Percival C. de los Reyes, SVP – Managed Data Services IP-Converge; and Simon Lee, Regional General Manager for Asia, Interactive Intelligence Inc.

IP-Converge, the IT and telecommunications subsidiary of publicly listed IPVG Corp., has signed an agreement for the distribution of Interactive Intelligence all-in-one IP communications software solutions to contact centers and enterprise businesses throughout the Philippines.

“The Philippines remains to be the preferred location for contact center outsourcing due to its lower operational costs and highly-skilled workforce. Our partnership with Interactive Intelligence, with its excellent track record in providing all-in-one IP communications software solutions, further strengthens our IPC VOICES offering to contact centers, creating the most innovative and reliable solutions available in the market,” said Percival C. de los Reyes, IP-Converge senior vice-president for managed data services.

“A move to unified communications is an important step to ensure our country’s competitive edge in the outsourcing arena and at the same time help customers increase operational efficiency at reduced costs”, de los Reyes continued.

Simon Lee, Interactive Intelligence regional general manager for Asia, says: “Our more than a decade of application development experience, combined with the network infrastructure specialization and local presence that IP-Converge brings, will ensure customers throughout the Philippines get the kind of solutions that best fit their unique technical and operational needs. And as a key Asia Pacific growth market, the Philippines also represents a prime opportunity to receive the benefits a unified IP contact center solution provides.”

The Philippines, along with India, Malaysia and China, contributed more than 54% of the total Asia Pacific contact center outsourcing market, estimated at US$ 13.7 billion in 2008, according to Frost & Sullivan‘s “Contact Center Outsourcing Trends in the Asia Pacific Market, 2008-2011″ report, published in February 2009.

The report also indicated that “the Philippines will see relatively heightened [IP] adoption,” and that “unified communications in the contact center is emerging as a key theme.”

“The Interactive Intelligence software will give our contact center customers phased migration to IP, while enjoying the operational benefits and cost-efficiency of a truly unified platform,” de los Reyes said. “Adding our personalized ’boutique’ approach to customers, these contact centers will receive maximum return on investment, while establishing competitive differentiation by providing better customer service.”

In 1997, Interactive Intelligence released its single-platform, all-in-one communications software suite, Customer Interaction Center (CIC), to eliminate the cost and complexity introduced by multipoint products. CIC provides multi-channel contact center automation and enterprise IP telephony functionality, including SIP-based switching; multi-channel routing and queuing; outbound/blended dialling; presence management; multi-channel quality monitoring; workforce management; interactive voice response; unified messaging; Web self-service; e-mail response and knowledge management; and communications-based process automation.

Backed by more than 3,000 customers worldwide — including successful multinational installations at companies such as Fujitsu, Oracle and RIM – , Interactive Intelligence is now a proven provider of all-in-one IP communications software solutions that is  consistently named a ‘top ten’ global contact center vendor by industry analysts such as Datamonitor, Frost & Sullivan and Gartner.

Contact management just got a little easier for BlackBerry smartphone users. A new application called gwabbit automatically searches your e-mails and identifies contacts embedded in the messages, then adds or updates that information to your BlackBerry Contacts in a single click. For those users syncing their contacts to Outlook, gwabbit’s automated capture keeps contacts updated globally. 

Designed and released by Technicopia, gwabbit is available now, at www.gwabbit.com.

Compatible with all BlackBerry smartphones including the BlackBerry Bold, BlackBerry Storm, BlackBerry Curve series and BlackBerry Pearl series of smartphones, gwabbit costs just $9.99 (US) and downloads in less than a minute.

gwabbit for BlackBerry smartphones joins gwabbit for Outlook, as an automatic email contact management solution for both desktops and mobile phones. gwabbit for Outlook automatically identifies signatures in incoming emails and creates them as new or updated contacts on your desktop.  gwabbit for Outlook is available for a single, one-time fee of $19.95 (US).  The two products together deliver complete email contact management for any professional on the road or at their desk.

For more information please visit www.gwabbit.com.

SAP and Research In Motion (RIM) recently announced the availability of an integrated solution that provides customers with anytime, anywhere access to the SAP Customer Relationship Management (SAP CRM) application on BlackBerry smartphones.  The new BlackBerry Sales Client for SAP CRM, which was recognized at SAPPHIRE 2009 with a Pinnacle Award for Innovation, is now available from RIM, giving sales reps simple, secure, real-time access to customer information in SAP CRM with the same seamless and intuitive experience they have come to expect from BlackBerry smartphones. The new solution is being showcased by SAP and RIM at SAPPHIRE.

As enterprise mobility using smartphones becomes a business necessity, SAP and RIM are working to address the needs and expectations of business users through an integrated solution that enables secure real-time access to SAP CRM.  The integrated solution benefits organizations with enhanced employee productivity and service while empowering mobile users with the ability to access critical customer information on the go. The integrated solution also leverages the inherent security, management capabilities and efficiency of the BlackBerry Enterprise Solution, and introduces a number of key innovations for mobile CRM, including:

•          Instant Access to Up-to-Date Information - In just one or two clicks, users can gain access to up-to-date client information from a BlackBerry smartphone, including contacts, sales leads and logged activities. This seamless and intuitive CRM experience is made possible through deep integration between the SAP CRM application, the BlackBerry Sales Client for SAP CRM, and core BlackBerry smartphone applications.

•          Push-Based Notifications - The new solution can automatically deliver or “push” all customer data updates in the SAP CRM system immediately to the user, as well as pushing sales leads immediately to the sales representative’s BlackBerry smartphone inbox with one-click access to the new information.

•          Access to CRM Data Anytime, Anywhere - Users rely on their BlackBerry smartphones for access to people and information on the go. This new solution enables contacts and account information to be continuously accessible on BlackBerry smartphones, and a local cache system allows access to certain information even if the user is outside of network coverage.

•          Industry-Leading Security - SAP’s established enterprise application security combined with the renowned wireless security of the BlackBerry Enterprise Solution provides end-to-end encryption to help protect confidential customer information whether stored on a BlackBerry smartphone, in transit, or in the SAP CRM application. IT administrators can also securely deploy the BlackBerry Sales Client for SAP CRM to users over-the-air. 

“The integration of SAP CRM with BlackBerry smartphones provides simple, quick mobile access to customer information,” said Bob Stutz, corporate officer and member of the executive council, SAP.  “SAP and RIM have converged the worlds of applications and mobility on BlackBerry smartphones, empowering mobile users through continuous access to essential information that leads to increased sales, service, effectiveness and overall performance. We look forward to our continuing co-innovation with RIM to support mobile workers in reaping the benefits of real-time mobile access to enterprise applications in a secure setting.”

“SAP and RIM are setting a new standard for mobile CRM with a highly refined and secure user experience that will enable even greater adoption,” said Jim Balsillie, Co-CEO, Research In Motion. “This innovative new solution elegantly extends valuable customer information in SAP CRM to BlackBerry smartphones by leveraging the BlackBerry platform’s core strengths, including reliability, real-time push technology, deep application integration, and market-leading security. Together, we are delivering the best in enterprise mobility.” 

For more information, please visit  www.blackberry.com/sap