eGain Communications on Monday released the latest iteration
of its self-service 
application, eGain Service 7.6.
New features include guidance on complex customer
interactions and tweaks to security, as well as additional
process improvement. The changes, eGain CEO Ashu
Roy told CRM Buyer, are based on either customer
requests or the company's experiences in the field.
Such incremental gains in functionality --
across the self-service industry in general -- are
likely to be the norm going forward, according to Gartner (NYSE: IT) research director Esteban Kolsky. "The self-service
industry has matured," he said. "I don't anticipate any
significant advances other than those that build on
investments or product direction that has already been
established."
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A Wide Range
eGain Service already supported a wide range of self-service
functionality, including SMS (short message service)
customer service 
interactions, Web self-service, chat,
co-browsing, e-mail , fax, postal mail support, notification
management, call tracking and resolution, and service
fulfillment. Version 7.6 includes enhancements to these features, as well as an upgrade to the application's customer
interaction hub (CIH) platform, a scalable service management platform that the company rolled out
about a year-and-a-half ago, Roy noted.
Based on J2EE (Java 2 Enterprise Edition) architecture, eGain's CIH features integration with third-party business applications,
content management systems and a call center
infrastructure application. The service-oriented architecture (SOA)-based platform
also enables the development of custom applications.
eGain Service 7.6, which can be deployed on-demand or on-premise, includes the following new funtionality:
Self-Service
- eGain MessageCenter, which offers secure e-mail communication between the customer and the business, allowing customers to view their interactions through an authenticated Web site.
Assisted Service
- eGain Adviser, a guidance module that helps agents handle informational or transactional customer interactions. Features include contextual upsell and cross-sell, follow-on service fulfillment, and value-added advice that is compliant with regulations and corporate best practices. It also provides a user interface and integrated workflow powered by eGain's Inference reasoning engine.
- eGain CallTrack, an application that works with eGain KnowledgeAgent software for phone call logging, tracking, resolution and follow-on service fulfillment.
- eGain SME, a collaborative tool that enables reps to consult with subject matter experts (SMEs) throughout the enterprise.
- eGain SMS, a system to manage customer interactions via the increasingly popular SMS protocol.
Process Automation
- eGain AutoClassify, a process management tool that classifies and routes incoming inquiries and e-mail. It uses eGain's Inference reasoning engine to provide a more robust classification of inquiries as opposed to simple keyword matching.
- eGain AutoWorkflow, another process management tool that works with the eGain Workflow Engine and eGain Adapters to automatically execute service processes.
- eGain Notify, which helps to manage and deliver event-based reminders, alerts and updates.
- eGain Survey, for use in contact centers, e-commerce
sites and customer portals to solicit and act on customer
feedback.
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