LOS ANGELES, Calif., April 5, 2000 - Underscoring its strategy to build solutions that enhance customer interactions, Cisco Systems, Inc., today reported at Spring Internet World 2000 (Booth #5210) that its Cisco intelligent contact management software (Cisco ICM) and Cisco Customer Interaction Suite have received industry recognition for best-of-class customer service solutions. These include the 1999 Frost & Sullivan Market Engineering Award, the C@LL CENTER CRM Solutions 1999 Product of the Year award, an Open Systems Advisors, Inc. Crossroads 2000 A-List award and a Communications Solutions Expo Fall 1999 Best of Show award.
In addition to product excellence awards from leading trade magazines and industry associations, Cisco customer SmarterKids.com (NASDAQ: SKDS) has also achieved recognition for its outstanding online shopping experience, a service based on the Cisco Customer Interaction Suite.
The 1999 Frost & Sullivan Market Engineering for the U.S. Web-Enabled Call Centers Market Competitive Strategy Award was bestowed upon Cisco for its successful expansion into the e-commerce customer interaction market during 1999. "Through acquiring leading vendors in the Web collaboration software market, including WebLine Communications and GeoTel Communications, Cisco has attained leadership in the market. Cisco has been able to leverage its high brand awareness and distribution to grow revenues in this market," said Alpa Shah, industry research manager, Frost & Sullivan.
"Deserving the attention of forward-thinking organizations looking for best-of-breed solutions," was the accolade offered by TMC president and group publisher Rich Tehrani when awarding the coveted C@LL CENTER CRM Solutions 1999 Product of the Year for Web/call center customer interaction to Cisco's Customer Interaction Suite.
"A valuable communication tool for building deeper and more personal customer relationships over the Web," was the opinion of Nina G. Lytton, president of Open Systems Advisors, Inc. (OSA) who, last September, awarded Cisco's Collaboration Server a Crossroads 2000 A-List Award for Customer Interaction in the New Economy. This is the third consecutive year that Cisco's Collaboration Server has won this award.
Additionally, following last year's Communications Solutions Expo Fall 1999 (www.tmcnet.com), Cisco's intelligent contact management solution, Cisco ICM, was honored with a Best of Show Award.
"These awards reflect Cisco's continued commitment to developing and delivering best-of-class customer service Internet solutions that add real value to the businesses of our e-commerce and contact center customers," said Eugene Lee, vice president of marketing, Cisco's Applications Technology Group.
One such example is the industry's recent recognition of a Cisco customer, SmarterKids.com, for its outstanding service. The leading online education store, SmarterKids.com is using Cisco's Web collaboration and email response technology to enhance its online shopping experience and customer service by offering personalized help features.
A recent survey conducted by eConvergent, a business solution provider for e-business customer interaction, found that SmartertKids.com provided its customers with the best online holiday shopping experience, citing superior online service as a key factor. Furthermore, BizRate.com, a leading Internet merchant-rating site, recently ranked SmarterKids.com with four and a half out of five stars for overall customer satisfaction. More information on both stories can be found at www.smarterkids.com.
"Since incorporating Cisco's Customer Interaction Suite into our online shopping and customer support infrastructure, we've been able to respond to customer inquiries in a more efficient and personal manner," said Mark De Chambeau, vice president of operations of SmarterKids.com. "These industry surveys show our customers value our enhanced online service and that is good for our business."
