FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

TASKE Technology Releases Call Center Management Solution for Avaya Telephone Systems

Ottawa, Ontario, 8 January 2001 - TASKE Technology Inc., an industry leader in management information systems for call centers, today announced the release of TASKE® Call Center Management Tools 8.0 for the Avaya MERLIN MAGIX™ 2.0 telephone system.

TASKE Call Center Management Tools 8.0 is a powerful suite of integrated, enterprise-ready management solutions that empowers supervisors and agents to handle call volume with speed and confidence while providing exceptional customer service. TASKE software helps supervisors coordinate and optimize call center resources with advanced reporting and analysis capabilities. For a comprehensive call center solution, the TASKE Call Center Management Tools suite seamlessly integrates with the award-winning Blue Pumpkin PrimeTime™ workforce management solution.

"TASKE 8.0 is a significant development for us and for Avaya," says Dennis Johns, president of TASKE Technology Inc. "We're very enthusiastic about providing our proven reporting and monitoring tools to call centers running the MERLIN MAGIX telephone switch. As a growing number of companies turn to e-business and telephone interaction to service their clients, efficient call center management is crucial to ensuring success. That's why we're pleased to be working with Avaya and its network of dealers in providing TASKE Call Center Management Tools to Avaya-enabled call centers."

Advanced Functionality and Key Features

TASKE Call Center Management Tools 8.0 provides advanced management functionality for call centers of any size. The suite features real-time agent monitoring, more than 150 standard reports, forecasting, readerboard messaging and call-traffic analysis. TASKE software offers a number of industry-leading features that make call center management easier:

TASKE ACD Monitor

• ACD Replay – ACD Replay plays back historical agent or queue activity as it happened. Users can adjust playback speed and stop, rewind or fast-forward with the click of a mouse. Replay's Trigger feature makes it easy to pinpoint the source of inefficiencies in call center performance by automatically halting playback at pre-selected thresholds.
• Real-time Agent Adherence – This feature alerts a supervisor to non-adherence conditions when agent activity does not match scheduled activity. By comparing an agent's schedule, created with Blue Pumpkin's PrimeTime™ workforce management software, against real-time information, the TASKE ACD Monitor can determine if agents are adhering to their schedule and alert management when non-adherence occurs.
• Intuitive Graphical User Interface – Features like user-selectable ToolTips in States and Map mode, the ability to change state colors, and an intuitive user interface make the TASKE ACD Monitor easy to use.
• Key Statistical Alarms – Vital for effective and immediate call center management, the TASKE ACD Monitor alerts supervisors when call traffic exceeds pre-defined thresholds by generating visual and audible alarms.

TASKE Enterprise Supervisor

Enterprise Supervisor allows supervisors to view real-time call center data from multiple PBX locations on a single workstation. Enterprise Supervisor includes off-site reporting (real-time and historical) for multiple call centers located locally or globally with a single connection to the wide area network (WAN).

TASKE Chat

TASKE Chat is an on-screen, real-time text dialog utility for one-to-one communications or supervisory broadcast messages within the call center. Agents can discreetly inform supervisors on the status and progress of a call or seek immediate assistance while maintaining conversation with a caller.

Blue Pumpkin's PrimeTime 3.0 Workforce Management Solution

• Real-time Agent Adherence – PrimeTime can export schedules to the TASKE Server, providing the added functionality of real-time agent adherence for supervisors using the ACD Monitor.
• PrimeTime Sage – Sage alerts users to potential issues and conflicts when creating schedules. If Sage detects a problem, it notifies the user and offers a solution to resolve the issue.
• Rotation/Team Scheduling – PrimeTime 3.0 can create rotating shift patterns or agent teams and have them start or finish shifts at the same time. The rotation feature is beneficial for achieving fairness in work hours among employees in the call center.
• Scheduling Off-phone Periods in Five-Minute Increments – PrimeTime gives supervisors the ability to create off-phone periods in increments as small as five minutes.

"Comparing TASKE 8.0 with the old call management system for MERLIN MAGIX is like comparing a luxury automobile to a compact car — they both do the same thing, but boy, what a difference," says Terry Miller, business development executive, for Mid-Atlantic Business Communications (MABC), an Avaya dealer headquartered in Portsmouth, VA. MABC participated in the installation of TASKE Call Center Management Tools 8.0 in two beta test sites.

"The customers have been very pleased with the easy to use graphical interface and the outstanding customizable reports," says Miller. "The reports alone have saved one customer thousands of dollars in contract penalties by easily proving their call answer statistics. The ACD Monitor, with its color-coded icons displaying call activity status for each agent is a great tool that is easy to interpret at a glance. All in all, a well designed, easy-to-use application."

Easy to Install and Maintain

Installing and maintaining TASKE Call Center Management Tools 8.0 is quick and easy, thanks to TASKE's Database Population Utility and Client Synchronization features:

Automatic Database Population

The Database Population Utility (DPU) reduces initial configuration time and maintenance efforts by automatically populating selected fields in the TASKE Administrator database with data from the telephone system's agent database. Managers can run DPU whenever new information is entered in the agent database to ensure the TASKE Administrator database is always up to date.

Client Synchronization

TASKE Call Center Management Tools 8.0 can automatically update client software to the latest version on the TASKE Server, making TASKE applications easy to upgrade over the network. Client synchronization eliminates the need to manually update TASKE client software on every supervisor and agent computer.

Availability and Pricing

TASKE Call Center Management Tools 8.0 for the MERLIN MAGIX telephone system are available now through authorized Avaya dealers. For pricing and installation, users can contact an approved Avaya dealer in their area. To locate a dealer, contact Avaya Inc. at (908) 953-6000; or toll free at 1-800-784-6104; email: executiveoffice@avaya.com. For detailed product information, contact TASKE Technology at 1-877-77TASKE; orfill out the Request for Information form.

About TASKE Technology Inc.

TASKE Technology Inc., an industry leader in management information systems for automatic call distribution, is committed to delivering solutions for today's — and tomorrow's — advanced call centers. Through continued product innovation and development, TASKE Technology enables businesses to increase client loyalty and retention by efficiently providing exceptional customer service. TASKE Technology has an 11-year history of offering proven, robust, and affordable products, with more than 4,400 installations worldwide. TASKE Technology supports a diverse selection of platforms by manufacturers such as Avaya, Inter-Tel, Iwatsu and Mitel. The company is based in Kanata, Ontario, with dealer support centers in Milwaukee, WI, and Fort Lauderdale, FL. For more information about TASKE Technology, visit its web site at www.TASKE.com.

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