Microsoft Helps TE Data Improve Customer Service

REDMOND, Wash. (rushprnews) May 29, 2007 — Today Microsoft Corp. announced that TE Data, Egypt’s fastest growing data communications and Internet service provider, has selected Microsoft^® Customer Care Framework (CCF) to unify its call center applications with the aim of radically improving customer service, increasing sales opportunities and upgrading working processes.

Customer Care Framework is a server-based software solution that delivers consolidated data from core business systems such as billing, customer relationship management (CRM) and order management to the customer service agent desktop. CCF will provide an easy-to-manage, scalable environment that will enable TE Data’s call center representatives to access all customer data, regardless of application and location, through a single user interface.

TE Data’s core business is selling narrowband, broadband and managed access services. TE Data needed to overhaul its customer care processes to better integrate all the applications that carried customer data. By introducing new capabilities such as single sign-on and a familiar user interface that pre-fetches customer details without the need to access multiple applications, TE Data will not only improve the experience for customers by reducing call times and speeding up service activation, it will also enhance the working environment for its agents by simplifying procedures and reducing the potential for errors when inputting and checking data.

The single user interface provides a 360-degree view of customer data, creating a better climate for the cross-selling of services and the effective delivery of targeted sales and marketing campaigns, including outbound calls. CCF also enables the rapid deployment of new services without requiring staff to undergo intensive training on new applications. It is expected that staff training time will be reduced by as much as 20 percent, and average call handling time is also expected to improve by 20 percent.

“The working practices of our call center agents have a direct impact on customer satisfaction and revenue generation,” said Raed Mounir, MIS and Customer Advocacy Director at TE Data. “With CCF we will remove all the complexity of having customer data stored within different applications in our legacy systems. With this new, simplified approach of a single screen providing a customer’s history, buying patterns and current account details, we will not only improve the morale and working environment for our agents, but we will also make a direct, positive impact on the service experienced by our customers, which is a vital component in such a competitive market.”

Following initial consultations, TE Data embarked on a proof-of-concept trial in December 2006 using its own developers. TE Data was able to fully assess its capabilities in six weeks. With the initial trial deemed highly successful, TE Data is expected to have the solution fully implemented and running on 800 agent desktops in the fourth quarter of 2007.

“By improving the delivery of customer service, telcos will not only be able to reduce customer churn, they can also directly impact the bottom line by lowering IT and training costs while increasing sales opportunities,” said Michael O’Hara, general manager for the Communications Sector at Microsoft. “Microsoft’s CCF will enable TE Data to bring all its customer-focused applications into one-easy-to-manage architecture that can scale with the needs of the business.”

“When we took the decision to migrate our legacy systems, we needed to be sure customer service and business performance would not be affected,” Mounir said. “By moving to a Microsoft environment, we not only reap the benefits afforded by CCF in our call center, but we will also have the security of working with an IT infrastructure that can support business-critical processes and can be project-managed effectively. These are important considerations for a service provider requiring zero downtime, and we see huge benefits in working closely with Microsoft to deliver a robust platform that meets our needs.”

About TE Data

TE Data was established in 2001 by Telecom Egypt to function as its data communications and Internet arm. The company is the fastest growing data communications and Internet services provider and the broadband market leader in Egypt.

Currently, with operations in Egypt and Jordan and ambitious plans in other parts of the MENA region, TE Data’s portfolio includes narrowband and broadband Internet access services, managed dedicated Internet access services, IP VPN connectivity services, global connectivity services in addition to consulting and professional services. TE Data’s portfolio of services covers the communications needs of all whether consumers, small and medium enterprises, large corporations, and Internet Service Providers.

See http://www.tedata.net.

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential.

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