Frost & Sullivan Recognises InVision Software’s Outstanding Competitive Strategy Leadership

InVision Software is the recipient of the 2008 Frost & Sullivan EMEA Agent Performance Optimisation Competitive Strategy Leadership Award. InVision has had striking success in leveraging its advanced technology and regional expertise to seize a significant chunk of the EMEA workforce management software market, including some very high profile large-installation customers.

The overall trend in the workforce management software marketplace has been towards consolidation of niche software applications into broader-based suites. InVision has managed to buck that trend in recent years due to the innovative technology underlying its offering. Its primary offering, InVision Enterprise WFM, has been built as a browser-based but scalable tool that provides contact center data to an array of people in different capacities.

“The system’s open architecture allows tight integration with other systems; this is particularly important to InVision’s overall goals as the company is rapidly moving to bring contact center data, and tools, to executives and professionals in non-contact-center contexts,” notes Frost & Sullivan Research Analyst Keith Dawson. “It also offers standard user interfaces to all industry specific applications, and the ability to heavily customise the system.”

The company has recognised that going forward the bulk of its growth will come not from its initial base in the contact center industry but from scheduling workers in other areas of the business, and in other types of businesses, especially in the retail environment. It has accordingly fashioned a two-tier strategy.

“On the one hand, the company has built a best-of-breed tool that meets the increasing needs of European call centers for advanced scheduling; and on the other, a system that is adaptable, flexible, and moves beyond the niche that many of its competitors occupy,” explains Mr. Dawson. “This has positioned InVision to successfully resist the trend towards consolidation and suite-building that has been moving through the APO marketplace in both EMEA and North America.”

The company has recently joined the Avaya DevConnect programme, which will help it maintain its distinctive presence in EMEA as a local provider - which has proved important to European call center companies - while, at the same time, maintaining a technological integration into one of the key switching platforms in Europe. In the last year, InVision has grown through some competitive replacements and has also expanded its operations in North America. Major EMEA clients include ABN Amro, Allianz, BMW, Deutsche Telekom, IKEA, Sky and Vodafone.

“As a local company, InVision has advantages over some of the larger entrants in its existing language customisations and partnerships,” concludes Mr. Dawson. “By focusing on best-of-breed technology and simultaneously building out channel relationships and partnerships, InVision has demonstrated impressive staying power and capacity for growth in the as yet untapped European workforce management sector.”

About Frost & Sullivan Best Practices Awards

The Frost & Sullivan Award for Competitive Strategy Leadership is presented to the company whose competitive strategy has yielded significant gains in market share during the research period. Often, the recognised company has taken advantage of recent market changes that facilitate the introduction of never-before seen methods of capturing and solidifying market presence. Alternatively, the Award recipient may have executed an innovative strategy within the existing competitive landscape, empowering it to overtake the competition. In either case, the company captures the attention of the competition, which quickly adjusts in order to protect its own market position. Frost & Sullivan analysts expect such innovations to produce lasting, precedent-setting trends in the industry.

Frost & Sullivan Best Practices Awards recognise companies in a variety of regional and global markets for demonstrating outstanding achievement and superior performance in areas such as leadership, technological innovation, customer service, and strategic product development. Industry analysts compare market participants and measure performance through in-depth interviews, analysis, and extensive secondary research in order to identify best practices in the industry.

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About InVision

InVision Software is a world-leading supplier of enterprise-wide workforce management solutions which enable companies to optimise their staff planning and scheduling processes. InVision empowers customers to reduce personnel costs, increase productivity, improve employee satisfaction and to boost revenue by leveraging better customer service. Founded in 1995 and based in Ratingen (Germany), InVision currently employs more than 200 WFM specialists and has offices across Europe, North America, and South Africa. InVision Software AG (IVX) is listed in the Prime Standard Segment of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. Among InVision’s clients are numerous international blue chip companies, such as ABN Amro, Allianz, BMW, Deutsche Telekom, IKEA, Sky and Vodafone.

Further information: www.invisionwfm.com