Customer service and contact center technology provider Genesys is acquiring cloud-based self-service applications specialist Angel from business intelligence vendor MicroStrategy. Genesys says it is trying to expand its arsenal of cloud-based customer service solutions.
Angel provides on-demand, cloud-based SaaS customer self-service technology. This enables companies to offer customers self-service via methods including interactive voice response (IVR), SMS, chat and mobile applications. In addition, Angel offers a point-and-click graphical configuration interface that Genesys says makes it a viable option for enterprises of any size, and according to Genesys, Angel’s solutions “require no investment in hardware, software or human resources” to deploy.
Genesys is making a major play in the cloud-based customer self-service space. The company recently released the Genesys Connect native Salesforce application for cloud-based, automated customer service and call center management directly from Service Cloud. And in January 2013, Genesys purchased customer interaction analytics company UTOPY.
Genesys says it doubled its revenue in 2012 and predicts it will now receive annual recurring cloud-based revenue of more than US$ 85 million, so more acquisitions and/or partnerships are a strong possibility.
A Win-Win Situation
BMO Capital analyst Karl Keirstead sees the Angel purchase as a win-win situation for Genesys and MicroStrategy. Forbes reports that in a research note, Keirstead said, “The sale of Angel.com (which in our view had few synergies with MSTR’s core [business intelligence software] business) tightens MSTR’s strategic focus, the deal price is solid, and the sale is modestly accretive to EPS given that Angel.com was a break even business. Second, the deal is further evidence of pending change in the contact center software market, which is transitioning to cloud-hosted solutions (Angel.com has a cloud-based and mid-market solution) at an accelerating clip and forcing the legacy incumbents (Genesys, Cisco, Avaya) to innovate or acquire.”
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Meeting the Customer’s Emotional Needs
By aggressively pursuing efficient cloud-based customer service that can be delivered across multiple channels and also offered via self-service, Genesys is helping its users meet the all-important emotional needs of the customer.
As reported by CMSWire, a recent ArchiveGlobal study entitled “Why Your Customers Stay or Stray: Insight from Global Customer Experience Research” indicates emotional response was found to be so important that one-third of respondents preferred being treated well -- that is, being heard and respected -- to having their issues immediately resolved.
Cross-channel customer service that includes BI rules greatly increases the chance a customer will feel they are receiving good treatment -- and self-service eliminates the problems that poorly trained agents may cause. Emotional quotient, or “EQ,” is all the rage in business these days, and Genesys is trying to help companies raise the EQ of their customer service/call center efforts.
Genesys will pay US$ 110 million for the acquisition. Angel has more than 800 business customers, with a focus on mid-market companies.
