Genesys and LivePerson integrate products to create solution for proactive real-time engagement on the web

Daly City, CA, June 4, 2009 – Two key providers of intelligent online engagement software solutions have joined forces in an effort to eliminate the silos between traditional contact centers and the web.  LivePerson (NASDAQ: LPSN), a leading provider of online engagement solutions, has integrated its hosted software platform with the Genesys Customer Interaction Management (CIM) platform in an effort to significantly improve the integration between traditional contact centers and the web.

LivePerson is best known for its web platform, which maximizes online sales and revenue opportunities by proactively targeting the right visitor with the right message at the right time in order to affect a desired outcome. Genesys, an Alcatel-Lucent company (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU), is the leading provider of customer service software, and brings together traditional contact centers with a wide range of interaction channels, including the web, fax, email and SMS/text messaging.

Consumers often face similar challenges when it comes to online transactions, many of which directly relate to insufficient online assistance: incomplete transactions, the need to escalate the transaction to an agent and requirements for more than one channel of communication.

The integrated solution from LivePerson and Genesys gives customer service agents the ability to proactively engage with customers in real-time at the moment of opportunity – before consumers click away from the web site.  LivePerson’s third-generation engagement solution monitors specific events such as web page click-through paths and the amount of time spent on a web page – indicators of a visitor’s propensity to purchase – and applies business rules to trigger proactive invitations to these customers.  By proactively inviting online consumers to ‘click-to-chat’ and ‘click-to-call,’ companies can ensure their offers are presented to the right customers - visitors who meet pre-determined criteria - if an appropriate agent is available to take their chat or call.  Once an engagement is initiated it is routed by the intelligent Genesys Customer Interaction Management Platform to the right resource, the one with the most suitable expertise for meeting the needs of the customer or the one with the highest probability of making a sale.  For example, the right resource might be a product expert or it could be an agent who is able to communicate in the customer’s preferred mode of interaction, such as live chat, telephone or SMS/text messaging.

Genesys recently launched an initiative to combine the key technologies needed to serve the growing wave of consumers who interact across multiple channels.  The Genesys Cross Channel Conversations initiative includes identifying the gaps in customer interactions today and providing an integrated platform to serve as the hub of these interactions.  By joining LivePerson and Genesys together in Cross Channel Conversations consumers will be able to more easily move between communication channels without losing the context or intent of their transaction.  If they move from the web to voice, for example, a representative will see the history of the steps taken.  This means the customer never has to repeat steps or backtrack through their transaction.   

“Cross Channel Conversations is an important initiative that we are proud to support,” said Robert LoCascio, CEO of LivePerson. “Genesys is clearly a leader in customer service, providing a critical platform for many of the world’s largest financial services, telecommunications, technology and consumer companies that want to enable a better online customer experience.  With this integration LivePerson removes a barrier to customer service and, at the same time, extends our own market reach.”

“The LivePerson integration is a significant step that we expect will improve the customer experience consumers have across communication channels,” said Nicolas De Kouchkovsky, president of Genesys. “Customers benefit by having experts available to assist with any part of a transaction, while a unified console and visitor queue allows agents to more easily handle chat and telephone interactions.  The integration is a visible sign of our momentum with Cross Channel Conversations.”

About LivePerson
LivePerson is a leading provider of online engagement solutions that facilitate real-time assistance and expert advice. Connecting businesses and experts with consumers seeking help on the Web, LivePerson’s hosted software platform creates more relevant, compelling and personalized online experiences.  Every month, LivePerson’s intelligent platform helps millions of people succeed online; more than 7,000 companies, including EarthLink, Hewlett-Packard, Microsoft, Qwest, and Verizon, rely on LivePerson to maximize the impact of the online channel. LivePerson is headquartered in New York City.

About Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories, Inc.
Genesys, an Alcatel-Lucent company, is the only company that focuses 100% on software to manage customer interactions over the phone, web and in e-mail.  The Genesys software suite dynamically connects customers with the right resources - self-service or assisted-service - to fulfill customer requests, optimize customer care goals and efficiently use resources.  Genesys software directs more than 100 million customer interactions every day for 4,000 companies and government agencies in 80 countries.  These companies and agencies can leverage their entire organization, from the contact center to the back office, to improve the overall customer experience.  As a result, Genesys helps stop customer frustration, drive efficiency, and accelerate business innovation. For more information, go to www.genesyslab.com.

About Alcatel-Lucent
Alcatel-Lucent (Euronext Paris and NYSE: ALU) is the trusted partner of service providers, enterprises and governments worldwide, providing solutions to deliver voice, data and video communication services to end-users.  A leader in fixed, mobile and converged broadband networking, IP technologies, applications and services, Alcatel-Lucent leverages the unrivalled technical and scientific expertise of Bell Labs, one of the largest innovation powerhouses in the communications industry.  With operations in more than 130 countries and the most experienced global services organization in the industry, Alcatel-Lucent is a local partner with a global reach.  Alcatel-Lucent achieved revenues of Euro 16.98 billion in 2008 and is incorporated in France, with executive offices located in Paris.  For more information, visit Alcatel-Lucent on the Internet: http://www.alcatel-lucent.com.

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Media Contact:
David Radoff, Genesys, +1 650.466.1078, dradoff@genesyslab.com

Kevin Kohn, LivePerson +1 917 362 3186 kkohn@liveperson.com