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July 03, 2012

Genesys Acquires Self-Service Outfit LM Sistemas

By Paula Bernier
Executive Editor, TMC

Genesys (News - Alert) has purchased LM Sistemas, an interactive voice response company from Brazil. The value of the deal was not disclosed.

“[The] LM Sistemas acquisition complements and expands the Genesys presence in Brazil and greater Latin America, which is a key growth market for the company,” according to company officials. “LM Sistemas additionally expands the portfolio of Genesys voice self service solutions to include world-class applications and management capabilities.”

The deal also adds to the Genesys ranks more than 160 employees in Brazil. That more than triples the number of Genesys people serving customers in this growing market, the company said.

“As self-service becomes a more critical component of the overall customer experience, both companies and end customers are increasingly turning to new and more engaging applications,” according to a Genesys news release. “With a low to no up-front fees or infrastructure investment model, the LM Sistemas full service approach combines voice application best practices with technology for a unique and branded customer experience.”

“The company designs, delivers, monitors and optimizes the entire self-service application and related infrastructure for its customers,” the source said. “LM Sistemas’ innovative voice applications increase end customer adoption and bring new levels of engagement to self-service. Companies benefit through an enhanced brand, a better customer experience and increased automation rates.”

LM Sistemas customers include SKY Brazil, the largest provider of satellite TV services in South America; NET Serviços, Latin America’s largest multi-service cable company; and Embratel, a major Brazilian telecommunications company.

As discussed in the April issue of TMC’s (News - Alert) Customer Interaction Solutions magazine, Genesys has long been a fixture in the communications space, and its ownership over the years has not been unlike a game of musical chairs.

Genesys is now once again a standalone company, and the company’s management and new owners say it is uniquely positioned in today’s customer interaction solutions space.

The company got its start two decades ago. At the beginning, the company’s vision was to provide capabilities for call centers in software using computer telephony integration. And it worked. Genesys became the leader in CTI (News - Alert).

Genesys was so successful in this hot new area, CTI, that network infrastructure specialists at Alcatel announced plans in September 1999 to buy the company for about $1.5 billion.

But Alcatel-Lucent recently decided to sell off these customer service-related assets, and was able to do so last year via another $1.5-billion deal, this one with Permira and Technology Crossover Ventures.

The company offers a complete software suite for contact centers and customer service. Its application software started in world of voice and IVR, but over the years the Genesys solution has gone multichannel. It can now support chat, e-mail, mobile, social and voice communications, according to Nicolas De Kouchkovsky (News - Alert), Genesys’ chief marketing officer.

The company continues to strengthen its offerings in the growing areas of analytics, cloud computing, process workflow, social engagement and workforce optimization.

With 2010 sales of $500 million, Genesys occupies the No. 2 market share position in the contact center space.

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Edited by Braden Becker