Convergys and IBM Team Up to Offer Comprehensive Billing and Subscriber Management Solutions

Convergys Corporation and IBM have announced a partnership to market and deliver integrated billing and subscriber management solutions for the wireless industry. According to Mark Lowenstein, senior vice president of the Yankee Group, the wireless billing and customer care market could grow into a $5 billion industry in 1999. The partnership combines Convergys' leading wireless billing and customer care applications with IBM's global services and systems integration capabilities to provide wireless service providers with advanced functionality, including real-time, client/server architecture and high scalability.

Key Takeaways:

• Convergys and IBM are teaming up to offer comprehensive billing and subscriber management solutions for the wireless industry.
• The partnership combines Convergys' leading wireless billing and customer care applications with IBM's global services and systems integration capabilities.
• Convergys' billing software, Precedent 2000, is capable of addressing the complex customer care and billing needs of the expanding wireless industry.
• The client/server application integrates a series of real-time capabilities that form a seamless business management solution for communications providers.
• The partnership aims to provide wireless service providers with state-of-the-art functionality, including real-time, client/server architecture and high scalability.
• Convergys' expertise in billing and customer care is being combined with IBM's innovative systems integration capabilities to provide wireless providers with a scalable, one-stop-shop billing solution.
• The wireless industry is becoming increasingly dynamic and competitive, with carriers needing to react quickly and flexibly with their billing and subscriber management software.
• The partnership expects to help wireless providers support expanding market needs with a scalable, one-stop-shop billing solution.

Statistics:

• The wireless billing and customer care market could grow into a $5 billion industry in 1999 (Yankee Group).
• Convergys' billing software, Precedent 2000, can support up to 10 million subscribers in a single relational database.
• Convergys produces more than one million bills each day.
• Convergys handles more than one million customer contacts each day.
• Convergys has 33,000 employees in its 32 call centers and in its data centers and other offices in the United States, Canada, and Europe.

Sources:

• Convergys Corporation, "Convergys Teams with IBM to Market and Deliver Comprehensive Billing and Subscriber Management Solutions for Wireless Industry," June 23, 1999.
• IBM, "IBM Helps Telecommunications Companies Take Advantage of E-Business," 1999.
• Yankee Group, quoted by Mark Lowenstein, senior vice president, Mobile Wireless Practice, 1999.