CRM Software Comparison Blog

Significant Upgrades to KANA’s Multi-Channel Suite Include Deeper Feature Integration, a Common Reporting Infrastructure and Enhanced Content Authoring and Search Capabilities

MENLO PARK, Calif. – October 16, 2006 - KANA Software Inc. (PinkSheets: KANA.PK), a world leader in multi-channel customer service, today announced that it has added powerful new features and enhancements to the company’s integrated suite of multi-channel customer service solutions. The KANA Suite 9 expands the depth and breadth of KANA’s multi-channel capabilities with significant upgrades to KANA Response, KANA’s industry-leading email response management application; KANA Response Live, the company’s comprehensive solution for live chat and Web collaboration; KANA Contact Center, its universal agent desktop; and KANA IQ, an award-winning knowledgebase for agent-assisted and Web self-service.

In a research report published by the Service & Support Professionals Association (SSPA), Vice President of Research John Ragsdale writes that “the monthly average of incidents created via electronic channels (email, chat, web self-service) has caught up to phone incidents, and we expect this ‘eChannel’ volume to bypass phone by the end of 2006.” Given the rapid adoption of eChannels, Mr. Ragsdale recommends that organizations “step up support for non-phone channels to create an ‘omni-channel,’ meaning an identical service experience is delivered for all channels offered to the customer.” (“2006: Year of the Omni-Channel,” July 18, 2006)

KANA’s integrated solutions enable organizations to deliver consistent, managed service across all channels, including email, chat, call centers and Web self-service, ensuring a consistent service experience regardless of how customers choose to communicate. Building upon this deep-featured integration, the KANA Suite 9 provides agents with a complete customer history, including emails, chat transcripts, phone records and self-service sessions, enabling them to better understand customer needs and provide the most appropriate response. In addition, a common agent desktop allows users to seamlessly navigate between KANA IQ, KANA Contact Center, KANA Response and KANA Response Live. As a result, agents can launch KANA IQ from any KANA application, quickly locate the necessary information in the knowledgebase and then insert the solution into an email or chat session or use it during a phone conversation. By leveraging a single source of knowledge to power all customer interactions, companies are able to provide more accurate, consistent and timely service with minimal keystrokes.

The new release also features an enhanced common reporting infrastructure that enables users to more easily create, modify and deploy custom reports via the Web, improving the ability of contact centers to identify service trends, anticipate customer behavior and proactively respond to changing demands. In addition, users can access all reports from a common launch page, simplifying administration and multi-channel contact center management.

The KANA Suite 9 also includes the following new features and enhancements:

Agent Authoring – Enables users to publish content from KANA Response and KANA Response Live directly to KANA IQ. Because email or chat conversations are pre-filled in the KANA IQ authoring interface, agents can quickly capture and share best practices for future use.

Search-as-you-type – Searches knowledge sources as users type and allows agents to highlight text in an email or chat session and automatically search KANA IQ for relevant information and solutions.

360 Degree View Replay – Replays sessions that have been escalated from KANA IQ to KANA Response or KANA Response Live, allowing the agent to understand the customer’s search history and more quickly and accurately resolve the inquiry.

Wizard-driven Installation – Dramatically reduces the time needed to implement and configure KANA applications by guiding organizations through the process of installing, configuring, and automatically loaded knowledge base content.

AJAX Support – Organizations using KANA’s cobrowse capabilities can leverage the power of AJAX and still allow customers to securely cobrowse self-service pages.

“A new breed of technology savvy customers is driving organizations to deliver the same consistent experience across all service and support channels,” said Marchai Bruchey, chief marketing officer at KANA. “The latest version of the KANA Suite enables organizations to implement a true multi-channel customer service strategy capable of meeting these complex demands without a corresponding increase in costs.”

The KANA Suite 9 is available immediately. Pricing details are available upon request.

Filed under: Kana