Adeptra Reflects On 2010 Demand for True Multi-Channel Communications

Norwalk, CT, USA and Reading, UK – Adeptra, the recognized leader in automated contact and resolution services, has announced a summary of 2009 successes as it prepares for a strong 2010, during which it expects  to see exponential demand for multi-channel customer communications,  including landline and mobile phone calls, email and SMS.

2009 was a year of change. Fraud continued to rise; financial institutions increased their collections efforts, and the global recession caused massive changes in consumer spending patterns. These changes in consumer behavior, combined with stricter regulations and legislation, increased revenue focus across the credit card industry.

Despite these challenges, Adeptra saw a strong demand for real-time fraud prevention and resolution with the volume of fraud calls made for its clients doubling compared to 2008.  In addition to the millions of calls made every day on behalf of its clients, the company saw increased multi-channel deployments.  Of these channels, SMS saw the most dramatic year-on-year increase with a 655 percent uptick in cases handled by Adeptra.

To meet this increased demand for its services, Adeptra has invested heavily in R&D, infrastructure and capacity to ensure the leadership of its product offerings and its underlying data security and business continuity capabilities.

Adeptra saw global growth through new and existing clients in established territories such as North America and Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA), as well as a dramatic increase in activity in the APAC region.

The company’s commitment to the highest standards of data security compliance was re-confirmed, as Adeptra became the first Interactive Voice Messaging organization to meet both Payment Card Industry Security Standard (PCI DSS) v 1.2 and ISO27001 standards on a global basis.

In line with organizations’ increasing communication needs, rising amounts of data across the globe and the growing need to localize service delivery, a regional infrastructure was implemented.  A new team of Client Implementation Managers was created to assist partners and the growing client roster.  In addition, the company also opened its fifth global data center to support the regional business model.

Adeptra’s achievements and growth throughout the year did not go unnoticed, as it won plaudits in both the US and UK. The Connecticut Technology Council honored Adeptra with a Tech Top 40 award for its consistent growth performance. On the other side of the Atlantic, the London Sunday Times included Adeptra in its Microsoft Tech Track 100 for the fourth consecutive year, a ranking of private technology companies in the UK based on business growth.

Lou Venezia, CEO of Adeptra, said, “In 2009, demand for our services was stronger than ever. We increased revenue, partners, staff and our presence in new global regions. We expect our market leadership and significant investment to continue in 2010 driven by the constant battle against fraud and the need for customer-facing organizations to have real-time personalized communications across whichever channels their customers prefer.”
 
Discussing trends that will affect the credit card industry in the next year, Mr. Venezia added, “Forthcoming industry developments such as the US Credit CARD Act and the UK Government’s consultation period on Consumer Credit will affect the entire industry by shifting responsibilities and giving consumers more power. Consumers will expect more transparent, immediate communications and more guarantees of the security of their data. As a result, customer service will be the 2010 battleground for fraud prevention and resolution.  Furthermore, any institutions that lack the resources to minimize customer irritation and lost revenue opportunities from mistakenly-blocked cards are going to find 2010 rougher than 2009.”

Ed Broyles, Adeptra’s managing director of North America, added, “In terms of technology, in 2010, credit card companies will use it for greater portfolio segmentation. They will be able to serve each area of their business uniquely and customize services to fit the preferences and demographics of individual account holders. Communication methods will involve immediacy over more channels in support of integrated communication strategies. SMS notifications in particular will continue to rise in popularity, as next-generation consumers, comfortable with this method of communication, continue to embrace it and demand it from their financial institutions.”

About Adeptra
Adeptra is the global market leader in Auto-resolution™: technology that automates key call center interactions to reduce their cost and dramatically increase performance. Applications are fully integrated, industry-specific solutions for business processes such as fraud detection, payment reminders and opt-in marketing.

Distinct from less sophisticated auto-dialer systems, Adeptra combines recorded dialog with state of the art natural language to reach out to individual customers and personally engage with them about important, time-sensitive issues. Adeptra is able to make thousands of customer contacts simultaneously and achieves higher levels of portfolio penetration and produces significantly better results than human agents alone. The resolutions it secures are delivered into clients’ computer systems for reporting and analysis.

Among its many customers, Adeptra is used by the majority of leading retail banks across EMEA, N America and APAC. It occupies a premium position in the market by continually reinvesting in its technology, operations and service structure. For more information, visit www.adeptra.com