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Confirmit, which provides software technology for market research (MR) and enterprise feedback management (EFM), said it has partnered with Magnetic North to deliver a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS (News - Alert)) telephony platform.

The hosted telephony service will be integrated with Confirmit’s new software platform, scheduled for launch in Q1 2009, a statement from the company said.

Magnetic North provides various productivity solutions for enterprise and Telco / carrier customers. Using Magnetic North’s Hosted On Demand outbound dialing and call recording technology, Confirmit will provide users with preview, progressive and predictive dialing, autodialing, call recording, and real-time audio-visual monitoring of telephone agents.

By launching the hosted telephony platform, Confirmit plans to reach out to global 5000 enterprises and market research organizations. According to the company, the SaaS telephony offer reduces the cost of telephone research projects and feedback programs and avoids the need for dialer hardware installation.

According to Confirmit, the combined telephony platform will become the world’s first complete multi-channel, on-demand platform, suitable for any size and complexity of feedback program or market research survey.

“For the first time, users will be able to run a fully-distributed call center platform without the need to buy and maintain any in-house infrastructure,” said Pat Molloy, chief strategy officer at Confirmit, in a statement.

“This dramatically reduces set up costs and, in most cases, removes the need for involvement from IT departments to install the software.”

Molloy promises this service as an ideal solution for any organization looking to minimize costs and speed up their time to market. The service is particularly suited to geographically diverse operations such as distributed call centers and those employing home workers, since it enables work to be outsourced easily via the Internet.

Another feature of the service is the easy ‘burstability’ which provides call center operators with other telephone operations.  For example, new interviewers can be added instantly to the system without the need to purchase and install new hardware.

Dominic Gray, managing director at Magnetic North, said, “We have worked closely with Confirmit to develop a tailored telephony system that answers the specific needs of the Market Research and Enterprise Feedback Management markets they serve. The result is a highly-scalable and cost-effective solution.”