In-Depth

Briefs: Hummingbird updates suite, ClarifyCRM more efficient

Hummingbird Enterprise adds full query, analysis, and reporting capabilities; ClarifyCRM update designed for high-volume call centers

• By Stephen Swoyer
• 07/02/2003

Hummingbird Ltd. announced version 5.1 of Hummingbird Enterprise, a suite that aggregates the company’s standalone portal, connectivity, document management, records management, knowledge management, business intelligence, collaboration, and data integration solutions.

Hummingbird says that Enterprise 5.1 includes all of the components associated with what Gartner Inc. terms a Smart Enterprise Suite (SES), which the research firm defines as a single vendor product offering that bundles portal and collaborative features along with content and record management facilities.

According to Hummingbird, Enterprise 5.1 is its second-generation SES offering, and includes additional features—such as full query, analysis, and reporting capabilities—in addition to data integration tools that manage meta data and facilitate the integration of enterprise applications. Enhancements to Hummingbird Enterprise 5.1 have been based on customer feedback. Thus far, Hummingbird claims that over 300 customers—comprising approximately 150,000 seats worldwide—have migrated, or are in the process of migrating, to Hummingbird Enterprise.

Amdocs Enhances ClarifyCRM for High-Volume Call Centers

Amdocs announced version 12 of ClarifyCRM, which includes new features designed to make high-volume call centers more efficient and effective.

Amdocs’ ClarifyCRM 12 boasts an agent-optimized, context-driven user interface, which allows users to manage all customer needs customer need through the contact center interface.

The product features a new Customer Interaction Manager module which provides a unified presentation of Amdocs’ ClarifyCRM modules, along with other integrated applications and business processes used by support, sales, and marketing employees.

Elsewhere, enhancements to the ClarifyCRM order management suite streamline the service delivery process, from initial catalog offering and order capture to fulfillment and order completion. The new version also features flexible integration with billing systems, which Amdocs says enables billing inquiries and adjustments to be resolved at the first point of contact.

ClarifyCRM 12 provides new campaign tools for collaborative planning, management, and analysis; dynamic call scripts for upselling and cross-selling; and a new “Opportunity Advisor” module that prioritizes and optimizes offers in real time.

Kelly Spang Ferguson, a principal CRM analyst with market research firm Current Analysis Inc., says that with ClarifyCRM 12, Amdocs is delivering a product optimized for its traditional strengths in the billing and communication provider industries. “Amdocs continues to make investments in ClarifyCRM to develop the depth of functionality that leverages both the Clarify CRM expertise and Amdocs’ history in providing billing solutions,” she points out. “The target of ClarifyCRM 12 on high volume contact centers is one that also lends itself to Amdocs’s corporate focus on communication providers.