Firepond Licensing Business Heats Up

The Minneapolis maker of customer service and e-commerce software licenses three patents to eGain, a provider of call center software.

3Com, Aspect Target Enterprises, Call Centers

The companies will jointly develop, sell and market IP phone platforms and advanced CRM software.

Sprint Dials in Call Center Contracts

The telecom carrier signed two new multi-year, multi-million dollar deals to support financial services call centers.

Report: Amdocs, Verizon Negotiating Outsourcing Deal

The billing and CRM firm is hammering out details of a five-year, $700 million outsourcing deal with the carrier, a published report says.

ATG Buys Out Leases

The e-commerce and CRM software maker will pay $9.7M to break longterm leases for surplus space in Cambridge, Mass., San Francisco and Toronto.

iPhrase Adds Analytics

The Cambridge, Mass., search specialist intros new software to help companies improve their Web site customer service sections.

BT Chooses KANA eCRM Software

British Telecom installs software from the Menlo Park, Calf., company to direct and analyze customer 20,000 customer e-mails per week.

Cisco Sets Sights on Call Centers

The San Jose, Calif., telecom gear maker upgrades call center software to help companies better manage traffic over advanced networks.

DirecTV Broadband Makes Customer Transition Deals

DirecTV Broadband, which is ending service next month, inks deals with SBC Yahoo!, BellSouth and Verizon so customers won't be left in the lurch.

Bullhorn Trumpets New Investment

The Boston maker of CRM software for the staffing industry raises a second round of financing.

QAS Lands CCSC

The Boston maker of software to manage mailing lists adds Consumer Credit Counseling Services, a San Francisco provider of money management info., to its customer list.

Watch Hill Adds Wireless, CRM Vets

The Providence, R.I., consulting firm hires a Yankee Group and Akibia for key posts.

Viisage Lures ATG Exec

The Littleton, Mass., maker of face-recognition technology taps the Cambridge, Mass., CRM firm's former COO for its top job.

Applix Adds IT Exec

The Westborough, Mass., business software maker names a 20-year industry vet to oversee business intelligence technology.

ATG Sees Opportunity in Japan

Following contracts with HP Japan and others, the Cambridge, Mass., firm plans a local language version of its CRM software.

Innovent Buys Reportability.com

Expanding its offerings, the Los Angeles IT consultant acquires its Boston counterpart for an undisclosed sum.

Quadstone Cements Management

The Boston CRM software maker's 9-month search for a CEO ends with the appointment of Paul Kelly, formerly with Portal Software.

Davox Completes Name Change to Concerto

The customer interactions management solutions provider begins trading under its new symbol.

France Telecom Taps ATG's CRM Portal

The French telecommunications giant will use ATG's Enterprise Commerce and Portal Suite to sell mobile phones and service subscriptions.

Citizens Banks on EMC

With new security threats emerging daily, the Providence, R.I., financial services giant expands its relationship with the Hopkinton, Mass., storage leader to safeguard customer information.

170 Systems Tallies $14M

The Cambridge, Mass., maker of business process management software raises first-round financing for expansion and sales and marketing.

ADS Closes ASP Subsidiary

The Quincy, Mass., IT consultant and systems integrator for the financial service firms, shutters EarningsInsights, a provider of CRM software for small banks.

Watch Hill Scopes Acquisition

The Providence, R.I., customer relationship management advisor buys Encore Consulting Group to serve as the foundation of its new division.

Wheelhouse Adds Ex-EasyAsk Pres.

The Burlington, Mass., maker of CRM software hires Frank Chisholm as senior vice president of sales and marketing.

Stream Plans Fourth Canadian Center

The Canton, Mass., provider of online and off-line help desk services will build a new facility, employing up to 900 people, in London, Ontario.

Financial Firms to Web Users: Help Yourself

Seeking competitive advantage, banks, brokerages and mutual funds will triple spending on Web self-service software over the next three years, according to a Newton, Mass., market researcher.

CRM Consolidation: Pegasystems Buys 1mind

The Cambridge, Mass., firm will pay $3.6 million in stock for the technology and customers of its Concord, N.H., rival.

ATG Lands Best Buy

The Cambridge, Mass., e-commerce, portal, and CRM software maker wins a contract to power the electronics retailer's Web site.

iPhrase Taps Ex- Bluestone Exec

The Cambridge, Mass., maker of search and retrieval software names Joseph Krivickas as president and CEO, succeeding founder Noam Ben-Ozer.

EasyAsk Suits Talbots

The Littleton, Mass., developer of search technology for e-commerce sites, signs a customer deal with the Hingham, Mass., clothing retailer and catalog company.

ATG Hires Overseas VP

The Cambridge, Mass., e-commerce software maker names Bernard Girbal, a 21-year industry veteran, to oversee international operations.

Report: CRM Growth Stagnates

Spending on customer relationship management technology will remain flat until 2004, as companies look to conserve cash and buy only when bargains present themselves, Newton, Mass.-based Meridian Research predicts.

Peapod, Stop & Shop Produce Refunds

Under pressure from the Mass. AG's office, the online grocer and supermarket chain earmark $200,000 for Boston-area customers who complained about unclear pricing.

Kana Secures Additional Cash

The maker of customer relationship management software with a major presence in Manchester, N.H., raises $55 million in financing.

Gazelle Gets Green

The Newton, Mass., provider of customer relationship management software for restaurants, has raised $3.25 million in VC financing.

Applix Seeks Customers in Asia

The Westborough, Mass., CRM software maker releases versions of its product in Japanese, Korean and Chinese to serve companies that are based in, or have significant operations, in Asia.

VCs Raise HotRoof

The Great Barrington, Mass., maker of software allowing customers to customize video content, banks $825K for product development and sales efforts.

iPhrase Talks Up LexisNexis Deal

The Cambridge, Mass., maker of of software allowing users to pose questions in plain English, expands its relationship with the Dayton, Ohio, provider of information to legal, corporate, government clients.

SPSS Pays $44M for NetGenesis

The Chicago maker of data mining software buys the Cambridge, Mass., maker of customer relationship management software in an all stock deal.

ATG Adds AltaVista Vet

The Cambridge, Mass., customer relationship management software maker taps Ilene H. Lang, AltaVista's first CEO, to fill a director vacancy.

RBC Royal Bank Taps Unica

The Canadian financial services company picks software from the Lincoln, Mass., firm to run its Visa marketing campaigns.

Xchange Secures Funding of $20.5M

The Boston maker of CRM software says the financing will help the company achieve profitability in the fourth quarter.

Escher Group Opens U.K. HQ

The Cambridge, Mass., provider of peer-to-peer messaging and data management software for post offices expands to accommodate a beefed-up customer service staff.

Relizon Will Buy Epsilon

The Dayton, Ohio, CRM specialist will buy the Burlington, Mass., marking software firm, for an undisclosed sum.

Art Technology Group Cuts Estimates, Workers

The Cambridge, Mass., e-business software maker lays off 20 percent of its staff and will miss Q2 financial targets as customers' fail to loosen their IT pursestrings.

iPhrase Talks Up V.C.s

The Cambridge, Mass., maker of customer service software, will use the new backing for corporate growth and product enhancements.

Watch Hill Spies First Round

The Providence, R.I., CRM consulting firm raises $3 million from Ascent Venture Partners of Boston.

InsightShare Sees Green

The Andover, Mass., provider of collaborative CRM software and services uses $13.8 million in financing to ready its product for a late-summer launch.