Ambient Also Leverages Angel.com Technology for New Customer Order Line for Decreased Caller Wait Times
McLean, Va. (March 22, 2007) –
Angel.com, a leading provider of on-demand call center and Interactive Voice Response (IVR) solutions and a division of MicroStrategy® Incorporated (NASDAQ: MSTR), today announced that consumer products manufacturer Ambient Devices has selected Angel.com for a Virtual Call Center to manage customer support and new orders for its growing line of innovative products.
Ambient Devices, maker of the popular Brookstone 5-Day Wireless Weather Forecaster, the Ambient Orb and other devices that make Internet information available on everyday objects, turned to Angel.com for a new IVR solution to route and monitor calls, and answer basic customer queries. Using Angel.com’s online toolkit, Ambient Devices created a Virtual Call Center that provides many benefits, including a reduction in caller wait time, more efficient use of live agents, and greater visibility into customer needs.
For customers, the solution provides a streamlined method to order products and receive basic technical support and advanced personalization options. Supported products include the 5-Day Weather Forecaster, a post-it sized device that automatically receives real-time weather information from AccuWeather.com.
Prior to the Angel.com Virtual Call Center, Ambient Devices used a customer support line that lacked both interactivity and an advanced queue process. The new IVR solution – created in less than a week and rolled out to support the 2006 holiday season and beyond – has decreased wait times and freed agents to spend valuable time working with consumers to order products or receive more advanced technical support.
“Using the Angel.com system, our customers can now have basic questions answered in an automated way without delay, and in the process we have gained a better understanding of their needs,” said Pritesh Gandhi, Ambient Devices Vice President of Operations. “We are really impressed with the ease of use of the tools and pleased that we could create a new system that interacts seamlessly with our data.”
In addition to the benefits of a more efficient support line, the Angel.com Virtual Call Center added immediate value by incorporating an automated product order and payment line – tasks previously handled by live agents.
“This is a great example of an effective IVR solution,” said Angel.com CEO Michael Zirngibl. “Ambient Devices’ customers benefit from an effective, streamlined process, and the company benefits by having happier customers, reduced hold times, and a new and growing set of data to analyze and leverage.”
About Ambient Devices
Ambient Devices brings online information and intelligence to the offline world. The Company’s technology enables effortless access to information, such as real-time weather forecasts, stock market activity, sports scores, and much more – without a PC or internet connection.
Ambient’s products include the Five-Day Forecaster, a device that automatically provides a real-time local forecast from AccuWeather.com; and the Orb, a frosted-glass ball that glows different colors to communicate stock market trends, traffic congestion, pollen forecasts, energy pricing and more. Ambient-powered products are available at national retailers such as Brookstone, and through Ambient’s licensee partners such as LG.
Ambient Devices was founded in 2001. The company is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, close to the MIT Media Lab where Ambient technologies were originally developed. The company is privately held. For more information, please visit http://www.ambientdevices.com.
About Angel.com
Angel.com is a leading provider of on-demand call center and Interactive Voice Response (IVR) solutions, which enable organizations of all sizes to quickly deploy powerful telephony applications. More than 1,600 customers turn to Angel.com’s proprietary Voice Site technology to power customer service and marketing phone numbers using intelligent speech recognition that can automate most phone-based interactions. With an innovative Internet-based solution that requires no investment in hardware, software, or human resources, Angel.com balances the need for high quality communications with affordable pay-as-you-go pricing. For more information, visit http://www.angel.com.
About MicroStrategy
Founded in 1989, MicroStrategy is a global leader in business intelligence (BI) technology. MicroStrategy provides integrated reporting, analysis, and monitoring software that helps leading organizations worldwide make better business decisions every day. Companies choose MicroStrategy for its advanced technical capabilities, sophisticated analytics, and superior data and user scalability. More information about MicroStrategy (NASDAQ: MSTR) is available at http://www.microstrategy.com.
MicroStrategy, Angel.com are either trademarks or registered trademarks of MicroStrategy Incorporated in the United States and certain other countries. Other product and company names mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
Source: MicroStrategy