Jacada Announces General Availability of Jacada® WorkSpace 5.0
Leading unified desktop for customer service operations now available
on IBM WebSphere Application Server
ATLANTA – September 23, 2008 – Jacada Ltd. (Nasdaq: JCDA), a leading provider of unified desktop and process optimization solutions for customer service operations, today announced the general availability of Jacada® WorkSpace 5.0. An award-winning unified desktop solution, Jacada WorkSpace helps companies transform their call center operations by providing an “intelligent” view of customer data to help resolve customer issues more quickly.
Originally launched in September 2005, Jacada WorkSpace has fast become the preferred unified desktop for contact centers around the world. Leading companies such as Cox Communications, O2 UK, Nationwide Insurance, Harrah’s Entertainment and Lillian Vernon have selected Jacada WorkSpace as their strategic desktop solution to simplify and automate customer service processes in order to improve the customer experience while reducing operational costs.
A major enhancement in Jacada WorkSpace 5.0 introduces support for the IBM WebSphere Application Server Platform. Initial releases of Jacada WorkSpace supported the BEA WebLogic® application server only. Jacada WorkSpace 5.0 is certified on IBM WebSphere Application Server 6.1 and utilizes the Eclipse-based IBM Rational Application Developer toolkit.
“Our initial go-to-market strategy targeted telecommunications companies which face significant customer service challenges due to the complexity of their call center environments,” stated Paul O’Callaghan, chief executive officer for Jacada. “We initially chose BEA WebLogic because, historically, they have held the market share lead in the telecommunications industry. Today, IBM WebSphere is the clear market leader in the financial services sector and other key target verticals where Jacada has established a position of pre-eminence. Our support for the IBM WebSphere platform, combined with our growing activity with the IBM Global Services business unit, should help drive a wider and faster adoption of our unified desktop solution within these major global organizations that strive to improve customer service.”
Jacada customers have welcomed the new platform support. For example, Nationwide Insurance has selected Jacada WorkSpace as their strategic customer service desktop for their Property and Casualty business. By implementing the Jacada unified desktop, Nationwide Insurance plans to simplify and automate customer service processes, which will help reduce operational costs and deliver a superior customer experience.
“Support for IBM WebSphere was an important part of our decision to go with Jacada,” said Srinivas Koushik, chief information officer for Nationwide Insurance. “We have a significant commitment to the IBM WebSphere Software Platform. Combining the quick time-to-market capabilities of the Jacada unified desktop solution with the leading application server environment from IBM will provide Nationwide with a robust, scalable and high-availability customer service solution that should significantly advance the productivity and effectiveness of our call center operations.”
In addition to deploying on IBM WebSphere Application Server, Jacada WorkSpace 5.0 can now leverage the SOA capabilities and integration solutions found in the IBM WebSphere Software Platform, including:
· IBM WebSphere ESB and WebSphere Message Broker
· IBM WebSphere Integration Developer, and
· IBM WebSphere Process Server
“The need to improve customer service to maintain a competitive edge has never been more important for our clients in nearly all industry segments,” said Sandy Carter, IBM Vice President for WebSphere and SOA. “Jacada WorkSpace is an innovative, rapid time-to-value solution that helps IBM clients improve the effectiveness and efficiency of their call center operations. The interoperability of Jacada Workspace with the WebSphere Software Platform allows our customers to maximize their existing SOA infrastructure, helping to generate a significant return on investment.”
Jacada WorkSpace 5.0 also introduces additional capabilities, which address the growing need for advanced unified desktop solutions for customer service operations. These features include:
· Multi-channel/vendor support for multi-site operations: support for voice, fax, chat and email channels in a multi-vendor environment with asynchronous state management, including the ability to support multi-channel configurations across multi-site call center locations
· Support for Genesys® Open Media and Avaya® Application Enablement Services
· Globalization support for Universal Agent implementations: views and scripts can be individually and dynamically configured for agent and customer-level language preferences
· Multi-threaded support for Desktop Automation of nested applications: multiple applications “nested” (placed within tabs) in Jacada WorkSpace can now be navigated and controlled simultaneously using the process optimization capabilities in Jacada® Fusion.
· New API set to facilitate customization by service delivery partners
· Enhanced auditing infrastructure
· Enhanced Supervisor-to-Agent messaging
About Jacada
Jacada is a leading global provider of unified desktop and process optimization solutions that simplify and automate customer service processes. By bridging disconnected systems into a single, intelligent workspace, Jacada solutions create greater operational efficiency and increase agent and customer satisfaction. Founded in 1990, Jacada operates globally with offices in Atlanta, Georgia; Herzliya, Israel; London, England; and Munich, Germany. Jacada can be reached at www.jacada.com.
This news release may contain forward-looking statements as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The words “may,” “could,” “would,” “will,” “believe,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “plan,” and similar expressions or variations thereof are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of the future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Company’s ability to control. Actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors including the performance and continued acceptance of our products, general economic conditions and other Risk Factors specifically identified in our reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company undertakes no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement for events or circumstances after the date on which such statement is made. Jacada is a trademark of Jacada Inc. All other brands or product names are trademarks of their respective owners.
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