The Japan Research Institute, Ltd. (JRI), based in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo, and headed by President and CEO Yasuyuki Kimoto, has put on the market the Redfors – Redirect Engine for Skype – CTI (Computer Telephony Integration) middleware designed to build a contact center by means of Skype free-of-charge IP (Internet Protocol) telephony software. In line with the release of the Redfors, JRI has formed a sales alliance with Zetta Technology Inc., based in Chiyoda Ward, Tokyo, and headed by President Katsuhiro Matsuo. JRI is determined to advocate and promote CRM 2.0 (what the next-generation Customer Relationship Management ought to be) through marketing the Redfors and working with Zetta Technology.

Skype is free-of-charge IP telephony software, which is used by a large number of people all around the world thanks to its high-level sound quality and ease of connection.The number of its registered users tops 100 million and there are many users here in Japan as well, both corporate and individual (more than three million as of December 2005).In this way, Skype has come to serve as a new access channel for contact centers to approach customers, in addition to telephone, Internet, and e-mail. However, Skype has no CTI functions such as ACD (Auto Call Distribution) and routing; thus, it is difficult, in actuality, to build a contact center by using Skype alone.

The Redfors is CTI middleware developed and based on the concept, “Contact Center Powered by Web,” to specifically build a Web contact center by making use of Skype.Unlike the conventional contact center, the Redfors allows the most appropriate operator to be chosen automatically to get the call based on product information registered in the shopping cart or OS information sent from the Web browser without making use of automatic voice response system.Customers who access the contact center can be put through to the operator with a single click from the Website; thus, they do not have to install any other software or ActiveX besides Skype. Cutting-edge technologies to manage the state of operators or select the most appropriate operator, to name but a few, are applied to the Redfors, all of which have patent applications filed (4 technologies are patent pending as of May 1, 2006).

JRI has sealed a sales alliance agreement with Zetta Technology Inc. to market the Redfors. Our sales partner, Zetta Technology, offers a variety of solutions such as the Officede for Skype, a tool to help manage Skype, and the Adam Family centered on the Adam-Report that allows staggering amounts of data stored at a company to be computed multidimensionally at high speed.Through this sales alliance, contact centers will be able not only to use the Redfors and Skype with ease, but to analyze a history of dealing with customers, thereby improving their performance as well.

The functions of the Redfors

- Click-to-call function
The customer can be put through to a contact center by simply clicking the link available on the Website.

- ACD function The highest-priority operator will be chosen to get the call from among those available at the time of receiving a customer request.

- Routing function
Based on OS information sent from the Web browser and others, the call can be routed to the most appropriate operator.

- Screen popup function
When the customer’s request comes in, information relevant to the request will be displayed on the screen in front of the operator.

- API function
It is outfitted with an application interface that enables individual contact centers to flexibly customize conditions to set routing or content to be displayed on the operator’s screen to meet their specific needs.

- Status report
The status of an operator or group can be displayed in report form.
* For further details of the functions, please feel free to access our Website:
http://www.jri.co.jp/si/solution/R-007.html

The price of the Redfors

Initial cost: 6.3 million yen~ (list price for ten seats with taxes included)

The company and product names given in the text are trademarks or registered trademarks of individual companies.

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Zetta Technology Inc.

Company name: Zetta Technology Inc. (http://www/zetta.co.jp/)
Address: 2-3 Kanda Awaji-cho 1-chome, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-0063
President: Katsuhiro Matsuo
Business activities: Develops/markets software products, many of which have been deployed in the private and government sectors, such as Officede for Skype, a Skype management solution. In addition, Zetta Technology is engaged in R&D on core technologies such as multidimensional database and cross-computational reporting system, while promoting a wide variety of solutions in extensive areas ranging from public work projects to private-sector projects, as well as educational projects.
For further information on Zetta Technology, please contact:
The person in charge of the Skype project
Tel: 03-5814-2171
e-mail address: e-support@zetta.co.jp

For more information on the content of this report, please contact:
General Inquiries:
·Mori Masakazu, Card Systems Division, the Japan Research Institute, Limited.

Tel: 06-6534-2580
E-mail：redfors@osa.cre.jri.co.jp

Press Inquiries:
·Yoshiteru Muto, PR Division, the Japan Research Institute, Limited

Tel: 03-3288-5360
E-mail：muto.yoshiteru@jri.co.jp

Copyright© The Japan Research Institute, Limited