Jan 27, 2009 11:00 ET

Toshiba’s Net Phone Receives 2008 Product of the Year Award From Customer Interaction Solutions® Magazine

IRVINE, Calif. --(Business Wire)-- Jan 27, 2009 Toshiba America Information Systems Inc., Telecommunication Systems Division (Toshiba — www.telecom.toshiba.com) announced today that Toshiba’s Net Phone™ 6.0 has received a 2008 Product of the Year Award from Technology Marketing Corporation’s (TMC^®) Customer Interaction Solutions magazine (www.cismag.com), the leading publication covering CRM, call centers and teleservices since 1982. The 11^th Annual Product of the Year Award winners are featured in the January 2009 issue of Customer Interaction Solutions magazine.

“Toshiba has demonstrated its commitment to quality and excellence in its Net Phone 6.0 call center productivity tool, and we are pleased to honor it with a 2008 Product of the Year award,” said Nadji Tehrani, executive group publisher and editor-in-chief of Customer Interaction Solutions.

“We are proud to receive Customer Interactions Solutions magazine’s Product of the Year award for our Net Phone call center productivity tool,” said Brian Metherell, vice president and general manager of Toshiba America Information Systems Inc., Telecommunication Systems Division. “We are dedicated to improving the efficiency and productivity of call centers with our Toshiba Strata® Call Center Suite including Net Phone.”

Toshiba’s Net Phone 6.0 improves the productivity of call centers and gives call center agents the tools to more effectively communicate with customers, access valuable customer information and chat with supervisors while they are on the telephone with customers. Toshiba’s Net Phone 6.0 promotes productivity and improves the customer experience through screen pop and easy-to-use, screen-based call control and telephony operation. Its Presence capabilities gives call center agents and office workers the ability to view the status of other users on the system, empowering them to be more efficient in call management. For example, today’s call center often requires agents to talk to subject matter experts, and the Presence capability helps agents to accurately and more quickly address customers’ requests.

Among the powerful features of Net Phone 6.0 are:

• Presence Viewer
  • Integrated window shows real-time status of the users including phone status (idle, busy, or do not disturb), status message such as “in meeting,” and chat availability status.
  • Click to initiate call or request chat with agents
  • Collaboration tools including Chat and/or Whiteboard easily implemented from the Presence window
  • Auto-dial capabilities from the Presence window
• VoIP Benefits
  • Supports optional built-in VoIP soft phone to complete the all-in-one phone operation
  • Strata CIX™ IP Mobility compatibility allows users to switch from the Net Phone VoIP to the IP telephone or the SoftIPT® soft phone on a laptop computer. The voice connection is changed to the selected telephone, while the Net Phone can still provide the screen pop and control the telephone.
• Ease-of-Use Features
  • Screen pop and easy-to-use, screen-based features improve call center agent productivity and enhance customer experience.
  • Screen-based telephony features include drag and drop transfer and conference capabilities
  • Personal call handling rules and new communication tools help increase the productivity of office workers
• Integration Capabilities
  • Built-in integration with Toshiba applications, including Strata ACD
  • Built-in integration with Toshiba-certified third-party applications, including OAISYS Tracer
  • Custom application integration via Net Phone API and DDE
  • TAPI TSP provides external applications with TAPI interface
  • Toshiba’s Net Phone 6.0 is designed for the Toshiba Strata CIX family of IP business communication systems. It is also compatible with all Toshiba Strata CIX telephones, including its new IP5000 IP telephones, DP 5000 digital telephones, SoftIPT soft phone, and its older IPT IP telephones and DKT digital telephones. It is also compatible with Toshiba’s Strata Media Application Server (Strata MAS) or can run on the user’s own server.

About Customer Interaction Solutions

Since 1982, Customer Interaction Solutions (CIS) magazine has been the voice of the call/contact center, CRM and teleservices industries. CIS magazine has helped the industry germinate, grow, mature and prosper, and has served as the leading publication in helping these industries that have had such a positive impact on the world economy to continue to thrive. Through a combination of outstanding and cutting-edge original editorial, industry voices, in-depth lab reviews and the recognition of the innovative leaders in management and technology through our highly valued awards, Customer Interaction Solutions strives to continue to be the publication that holds the quality bar high for the industry. Please visit www.cismag.com.

About TMC

Technology Marketing Corporation (TMC) is an integrated global media company helping our clients build communities in print, in person and online. TMC publishes Customer Interaction Solutions, INTERNET TELEPHONY, Unified Communications, and NGN Magazine. TMC is also the first publisher to test new products in its own on-site laboratories, TMC Labs. TMCnet, TMC's Web site, is the leading source of news and articles for the communications and technology industries. TMCnet is read by two to three million unique visitors each month worldwide, according to Webtrends. In addition, TMC produces INTERNET TELEPHONY Conference & EXPO and Communications Developer Conference.

For more information about TMC, visit www.tmcnet.com.

About Toshiba America Information Systems Inc. (TAIS)

Headquartered in Irvine, Calif., TAIS is comprised of four business units: Digital Products Division, Imaging Systems Division, Storage Device Division, and Telecommunication Systems Division. Together, these divisions provide mobile products and solutions, including industry leading portable computers; projectors; imaging products for the security, medical and manufacturing markets; storage products for automotive, computer and consumer electronics applications; and telephony equipment and associated applications.

TAIS provides sales, marketing and services for its wide range of information products in the United States and Latin America. TAIS is an independent operating company owned by Toshiba America, Inc., a subsidiary of Toshiba Corporation, which is a global leader in high technology and integrated manufacturing of electrical and electronic components, products and systems, as well as major infrastructure systems. Toshiba has more than 191,000 employees worldwide and annual sales of over US $76 billion (FY2007). For more information on Toshiba’s leading innovations, visit the company’s Web site at www.toshiba.com.

© 2009 Toshiba America Information Systems, Inc. All product, service and company names are trademarks, registered trademarks or service marks of their respective owners. Information including without limitation product prices, specifications, availability, content of services, and contact information is subject to change without notice.

Toshiba PR
T&Co.
Teri Sawyer, 714-536-8407
terisawyer@me.com
or
TMC PR
Jan Pierret, 203-852-6800, ext. 228
jpierret@tmcnet.com