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iLink– Fall, 2003


iLink — Fall, 2003 Newsletter
Your Source for Call Center and IVR Solutions for the iSeries

Table of Contents

Personnel File - We're growing again to better serve you! — Meet Audrey Nixon
Voice Response in an AS/400 World Charting Applications and Expected ROI (FREE White Paper)
iVoice™ Makes the Honor Roll — Award presented at Fall COMMON
Technical Corner — Are your systems protected? (Part 1)
Partner Announcements — iMessaging announces several important partner relationships:

- Quadrant Software and iMS agree to migrate RFSfax customers to FastFax
- Optimum Solutions adds iVoice™ to their Time & Attendance offering
- ASI adds iVoice™ to EasiBill software

 

If you are interested in obtaining more details about any of the products or information contained in iLink, please contact us. We are interested in your comments and suggestions and would like to incorporate them in future issues of iLink.

 

Meet Celeste Taylor
Personnel File
Audrey Nixon

We're growing again to better serve you!

We welcome, with great enthusiasm, the addition of Audrey Nixon to our iMessaging Systems team. Audrey joins iMessaging in a new role created to enhance and better coordinate all technical communications with our customers. As Technical Services Manager, Audrey will have oversight responsibilities in three key areas: customer support, product implementations, and communication between product management and product development.

In short, Audrey will manage iMessaging's technical resources to ensure timely customer support resolution, smooth product implementations and effective communication and management of our development resources. Invariably, as a new or existing customer of iMessaging, you will have communications with Audrey at some point in the near future.

"We feel particularly fortunate to have the opportunity to add Audrey to the iMessaging team" notes Karen Sedlar, iMS President and CEO. "Her diverse technical background and extensive project management involvement bring a fresh perspective and a proactive attitude to our technical team."

Audrey comes to iMessaging from Teradyne Inc. where she excelled as a Systems Analyst and project manager responsible for Teradyne's Order Management, Manufacturing, Distribution, and Finance software applications. Prior to that, Audrey held several positions while at Oracle Corporation working as a functional consultant and project lead. Her experience includes assignments in project lead positions, customer support, functional consulting, end user training and end user support.

Audrey is currently pursuing her bachelor's degree in Management and Information Technology from Daniel Webster College in New Hampshire.

Please join us in welcoming Audrey to the team!

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iMessaging Systems is pleased to announce the availability of a new white paper prepared specifically for iSeries (AS/400) users eager to understand the measurable return on investment that IVR has been proven to deliver. While IVR is not a new technology, its benefit to certain organizations remains strong, with payback of investment often in the 6-to-9-month range.

Within this white paper, the author also explains what IVR is and how it works, as well as what the future holds for voice response systems. To get your FREE, no-obligation copy, simply click here.

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Orlando, Florida, September 6, 2003 - At the recent COMMON technical conference, held this year in Orlando, Florida, iMessaging Systems, Inc., was awarded eServer Magazine's prestigious 2003 Spotlight Honor Roll designation, signifying superior product design, ease-of-use, functionality, documentation, and usefulness in iSeries 400 environments.

To be considered for this award, a product must be submitted to eServer Magazine to participate in their Spotlight review. Essentially, a product is sent to eServer Magazine's, iSeries edition technical Editor Don Rima, along with documentation and contact information for customer support. eServer Magazine's Rima then goes about the task of installing, programming, testing, reviewing documentation and generally putting the product through its paces. To be given the Honor Roll standing, a product must achieve a score of 3.75 or higher (on a 4.0 scale).

Please click here for the complete eServer Magazine review of iVoice.

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Technical Corner

Are Your Systems Protected? (Part 1)

The power outage that occurred on August 14, 2003 affected over 50 million people and brought to the forefront the importance of power protection and backup battery systems (UPSs). Blackouts and natural occurrences like lightning are few and far between. Yet, we spend a considerable amount of money protecting against them.

You should be aware of the different problems that cause daily disturbances to microprocessor based equipment. They are:

  • Blackouts - resulting in the total loss of power
  • Brownouts - for example, lights dimming when an air conditioning unit switches on
  • Spikes - lightning, or increased voltage for short periods of time
  • Surges - occurring when voltage goes beyond the normal 120VAC for short periods of time
  • EMI - motors switching on and off
  • RFI - radio transmitters / television station frequencies, etc.

iMessaging's iVoice system provides protection from these potentially debilitating events with standard features such as:

  • UPS protection
  • In-line telephone surge protection
  • Surge protection for all electrical components

It is important to note that iVoice warranty and maintenance coverage may not be honored in cases where customers remove power protection as supplied by iMessaging Systems. For more information, please contact iMessaging systems at info@imessagingsystems.com.

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iMessaging Systems announced several important partner relationships during the last several months:

Quadrant Software and iMessaging sign agreement to migrate current RFSfax customers to Quadrant Software's FastFax family of products.
iMessaging to withdraw support for RFSfax in August, 2005

Quadrant SoftwareOn July 14, 2003, iMessaging Systems announced the intention to discontinue support for RFSfax, our legacy fax server for the iSeries 400. RFSfax was first introduced to the market in 1989, and the product has enjoyed a long life cycle. Additionally, iMessaging has signed an agreement with Quadrant Software, a leading developer of iSeries 400 Electronic Document Distribution (EDD) solutions, to facilitate the migration of current RFSfax customers to Quadrant Software's FastFax Family of Products - a suite of high-performance efax servers.

The deal between the two companies is brought about by iMessaging's desire to exit the fax server business and concentrate our development and support efforts on our expanding suite of voice solutions for the iSeries 400 market.

Support for current RFSfax customers will continue through iMessaging until August 1, 2005, after which time it will be withdrawn from marketing. Contracts for prepaid maintenance services will continue to be honored by iMessaging through expiration.

The migration program for current RFSfax customers to move to Quadrant Software's FastFax servers is designed as a plug-and-play program in which no programming changes will be required. iMessaging has worked closely with Quadrant Software to ensure that RFSfax customers will be able to make the change to FastFax servers with little or no disruption.

Click here for the complete press release text.


Optimum Solutions, Inc. inks deal to add iVoice™ IVR to Optimum Time & Attendance offering

Optimum Solutions, Inc.Optimum Solutions, a leading provider of Payroll, Human Resources (HR), Applicant Tracking, and Time & Attendance software for the IBM iSeries (AS/400) market, recently signed an agreement to resell iMessaging's iVoice™ IVR as a complementary solution for their Optimum Time & Attendance solution. Optimum has recently completed the development effort to construct the iVoice™ integration module, which will be formally introduced to the market during their annual User's Conference in Nashville, Tennessee, on September 25 and 26.

The addition of iVoice™ further strengthens Optimum's market-leading Optimum Time & Attendance solutions for the iSeries (AS/400). With iVoice IVR, Optimum customers gain the ability to offer time & attendance functionality to employees in the field or in remote locations without time clocks or computer terminal access. The new interface will allow remote or field-based personnel to use any telephone to perform such functions as clock in/out and job tracking, transfer to different job classes, review hours worked in current and previous week, and review work schedule for current and following week. In addition, employers can record messages for their personnel.

About Optimum Solutions (www.optimum-solutions.com)
Optimum Solutions, Inc. is a Nashville, Tennessee-based software development company providing Payroll, Human Resources (HR), Applicant Tracking, and Time & Attendance software for the IBM iSeries (AS/400), and Microsoft Windows Platforms.

Optimum Solutions is 100% focused in the payroll and HR software field, with a staff of experts in payroll and HR. Most of Optimum's support and training personnel are CPPs (Certified Payroll Professionals), making them experts in the field! Optimum Payroll is currently processing over 10 million checks annually at their customers' sites in every U.S. state and Canada. Optimum Solutions is your only payroll, HR, and time & attendance solution.



ASI adds iVoice™ IVR to EasiBill software solution for Utilities

ASIAssociated Systems, Inc. (ASI), a respected billing and management software provider for the utility industry, has entered into a marketing relationship to integrate iMessaging's iVoice™ IVR system into its EasiBill software solution. Now, with the incorporation of iVoiceä, ASI customers can offer vastly improved self-service options for their utility customers. The partnership offers ASI software clients the ability to provide their customers with access to account data using the convenience of a telephone.

With the new ASI iVoiceä solution, callers simply press keys on their telephone to retrieve information that is specific to personal utility billing accounts. iVoiceä then automatically "speaks" the desired information back to the caller. Customers now have available at their fingertips such information as current account balance, last payment amount and date, current bill due date, current penalty amount and date, scheduled cut-off date, and more.

About ASI (www.assocsys.com)
Associated Systems, Inc., which was founded in 1981, introduced its comprehensive utility billing application in 1995. It has continued to develop innovations to the billing product and introduced new products for the utility industry.

ASI provides technology products and services to utilities, including those in the water, electric, gas, and multi-utility environments. These products and services give utility managers the most sophisticated tools available to manage billing services, administer effective service work orders, provide good customer service, and support and improve their business processes. ASI provides these products to utilities and municipalities in the Southeast and throughout the nation.

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iMessaging Systems, Inc. 5 Medallion Center, 22 Greeley Street, Merrimack, NH 03054
Toll-Free 1-866-IMS-LIVE (866-467-5483) • Customer Support 603-424-7788 • Voice 603-424-8555
Fax 603-424-3993 info@iMessagingSystems.com