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For more information:
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA; April 9, 2001 —
Building on its success in developing Service Networks for software and hardware companies, ePeople, Inc. today introduced
the first ePeople Service Network for corporate IT departments. Incorporating significant new capabilities to actively manage
multiple service contracts, requests and providers, this new offering allows IT organizations, as well as customer support
organizations in hardware and software companies, to provide superior person-to-person, Internet-based technical support to
their employees, customers and partners.
"According to our Spring 2001 forecast for IT Services, North American businesses will spend an estimated $99.8 billion this
year on hardware and software product support services," said Bob Igou, senior analyst with Gartner Dataquest. "Considering
this significant spending on external product support services and general cost pressures being the top concern of CIO's, they
must select the optimum means of acquiring, optimizing and managing support services for their businesses."
The latest version of the ePeople Service Network enables IT organizations to better manage and optimize all aspects of their
support business, including internal and external service provider resources, through continuous visibility and control, improved
support quality, and reduced support costs. Offered on a hosted basis, the infrastructure is highly scalable, reliable and
extensible. Key new features of the ePeople Service Network include:
- Business Manager Control Center - allows Service Network managers to view real-time reporting and analysis of the quality and costs of service levels delivered
- Active Service Contracts™ - allows Service Network managers to specify and manage the contractual business terms, which are used to dynamically route service requests to the appropriate service providers
- Provider Pooling - allows Service Network managers to define, aggregate and manage both internal and external pools of service providers tailored to meet their specific support needs
- Knowledge Feedback - allows users and providers to classify, summarize and capture service request results of completed transactions
- Enhanced Provider Pool Filtering - allows Service Network managers to dynamically engage service providers based on filter criteria, such as skills, certifications, qualifications, reputation, and contractual agreements
- System Integration - offers XML-based integration into existing support systems to facilitate information exchange with CRM, help desk, automated self-help, support Web sites, and knowledge systems
"While every IT organization has unique support needs, they are all under pressure to find the right mix of internal and external
resources to address the increasingly complex needs of its employees," said ePeople's CEO and President, Anthony Lye. "The ePeople
Service Network enables IT executives to extend their support organization by offering a new way to flexibly manage and evaluate
all support resources on an ongoing basis, while realizing tremendous cost savings, increased quality, and end user satisfaction."
Availability and Pricing
The new ePeople Service Network is available immediately and, based on the service organization's business needs and requirements, can be
implemented in 45 to 90 days from contract agreement. The price of the configured Service Network is based on a set-up fee and annual
subscription and maintenance fees established by the customer's specific requirements and ROI analysis.
About ePeople
ePeople, founded in 1997, is the leading provider of knowledge and expertise management solutions for resolving business-critical
situations throughout the enterprise. ePeople Teamwork focuses on Customer Support, Team Selling, Professional Services and
Research & Development organizations. Customers of ePeople include Oracle Corp, Cognos, InstallShield, Openwave Systems, Inc.,
Adobe Systems, Inc., Production Access, OpSource Inc., and Service & Support Professionals Association (SSPA). Headquartered in
Mountain View, Calif., ePeople is privately held. Investors include Redpoint Ventures, Menlo Ventures, Integral Capital Partners,
Bedrock Capital, Brentwood Venture Capital, and CNET. More information on ePeople is available
at www.epeople.com.
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ePeople and the ePeople logo are trademarks of ePeople, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
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