Cisco Systems Inc. Tuesday took a time
out from its Net firm shopping spree to introduce the Internet Communications Software
Group.
Primed to lead Cisco’s software strategy, the group delivers software
platforms that enable enterprises, service providers and application vendors
to improve the functionality of converged voice and data networks.
Included in the new strategy is a contact center in which Cisco will bridge the gap between traditional voice network and the
growing Internet data networks. The Net giant feels consumers are better
served with unified software platforms that can converge and blend all media
types.
ICSG’s customer contact platform combines contact management, Web
collaboration, e-mail response management and the strength of Cisco’s IP
telephony networking solutions.
Oracle Corp. Tuesday praised ICSG’s open
platform approach to the customer contact market.
“We believe that Cisco’s software platform approach will allow application
vendors like Oracle to deliver new multimedia solutions to manage a unified
customer experience across all channels — a key requirement for today’s
e-businesses,” said Mark Barrenechea, Oracle’s senior vice president.
Cisco also moved to bolster its unified messaging services with an open
platform approach that combines the best features of the voice network with
the flexibility and data, content and functionality of the Internet and
multimedia/unified messaging. Customers
can then move beyond unified messaging into call control, notification, and
call management to create new services.
The platform intitiative comes a day after Cisco announced a major deal with
Europe’s Global Telesystems in which
it introduced a suite of new Cisco-powered IP services across more than 20
countries in Europe and the United States.