CosmoCom Receives US Patent For Core Technology of CosmoCall Universe

Call Center Evolution Foreseen by Inventors of Next-Generation IP Contact Center

MELVILLE, NY, MAY 23, 2000 -- CosmoCom, Inc. announced today that it has been awarded a United States patent titled Multimedia Telecommunication Automatic Call Distribution System for the unique technology of its next-generation eCare software solution, CosmoCall Universe. The patent, number 6046762, discloses CosmoCom’s pure IP contact center technology, which enables calls and messages originating on telephone and data networks to be queued and routed to universal contact center agents equipped only with PCs and connected only to an IP data network.

The patent, applied for in April, 1997 and issued on April 4, 2000, shows how clearly CosmoCall’s inventors foresaw the changing role of call centers given the emergence of the Internet and eMail as major new customer communication vehicles. The named inventors, Ari Sonesh and Stephen Dellutri, are two of CosmoCom’s founders.

As the contact center industry has evolved, many people now recognize the need for contact centers to serve both telephone and Internet callers and to distribute both live calls and messages. The new patent identifies all of these needs and defines the optimum solution. Most current offerings address these requirements with an “integrated” approach -- a complex collection of circuit-switched, packet-switched, IVR, CTI, and Internet technologies assembled by a vendor or a system integrator. In contrast with this “integrated” approach, CosmoCom’s pure IP solution is a unified contact center designed from the ground up to address all media and all networks. This patented technology actually defines the true next-generation platform in the industry today.

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“CosmoCom's award of a US patent for its innovative technology proves that market leaders in the Web-based customer interaction market can erect effective barriers to entry”, said Senior VP/Technology Research of FAC/Equities, Herb Tinger. “While there has been some concern expressed that the Web interaction market is a free-for-all, open to all who want to participate, CosmoCom has successfully developed and deployed a true multimedia contact distribution solution that separates it from the rest of the pack. We have always been impressed with CosmoCom's approach to routing mixed media contacts across virtual call centers and this patent award indicates that competitors have some catching up to do.”

CosmoCom’s eCustomer communication platform, CosmoCall Universe, is the essential eCare technology, connecting eBusinesses and their customers worldwide in multimedia sessions via the Internet and the telephone, and also managing email and voicemail messages, all in a single unified platform. CosmoCall Universe supports live online customer care – the next big trend on the Internet – with an IP-based contact center architecture designed for high capacity, high availability operation, and global distribution.

"CosmoCom's recently awarded patent secures their position as a leading provider of IP-based ACDs,” said Datamonitor Senior Analyst, Zachary Kaiman. “Given the phenomenal rate at which enterprises are web-enabling their call centers in order to become true ‘multimedia contact centers’, this patent positions CosmoCom extremely well to take an early and exclusive lead in a market set for extraordinary growth."

Today’s announcement comes on the heels of an industry report citing CosmoCom’s leadership in the IP-ACD market. The report, titled US Web-Enabled Call Center Markets, cites CosmoCom’s industry dominance with a 50% market share, double that of its nearest rival PakNetX (now owned by Aspect). Frost & Sullivan, the international marketing consulting company that issued the report, also recognized CosmoCom for its “brand new and completely unique product solution” with “significant market potential … and a high probability of reaching its potential in the next two to five years.”

“Many industry analysts have noted the difference between our industry-leading unified contact center and the ‘integrated’ offerings of others,” said Ari Sonesh, CosmoCom’s President and CEO. “We are pleased and proud that the U. S. Patent Office has also recognized this distinction with the granting of this patent.”

About CosmoCom, Inc.
CosmoCom, Inc. (www.cosmocom.com), the industry leader in unified contact center technology, enhances Customer Relationship Management for both eBusiness and the traditional brick-and-mortar enterprise with a patented, IP-enabled platform that supports human interaction – both live and message-based – throughout the business transaction cycle. Headquartered in Melville, New York, with offices throughout North America and Europe, CosmoCom has received an array of awards for its next-generation eCare technology and holds a 50% share of the United States IP-ACD market – twice the market share of its nearest competitor – according to a spring, 2000 report by international marketing consultants Frost & Sullivan.

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