COSMOCOM POWERS KT'S CONTACT CENTER ON-DEMAND 

Teams with Microsoft and Bridgetec to deliver Hosted Contact Center service

MELVILLE, NY – May 6, 2003 – KT Corp., the leading telecommunications provider in Korea, has launched a new contact center offering for its business customers called Contact+. The new service, one of the first implementations of the Hosted Contact Center solution, is based on CosmoCom’s contact center platform and built on Microsoft products. Korean systems integrator Bridgetec is implementing the platform for KT. KT’s new Contact+ service makes multimedia, multi-channel customer care available "on-demand" via network-based infrastructure, without requiring the initial investment and ongoing maintenance of an in-house platform. The solution is flexible and highly scalable, with the ability to grow and evolve with the needs of customers.

"Customer service is a competitive mandate for most companies, but the cost of building and maintaining contact center infrastructure can be a major obstacle. We saw an opportunity to provide hosted contact center services to our enterprise customers over the KT network," said Dr. Myung-Soo Rhee, Managing Director for KT Corp. "This helps our enterprise customers improve their customer service and creates an exciting new line of business for KT."

Hosted Contact Center Solution

The Hosted Contact Center (HCC) solution initiative is sponsored by CosmoCom and Microsoft to help service providers increase the revenue potential of their IP networks by offering rich contact center services on demand. The solution is built on CosmoCall Universe™, CosmoCom’s all-IP contact center platform and the Microsoft Windows Platform, including use of Microsoft Exchange 2000 Server and SQL Server 2000 Enterprise Edition.

"KT is taking advantage of the lucrative Hosted Contact Center opportunity to help businesses develop cost-effective customer care solutions that are as good as or better than similar services provided by an expensive, in-house contact center," said Ari Sonesh, CEO and president at CosmoCom. "CosmoCall Universe was designed with this market in mind, and we are very happy to welcome KT to the growing list of Universe-based service providers."

To read the full release, visit www.cosmocom.com/pressreleases/pressreleases2003/pr05062003.htm

For more information on the Microsoft Hosted Contact Center partner-led solution, visit http://www.microsoft.com/serviceproviders/hostedcontactcenter/

PASS IT-CONSULTING LAUNCHES COSMOCOM-BASED CONTACT CENTER SOLUTION

Relationship Expands CosmoCom's Access to European Contact Center Markets

MELVILLE, NY – April 14, 2003 – CosmoCom announced today that German systems integrator PASS IT-Consulting has launched a new consulting practice based on CosmoCom's flagship product, CosmoCall Universe™. The relationship opens new distribution channels for CosmoCom's all-IP contact center platform in central Europe. Based near Frankfurt, PASS will focus initially on Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The agreement also extends to PASS's subsidiary in India.

"Companies throughout central Europe have been investing more in technologies that improve customer service in recent years. Now they're beginning to introduce IP technology into their mission critical contact centers," said Michael Esser, Division Manager of Business Communication Solutions for PASS in Germany. "We're pleased to be bringing CosmoCom's market leading CosmoCall Universe product to this important market at this critical time."

"We're happy to have been selected by PASS as the technology of choice for their new contact center practice," said Ari Sonesh, CEO for CosmoCom. "We're seeing more and more systems integrators choose CosmoCall Universe as their platform for the future. PASS is not only one of central Europe's leading systems integrators, but one of the leading visionaries for IP technology."

To read the full release, visit www.cosmocom.com/pressreleases/PressReleases2003/pr04142003.htm

WINDOWS AND .NET MAGAZINE NAMES COSMOCOM A LISA 2003 WINNER

	CosmoCom was awarded the 2003 Long Island Software Award (LISA) for Communication. The award was judged by the staff of Windows and .NET Magazine and Penton Media. Presented by the Long Island Software and Technology Network (LISTnet), the LISA awards recognize excellence in software development by Long Island-based companies. "We are delighted and proud that Windows and .NET Magazine have selected us to receive this award. The Long Island technology industry continues to grow, and we are encouraged to see more and more local technology companies achieving the kind of global presence and visibility that we have been able to achieve," remarked Paul Strohmenger, CFO as he accepted the award for CosmoCom. "It reflects the strength and vitality of the technology industry on Long Island." The awards ceremony took place on May 6th at the Long Island Business & Technology Center in Great River, New York. Penton Media, Inc. and the staff of Windows & .NET magazine judged this year's awards.
(l-r) Alexandr Denisov, Sr. Software Developer, Pavel Bochman, VP Software Development; Boris Skidan, Director Development; Leron Polani, VP Corporate Affairs; and Paul Strohmenger, CFO

During the past decade, the call center has been a bonanza for the professional services industry. Every call center project triggers a lot of work for the consultants – let’s just call them “MegaConsult.” First the feasibility and initial planning study. Then the CRM selection and implementation and the CIM selection and implementation, with CIM often meaning separate selection and implementation for ACD and IVR. Finally and greatest of all, the project of knitting these three elements together into a coherent whole. It’s no wonder that the professional services cost of a serious call center project is measured in multiples of the cost of the underlying hardware and software products it includes. The figures typically run to 3x, 4x, 5x, and more. A cost of 10x is certainly not unheard of.

And that is not the worst of it. The worst of it is that these expensive projects are risky and prone to failure. The worst of it is that after all this, the customer calls, gets the IVR, keys (or speaks) his customer/credit card/account/confirmation/record locator number, and later reaches a live agent who says, “Hello, what is your customer/credit card/account/confirmation/record locator number?”

If you have ever said to yourself, “there must be a better way,” you are not alone. But until recently, not many have succeeded in finding it. A bonanza for the consultants, a burden and all-too-often a sad story for the customers – all this is about to change because of the “next big thing” in the contact center industry, CIRM. CIRM, or Customer Interaction and Relationship Management, is the combination of CIM, typically the ACD and IVR components of a contact center, with CRM, the customer database accessed by agents in the contact center. A slightly catchier phrase that captures the essence of this important new combination is, simply, “Contact Center in a Box.”

Learn more at www.cosmocom.com/Solutions/CIRM.htm 

 WHAT IS CONTACT CENTER ON-DEMAND?

An opportunity for carriers to realize the potential of NGN

While Next Generation Networks (NGNs) have promised the delivery of new, high-margin enhanced services, the NGN reality today is mainly one of basic services competing on price, and unsustainable opportunistic services like dialup internet offload. Now many NGN deployments are indefinitely delayed. Carriers are looking for “killer apps” that realize the promise of the NGN technologies. They are also recognizing that NGN infrastructure can be understood not as a complete replacement for the current circuit infrastructure, but as a complementary overlay that enables specific new services.

Contact Center On-Demand (sometimes also known as hosted contact center or network-based contact center) is just such an opportunity. Contact Center On-Demand might just be that “killer app.” There is a strong need for contact center solutions, especially among small and mid-sized enterprises looking to retain business through high-touch customer care. To survive, they need service that is on a par with or better than the service of large competitors with complex in-house contact centers. But they often cannot afford the high investments and on-going maintenance costs of such a system. They can, however, afford reasonably priced hosted services from a trusted carrier paid for in manageable monthly increments. And that is a completely new revenue stream for carriers.

Learn more at www.cosmocom.com/Solutions/ContactCenterOn-Demand.htm

In last month's issue of Friends of CosmoCom, the link in the story on "What is Contact Center On-Demand?" mistakenly pointed to our Contact Center in-a-Box page. We apologize for any confusion caused and hope that this month's stories clarify these two important opportunities.

THE COSMOCOM STORY – WATCH THE VIDEO NOW!

Have you visited CosmoCom's website recently? If you did, you may have noticed a big change to the home page. We've listened to your comments and have been hard at work to make our site work harder for us – and for you. The result is a home page that is not only more graphically pleasing, but one that more quickly gives visitors a better overview of who we are and what we do. In the weeks to come, we will be reorganizing some of the menus to further streamline the site.

One exciting addition to the site is the Explore Our Universe section. This new section is a series of buttons that allow visitors to get and stay acquainted with CosmoCom and our products. Here you can find our popular Flash Product Tour, our Newsletter, "Contact Us Live" and the brand new streaming version of the CosmoCom corporate video. If you haven't seen it yet, be sure to click on "Our Story" and take a look.

We hope you find the new look pleasing and user-friendly, and we welcome your comments!

COSMOCOM IN THE NEWS

Rockwell FirstPoint Contact Delivers on its Seamless IP Strategy
TMCnet - May 8, 2003
Rockwell FirstPoint Contact will be introducing the latest version of its FirstPoint Business Edition solution on May 16, 2003. The new IP-enabled solution for the small- to mid-size contact center is further proof of the company's execution against its Seamless IP program announced in late 2002. This product launch follows on the heels of the recent partnership established between Rockwell FirstPoint Contact and CosmoCom, a leading provider of SIP-based IP contact center technology.

Korea Telecom to Offer Hosted Call Centre Services
Total Telecom - May 5, 2003

TRADESHOW NEWS: COMING ATTRACTIONS

Meet CosmoCom's CEO in Redmond or France!

Ari Sonesh, CosmoCom's CEO, will be at Microsoft Connections this week and SeCA, in France, next week. He would be happy to meet with any "Friends of CosmoCom." Please contact pr@cosmocom.com if you'd like to schedule an appointment to meet with Ari at either of these events.

DID YOU KNOW?

A new Allied Business Intelligence, Inc. study addresses the current and future landscape for hosted VoIP applications. It includes discussions of leading vendors, market positioning and sales strategies, and competitive factors. Deployments of advanced hosted VoIP services have been slow, but are expected to grow significantly, beginning in 2005. The market for advanced hosted VoIP services will grow from $46 million in 2001 to $36.5 billion in 2008. The leading services will be hosted IP-PBX and Contact Centers.
-Allied Business Intelligence, Inc. "Advanced IP Voice Services Market Forecasts and Trends for VoIP-based Advanced Services: IP-PBXs, Contact Centers, Video Conferencing and Unified Communications", April 2003

Mexico Shows Great Promise for Call Center Investment
Mexico has emerged as a stable and financially practical alternative for call center investment. With staggering growth forecasts indicating that the number of agent positions will rise from nearly 51,000 in 2002 to over 190,000 in 2007, Mexico is one of a select number of countries that has successfully established itself as a viable offshore locale for servicing Spanish-speaking customers.
While Mexico represents a sizeable portion of the total call center market in CALA, with over 200,000 agent positions across the Caribbean and Latin America, there are a number of additional opportunities to exploit. By 2007, the number of agent positions will climb to over 670,000 and while overall growth for the region is promising, an array of challenges facing some of these nations may stifle near-term success.
-Datamonitor, "Opportunities in Caribbean and Latin American Call Center Markets to 2007", March, 2003.

TRYING TO KEEP UP WITH THE JARGON? READ THESE!

Newton's Telcom Dictionary. Covering Telecommunications, Networking, Information Technology, Computing and the Internet. More than 21,000 terms defined. With the release of its 19th edition in February 2003, the dictionary now contains definitions for over 21,000 terms...new words have been added and definitions of old words have been expanded and improved upon.

Communications Systems and Networks. 3rd edition, published in August 2002.

Telecom Management Crash Course: A Telecom Company Survival Guide. 1st edition, published June 2002.

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Editor-in-Chief: Laura Fader
Graphics & Design: Kevin Simms