EFG Hermes automates online stock and bond trading through Avaya solution

Nearly 5000 EFG-Hermes clients will have the capability to buy and sell stocks and bonds, and check the prices and performance of mutual funds, through the Avaya Internet protocol (IP)-based telephone system.

"EFG-Hermes' objectives for 2006 include expanding into new regional markets, and increasing the productivity of our operations. The Avaya deployment enables us to better serve our customers in Cairo, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE by automating some of the key services that we provide, and the system will also reduce our internal costs and boost efficiencies through a 600+ IP phone network linking our various offices," said Mohamed El Sayed, Chief Information Officer, EFG-Hermes.

With the new system, EFG-Hermes will have three separate contact centers - one each in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE - that are Arabic-enabled, managed by 100 customer service agents, and linked to the investment bank's existing customer relationship management (CRM) solution. The three contact centers will be administered centrally through Avaya's consolidated software environment, creating a 24-hour, up-to-date repository of information about all of the stocks, binds, and mutual finds managed by EFG-Hermes

"Our customers in the Middle East, Europe, and the US all require around-the-clock access to financial services information, so it's vital that EFG-Hermes is accessible to our client base and that our customer-facing staff have the latest information to hand about each customer's portfolio. The ability to inform, buy, and sell in the language of choice, with a single phone call, and at any time is a powerful tool that we are providing through the new Avaya deployment,"

added El Sayed.

Making up the EFG-Hermes system are the following elements:

• Avaya S8700 Media Server to bring all of the capabilities and robust performance of Communication Manager telephony software onto an industry standard processor running an industry standard operating system.

• Avaya Communication Manager to integrate telephony call processing, call control, messaging, and contact center management for EFG-Hermes' distributed enterprise communications network.

• Avaya Contact Center Express, a multi-channel, high-volume software solution designed specifically for the intelligent routing and computer telephony integration (CTI) needs of contact centers like that of EFG-Hermes.

• Witness ContactStore for Communication Manager for the recording needs and quality control of EFG-Hermes' contact centers.

• Avaya Call Management System for EFG-Hermes to monitor and analyze the performance of its contact center operations, showing where improvements are needed and where to take fast effective action.

"Financial services is one of the fastest-growing industries for contact center deployments across the Middle East, given the burgeoning of the region's banking sector and the size of investments being made by customers here," said Roger El-Tawil, Channel and Marketing Manager for Avaya in the Middle East and North Africa. "By automating trading information through telephony, EFG-Hermes is delivering a valuable new service to its clients, and reducing costs internally through an IP-based communications network across its branch offices."

In addition to EFG-Hermes, Avaya counts Emirates Bank International and Al Banque Al Saudi Al Fransi among its financial services clients in the Middle East region.