CRM software vendor Avaya Inc. and IT services company Accenture Ltd. this week announced an alliance intended to make it easier to integrate backend applications with contact centers.
Avaya is a legacy voice applications vendor that was spun out of Lucent Technologies Inc. a year ago. Its agreement with Accenture will involve deployment of its contact center applications, including "interaction management" software and "commitment management" software.
Interaction management applications help companies manage interactions with customers through multiple channels, such as e-mail, phone, Web chat, and Web collaboration, while commitment management software provides workflow engines for order fulfillment and problem resolution.
"What Avaya is bringing in this announcement is a suite of both solutions and application software along with infrastructure that we have in the CRM space, and we are complementing the professional services skills that Accenture brings," said Tim Flaherty, vice president of alliances at Avaya, in Basking Ridge, N.J.
Avaya's forte is providing call routing by matching contact center agents to callers. The company's software complements CRM offerings from companies such as Siebel Systems Inc.