Partnership aimed at offering robust customer interaction solutions for call centres in the UAE

July 06, 2010

Sage Software, the leading global supplier of ERP, CRM and HRM solutions to medium and large organisations, has inked a strategic agreement with Voxtron Software Solutions, an international group specialising in delivering contact centre software with aims to offer robust, customised solutions for call centres in the UAE. As a result of the alliance, SageCRM, an easy-to-use, fast-to-deploy on-site solution that allows enterprise-wide access to vital customer information, will now be offered as an integrated solution with Voxtron’s IVR, ACD, email, Chat, Fax, SMS and Dialler modules.
 
Given the strength demonstrated by the UAE’s call centre industry amidst the recession, Sage Software and Voxtron are setting their sights on the prospects within the Gulf, with focus on helping call centres improve operational performance, create and retain customers, and raise customer advocacy by utilising new technologies. With Voxtron’s products serving as the basis for tailor-made solutions designed to improve the interaction with their customers, and Sage Software’s expertise in providing real solutions that boost organisations’ efficiency and competitive advantage, the partnership will enable both companies to offer pre-integrated Screen POPS, Preview/Predictive diallers, SMS/Chat/Fax and email integrations to regional call centres.

“We aim to support the continuous growth of the UAE call centre industry, whose potential has shone in the face of the massive challenges during the global crisis where it has remained one of the most stable sectors in the massively affected regional market,” said Reggie Fernandes – Sales Manager Gulf Region, Sage Software Middle East. “In line with our commitment to provide call centre companies in the UAE with real solutions that can help them achieve better returns, our partnership with Voxtron will ensure a rapid and maximum ROI while addressing their every requirement. By offering a comprehensive range of customised customer interaction solutions for call centres in the region, we anticipate significant opportunities to open up in this segment.”

Merging sales and marketing with customer care through the call centre, Sage Software and Voxtron’s CRM-based customer interaction solutions can take over various communication tasks such as skill-based routing of incoming phone calls, mails, faxes and web-chats; conferencing and recording; and intelligent routing for service organisations, including 24/7 support and time based escalation systems. Leveraging Voxtron’s powerful and flexible communication capabilities, the solutions are highly scalable to match the customers’ requirements, thereby making them ideal for quality outbound contact centres and custom IVR projects.

“Collaborating with Sage Software allows us to work with an ideal CRM product that goes very well with our strategy of offering cost effective integrated contact centre solutions to regional clients. SageCRM is user-friendly and feature rich yet very easy to use and deploy, and customising or developing applications on this platform is definitely quick and hassle-free. Through this, we will be able to develop a solution that can help call centres/Help desks facilitate emotional and business transactions simultaneously, which can directly impact customer loyalty,” concluded P.Thomas, CEO, Voxtron Middle East.

Voxtron was launched in 1994, and is headquartered in Belgium, with offices in over ten countries. The company’s software has been installed thousand fold on various PABX manufacturers’ systems, including that of leading companies such as Cisco, Avaya, Alcatel, Nortel, Siemens, NEC, Panasonic etc. With over 25 partners in the region, Voxtron aims to push SageCRM across its network in the region, along with its most popular applications including call and contact centres, IVR solutions and Diallers. As the initial joint initiative undertaken by the new partners, both have participated at the recently concluded ‘Middle East Call Centre ’10’ (MECC ’10) Conference and Exhibition in Dubai, where they underlined the capacity to build and support long-term customer satisfaction and loyalty of the ‘SageCRM’ solution.

Industry experts forecast 10 per cent growth as more KSA businesses increase IT spend on automation to enhance efficiency and performance

June 13, 2010

Sage Software, the leading global supplier of ERP, CRM and HRM solutions to medium and large organizations, has announced its plans to penetrate and consolidate its presence in the Saudi software market. The move complements earlier forecasts made by top industry experts that the Kingdom’s software market worth SAR 2.2 billion, will grow by 10 per cent towards the end of Q4 2010 as more businesses have increased IT spending on automation solutions to help increase company efficiency and productivity. The announcement was made during a Sage hosted seminar in Riyadh, showcasing its industry leading business-management software designed to enhance and manage core functions for companies recovering from the current economic downturn. The leading global software supplier’s move aims to meet the growing consumer trend of local companies being more price conscious in purchasing software solutions that can provide a full suite of solutions and also guaranteeing a full return-of-investment (ROI).

According to recent market reports, Saudi Arabia dominates the Gulf region’s IT market with a forecast value of USD 3.3 billion in 2010 and is expected to grow further by USD 4.8 billion in 2014. Despite the effects left behind the global financial crisis, some companies have managed to stay afloat and be less affected by implementing long term plans that include establishing internal systems to help achieve transparency; better customer services and relationships; manage costs effectively and streamlining operations. Both the private and public sectors strong show of support towards software development and its use have managed to push the Kingdom’s e-government program to new heights - with almost 12 million barrels of oil products produced per day and through other cash flow initiatives, KSA is insulated to a certain extent.

“Saudi Arabia’s continuing growth in the Gulf regions IT market signals the need for local businesses to seek software solutions that are not only cost effective but also effective in increasing the company’s efficiency and output,” said Rida Salem Ahmed, Country Manager - Saudi Arabia, Levant & Egypt, Sage Software Middle East. “Our plan to reinforce our presence in the Saudi market could not come at a better time. Through our diverse product line of ERP, CRM and HRM solutions like Accpac ERP, we are able to guarantee transparency and good cost management for companies that are trying to survive in the ongoing economic crisis.”

During the seminar, Sage showcased the ‘Sage Accpac - Extended Enterprise Suite’, a completely integrated, multinational business management solution built on the most flexible and expandable architecture available in the market today. The solution can drive profitability by providing enterprise-wide visibility, which allows decision makers to gather valuable insight that is integral in making strategic business decisions. Sage Accpac ERP also offers great scalability to small start-up companies to upper medium enterprises and is now being used by over 40,000 companies throughout the globe and throughout many market segments and verticals.

Shabeer Ahmad, CEO, Centria Consulting and author of ‘The Inspired Manager’, said, “This year signals the start for companies to initiate efforts and moves that can drive them to recovering from the current financial downturn and they can only do this by looking towards developing their internal systems and other integral IT components of their businesses. Moreover, Sage Software has effectively shown us that they have the full suite of products and solutions needed by KSA companies to help manage and improve their core functions during their bid for recovery.”

Another market solution featured during the seminar was the Sage CRM Suite, which can help KSA companies retain customers and increase opportunities for ‘up-selling’ and ‘cross-selling’. The software solution allows companies to effectively profile their customer’s information and utilize it during marketing campaigns; allowing for a more personalized approach in sending emails and correspondence. Sage CRM also offers a Customer Services Module that helps track all requests raised made by customers, allowing companies to guarantee a quick turnaround of issues and thus satisfying customer expectations. The key USP of Sage CRM is that it includes a wide range of functionality in a flexible development and customization kit.

Company underlines SageCRM’s capacity to build and support long-term customer satisfaction and loyalty during MECC ‘10 event

June 01, 2010

The regional call centre industry is witnessing significant expansion amidst the ever-growing demand for customer service and support, and many of them are looking to leverage new trends and technologies in call centre solutions, said Sage Software, the leading global supplier of ERP, CRM and HRM solutions to medium and large organisations. In line with this, the company marked a significant presence, along with new Customer Relationship Management (CRM) partners Pan Cyber and Voxtron, at the recently concluded ‘Middle East Call Centre ’10’ (MECC ’10) Conference and Exhibition in Dubai, where it underlined the capacity to build and support long-term customer satisfaction and loyalty of its ‘SageCRM’ solution.

The regional call centre industry has witnessed minimal setback from the global economic downturn, thanks to the foresight of majority of the companies to focus on customer retention tactics rather than risk sacrificing the level of customer care. Effectively addressing this specific goal, ‘SageCRM’ can make critical information for call centres - including service requests, call and escalation history, interactions, multiple contacts, support cases, email, and sent and received documents - easily accessible, thereby facilitating the quick resolution of issues and extensive cross-sell or up-sell opportunities. The solution can also help call centres shorten sales cycles and close deals faster by providing a complete 360º view of vital customer data and automatic distribution of leads.

“After dodging a massive hit from the global economic meltdown, the region’s call centre industry has proven its maturity and forward-looking approach towards strategic growth amidst tremendous challenges,” said Reggie Fernandes, Sales Manager - Gulf Region, Sage Software. “During our participation at MECC ’10, we have met with top officials of leading call centres in the region, primarily decisions makers, who remain focused on leveraging the latest available technologies to maintain and exceed their current performance. We were successful in initiating relationships with key client contacts, and we are planning to leverage this by ensuring that they reap the benefits offered by ‘Sage CRM’ in growing their business.”

Incorporating industry-leading technology to foster better business practices and effortless information exchange throughout the organisation, ‘SageCRM’ is an easy-to-use, fast-to-deploy, feature-rich, low-cost, Internet-based CRM solution designed to introduce the real benefits of CRM. Adopting the software can empower companies to make the most of every customer interaction and maximise business opportunities and customer satisfaction through fast and convenient access to critical consumer information. Providing comprehensive, easy-to-use tools to successfully manage consumer relationships, ‘SageCRM’ allows users to quickly analyse, manage, and synchronise sales, marketing and customer care activities across all points of contact, thereby giving them a crucial competitive advantage. In addition to the call centre industry, ‘SageCRM’ is widely used for different businesses in the banking, construction, real estate, and retail sectors.

“By allowing regional call centres to run their business their way, ’SageCRM’ holds tremendous potential to help not only call centres in the region but companies in other industries, which experienced stronger drawback from the crisis, in their customer retention efforts and other initiatives targeting growth. We have designed this CRM software to promote complete flexibility, and we are expecting many call centres in the Middle East to appreciate this, adopt the solution and contribute in maintaining the industry’s impressive growth momentum,” concluded Fernandes.

Company educates representatives from 30 companies the potential of business solutions to promote growth amidst recession

March 31, 2010

Improved business opportunities in Bahrain is driving the demand for IT products and services from local public and private sectors, says Sage Software, a leading global supplier of ERP, CRM and HRM solutions to medium and large organisations. Eyeing the prospects within the fast-rising economy, the company recently conducted a seminar with its local partner, Fakhroo IT Services, which underlined the potential of its business solutions to promote growth amidst recession. Attended by representatives from over 30 SMBs, the event also highlighted the newly launched ‘Sage Accpac ERP version 5.6’ and ‘Sage Accpac Intelligence’, which is part of the Sage Accpac Extended Enterprise Edition.

The seminar also showcased the tight integration between ‘Sage Accpac’, an accounting software package for companies with multiple locations, multiple users and international requirements, and ‘Sage CRM’, and how the latter can be used by everybody in the organisation. Sage’s strong presence in the Bahrain IT market, which is demonstrated by its longstanding relationship with important customers such as Central Bank of Bahrain, Bahrain eGovernment, AJM Koheeji, Shaheen Group, and Kalaam Telecom & Yokogawa, underlines its capacity to provide reliable solutions that can benefit a wide range of SMBs and multinational enterprises.

“As part of the country’s Economic Vision 2030, Bahrain has made it easy for new businesses as well as overseas companies to establish themselves in the country, which has improved business opportunities and removed the barriers for growth, thereby resulting in a very high demand for IT products and also in creating a very healthy and advanced local IT industry,” said Vikram Suri, Managing Director, Sage Software - Middle East. “In addition, the IT market has been supported by initiatives drawn out by the ‘Bahrain Economic Development Board’ and ‘Tamkeen’ that assist local SME’s with their business and IT requirements. Sage Business Solutions cater to the needs of the SMEs with software designed for various verticals across all sectors, and we are proud to have concluded our seminar successfully and with excellent response from the attendees.”

Reports have projected that the Bahrain IT market will reach USD 366 million this year. In the face of rising demand, Sage Software continues to achieve some inspiring success stories, the latest of which being the successful implementation of Sage CRM at Kalaam Telecom for their support call centre. The company has also completed a successful implementation of ‘Sage Accpac ERP’ for Gulf Real Estate Development Company (GREDCO). As far as its local partnerships are concerned, Fakhroo IT has also recently signed up and trained for ‘ERP X3 v6’ – the newest version of ‘Sage ERP X3’, the flagship ERP solution for mid-sized and large businesses.

“The Bahrain event follows the great success we have had recently in the seminars held in Kuwait, Qatar, Oman and Dubai. Given the positive response and high interest shown with potential clients in the region, we are looking at conducting further similar activities, in addition to our continuous efforts to develop more technologically-advanced solutions for ERP, CRM and HRM,” concluded Suri.

Company teams up with local partners Eastern Solutions and Arabesque Group to launch ‘Sage Accpac ERP 5.6′ in the country

February 14, 2010

Kuwaiti spending on Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is set to increase by 25 per cent in 2010, according to Sage Software, the leading global supplier of ERP, CRM and HRM solutions to medium and large organisations. As part of its strategy to leverage the steady ERP growth in the country, the company has teamed up with its Kuwait-based partners Eastern Solutions and Arabesque Group to launch the latest version of ‘Sage Accpac ERP 5.6’, in a roadshow held earlier this month at the JW Marriot in Kuwait. In addition, the event also highlighted ‘Sage Accpac Intelligence’, a solution under the ‘Sage Accpac Extended Enterprise Suite’.

The consumer-focused ‘Sage Accpac ERP 5.6’ is the culmination of the top requested customer enhancements gathered from Sage Software’s research, which have been combined to allow users to streamline and better manage operations with inventory control process improvements. Adoption of this new solution can also provide a faster and more accurate view of cash position with improved workflow in System Manager Bank Services, and facilitates the transformation of data into strategic decision-making intelligence to improve visibility into the business. Sage Software also provides free training on ‘Sage Accpac ERP 5.6’, and an enhanced installation and activation process.

Speaking at the roadshow, Reggie Fernandes, Sales Manager Gulf Region, Sage Software, said, “The launch of ‘Sage Accpac ERP 5.6’ here in Kuwait marks an important new development in the way ERP impacts local organizations’ efficiency and profitability. The latest version of our flagship ERP solution offers all our customers the functionalities they are looking for and more, with its many user-requested enhancements as well as its capacity to dynamically link processes through improved ‘Sage CRM’ integration. Our continuous efforts to enhance this product underline our commitment to the Kuwaiti market, and we are happy to be undertaking this event here alongside our hardworking partners - Eastern Solutions and Arabesque Group for the second year.”

Participants at the event also gave a positive response to the new ‘Sage Accpac Intelligence’, a solution that empowers users to quickly and easily obtain the information needed for operations and strategic planning by effortlessly creating reports and analyzing data using Microsoft Excel. By lessening the time spent on pulling the data together, the solution allows decision makers to analyse and interpret the information in less time to make prompt, and insightful decisions. It also provides staff with vital information when they need it, thereby improving collaboration and productivity, and makes complex reporting easier through seamless integration, which eliminates redundant data entry.

“These new solutions will provide tremendous help to organisations who are seeking to strategically position themselves and gain the lead in the impending upturn. We have packed them with multi-national and multi-company capabilities that will simplify management of data from multiple companies, in addition to technologies to secure business integrity. Our plan is to aggressively address the needs of the Kuwaiti market by developing solutions that will add value to our customers’ operations, so that our local clients, which include NBK Capital, Bader Al Sultan, Al Ghanim Industries, Gulf University of Science & Technology, Hits Telecom, Al Fanar Investment Company and Al Manar Financing & Leasing will be the first to benefit from the latest innovations in IT solutions,” concluded Fernandes.

Latest version of flagship global ERP solution focuses on cost and time savings, full interoperability and customer experience improvement

January 24, 2010

 Sage Software, the leading global supplier of ERP, CRM, and HRM solutions to medium and large organisations, has launched the ‘ERP X3 v6’ - the newest version of ‘Sage ERP X3’, the flagship ERP solution for mid-sized and large businesses in the Middle East. Built around the customer to place emphasis on ease of use, rapid deployment and cost effectiveness, the innovative solution focuses on cost and time savings, full interoperability among dispersed teams and customer experience improvement. The announcement follows the recent creation of an international team to support the development of the ‘Sage ERP X3’ business.

“The innovative, role-based web user interface of ‘ERP X3 V6’ makes manipulating complex and critical information easy and displays it exactly how the user wants thus improving interoperability across a business,” said Vikram Suri, Managing Director, Sage Software. “By launching this new version, we are aiming to help CFOs of global businesses get real-time visibility of their entire business and control over multi-legislation and multi charts of accounts. The development of ‘ERP X3 v6’ underlines our commitment towards helping businesses who cannot afford complex enterprise software, and we are proud to finally launch this solution here in the Middle East.”

Recognising that the needs of customers are changing, with an increasing demand for solutions to manage businesses on a global basis, Sage Software has created the global team, which includes key people from Sage’ worldwide business. Bringing together Sage Software’s local expertise and global resources, the team will focus on maintaining the relevance of ‘Sage ERP X3’ among today’s customers. The team will work closely with Sage’s local operations to ensure that the solution is complementary to local mid-market product offerings and includes international pre-sales and professional services, training, global R&D and global marketing and communications.

“Our established commitment towards delivering the specific needs of our customers is once again demonstrated by the creation of this global team to support ‘Sage ERP X3’ customers. This initiative will leverage our extensive local knowledge and strength at the international level, which have both contributed to our widespread success among established business as well as start-ups across the globe. As a trusted partner of many important organisations fuelling the world’s economy, we are proud of this exceptional step and we are confident of its success in the years to come,” concluded Suri.

CRM expenditures in the region tend to focus on campaign management, sales force automation (SFA), contact centre, enhancing customer experience and business forecasting

Vikram Suri, Managing Director, Sage Software

Middle East spending on Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is set to increase by30 per cent in 2010, according to Sage Software, the leading global supplier of ERP, CRM and HRM solutions to medium and large organisations. The company added that CRM expenditures in the region tend to focus on campaign management, sales force automation (SFA), contact centre, enhancing customer experience and business forecasting, as businesses try to build a competitive edge amidst the declining economy. With focus on providing SMBs in leading economies results-driven CRM solutions, Sage Software has recently concluded a road show at the Al Futtaim Training Centre in Dubai, where CRM champion Shobha Moni, Founder of Triad Software, discussed various topics under the theme ‘Work smarter with Sage CRM’.

UAE companies need accurate and detailed insight on the performance of the business and employees at any given time so they can take advantage of any increase in demand and/or workload that improving trading conditions may present. As such, scenario planning and sales forecasting have become the priority for executives as they need to accurately capture a large enough spread of possible outcomes to cover future uncertainties. By adopting Sage Software’s CRM solutions, companies can accelerate out of the downturn by automating cashflow and collection management, getting detailed insight on business and staff performance, and responding to changing customer needs and demands, among others.

“CRM can be extremely useful in campaign management, sales force automation, and contact centre and call centre operations, but its potential goes so much further beyond these,” said Vikram Suri, MD, Sage Software. “For instance, core CRM functionality such as opportunity management can improve the effectiveness of the sales team while allowing the marketing department to focus on the most profitable customer segment. Furthermore, customised CRM solutions can ensure a consistently exceptional customer experience and enable the company to nurture long and profitable relationships with every customer.”

The primary features of ‘Sage CRM’ focus on allocating leads to sales personnel, measuring activities and timelines involved in a sales process, accurate and complete forecasting, performance tracking, and uninterrupted support to customers. The solution also addresses the information management aspect of the business by facilitating a centralised database of all customers and their activity history. Furthermore, ‘Sage CRM’ also offers customer care, mobile solutions, application integration, productivity tools, and Microsoft Outlook integration.

“A business can grow and profit during a recession if it understands the underlying dynamics of the marketplace. The challenge is for businesses to respond to changes in buying behavior in a timely and direct fashion. Sage CRM can open up opportunities for UAE companies to leverage a web-based tool to define processes and implement them with workflow and alerts capability, while integrating with outlook for Calendar, Task and Emails. Our efforts to increase awareness on the benefits of our CRM solutions is in line with our aims to help companies adequately support vital processes via convenient storage and access to information about customers across different company departments,” concluded Suri.

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About Sage Group:

Founded in 1981 in North East England, Sage Group PLC is a global company with 5.8 million customers, over 14,500 employees and more than 25 years of experience working with small and medium sized businesses. It has built its success on understanding and meeting the needs of customers in their local markets, which has driven its growth as a world-leading provider of business management software and services. While its heritage is in the small business market, it also has the experience and expertise to meet the needs of specific industries and larger organisations. Its products and services are developed and supported locally, thereby ensuring their relevance to the customers and that they are supported by local experts.

For more information, please contact:

CommuniGate Middle East

PO Box 66861, Dubai, UAE

Tel: +971 4 3988134

Fax: +971 4 3988137

Email: info@communigateme.com

Website: www.communigateme.com

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Vikram Suri, Managing Director, Sage Software - Middle East

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