After just a month, Firepond’s licensing program is paying dividends. The Minneapolis maker of customer service and e-commerce software said it has licensed three patents to eGain, a provider of call center software. Financial terms of the transaction, which include…
3Com and Aspect Communications have signed a wide-ranging partnership aimed at increasing the use of Internet protocol phone systems by enterprises and large call center operators. The pact includes joint development, sales and marketing of products combining IP-private branch exchange…
Sprint , the Overland Park, Kan., telecom carrier, has signed two new multi-year, multi-million dollar deals to provide services for call centers. The first is with First Contact Inc., a subsidiary of IntelliRisk Management Corp. (IRMC), that handles back-end work…
Amdocs , a provider of billing, customer relationship management and directory services, is reportedly negotiating a lucrative contract with Verizon . The proposed five-year pact is worth around $700 million and could rise to $1 billion, according to U.S. telecom…
Art Technology Group will pay $9.7 million cash to buy out leases for suprlus office space in Cambridge, Mass., San Francisco and Toronto. The e-commerce software maker, which in recent years has cut back its staff and facilities, had $38.2…
Search specialist iPhrase Technologies has introduced a new analytics package to help companies improve their Web site customer service. The offering, available with the Cambridge, Mass., company’s One Step platform, provides feedback about what products and services visitors are seeking,…
British Telecom (BT) has installed KANA electronic customer relationship management (eCRM) software to handle incoming e-mails to its Web portal, BT.com. The U.K.’s largest voice and Internet service provider expects up to 20,000 customer e-mails each week on a wide…
Cisco Systems is introducing new versions of two Internet protocol applications to help companies better manage ever-evolving call center models. Until recently, a call center consisted of scores of agents in a central facility answering phones. But new online help…
DirecTV Broadband customers will not be left in the lurch when the high-speed Internet service is discontinued next month. DirecTV Broadband’s parent, Hughes Electronics , has inked deals allowing subscribers to shift to SBC Yahoo!, BellSouth and Verizon (depending on…
Bullhorn, a Boston maker of customer relationship management (CRM) software for the staffing industry, has raised its second round of financing. The sum of the backing, provided by Austin Investment Management and Elmrock Capital, among others, was not disclosed. In…
QAS, a Boston maker of software to help companies manage mailing lists, has won a contract with Consumer Credit Counseling Services (CCCS), a San Francisco provider of money management information and assistance. QAS’ flagship product, QuickAddress, uses post office data…
Watch Hill Partners, a Providence, R.I., consulting firm specializing in customer relationship management and wireless services, has made two hires: David Berndt, director of the mobile solutions group; and Leslie Talbot, director of business development. “We’ve been successful in bucking…
Viisage Technology , a Littleton, Mass., maker of face-recognition technology and identification systems, has tapped the former COO of Art Technology Group for its top jobs. Bernard Bailey take over as president and CEO next month. Chairman Denis Berube, has…
Applix , a Westborough, Mass., business software maker, has named Howard Spielman, Ph.D., vice president of business intelligence technology. Spielman will oversee applications built on Applix Integra, the platform that integrates business planning, performance measurement and operational data to help…
Art Technology Group will release Japanese-language versions of its customer relationship management software as part of a push in the island nation. The new offering, to be released next month, follows a deals in the country with with: Asahi, a…
In a merger of IT consultants and integrators, Innovent Solutions, of Los Angeles, has bought Reportability.com, of Boston, for an undisclosed sum. Innovent specializes in business intelligence (BI) and customer relationship management (CRM) applications. Reportability’s focus is enterprise reporting and…
Quadstone‘s 9-month search for a permanent CEO has ended. The Boston maker of customer relationship management (CRM) software, has named Paul Kelly, formerly with Portal Software, as CEO. He succeeds founding director and interim CEO Nicholas Radcliffe, who moves to…
Westford, Mass.-based customer interaction management (CIM) solutions provider Davox Corp. Friday announced that it has officially changed its name to Concerto Software Inc. . The company Friday began trading under the new ticker symbol. The name change follows the January…
France Telecom Monday tapped Cambridge, Mass.-based ATG Inc.’s Enterprise Commerce and Portal Suite to support its personalized, e-business initiatives. ATG is a developer of online CRM applications for commerce, portals and relationship management. It’s suite of tools will provide France…
With new security threats emerging almost daily, Citizens Financial Group, of Providence, R.I., has expanded its relationship with EMC , of Hopkinton, Mass., to safeguard customer information. The deal gives Citizens an additional 30 terabytes of EMC Symmetrix Enterprise Storage…
170 Systems, a Cambridge, Mass., maker of business process management software, has raised $14 million in first-round financing for expansion and sales and marketing initiatives. The backing cames from Boston-based Polaris Venture Partners. Because of its support, three of the…
After less than a year, ADS Financial Services Solutions , a Quincy, Mass., IT consultant and systems integrator for the financial services companies, has closed its EarningsInsights subsidiary. Based in Nashville, Tenn., EarningsInsights was a startup application service provider offering…
Watch Hill Partners, a Providence, R.I., technology advisor focused on customer relationship management (CRM), has bought Encore Consulting Group to serve as the foundation of its new division. Financial terms were not disclosed. Watch Hill’s “general consulting services” division will…
Wheelhouse, a Burlington, Mass., maker of customer relationship management software, has hired Frank Chisholm, former EasyAsk president and COO, as senior vice president of sales and marketing. At EasyAsk, he led the company’s transition from an enterprise data warehousing company…
Stream International, a Canton, Mass., provider of online and off-line help desk services, will build a new facility, employing up to 900 people, in London, Ontario. “The skill levels of the applicants who attended our informational job fair and the…
Seeking an advantage in a highly competitive industry, banks, brokerages and mutual fund operators will triple their spending on Web self-service software over the next three years, according to Meridien Research. “Although a large percentage of institutions already have some…
In a merger of New England customer relationship management (CRM) firms, Pegasystems , of Cambridge, Mass., is buying 1mind, of Concord, N.H., for $3.6 million in stock. Up to $6 million of additional Pegasystems’ stock may be issued in 2003,…
Under a new contract, Art Technology Group software will be used to run Best Buy‘s electronics Web site. Financial terms were not disclosed. “We chose ATG for two primary reasons — a great product combined with a successful track record,”…
iPhrase Technologies, a Cambridge, Mass., maker self-service search and retrieval software, has named Joseph Krivickas, formerly of Bluestone, as president and CEO. He succeeds cofounder Noam Ben-Ozer, who will remain on iPhrase’s board of directors. “iPhrase is a company making…
EasyAsk, a Littleton, Mass., developer of search technology for e-commerce sites, has signed a customer deal with Talbots, a Hingham, Mass., clothing retailer and catalog company. Financial terms were not disclosed. “We’re very pleased that Talbots recognized the value that…
Art Technology Group , a Cambridge, Mass., e-commerce software maker, has named Bernard Girbal, a 21-year industry veteran, as vice president and general manager of international operations. “Girbal brings a wealth of experience leading technology sales and services initiatives on…
Spending on customer relationship management (CRM) technology will remain flat over the next two years, as companies look to conserve cash and buy only when bargains present themselves, a new study from Meridien Research predicts. The Newton, Mass., market analysis…
Under pressure from the Massachusetts Attorney General, online grocer Peapod and supermarket chain Stop & Shop have earmarked $200,000 for Boston-area customers who complained about unclear pricing. “Peapod’s 5,700 home delivery shoppers believed they were buying groceries at the same…
Kana , a Menlo Park, Calif., maker of customer relationship management software with a major presence in Manchester, N.H., has raised $55 million in financing. The backing comes from Technology Crossover Ventures ($45 million) nd funds associated with Amerindo Investment…
Gazelle Systems, a Newton, Mass., provider of customer relationship management software for restaurants, has raised $3.25 million in financing. Zero Stage Capital and Pennsylvania Early Stage Partners, a fund affiliated with Safeguard Scientifics, were lead backers. Sodexho, a subsidiary of…
Customer relationship management (CRM) software maker Applix has released versions of its product in Japanese, Korean and Chinese to serve companies that are based in, or have significant operations, in Asia. The Westborough, Mass., company already provides the application suite,…
HotRoof, a Great Barrington, Mass., maker of software that allows customers to customize video programming, has raised $825, 000 in financing for product development and sales efforts. Davenport Capital Ventures, of Braintree, Mass., was lead backer. Village Ventures and Flavin,…
iPhrase Technologies, a Cambridge, Mass., maker of of software that allows users to pose questions in plain English, has expanded its relationship with LexisNexis Group, a Dayton, Ohio, provider of information to legal, corporate, government and academic markets. Under a…
SPSS, a Chicago, maker of data mining software will NetGenesis ( NASDAQ:NTGX), a Cambridge, Mass., maker of customer relationship management software, in a stock deal worth about $44 million. “We are making investments that enable us to strengthen and develop…
Art Technology Group (NASDAQ:ARTG), a Cambridge, Mass., maker of customer relationship management software, has appointed Ilene H. Lang, a founder of AltaVista, to its board of directors. She replaces Robert Walters who resigned due to his increased responsibilities at John…
Unica Corp. of Lincoln, Mass., a provider of CRM and marketing automation software, announced that RBC Royal Bank will use its Affinium software to automate the development and roll-out of targeted marketing campaigns for its Visa credit card customers in…
Exchange Applications Inc. (NASDAQ: EXAP), a Boston maker of customer relationship management software now doing business as Xchange Inc., announced $20.5 million in convertible debt financing from several investors. The public company, which was hit with a shareholder lawsuit earlier…
Escher Group, a Cambridge, Mass., provider of peer-to-peer messaging and data management software for post offices, has opened a new United Kingdom office. “We have relocated to a larger facility and have increased our staff to meet the needs of…
Relizon, a Dayton, Ohio, customer relationship management (CRM) specialist, will buy Epsilon, a Burlington, Mass., marking software firm, for an undisclosed sum. The Epsilon name as well as its management team will remain intact post-merger. Relizon will fold its eCRM…
Art Technology Group (NASDAQ:ARTG), an e-business software maker, will lay off about 220 workers, 20 percent of its staff, in a restructuring and miss second-quarter financial targets. The move comes less than three months after the Cambridge, Mass., company cut…
iPhrase Technologies, a Cambridge, Mass., a maker of software that allows users to pose questions in plain English , has raised $25 million in financing to fund company growth and product enhancements. The round was led by Reed Elsevier Ventures…
Watch Hill Partners, a Providence, R.I., technology consulting firm specializing in customer relationship management (CRM), has raised $3 million in first-round financing from Ascent Venture Partners. The investment was attractive “because (Watch Hill) had a clear business plan on how…
InsightShare, an Andover, Mass., provider of collaborative customer relationship management (CRM) software and services, has raised $13.8 million in financing and is preparing to launch of its software product. Backing has come from The Forum Corp., Pearson PLC and private…