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MURASKIN FILE
Integrated communications provider gets ARPU-boosting services. IVR division gets access to customers, a sales force.
THE PREMISE: Eckerd Drugs
THE PROSPECT:
For Eckerd, outsourcing routine W-2 requests; for XO, selling synergies between voice and data transport, data and web hosting, and hosted IVR
THE PIECES:
Application service of XO Communications IVR Division, built with:
* Cisco Systems' VC04K programmable switch
* Intel voice platform
* Parity application software
* Sybase Database
* XO's data-retrieval and manipulation middleware
THE PLOT:
This one's a fairly prosaic, if widely marketable IVR: Used by the Eckerd Pharmacy division of JC Penney, it takes employees' requests for W-2 duplicates and sends them to accounting for fulfillment. It's outsourced to what we used to call a custom IVR service bureau, but is now the Portland, OR-based IVR division of XO Communications (Reston, VA - 703-547-2000, www. xo.net). X0 is the integrated communications provider that began with a name change from Nextlink in 2000. XO acquired the custom TVR shop (known as Sound Response from 1991 till August 1995) through Nextlink's acquisition of Fiberlink.
The IVR acquisition is part of the same trend that sees Sprint partner with HeyAnita! and AT&T with TellMe; the telcos need services to pull in revenue per user; the service companies need access to customers, billing framework, and a sales force.
In this application, Eckerd employees call and enter their social security numbers. If XO recognizes the employee, it...