ININ Interactive Intelligence Grp., Inc.

Full Credit to Cetelem's New IP Telephony System LONDON and INDIANAPOLIS, March 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Retail credit company, Cetelem (UK) Ltd., has successfully integrated an IP-based business telephony system with support from Interactive Intelligence Inc. master distributor, IDL (Interactive Distribution Ltd.). Based around Interactive Intelligence software, Customer Interaction Center(R) (CIC), the new system successfully withstood the demands of the retail sector's peak trading over Christmas and the New Year, including Boxing Day (Dec. 26) -- the busiest day of the year for retail transactions. (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19990914/IILOGO ) CIC provides interaction management for contact centers and other customer-driven organizations. It can work over multiple sites and offers unified messaging; multimedia and skills-based routing; interactive voice response; e-mail response management; Web chat and callback; screen pop; centralized administration; and supervisory tools. Cetelem (UK) Ltd., a subsidiary of Europe's leading provider of retail credit, installed CIC in November, just ahead of its busiest retailing period -- Christmas and the New Year. The system exceeded all expectations, processing well over 60,000 calls in December alone. CIC replaced what was originally a state-of-the-art voice over IP system from 3Com using NBX with Apropos CRM. When the two systems stopped running well together, Cetelem had three choices: to keep either the 3Com systemor the Apropos system and change their partner, or start with a blank sheet. 3Com introduced Interactive Intelligence, and Apropos suggested partnering with Mitel. After careful consideration, the 3Com and Interactive Intelligence combination was selected, to be implemented by IDL. The fully resilient system serves 200 inbound and outbound call center agents based in separate locations in Wallington and Coventry. Information from France, where the company's corporate head office is based, is accessible from both sites, and the system is fully integrated with back office functions such as credit checks, and with Aspect Workflow software, which helps management predict the number of agents required to support operations. "Although we are using advanced technology, and perhaps take for granted the system's sophistication, our over-riding concern was reliability," said John Morris, head of information technology for Cetelem UK. "The software needed to stand up to heavy usage, supply dependable information in real-time, and not disrupt our operations. It has been extremely well received. Our agents have settled into using it well, our supervisors are delighted with additional functions, and we had no need to fall back on our old system, whichwe had kept live as backup over our busiest trading period." As CIC has wide inbuilt functionality as standard, Morris also feels that the company has future-proofed its system. "At our next stage, we expect to start seeing the really big productivity gains," he said. Cetelem plans to expand the IVR usage to help with customer service functions such as balance inquiries, and will introduce dialer functions to improve call center agent productivity. The system has been successfully tested by a partner with a quarter of a million users, and its underlying architecture means that Cetelem is not tied to a single supplier for future developments. About Cetelem (UK) Ltd. Cetelem have been the European leader in retail finance for 50 years, operating in 19 countries. In the UK, Cetelem has been operating since 1999 and has over 250 people in two locations. About IDL IDL is part of the UK-based Mettoni Ltd. group of companies. The company is a Master Distributor for Interactive Intelligence in the UK and Ireland, being one of the early adopters of the Interactive Intelligence product portfolio (1998). The IDL team comprises voice application design, integration, implementation and support teams, and boasts almost 20 years of experience in the voice applications field. (http://www.idl-mettoni.com/ ). About Interactive Intelligence Inc. Interactive Intelligence Inc. (NASDAQ:ININ) is a global developer of Microsoft-based business communications solutions. It develops software for IP telephony, contact center automation, unified communications, and customer self-service. The company was founded in 1994 and has more than 1,000 customers worldwide. Recent awards include Software Magazine's 2003 Top 500 Global Software and Services Companies, Network Computing Magazine's 2003 Editor's Choice, Internet Telephony Magazine's 2003 Editor's Choice and Product of the Year, Customer Inter@ction Solutions Magazine's 2003 Product of the Year, and ContactCenterWorld.com's 2004 Members' Choice. Interactive Intelligence employs approximately 350 people and is headquartered in Indianapolis, Ind. The company has 12 offices throughout North America, Europe and Asia. Its telephone number is +1 317.872.3000; on the Web: http://www.inin.com/ . This release contains certain forward-looking statements that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially are described in the company's SEC filings. Interactive Intelligence Inc. is the owner of the marks INTERACTIVE INTELLIGENCE, its associated LOGO and numerous other marks. All other trademarks mentioned in this document are the property of their respective owners. Contacts: Tony Martin Marketing Director, EMEA Interactive Intelligence Inc. +44 (0) 20 8867 3675 Claire Thompson Zed PR T: +44 (0) 118 944 0394 M: +44 (0) 7771 817015 Christine Holley Director, Market Communications, the Americas Interactive Intelligence Inc. +1 317.715.8220 http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/19990914/IILOGO http://photoarchive.ap.org/ DATASOURCE: Interactive Intelligence Inc. CONTACT: Tony Martin, Marketing Director, EMEA, for Interactive Intelligence Inc., +44 (0) 20 8867 3675, ; or Claire Thompson of Zed PR, T: +44 (0) 118 944 0394, M: +44 (0) 7771 817015, ; or Christine Holley, Director, Market Communications, the Americas of Interactive Intelligence Inc., +1-317-715-8220, Web site: http://www.inin.com/ http://www.idl-mettoni.com/

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