WITS Witness Systems (MM)

Company extends commitment to delivering industry-leading solutions focused on workforce forecasting, scheduling and long-term planning, following its first quarter combination with Blue Pumpkin Software; Advancements include intra-day management, additional configurable alerts and advanced multi-site management Witness Systems (NASDAQ: WITS), a leading global provider of workforce optimization software and services, today announced enhanced capabilities to its workforce management software, following the company's first quarter combination with Blue Pumpkin Software. The enhancements are available as part of the standard delivery for the company's pre-packaged workforce management solution, which includes key performance indicator (KPI) scorecards and actionable learning, as announced last month. Exhibiting at this week's Call Center Demo & Conference, the company will demonstrate its complete workforce optimization solution, including recent customer-driven enhancements made to its core forecasting and scheduling software. The enhancements further strengthen the software's existing capabilities, increasing customer benefits through superior intra-day management, new configurable alerts, advanced multi-site management, renewed support for the Oracle database and easier upgrade management. In addition, customers that have already deployed the company's robust workforce management software have a growth path to Witness Systems' pre-packaged workforce optimization solution, which includes workforce management software, along with performance management and e-learning capabilities. For users, this translates into the ability to identify trends, recognize top performers and quickly focus on key areas in need of improvement, as well as enhance agent competence in product knowledge, call handling and system navigation. By fusing performance management and e-learning functionality with the workforce optimization anchor of workforce management, the company is providing customers with an entry point to a complete workforce optimization solution. "We remain highly committed to workforce management as an integral part of our workforce optimization solution - which is breaking new ground for organizations striving to manage their personnel effectively, as well as capitalize on the valuable information captured through customer interactions. Today, and into the future, we are intensifying our investment in workforce management, as well as continuing to work closely with our forward-thinking customers for their added insight and feedback," said John Bourne, senior vice president of product management for Witness Systems. Today, customers continue to gain measurable advantages and efficiencies tied to Witness Systems' workforce management solution's intra-day management, alert rules and notification, multi-site management and Oracle database capabilities - all of which are presently available. Intra-day Management Improves Planning Despite the best of plans, contact centers must often make intra-day adjustments to account for unforeseen circumstances - such as power outages, for example - that cause service levels and key metrics to deviate from plan. Enhancements to Witness Systems' intra-day management capabilities allow users to quickly identify, understand and proactively resolve variations to plan, ensuring service goals are consistently met during remaining intervals of the day. Leveraging the software's browser-based interface and the most up-to-date ACD statistics, users can monitor and analyze key metric trends to reforecast and reschedule, and agents can be given voluntary time off, or scheduled overtime, to correct for overstaffing or understaffing situations. Configurable Alerts Offer Proactive Results To manage to excellence and make better decisions faster, a first and critical step is being able to identify, alert and notify designated personnel of variations to plan and potential problems. The software includes rules for system and organizational alerts. As part of Witness Systems' intra-day management, users also can establish campaign-level, configurable alerts - as well as queue specific alerts - to monitor multiple contact center metrics. Advanced Multi-Site Management Delivers More Network Control Building on its strength of managing multi-site and virtual contact centers, Witness Systems' workforce management includes capabilities to manage multi-site operations easily and effectively, allocating contacts on a percentage basis to different sites. Multi-site management is designed to accommodate centers' operating structures, allowing for a single point of control over the entire network, as well as decision making at individual sites. With multi-site management, users can roll up information from sites to present a complete picture of the entire contact center operation. Oracle Database Support Customers also continue to have confidence in the solution's support of the industry standard databases: Oracle and Microsoft SQL Server. Operating on these proven standards, versus proprietary databases, provides yet another level of assurance for the company's customers. About Witness Systems Witness Systems (NASDAQ: WITS) is a leading global provider of workforce optimization software and services. The company's solutions - which play a strategic role in the customer interaction centers of Global 2000 and small- and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) worldwide - also are deployed in IP Telephony and back office environments, and throughout the extended enterprise, including branch offices. Witness Systems' software is comprised of quality monitoring, compliance, high-volume and IP Telephony recording solutions, as well as workforce management, actionable learning and performance management applications. The company's solutions enable organizations to optimize their people, processes and technology throughout the enterprise. Witness Systems' customers benefit from an integrated business consulting, implementation and training methodology that supports a rapid deployment, enabling them to drive revenue, reduce operational costs, and achieve greater customer retention and loyalty. For additional information about Witness Systems, visit www.witness.com. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-looking Statements: Information in this release that involves Witness Systems' expectations, plans, intentions or strategies regarding the future are forward-looking statements that are not facts and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. They are identified by words such as "anticipates," "expects," "intends," "plans," "believes," "estimates," and similar expressions. These statements are based upon information available to Witness Systems as of the date of this release, and the company assumes no obligation to update any such forward-looking statement. Forward-looking statements believed true when made may ultimately prove to be incorrect. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors, some of which are beyond our control and may cause actual results to differ materially from our current expectations. Some of the factors that could cause actual future results to differ materially from current expectations include fluctuations in customer demand and the timing of orders; the company's ability to manage its growth; the risk of new product introductions and customer acceptance of new products; the rapid technological change which characterizes the company's markets; the risks associated with international sales as the company expands its markets, including the risks associated with foreign currency fluctuations; the ability of the company to complete and integrate successfully any acquisitions or investments it may make; and the ability of the company to compete successfully in the future, as well as other risks identified under the caption "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" in the company's annual report on Form 10-K for the year ending December 31, 2004, and any other reports filed from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Witness, eQuality and the Witness logo are United States registered trademarks of Witness Systems, Inc., protected by laws of the U.S. and other countries. All other trademarks mentioned in this document are the property of their respective owners.