carriers who view UNIX as a critical prerequisite for network deployment to operate in whatever environments they choose to deploy.

Browser-Based Self Provisioning Removes Huge Barrier for Carriers and ASPs

With the release of version 4.0, CallCenter@nywhere becomes the only platform in the industry to deliver browser-based instant provisioning for ASP and Telco subscribers. This new Administration Manager interface is an important extension of Telephony@Work's Programmers Not Required Technology(TM). Browser-based instant provisioning enables these subscriber companies to set up and customize their own call centers in just hours through a browser interface with ``wizards'', so that no Telco or ASP personnel are required -- as compared to competitors' solutions that require months of systems integration and involve costly human resource expenditures and protracted time-delays for deployment. When this 'self-provisioning' process is complete and customer credit/billing have been validated, that call center is fully operational.

The result of this approach is that, for the first time, carriers can achieve significant market share in the contact center market without massive human resource requirements. With 4.0's new Administration Manager, subscribers can, in just a matter of hours from anywhere in the world with browser-based web-access, instantly configure ACD phone calls, ACD Web Chat, E-mail Analysis and Auto-response together with skills-based ACD routing of E-mail to agents, Order-Secure(TM) forms sharing, ACD Voice Over IP, ACD Web Call Back, ACD Web-to-Phone, ACD Voice Mail and ACD Fax capabilities. Using a straightforward wizard-like approach, authorized users navigate the browser-based Administration Manager with simple mouse clicks, while answering all relevant questions about agent skills, workgroups and business rules.

``The Telephony@Work CallCenter@nywhere 4.0 release offers a unique value proposition in terms of simplicity, scalability, and administration to Telcos and ASPs wishing to offer clients a sophisticated browser-based, out-of-the-box e-contact center solution,'' says Ken Landoline VP and Director of Telecom Research, The Robert Frances Group.

CallCenter@nywhere's browser-based self-provisioning removes the largest barrier to enhanced services deployment of e-contact center technology. Before Administration Manager 4.0, sophisticated e-contact center solutions required multiple vendor platforms, months of custom programming, and hands-on intervention of the service provider for each implementation. Now, enhanced service providers can bring thousands of subscriber e-contact centers online within days -- an impossibility without Web-based self-provisioning.

``CallCenter@nywhere 4.0 represents a fundamental breakthrough for Enhanced Service providers and their customers worldwide,'' says Eli Borodow, Chairman and CEO of Telephony@Work. ``The ability for carriers to empower their subscribers to self-provision entire web-enabled contact centers in just a few hours was simply unheard of until today. By eliminating all prohibitive human resource requirements associated with service creation, the carriers can now target significant market share without budgeting for thousands of programmers.''

New Multi-Host Data Streaming Technology Keeps Enterprise Data Secure

In addition to enabling instant provisioning for enhanced services subscriber-based users, Multi-Host Data Streaming Technology offers a new level of data privacy for all subscriber-based users of contact center technology by allowing Telco or ASP subscribers of hosted CallCenter@nywhere services to have their real-time contact center data streamed into their on-premises databases as a complement to or as a replacement for report data storage by the service provider. This data streaming technology is designed to work through all firewalls, eliminating a traditional barrier to implementing such service options.

With the release of CallCenter@nywhere 4.0, carriers and ASPs are now also able to offer their subscribers complete security of their on-site enterprise data. This includes the ability for subscriber companies to store consent-to-transaction recordings, quality monitoring recordings, interaction history data and all other private information behind their enterprise firewall -- while the logic flow and application that creates and directs the call center lives in the carrier or ASP network.

Multi-Host Data Streaming Technology gives carriers and ASPs a great deal of flexibility in managing a complete multimedia service network on behalf of their subscribers. Now, the enhanced service provider can give the subscriber the option of hosting the actual enterprise data for each client or to allow it to live securely on the customer site. This capability removes many security flaws in other networks and takes full advantage of the Host Partitioning capabilities of the CallCenter@nywhere platform.

New Browser-Based Remote Supervision, Report Generation and Quality Monitoring

CallCenter@nywhere 4.0 adds a browser-based version of its award-winning Supervision Manager interface.

This new browser-based Supervision Manager allows supervisors using any web-enabled computer to access supervision functions on the web, such as the ability to listen in on calls, whisper coach agents, join calls, record calls and view agent screens (i.e. to monitor chats, email responses, etc.) and even take over agent screens of agents who are behind corporate firewalls. This adds a new layer of flexibility for multi-site call centers, network-deployed applications and telecommuting virtual workplaces. In the past, remote supervision could only be done with sophisticated virtual private networking and custom configuration. Now, Supervision Manager 4.0 can be used both inside and outside corporate firewalls, making secure monitoring both easy to implement and doable from any location.

With CallCenter@nywhere 4.0, supervisors and administrators can also perform browser-based report generation, remote agent screen viewing and control, and complete telephone call monitoring and recording. The popular whisper-coach feature (supervisors can talk to the agent but the caller can't hear them), barge-in and remote agent log-out are preserved in the new browser-based version of the product.

UNIX Support for Carriers and Telephone Companies

While Windows NT support continues in the latest release and will likely continue to dominate in the enterprise market, CallCenter@nywhere 4.0, is now also available for Telco network deployments in multiple flavors of the Unix operating system, including Compaq Tru64 UNIX on AlphaServer and the Sun Solaris Operating Environment. Based on its work with leading carriers, Telephony@Work recently re-compiled its software for these two popular UNIX variants. Other UNIX versions will be forthcoming and Version 4.0 can be easily compiled for other Unix variants. Unlike other solutions, which are typically built in proprietary environments or make use of O/S shortcuts such as NT COM objects, each software server in CallCenter@nywhere's network-based architecture is an open architecture C++ class and is thus highly portable across operating systems. As a result, the platform can be easily compiled to run on multiple operating systems without significant development or delay.

``Many carriers view UNIX and SNMP support as critical prerequisite attributes for any applications to be deployed on their networks. With the release of CallCenter@nywhere 4.0, carriers can finally deploy hosted applications in the contact center space without compromise,'' says Edwin Margulies, President of Enhanced Services at Telephony@Work. ``Combining the reliability of UNIX with Telephony@Work's patented hot-backup capabilities, which provide uninterrupted service for both customers and agents even if individual servers hosting live communications go down, effectively addresses carrier liability issues by enabling carriers to realistically commit to and deliver on service level agreements. Add to this our instant, browser-based self-provisioning capabilities and carriers have everything they could ask for in a hosted contact center platform. And, unlike ASPs running enterprise-grade applications in an ASP model, they can also pass-on this reliability to their subscribers.''

About CallCenter@nywhere

CallCenter@nywhere is a comprehensive, award-winning contact center platform for enterprises and ASPs that applies skills-based routing discipline to inbound phone calls, faxes, e-mail, voice-mail, chat sessions, web call-back and voice over IP transactions; with automated and semi-automated e-mail analysis and response and blended outbound predictive/preview/progressive dialing capabilities -- all in a single engine that allows individual agents to alternatively handle multiple mediums of interaction from a single, blended seat. The platform also provides comprehensive web-collaboration and quality monitoring capabilities. Key differentiators include the comprehensiveness of its capabilities and a unique, patented hot-backup architecture that provides uninterrupted service for both customers and agents even if individual servers hosting live communications go down -- a level of fault tolerance that resulted in the industry's first 'perfect score' for contact center reliability in a September 2000 report by The PELORUS Group. It is also differentiated by the fact that it is the only platform in the industry with parameter-based configuration and same-day integration utilities, which means that contact centers have the comfort of running flexible commercial software common to all Telephony@Work clients rather than individual 'one-off' designs that are more difficult and expensive to implement, maintain and upgrade.

CallCenter@nywhere can be deployed as a single-site, single-server solution, as a single or multi-server solution in the network, or as a multi-site overlay network. All configurations use a patented Mirrored Hot Back-Up architecture to provide complete multi-site disaster recovery, thus providing the only solution to ensure that transactions of all media types will continue to be processed even in the event an entire call center is shut down or local telephone service is disrupted.

About Telephony@Work

Based in La Jolla, California, Telephony@Work is a privately held company founded in 1997. The company develops and markets open-architecture call center and e-contact software for carriers, application service providers, and enterprise customers. The company's flagship offering, CallCenter@nywhere, launched in 1998, has received nine ``Product of the Year'' awards in the last two years, including Call Center Magazine (1999 and 2000), Computer Telephony (1999 and 2000), Customer Interaction Solutions (2000), Communications Solutions (2000), Internet Telephony (2000), Communications ASP (2000) and Call Center and CRM Solutions (1999). CallCenter@nywhere has also received numerous Editor's Choice and ``Best-of-Show'' awards, including Best-of-Show at Computer Telephony Expo Spring 2000 in Los Angeles, Communications Solutions Fall 2000, Call Center Demo & Conference (1999 and 2000) in Orlando, Computer Telephony Expo Fall 99 in New York, and ICCM 2000 in Chicago, as well as Editor's Choice awards from Call Center News, CallCenter & CRM Solutions Magazine and TMC Labs' Innovation Award for 2000.

For additional information, please visit Telephony@Work on the Web at www.telephonyatwork.com or contact us at (888) 854-4224. Telephony@Work, CallCenter@nywhere, Multi-Host Data Streaming Technology, Order Secure Forms Sharing, Administration Manager, Supervision Manager and Programmers Not Required Technology are trademarks of Telephony@Work, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective holders.

For further information, please contact Edwin Margulies of Telephony@Work, Inc., 858-410-1600 x707, emargulies@telephonyatwork.com.