New tool helps service to citizen

Remedy Corp., a provider of customer relationship management solutions, this week introduced Citizen Response, a CRM solution designed specifically for government agencies.

The new tool is an extension of Remedy's Customer Support software application. It automates the process of tracking inquiries from request to resolution, helping agencies to serve their constituents while lowering support costs, said Phil Talsky, senior product manager.

Agencies may handle thousands of daily inquiries from constituents manually, which can result in slow response times and leave the door to open to human error. The Mountain View, Calif.-based company's product enables government agencies to respond to and track in-person, phone, e-mail and Web inquiries from constituents much faster than they can manually.

"We're in active talks with several agencies right now...and we're targeting deals to close this quarter and next quarter," Talsky said. Federal agencies are the primary focus, but state and local governments are also potential customers. The product is currently on the short list for a deal in California, he said.

Citizen Response features include the ability to:

Analyze and route inquiries by the type of interaction: government-to-citizen, government-to-business or government-to-government. Enable agents to respond to inquiries and deliver step-by-step resolutions in a timely manner, using a task-oriented interface. Reduce call volume through Web-based self-service features and e-mail management. Adapt to changing regulations to meet citizen needs and expectations. It also meets Section 508 regulations governing federal purchases of electronic office equipment and services that are accessible to people with disabilities.

Citizen Response will be available through systems integrators, including Logicon FDC and BTG Inc., in the third quarter of 2001. It costs $30,000 for three user licenses. Additional licenses can be bought at $2,000 per user.