Genesys and Lekane extend the contact centre with mobility and presence management for staff on the move

  • TeliaSonera in Finland becomes first production site to implement mobile contact centre with Lekane
WOKINGHAM, June 11, 2007 - Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories, Inc., an Alcatel-Lucent company (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU), and Lekane today announced a major technology breakthrough that extends the contact centre to reach mobile and field service staff, while managing their availability and presence. Finnish-based Lekane has leveraged the Genesys suite to create a small, lightweight Java-based agent desktop that confirms the presence and availability of field service personnel and enables a centralised contact centre to easily transfer customer inquiries when appropriate. The software is significant because it enables contractors, back-office workers, and branch experts who may not be on a centralised system to tie into the main contact centre, with virtually no significant investment in new telephony systems.

Lekane's software, unveiled at Genesys' annual G-Force London conference (June 4-6), enables a wide range of contractors, subcontractors, and employees in the field to answer customer inquiries. One of the first implementations of the mobile contact centre is already underway at the telecommunications company, TeliaSonera, in Finland. The solution is an application that enables mobile employees to execute key customer service tasks while on the move.

Using a mobile device, remote workers or staff currently out of the office can become part of the contact centre, empowered for both inbound and outbound interactions, with wireless access to the Genesys contact centre along with all customer data. Remote agents have the ability to preview on their mobile phone who is calling and why before connecting to the call. Once the call is complete, any new data the agent puts into the mobile device can be sent back to Genesys reporting for further business analysis.

"For Genesys this is the natural extension of our strategy to increase the flexibility of customer service for both businesses and customers. It extends the concept of the Dynamic Contact Centre to the mobile arena and further extends customer service outside of the classic contact centre," said Wes Hayden, president and CEO, Genesys. "This flexibility will mean major cost reductions to businesses through optimising the activity of staff who need to communicate with customers but are also often on the move. It will provide customers with speedier service and more likelihood of first call resolution through having the right expert available to deal with their request."

There has already been great interest in this application and TeliaSonera has successfully completed an installation with the network operators that maintain the 2G & 3G networks equipped with the solution. The operators are constantly on the move, visiting operations and ensuring the network is running properly. They also provide technical support to field maintenance staff. With the new solution the network operators do not need to be in the central office to take calls and make changes. All this can now be done on the move meaning both cost reductions and improvement in service.

"In our previous setup a call might have needed to be processed by five people but now, with the Genesys and Lekane mobile solution, the call can be delivered directly to the right expert," said Mikko Raitio, Senior Corporate Manager at TeliaSonera. "It also improves the flexibility of working hours, for example during the weekends the backup shift can now be remotely handled from home. The project has created a myriad of ideas on how we can apply the mobile contact centre in our customer service."

"Mobility and the expanded contact centre provided by Genesys and Lekane makes customer service significantly more efficient - the right people can be enabled to help the customer as efficiently as possible. There are no lost opportunities, as calls are offered to those who can add the best value to the interaction," said Aarne Ylä-Rotiala, CEO of Lekane. "This solution is suitable for all companies who have expert workers who are on the move but still need to be available to communicate with customers - from insurance brokers to field technicians."

About Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories, Inc.
Genesys, an Alcatel-Lucent company, is the only company that focuses 100 per cent on software to manage customer interactions over the phone, web and in e-mail. The Genesys software suite dynamically connects customers with the right resources - self-service or assisted-service - to fulfill customer requests, optimise customer care goals and efficiently use resources. Genesys software directs more than 100 million customer interactions every day for 4,000 companies and government agencies in 80 countries. These companies and agencies can leverage their entire organisation, from the contact centre to the back office, to improve the overall customer experience. As a result, Genesys helps stop customer frustration, drive efficiency, and accelerate business innovation. For more information, go to www.genesyslab.com or visit the industry blog at www.betterinteractions.com


About Alcatel-Lucent
Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU) provides solutions that enable service providers, enterprises and governments worldwide, to deliver voice, data and video communication services to end-users. As a leader in fixed, mobile and converged broadband networking, IP technologies, applications, and services, Alcatel-Lucent offers the end-to-end solutions that enable compelling communications services for people at home, at work and on the move. With operations in more than 130 countries, Alcatel-Lucent is a local partner with global reach. The company has the most experienced global services team in the industry, and one of the largest research, technology and innovation organisations in the telecommunications industry. Alcatel-Lucent achieved adjusted proforma revenues of Euro 18.3 billion in 2006 and is incorporated in France, with executive offices located in Paris. [All figures exclude impact of activities transferred to Thales]. For more information, visit Alcatel-Lucent on the Internet: www.alcatel-lucent.com


About TeliaSonera
TeliaSonera is the leading telecommunications company in the Nordic and Baltic region, with strong positions within mobile communications in Eurasia, Turkey and Russia. At the end of 2006, TeliaSonera launched mobile services in Spain. We provide reliable, innovative and easy-to-use services for transferring and packaging voice, images, data, information, transactions and entertainment. In 2006, TeliaSonera's net sales amounted to SEK 91 billion, and at the end of March 2007 the total number of customers exceeded 100 million in 15 countries. The TeliaSonera share is listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange and the Helsinki Stock Exchange, and the company is included in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index. Simplicity and service are important tools for us in creating profitable growth and value for our customers and shareholders. Read more at www.teliasonera.com.

About Lekane
Lekane produces software to enable superior customer service and drive sales effectiveness by mobilising and expanding the contact centre solution. Lekane has extensive experience in the communications and IT industry and are a Genesys InterWorks partner. For more information, go to www.lekane.com


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Media Contact:
Duncan Burford, UK PR for Genesys. 01780 721 433, dburford@iba-europe.com


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