IEX Offers Advanced Solution for Contact Center Performance Management
Merced Systems Selected to Provide Performance Optimization Technology

Expanding its range of contact center optimization solutions, IEX, a Tekelec (Nasdaq: TKLC) company, today announced an agreement with Merced Systems whereby IEX will include the Merced Performance Suite in the company's product offerings. IEX, the leading provider of contact center workforce management software, and Merced Systems, a leader in contact center performance management technology, further announced their intent to provide enhanced integration and functional capabilities between the IEX TotalView Workforce Management system and the Merced solution.

"This agreement represents a significant step for IEX as the company joins an elite group of technology suppliers with a demonstrated understanding of the importance of performance management to an overall contact center optimization strategy," said Paul Stockford, chief analyst, Saddletree Research. "The tight integration of workforce management with performance management provides a cost-effective and comprehensive performance optimization solution and represents the leading edge in the next generation of contact center productivity tools."

The IEX performance management offering will be supplied with pre-built integration to the IEX TotalView Workforce Management system providing an out- of-the-box solution that can be deployed rapidly and cost-effectively. Pre- configured key performance indicators (KPIs) based on workforce management and other information in the TotalView database, along with report and dashboard templates, let customers quickly gain insights on their current performance results and begin implementing plans for improvement. Future feature enhancements of the solution include a workforce management dashboard targeting the performance of workforce planning and forecasting teams and synchronized system administration features.

"Performance management is a natural extension of workforce management, as it focuses on workforce productivity improvement. Together, these solutions are central to the process of contact center optimization," says Debbie May, IEX president. "The combination of these two industry leading solutions along with our in-depth knowledge of contact center operations provides a truly unique and superior choice for improving performance in the contact center."

Merced performance management technology helps contact centers optimize performance by providing personalized information to every role in the organization, improving management decision-making and automating key manual processes. The solution automatically integrates information from various systems within the contact center (ACD, IVR, Quality, CRM, HR, and others), and consolidates it into a single, easy to manage data repository for use in providing personalized performance dashboards, automated reports and advanced analytical capabilities including drill-down, sorting and filtering. Fully integrated workflow functionality ensures that performance improvement actions are taken through the use of automated alerts and electronic forms to collect information and track activities and task completions. The capability for business users to make changes to the system easily without IT or developer support and the ability to personalize information access and display by both role and business unit further differentiate this solution from similar performance management products.

"Our solutions put actionable information into the hands of people who can use it to create real improvement in the contact center, and it helps create an environment of accountability and performance," says Mark Selcow, Merced Systems president. "Customers realize a return on their investment in many ways: through staff productivity gains, automation of administrative tasks, reduced turnover and lowered staffing requirements."

About IEX

IEX, a Tekelec company, is a leading provider of contact center workforce productivity solutions. In existence since 1988, the company has a long- standing reputation for delivering superior products, quality services, and customer success. Contact centers of all types and sizes, totaling more than 630,000 agents at over 2,500 sites worldwide, rely on IEX solutions to improve planning, enhance productivity, streamline tasks and integrate data. IEX sells products and services worldwide through direct sales and select distributors. More information can be found on the IEX Website at http://www.iex.com.

About Merced Systems

Merced Systems, Inc. is a leading provider of contact center performance management systems, including data integration, personalized dashboards, reports and other tools to build fact-based, data-driven organizations. Profitable from its first year of product availability, the company has a track record of providing advanced products to the contact center market. Merced Systems is based in Redwood City, CA. More information can be found on the company's Website, http://www.mercedsystems.com.