UK Mini Events established valuable ties – Voxel and GM Group Ltd, UK, signed a project

As a positive outcome of the Mini Events recently organized by PSEB in UK, Voxel Communications has signed a project with a large UK-based call center company, GM Group Limited. GM Group outsources sales and marketing and support work from Hutchinson 3G. The company is based out of Blackburn in Manchester and is also a part of the prestigious Q Club (Quality Club) of Hutch 3G franchise network. GM Group representatives have visited Voxel Communications and have agreed on a CRM project to be outsourced to Voxel. The scope of the project is to scrub the customer data base and provide lead generation and cross sell services. This is the first of its kind outsourcing to a Pakistani company from UK.
During Mini Events organized by PSEB in London, Manchester & Leeds, many companies earned valuable leads. Prislogix and Adamsoft are also in the process of signing MoU or projects in collaboration with UK-based IT companies.

About Voxel Communications
Voxel Communications is a provider of top-notch offshore customer contact solutions and primarily entails inbound and outbound telemarketing business process outsourcing. They truly believe that they are a natural extension to their valued clients’ operations.
 

Gartner’s Survey placed Teradata in Leaders’ Quadrant

As per Gartner - one of the leading analyst companies in the world, Teradata has been positioned in the leaders’ quadrant among CRM vendors who provide multi-channel campaign management solutions. The positioning appears in Gartner Analyst, Adam Sarner’s new report “Magic Quadrant for Multi-Channel Campaign Management, IQ07,” dated April 6, 2007.

Multi-channel campaign management enables processes that “communicate offers to customer segments in a multi-channel environment”. Gartner’s report characterized vendors in the leaders’ quadrant as companies that “consistently out-perform in overall campaign management performances for basic and advance campaign managements, as well as for integration with e-marketing. Leaders have high market visibility, high market penetration, strong market momentum and a strategic vision for growing the campaign management business.”

A Detailed Review on the Report
Magic Quadrant for Multi-Channel Campaign Management, 1Q07

6 April 2007
Adam Sarner
Gartner RAS Core Research Note G00147196

SAS, Teradata and Unica remain leading vendors in the multi-channel campaign management market. Siebel becomes a leader, with good post-acquisition momentum, while Aprimo's growth challenges leaders. Alterian and Eloqua enter as niche players.

The leading campaign management providers continue to pursue greater functional depth in support of multi-channel campaigns. However, other vendors are carving out niches by focusing on different deployment options, specific industries, different channels and/or specific campaign functionally, such as business-to-business (B2B) lead management and e-marketing. Evaluate and make trade-offs based on key requirements, because vendors offer strengths in different areas.

Magic Quadrant for Multi-Channel Campaign Management, 1Q07
 

Other companies evaluated by Gartner include Alterian, Aprimo, Art Technology Group, Chordiant Software, Eloqua, Infor CRM Epiphany, Oracle (E-Business Suite), Oracle (PeopleSoft), Oracle (Siebel), RightNow Technologies, smartFOCUS, SAP, SAS, and Unica.
 

Phone Banking Services of NIB Bank hoisted by ZRG

NIB recently upgraded the Phone Banking Platform with a state-of-the-art technology equipped with IVR, and an advanced, sophisticated and effective call routing and distribution mechanism to successfully handle and distribute calls from all over the country. The latest open standards technology for Phone Banking has been provided by ZRG International.

ZRG has provided NIB with sophisticated call handling and management tools that will allow the bank to manage the support services with complete documentation, service quality assurance and comprehensive MIS reporting.

Mr. Naseer Hasan, Head of Consumer Banking, NIB Bank Ltd, said, “We want to revolutionize the concept of banking in Pakistan for which we have identified distinct customer segments with different and unique needs. By understanding these needs and maintaining a promising relationship with our customers, business partners and employees, we intend to deliver the best and customized financial solutions under one umbrella.”

“Technology has evolved with human needs”, Mr. Arif Butt, Executive Director, ZRG International said. He added that, “ZRG has been working on defining new measures of contact-center success, improving agent productivity and retention, and creating a new customer experience. Our goal is to transform the previous model of the Phone Banking center from a lucrative center to a convenient centre for the customer base. We would like to nurture our business relationship and take upon more challenges with NIB Bank Limited in the future.”

Signing ceremony between NIB Bank and ZRG International

About NIB Bank
NIB Bank Limited (formerly NDLC-IFIC Bank Limited) was incorporated in March 2003 as a public listed company. In October 2003, all assets and liabilities and all rights and obligations of the former National Development Leasing Corporation ("NDLC") and Pakistan operations of IFIC Bangladesh were amalgamated with and into NIB Bank. In April 2004, the Pakistan operations of Credit Agricole Indosuez (the global French bank) were also amalgamated with and into NIB Bank.

In June 2005, Temasek Holdings of Singapore through Bugis Investments (Mauritius) Pte. Limited acquired over 70 percent shares in the capital of NIB Bank.

About ZRG International
ZRG International (Pvt) Limited is a contact center specialist company providing solutions based on open standards technology. Prominent customers of ZRG include major telephone banking call centers, major cellular companies, the largest shipping company and the largest Oil marketing company in the country. ZRG is also the first telecom solutions company in Pakistan to have successfully exported call center solution to the international market. INTEL Corporation, USA has recognized the quality and standards of ZRG implementations and has published a case study on ZRG solution that is available for viewing on Intel Corporation’s website.
 

Contact Center World Awards 2007 to be endorsed by ACCO, Pakistan

Association of Call Center Operations (ACCO), Pakistan, together with major international call center associations will be endorsing the Contact Center World Awards along with a global conference series.

The awards are given out based on nine pre-defined categories i.e. best contact center, best customer services, best technology innovation, best outbound campaign, community spirit, best contact center leader, best contact center supervisor, best contact center agent and best contact center trainer.

Entrants represent all sizes and types of contact centers. They include outsourcers who provide services to other contact centers, banks, airlines, government, military, consumer products, automotive manufacturing, chemical and educational establishments.

The conferences are scheduled separately for regions of Americas, Asia Pacific and Europe, Middle East & Africa followed by a World Finals conference at Las Vegas, USA. These conferences are for presidents & CEOs, vice presidents, directors, managers, team leaders, consultants, trainers or anyone else looking to grow and advance their career in the contact center industry. The contact center professionals learn best practices as the key industry players directly give out presentations based on real-world business experiences-after which the winners are awarded based on the conference delegates’ voting.

The Contact Center World Awards have all the key elements required:

1.  Opportunity for large and small centers to compete
2.  Not limited to any region
3.  9 different award categories that enable any contact center to enter
4.  Judges are contact center practitioners, not industry vendors
5.  Unrivalled industry support from leading associations around the world
6.  Finalists present and the conference audience vote for the winners
7.  Winners in each region represent that region at the world finals
8. Winners receive the prestigious Contact Center World Awards trophy in front of their peers at a prestigious gala dinner

Some of the previous award winners include names like HP Invent, ScotiaBank and US Navy Global Distance Support Center.
 

Banks in Bahrain and Qatar developed EMV-compliant ATMs, using TPS technology solution

When Bahrain and Qatar central banks mandated last year that all banks in the two countries had to make their ATMs smart card (EMV)-compliant, Pakistan-based banking solutions specialist, TPS, showed the banking world how responsive it could be.

“The main thing is how quickly you are able to respond to market needs,” says Imran Saeed, the business development manager of the Dubai-based offices of TPS Middle East, adding that continuous research and development and product enhancement has given it a competitive edge.

“The breakthrough in the Middle East was venturing into cash deposit automation software. SMARTdeposit is one of the preferred solutions in the banks all over the region.”

Today TPS is a dominant player in the Middle East market, has a few European customers and is exploring the feasibility of having a direct presence in North America via an office in Canada. Its main focus now, however, is building up an indirect sales market in Africa and the Asia-Pacific regions via resellers with relevant experience.

Its solutions are helping Bahrain and Qatar banks avoid any penalties which are likely to be levied for any non-compliance by the end of the year. The next country to mandate EMV is likely to be the UAE in the years to come.

In addition to specific standards such as EMV, the company’s products also comply with any international and regional standards such as VISA or the local UAE switch as well as security and audit standards. ITP Technology has also published a detailed review of the story

About TPS
TPS is a software, systems and consulting firm, specializing in e-Banking and e-Payment products, solutions and services.

Complaint Management System at Guard Filters, launched by Lycetech

Lycetech has developed a “Complaint Management System” (CMS) providing it to Guard Filters. The CMS records and manages information like Builty number, information on dealers who work with Guard Filters, quantity of items returned, categories of filters. It also identifies types of complaints like leakage, damage, or others. Another feature in CMS is for the laboratory that helps the lab officer to check the complaints and verify those complaints.

The CMS developed by Lycetech generates different types of reports which facilitate the management to check the rate of recurrence of complaints with different kinds of graphs. Using this Complaint Management System, the supervision can get the frequency of complaints, item wise as well as dealer wise.

About Guard Filters
Guard Filters produces filters that increase vehicle uptime, reduce operating cost, and promote a cleaner environment. Guard Filters is capable of producing almost complete range of parts that go into the oil/fuel/air filters. Guard Filters vouches the quality at every step of production from raw material testing to the finished products with the help of a fully-equipped laboratory.

About Lycetech
Lycetech was established in 1996 with a mission: to provide high-quality services for the rapidly-growing Information Technology Industry. Lycetech has since introduced revolutionary applications/services for the web and standalone requirements. Lycetech continues to produce the best software and provide the best customer support and education in the business! Lycetech tailors people development and training delivery models to meet the needs of individual organizations. Lycetech, has developed a foundation of competencies based on a varied and scalable mix of products, services and delivery models, allowing it to bring IT Services and Consultancy "full circle" for it clients and partners.

Launch of “VisiClaims” – another Mortgage Solution by Systems Limited – in the US

Systems Limited’s US-based company, Visionet Systems has launched VisiClaims – a Repurchase Claims Management Solution that provides lenders and servicers a mechanism for avoiding repurchases and expediting settlements through the processing of claims.

VisiClaims works with Visionet System’s other offerings, VisiLoanReview (Bulk/Flow Seller contract-based QA/QC) and VisiRepurchase (Repurchase Automation) all of which have also been developed in Systems Limited’s offices in Pakistan.

VisiClaims comes with an integrated business rules and proprietary workflow engine, VisiFlow and has service oriented architecture (SOA) based technology. Using the portal interface, authorized users from other departments can interact with VisiClaims, and provide status updates on tasks assigned, submit single or bulk claims requests, and look up information on a particular claim. In addition, sellers can use the portal to submit buy-back requests, or respond to claims they have received.

In VisiClaims, the users can store contract terms of the seller as part of the master record for the seller. These terms include the EPD period, EPD filling date, delinquency counters, current loan status, required documentation etc. Using these terms, VisiClaims automatically verifies if the claim is valid. The VisiClaims calculator calculates the claim amount using the available servicing information. Information that is used by the calculator includes the amount of corporate advances, escrow shortages, delinquent installments, interest income losses etc.

Included in VisiClaims is a built-in letter writer facility. Users can generate letters, forms and documents while processing a claim. The generated letters are archived by claim, and can be retrieved for reference purposes. VisiClaims can be integrated with the corporate imaging system to retrieve the available document images for a loan while the claims officer is working on the file.

“With the recent increase in foreclosures, lenders and servicers need a solution that better equips them to handle loan buy-back scenarios and settle disputes in a timely manner,” said Arshad Masood, president of Visionet Systems. “Because most lenders would prefer to avoid repurchases, we have designed VisiClaims to simplify the claims process and, in so doing, save the lender time and money. ”

About Systems Limited
Systems Limited was established in Pakistan in 1977, making it the first and the largest software house in the country. The company currently employs more than 700 professionals in Pakistan and the United States. It is certified as conforming to the BS EN ISO 9001/9004 standard and is also CMMI Level III certified. It offers a wide range of services such as strategic and tactical consulting to optimize existing business processes, applications integration, new application development, application maintenance, application re-engineering and business process outsourcing.





"Brand of the Year 2006” Award for Telco category won by VectraCom

Pakistan Standards & Quality Control Authority (PSQCA), Government of Pakistan & Federation of Pakistan Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FPCCI) recently endorsed the “Brands of the Year Awards” in which VectraCom has been awarded in the Telco category amongst the few acclaimed brands.

VectraCom is a wireless solutions and service provider, offering interactive wireless application services to a broad range of operators and enterprises. With the regional head office located in the center of the Middle East, VectraCom currently holds over 10 years of its market in Asia, Middle East and Africa, enjoying coalition with foremost IT dictators.

Brands of the Year event was launched to bring the most valued brands in the limelight by acknowledging their contributions in their respective areas of work. The event was supported by the Government of Pakistan, the Government of Sindh and the Government of Punjab, respectively.

Brands’ most recent market standing and statistics were utilized as a tool to identify leading brands in various categories. In addition, a group focus survey was carried out in 48 cities of the country by a team of foreign-qualified research & marketing consultants, headed by a renowned World Bank research official. Survey was done in collaboration with Consumer Foundation (CF). Furthermore, to obtain maximum number of consumer opinion, a general consumer survey was also undertaken via online polling, Short Message Service (SMS) & 0900-IVR (nationwide accessibility).

“HealthPlan” – software developed by Contech for effective District Health Planning

After devolution, the lack of planning capacity and efficient management was witnessed in mostly all districts of Pakistan. Planning process has been weak in the past due to factors like poor strategic and operational planning capacity, lack of roles/ responsibilities and functional clarity as well as dearth of reality link between requested budget and district needs. All this has resulted in an imbalance in allocation of resources that directly affects health status of people. Contech realized this scarcity and developed a computer-based software HealthPlan® to assist District Health Managers in preparing evidence based District Health Plans. HealthPlan® guides the district health managers through the planning cycle. It assists them in preparing district health profiles, calculating primary health indicators, identifying and prioritizing health problems, deciding interventions and activities, costing of activities, preparing monitoring plan and summarizing all information generated in an action planning matrix. A pilot project has been implemented in ten districts of Pakistan under the project, Pakistan Initiative for Mothers and Newborns (PAIMAN), funded by USAID.

About District Health Management (DHM)
Keeping in view the devolved district setup, district-based planning is one of the main functions of District Health Management Teams (DHMTs). District Health Managers are the main beneficiaries of HealthPlan®. In the pilot, the DHMTs proved fully involved, extending support and providing their valuable inputs in making the district health planning process a reality. DHMT took initiative to develop an annual operational plan, which is an encouraging step towards district empowerment. An evidence-based DAOP (District Annual Operational Plan) not only identifies problems in the district but also facilitates in allocating budget to deal with each problem.

About Contech International
Contech International is a health care research, management and development organization established in the private sector with a group of committed professionals. The Department of IT & Health Informatics (IT & HI) at Contech comprises of development, design and implementation of health-related research software and other IT-related services. The focus of Contech in district health system strengthening has encouraged the IT & HI Department of Contech to come up with a comprehensive planning tool that enables the health managers in effective planning.

Navigator 1 , developed by Space Age - a Trend Setter in Traffic Management Solutions

Space Age Media has set another benchmark through a cutting-edge working domain – traffic management system. Earlier, this idea was presented at Young Leaders’ and Entrepreneurs’ Summit (YLES) in February 2007 at LUMS, by a young and innovative team of Space Age.

Space Age Media’s Chief Operating Officer, Ms. Naveed Khaliq, while describing its features, explained that Navigator 1 is an IT-enabled service with a motive to cope with one of the biggest challenge of traffic management.

It is the first-ever effort of its kind made by any organization in the history of Pakistan. The service will almost be free for the users; however, the cost will be borne by the formed organization (announced at a later stage).

The users of the system will be supported by all kinds of traffic-related information including: traffic jams, route directions, alternates, traffic guides, map and many more related day-to-day issues involved. It will help to save time, resources and also salvages people from inconvenience & stress.

The system has been adopted by one of the leading countries of Middle East just after its launch under public –private partnership.

About Space Age Media
Space Age Media is a leading provider of creative solutions, integrating both design and technologies. Space age is not only catering to the IT sector solution requirements but is also providing solutions in the non-IT domains.
Space Age is promoting ICT to improve working procedures in various social-economic sectors. One of its benchmarks in this regards is introduction of “IT Culture in Agriculture”. The idea was appreciated worldwide by various organizations.