Professional Teledata News

Professional Teledata provides innovative software solutions to call centers around the world for transaction processing, inbound and outbound program design, billing management, and appointment reminder services. With headquarters located in Manchester, New Hampshire, the company services the telephone answering service and call center industries and brings the latest technology to the forefront of these industries.

The only way to do that is by being the right size and having the right people. We're not so small that we can't be responsive to our clients needs and we're not too big that we can't be flexible and nimble to adapt to industry demands. Since the majority of our staff comes from the answering service industry (and actually began their training in the field, regardless of their position), we can proudly say that our dedicated support team understands the needs of our customers. And with an organization-wide focus on research and development, we are able to ensure our products are always top notch.

For more information about Professional Teledata, contact Karen Black at 800-344-9944 x112 or k.black@proteledata.com.  Also, look at the Professional Teledata newsfeed for the latest updates and check out Professional Teledata podcasts.

Professional Teledata Introduces PInnacle Sentry (June 2012

Professional Teledata added a new feature option to their lineup of technology solutions. PInnacle Sentry is an add-on enhancement that allows video monitoring to be integrated into the existing stream of incoming events, allowing call centers to participate in the VSaaS (Video Surveillance as a Service) market.

Pat Kalik, president of Professional Teledata, stated: “The idea of integrating video surveillance into the mix of events has been previously unattainable.” Traditional video monitoring has been limited to having a guard physically monitor cameras on closed circuit systems. Professional Teledata altered the landscape of managing video surveillance through the integration of external monitoring devices with its software technology. The result is an improved and more efficient call agent, one that can successfully monitor and administer potential issues using a prompted software system.

“By adding this new feature, end users will be eager to tackle new horizons and increase productivity by leveraging their existing PInnacle investment and staff that already knows how to use it,” said Jim Graham, vice president of Professional Teledata.

Ken Goldenberg the 2012 Allen Kalik Award Recipient (June 2012

Last month, during the PINetwork’s Annual Conference, Ken Goldenberg, vice president of Direct Line TeleResponse in Berkeley, California, was presented with the Allen Kalik award. Charlie Crown of Towne Answering Service made the presentation.

The Allen Kalik award was implemented in 2011 after the passing of Professional Teledata president Allen Kalik. Honoring Allen for his contributions to the telecommunications industry and the PINetwork Group, this award recognizes individuals whose unselfish dedication and leadership have led to the advancement of the PINetwork Group.

“Ken Goldenberg couldn’t be more of a perfect fit for this award,” said president Pat Kalik. “I know Allen would be proud.”

Ken has been in the industry for eighteen years. Although he learned many things from his parents, Ruth and Larry, being an active part of various associations has enabled him to learn so much more. Taglines created by his father, such as “Learning by Association” and “Building Our Future Together,” have instilled the type of sharing, leadership attitude, and unselfish dedication that make Ken the perfect recipient.

Professional Teledata Welcomes Leah Sundin as New Marketing Coordinator (April 2012)

Professional Teledata, providers of technology solutions for the call center industry, announced the appointment of Ms. Leah Sundin as their new marketing coordinator. Ms. Sundin brings five years of expertise, knowledge, and experience in the marketing field with her to Professional Teledata. Leah will lead the efforts of the sales and marketing department to implement innovative strategies in order to better familiarize existing and potential clients with the vast array of products and services Professional Teledata offers.

An accomplished marketer, Leah has been recognized by her peers as an asset to a team, having the ability to wear “multiple hats” while maintaining a positive, fresh attitude toward providing excellent service and products.

“Leah Sundin brings the vitality and perspective to this position that fits perfectly with our vision for the future at Professional Teledata,” said Pat Kalik, president of Professional Teledata. “Leah understands what we are all about. Her experience and expertise make her the perfect person to serve as our marketing coordinator, where she will continue providing quality and excellence for our clients and customers.”

Professional Teledata Adds Call Center Analytic Reports (March 2012)

Professional Teledata has added a set of reports, to its PInnacle system. These reports, collectively known as PInnacle Analytics, were developed by their technical support department as part of their close involvement with customers. These reports fill a variety of roles, including monitoring key call center metrics such as:

• Agent hours for payroll validation

• Agent adherence with operational standards

• Abandonment percentage

• Average speed of answer

• Agent utilization

• Agents over- or under-staffed

Pat Kalik, president of the company stated, “Staffing a call center properly is always a challenge, and it’s a key aspect of business profitability. PInnacle Analytics is an important tool to develop an efficient agent schedule based on past performance.”

The reports are designed for easy on-screen viewing, or they can be exported to PDF or Excel for further analysis. All PInnacle and PInnacle Freedom customers can download these reports, which can be found on PInnacle’s online forum.

Professional Teledata Adds “Secure Messaging” (December 2011)

Professional Teledata added a “secure message” delivery method to its PInnacle Platform in response to HIPAA/HITECH regulations requiring that sensitive information be secure during transmission from the call center to the recipient. Secure message functionality is available for iPhone, BlackBerry, and Android smart phones and iPad and Android tablets.

Agents submit secure messages for delivery and then are notified when the message has been delivered to the device and again when it is read. Recipients of these messages can “reply” directly back to the call center. The history for each message is updated with all activity to provide a detailed audit trail. As with all PInnacle delivery methods, secure message can be automatically sent to recipients without any agent interaction, streamlining the message taking and dispatch processes.

Pat Kalik, president of Professional Teledata said, “We are proud to make state-of-the-art technologies available to our users. These new features will allow PInnacle users to provide additional cutting-edge services to their customers, further strengthening the customer relationship.”

Professional Teledata provides systems and software products for the telemessaging and call center industries. Contact Karen Black 800-344-9944 x112 for pricing information.

Hosting “Saves” Call Centers (October 2011)

With Hurricane Irene bearing down on Virginia Beach, Professional Answering Service owner Angelo Celesia moved his agents to hotels on higher ground and out of harm’s way when he was told to evacuate the building. Agents also brought their laptops so they could continue processing calls using the hotels’ Internet service. Angelo also enlisted the help of some other call centers using the same platform that were not affected by the hurricane. They were glad to help if the area went black.

In another instance, when Quick Connections in Greenbelt, Maryland, had all of their phone lines cut by a backhoe, their phone company told them it would be a week before service would be restored. They rerouted their traffic and began processing calls on their hosted backup system.

Both call centers used Professional Teledata’s hosted service, PInnacle Freedom. Pat Kalik, Professional Teledata president comments, “These two success stories prove that the hosted concept can bring significant peace of mind, knowing that you are protected from disasters and have mutual agreements in place for help at a moment’s notice.”

PIN Presents First Annual Allen Kalik Award to Ray Shaw (May 2011)

Professional Teledata’s PIN user group announced the creation of an annual award memorializing the company’s founder, Allen Kalik.  Presenting the award at their convention, Susan Liggett, PIN president, said, “We wanted a way of honoring the commitment to Allen’s vision and extraordinary contributions to the group.  It seemed to be an obvious and appropriate way of memorializing Allen’s leadership, generosity, and spirit, in addition to recognizing the best and brightest in our group.”

Ms. Liggett noted that Ray Shaw’s contributions include PIN president, PIN wish list, disaster recovery and technical committees, ATSI president and treasurer, and speaker at many industry meetings.

Upon receiving the award, Ray Shaw, president of Business and Professional Exchange in Beverly Massachusetts, said, “I knew Allen as my friend, my competitor, a mentor, and my vendor.  It is indeed a personal honor for me to have received this award, and I was caught totally by surprise.  The award will be proudly displayed in my office as a constant reminder of what Allen meant to me personally and what his wisdom and guidance did for my business.”

The group also presented a corresponding plaque to Professional Teledata.

Professional Teledata Releases PInnacle Web Portal V3 (January 2011)

Professional Teledata released Version 3 of its PInnacle Web Portal into beta testing at several customer sites.  This successful release was the result of a combined effort between the Professional Teledata engineering department and the PInnacle Users Group Web Committee.  This new release, which is provided to all PInnacle sites as part of their support contracts, includes the following new features:

• Enhanced “message management” that allows customers real time access to their messages

• An “announcements” section

• Private uploads/downloads for each customer

• On-call management

• Contact list management

• Dispatcher alerts

All of these features can be configured at the account/login level to allow for high levels of access flexibility.

“The engineering staff at Professional Teledata worked very closely with the PInnacle Users Group Web Committee, and I think the results speak for themselves,” said Jim Graham, vice president of Professional Teledata.  “We have been able to put together some great features that have been very well received.”

PInnacle Freedom Surpasses 2.5 Million Calls, Enhances Service Capabilities (November 2010)

In early September, the PInnacle Freedom hosted call center platform surpassed the 2.5 million inbound call threshold.  "We feel this certainly demonstrates our industry's acceptance of hosted solutions," said Alan Hartmann from Professional Teledata.  The Freedom system is a completely hosted system, using SIP trunking and VoIP agent phones.

The company also announced that because they are installing additional equipment in a colocation facility run by DSCI in October, call traffic will be handled by the "Gold Standard" for VoIP: Acme Packet Session Border Controllers.  "Being in this business requires architecture with the highest reliability and redundancy," noted Dale Schafer, VP of engineering.  "Colocating in DSCI's facility using the Acme Packet equipment will give us this."  Now Freedom clients can use any number of SIP trunk providers, giving them the maximum options for controlling telephony costs.

Pat Kalik Installed as New President of Professional Teledata (October 2010)

As a result of former President Allen Kalik's passing, the board of directors has implemented its succession plans by unanimously naming Pat Kalik president of Professional Teledata, Manchester, New Hampshire.  Allen had been semiretired for over four years, but he continued to attend industry conventions until recently when his health made travel difficult.  He was a true giant in the industry, a selfless visionary who never stopped giving of himself to help others.

Pat has been involved in the industry for over thirty years, as co-owner of Executive Exchange, Professional Inbound, and Professional Teledata.  The other company executives are principals and IT, software, and telephony engineers with nearly seventy-five years of collective industry experience:  Jim Graham and Dale Schafer, cofounders of Professional Inbound with Allen Kalik in 1993, and Alan Hartmann, founder and former president of Tele-Data Systems.  All of the staff at Professional Teledata are looking forward to carrying Allen's vision for the company and its products forward.

Professional Teledata Releases Midnight Freedom (June 2010)

Professional Teledata released a new feature for PInnacle Freedom customers called Midnight Freedom.  Using Freedom's hosted platform, it provides users with the option to outsource some calls, such as the midnight shift.  "I can relate to the various headaches and hassles that come with operating the business, and the anxiety that exists in hoping that you've got quality staff covering the overnight shift," stated Allen Kalik, president of Professional Teledata and former call center owner.

Using PInnacle Freedom, call centers can share agents by consolidating calls during a specified period, with calls seamlessly answered by a partner center.  The result is that a single agent can handle calls for multiple call centers using just one headset and one PC. 

Additionally, Professional Teledata will set up partnerships with several top call centers to handle the Midnight outsourcing needs.  These receiving centers will be selected for their professional reputation and their knowledge and experience as PInnacle users.  While the outsourcing center contracts directly with the PInnacle authorized call center of their choice, all data resides safely and securely only on the hosted system at Professional Teledata.

Professional Teledata Announces PInnacle Dashboard Accessory Program (May 2010)

Professional Teledata announced the availability of the Pinnacle Dashboard Accessory Program for all Pinnacle customers.  The dashboard provides a real-time visual display of key system metrics, including ACD-queue status, agent status, message-delivery status, and call traffic.  It provides an overall image of the key elements of call center load and performance.  Custom color-coding allows managers to set graduated warning parameters for real-time performance issues such as long hold times, excessive calls on hold, long calls, etc.  Further detailed screens may be displayed by clicking or "drilling down" on various components of the master screen as desired by the supervisor or when warning signs appear.

Another powerful tool of Dashboard is the real-time traffic screen, which provides a graphic display of call activity, including calls offered, abandoned, ASA, and abandonment rate.  Dashboard is designed with multiple monitor support in mind, so it can easily be run on a second monitor attached to a supervisory PC.  When used with a large-screen monitor, Dashboard easily serves as a sophisticated reader board.   

Professional Teledata User Group Has "Great Meeting" (May 2010)

Users of Professional Teledata products, PINetwork, held their annual Professional Inbound Network (PIN) meeting in Scottsdale, Arizona on March 14 to 17.  "The PIN group planned a great meeting.  The sessions were interesting, and the social events were over the top," said Pat Kalik, vice president of Professional Teledata, a provider of call center systems and software.

In addition to company and product updates, sessions included:

• Real-time traffic reporting

• Agent training

• SMS features

• Disaster recovery

• Pinnacle Dashboard

• Previews of new features

Tuesday night the group visited Contact One Call Center in Tucson and then enjoyed a real western barbecue hosted by member Judy Wood and her family.

The new PIN board of directors for 2010-2011 was announced:

• Susan Liggett, CallNet  --  president

• Charlie Crown, Towne Answering  --  vice president/president elect

• Larry Bear, Port Answer  --  treasurer

• Michael Shaw, Business & Professional Exchange  --  secretary

• Royce Mitchell, Westpark Communications  --  board member

• Rose Nigro, Professionally Speaking  --  board member

• Peter Gross, Sunshine Communications --  board member

• Phyllis Shaw, Business & Professional Exchange  --  past president

Professional Teledata's PInnacle Freedom Negates Weather's Fury (April 2010)

Launched just one year ago, Professional Teledata's hosted solution, PInnacle Freedom, has already proven itself, especially in light of the recent snowstorms and outages in the eastern U.S.  "We are excited about the success of our hosted product as a viable alternative for premise-based equipment," said Allen Kalik, president of Professional Teledata.  "As VoIP and carrier services continue to evolve, we are there at the forefront of that technology with the expertise and infrastructure to bring these advantages to our customers."

The Freedom product includes PInnacle software licensing and use of hardware hosted in the Manchester, New Hampshire headquarters of Professional Teledata.  DID (or DNIS numbers) are routed to the eOn eQueue switch, and call center staff can access the system using a high-speed Internet connection 24/7.  Hosting has proven particularly effective in integrating multiple locations, as well as for relocations.

"With the recent weather issues in the East causing outages and transportation issues, the ability of Freedom offices to continue operation has really proved the effectiveness of hosted solutions," said Dale Schafer, VP of engineering at Professional Teledata.

Professional Teledata Announces PInnacle Enhancements  (September 2009)

Professional Teledata announced the availability of enhancements for PInnacle customers with eQueue switches and all PInnacle Freedom customers.  The ACD Monitor program shows complete details for all calls in the ACD queue including DNIS, ANI, client name and ID, and the current stage of call handling (such as preannounce, ring, delay announce, or music-on-hold); agent information shows the agent mode (such as talking or working).

"These enhancements are helpful in measuring key performance indicators and providing tools for managing the call queues," stated Alan Hartmann, vice president of Professional Teledata.  "In addition, these changes drive the newly announced real-time traffic statistics package."

The ACD updates enable improved tracking of inbound traffic via the recently released real-time traffic statistics package, providing traffic data based on ACD route, time of day, day of week, client ID, or agent ID.

"This feature has been available since early 2009 for PInnacle customers with Millennium switches, and we have been working to make it available for the balance of our users.  We've designed this to be compatible with the ATSI Industry Standard Certification Workbook," added Hartmann.

Professional Teledata Client Goes Home with Cash (July 2009)

Kathleen Freeman of Advance Communications was the winner of Professional Teledata's "Unlock Trapped Profitability" contest held at the ATSI convention.  Professional Teledata introduced the contest to illustrate how users of PInnacle Freedom, a fully hosted software solution, can free themselves of the burden of hardware and more importantly, improve cash flow.  Freeman's guess that $209 was trapped in the box was the closest to the actual amount of $223, and she was delighted to take home the cash.

"I was so excited when my name was announced!  We've been a client of Professional Teledata for twenty-three years.  I really just took a wild guess and was thrilled to learn that I'd be going home with a little more than I came here with." 

"Our concept was quite simple," stated Pat Kalik, vice president of Professional Teledata.  "We really wanted to have a little fun with it and give show attendees an opportunity to win cash.  We thought it would be a better alternative to the traditional handouts at trade shows and felt that it really related to the product much better."

Professional Teledata Launches PInnacle Freedom (June 2009)

Professional Teledata officially launched PInnacle Freedom, the newest addition to its comprehensive suite of technology solutions.  After eighteen months of development, it has its first clients on this new platform. 

The Freedom product includes software licensing and use of the hardware that is hosted in the Manchester, New Hampshire headquarters of Professional Teledata.  DID or DNIS numbers are routed to the Eon eQueue switch, and agents, managers, and administrators can take calls and access the system from any high speed Internet connection 24/7, using the industry leading PInnacle scripting software. 

 "We are elated to bring this new product to the industry.  We've made a tremendous investment in the infrastructure to support this product, and also in the time required to integrate the solution in this hosted environment.  The initial clients are encouraged by the flexibility and affordability this option offers," said Allen Kalik, president of Professional Teledata. 

The pricing structure for the product can be likened to a leasing alternative, without the long-term commitment.  In addition, the product features built-in disaster recovery and the flexibility to easily expand or contract for fluctuations in business and/or seasonality.   

Professional Teledata Adds Product Forums to Its Web Site (Jan 09)

Professional Teledata announced the addition of a series of interactive product forums to its website.  Continuing a website overhaul that began last spring, the product forums allow Professional Teledata's customers to exchange ideas for efficient use of their products, interact with product developers and tech support specialists, browse FAQs (frequently asked questions), and download documentation.  

"This is an important addition to our overall customer service environment and demonstrates our commitment to provide the highest quality service possible," said Pat Kalik, vice president of customer service.

Professional Teledata Announces Supervisor Coaching Feature (Dec 08)

Professional Teledata has announced a new supervisor coaching feature, available for all PInnacle systems.  The supervisor coaching feature allows supervisors to talk to online PInnacle operators directly through their headset without being heard by the calling party.  The feature is available from any telephone to any operator station.  At the touch of a button the supervisor can go from silent monitoring to offering advice, critique, or compliments while the conversation in engaged, and the caller cannot hear the supervisor.  If necessary, there is the added capability of "call barge" which allows the supervisor or trainer to enter into the call.

The supervisor coaching feature works with both on-site and remote operators, using digital, analog, or VoIP telephones.  "With our PInnacle system, we are always looking for new and inventive ways to make training easier and more effective," explained Allen Kalik, president.  "The supervisor coaching feature is yet another innovative way to provide quality control and bring new operators up to speed quickly."

Professional Teledata Announces SMS Text Messaging Integration (Nov 08)

At the Fall PIN meeting in Manchester, Professional Teledata announced that the latest release of its PInnacle Telemessaging System has complete SMS text messaging integration.

"Our users approached us about adding SMS text messaging to our PInnacle platform.  They cited their increasing frustration with aging dial-up paging terminals and the unreliability of emailing mobile devices as compelling reasons to act immediately on this initiative," said Jim Graham, vice president of development.  "We were pleased to be able to respond so quickly to our user's requests with such a robust feature set.  As well as being able to send outbound messages to mobile devices via SMS text messaging, PInnacle is now also able to process incoming SMS text messages when the recipient responds back to the agent who is dispatching via a SMS text message.  This cuts down significantly on ‘check-in calls,' reducing labor and staffing levels." 

Allen Kalik, president, added, "The SMS text messaging integration gives the PInnacle user another tool to help streamline their business."

PInnacle SMS includes a wireless GSM modem and all the software necessary to integrate two-way SMS text messaging into PInnacle. 

For more information, contact Karen Black 800-344-9944.

Professional Teledata Announces PI-Fax2 (Oct 08)

Professional Teledata announced the availability of PI-Fax2, the next generation fax delivery product for PI system and TBS billing users.  In the tradition of FMDS, the first and most successful fax delivery system in the telemessaging industry, PI-Fax2 offers new features, greater reliability, and updated technology than its predecessor product, PI-Fax.

In addition to providing seamless integration for the delivery of TBS billing invoices and PI orders, PI-Fax2 offers fax success tracking and management, a fax viewer, and the option of multiple modems.  PI-Fax2 is compatible with Terminal Server, Citrix, and Windows Vista.  Single port configurations of PI-Fax2 software are available at no charge all current users of PI and TBS.

Professional Teledata Makes Huge Improvement to Conversion Process (Jul 08)

Professional Teledata announced that clients converting to PInnacle can now download their master client records directly from their old system into Pinnacle so that agents can begin making calls almost instantaneously.  "Our system already improves the training time for new agents from months to as little as three days.  Now the entire conversion process time has been reduced, making it easier to get agents taking calls on the new system more seamlessly," stated Pat Kalik, vice president. 

This enhancement was introduced just prior to the ATSI convention.  New clients can download their client files, and these can subsequently be imported directly into PInnacle.  Once the import takes place and the conversion is complete, agents can immediately begin taking calls.

"We are proud of our team for their dedication to this strategic initiative, and we applaud their efforts to make it happen as quickly as possible," stated Jim Graham, vice president of Professional Teledata.  "We are confident that this is a significant improvement to our conversion process."

CenturiSoft and Professional Teledata Team Up to Enhance Performance (Jul 08)

Professional Teledata and CenturiSoft introduced a new dimension of their partnership today.  The pair worked together to improve the performance of the PInnacle system by consolidating their voice logger and voicemail systems so that they can be run on a single server. 

"We take pride in that we hold our partners to the same level of development and support that we hold for ourselves, and CenturiSoft has been no exception to that rule," stated Dale Schafer, vice president of Professional Teledata.  "The voice logger and voicemail systems with PInnacle can now be run on a single server, eliminating an additional level of support and improving performance and functionality of the system overall."

"We share Dale's sentiments and are so pleased with the synergy amongst our collective teams," stated John Pope, president of CenturiSoft.  "We're just as pleased to make this release and are encouraged by the initial responses from our clients."

Professional Teledata Introduces Offline Message Reader (Jul 08)

Professional Teledata introduced PINReader, an offline message reader.  Functionality includes viewing messages with the templates and formatting criteria that were in place at the time of the purge, viewing historical "locate" information, viewing the help desk that was available at the time of the purge, and the ability to search and print from the message database.

PInnacle's message purging routine now moves all purged messages to an offline media location.  "PINReader does not require the use of PInnacle's underlying database engine, so archived messages may be stored on CDs, DVDs, or USB hard drives.  For clients that are required by law to retain messages for extended periods, this feature is a really great way to do so in a format that is easy to navigate, making it simple to retrieve those messages when needed," stated Jim Graham, vice president of Professional Teledata.     

 "Some of our clients will be able to use PINReader to add to their revenue stream by marketing this feature as a valued added service," stated Allen Kalik, president of Professional Teledata.

Enjoy Breakfast with Professional Teledata at ATSI Convention (Jun 08)

Professional Teledata will host a series of solutions seminar breakfasts at the annual ATSI convention in St. Louis.  "Each year, we strive to give our clients the best experience possible at the annual ATSI conference and expo," said Pat Kalik, vice president of Professional Teledata.  "This year, we are once again offering solutions seminars to teach our clients new ways to use their system to improve profitability." 

"Our clients have always embraced the system and the additional training we provide, and it has helped a lot of our clients to experience tremendous growth," added Kalik.  "We are hopeful that our clients and anyone interested in learning about our system will join us at one or all of these breakfast seminars to see how they can use the Professional Teledata product lineup to improve profitability."

The solution seminars will be held Thursday, June 19, Friday, June 20, and Saturday, June 21 at 7:30 a.m. at the 64th Annual ATSI Conference & Expo in the Texas Boardroom.  All are encouraged to attend, and breakfast will be served.

Professional Teledata Celebrates Twenty-Five Years (Jun 08)

Professional Teledata will celebrate twenty-five years in the industry at the upcoming ATSI Convention in St. Louis.  "I am pleased to find ourselves reaching this milestone.  It doesn't seem like that long ago when I attended my first ATSI Convention in Bal Harbor, Florida twenty-five years ago.  The first Billing and Collections System aka BCS (which evolved into today's Total Billing System, or TBS) was signed that year, and we have seen so many advancements since then," stated Alan Hartmann, vice president of Professional Teledata.  "Tele-Data Systems was working on mini-computers the size of a small refrigerator, and the new ‘state-of-the-art' personal computers came with a whopping 64K of memory and enormous dual 360 kilobyte floppies for storage," he joked. 

Allen Kalik, president of Professional Teledata added, "It's amazing to see that our company has evolved so very much and that we are still forward-thinking to this day.  The industry has seen many shifts and turns, and we're so very proud that our company was built and continues to stand on such a strong TAS foundation."

Professional Teledata Releases PInnacle v2.1 (May 08)

At the recent PIN conference, Professional Teledata released PInnacle version 2.1, which includes over fifty features and enhancements, many of which were "wish list" items from previous PIN conferences.  Some of the major features and enhancements include: multisite license, DNIS setup, and dispatch procedures to improve the power and ease of use of the PInnacle system. 

"We are excited to introduce the latest developments of the PInnacle product," said Allen Kalik, president of Professional Teledata, as he addressed conference attendees.  "We've put a tremendous amount of energy and effort into improving our products and are proud to have been able to improve the programming aspect of the system so that less technical users will be able to navigate through the system with greater ease.  We strive to constantly incorporate our clients' requests to improve the performance of our systems, and we're quite proud of these latest developments."   

"Our customers expressed overwhelming excitement when we introduced PInnacle 2.1," added Jim Graham, vice president of development.  "We're looking forward to servicing all of our new customers with its new features."

Professional Teledata Announces Record Sales of Their TBS Product (May 08)

Professional Teledata announced record sales in the first quarter of 2008 for the Total Billing Solution (TBS) product.  "We have always been known for the strength in our lineup of products.  We are especially proud of the consistent development of our TBS product, and we're not surprised that the industry has responded favorably to it," said Alan Hartmann, vice president of Professional Teledata.   

In a Windows environment, TBS integrates billing, contact management, and inventory control for DIDs, pagers, and voice mailboxes.  The system is easy to use and supports multiple users and offices.  Furthermore, TBS imports, manipulates, and archives usage statistics from most call center equipment.  In addition, it interfaces to popular credit card authorization programs and to the ACH network for direct debiting.  It can also integrate client information, account setup, task assignment checklists, and an expanded account manager.

"We've seen a strong response this year from both our existing customers seeking to upgrade to TBS and from new prospects.  I attribute our recent success to the true strength of the product," commented Karen Black, TBS product specialist.

Professional Teledata Unveils Redesigned Website (Mar 08)

In another phase of a strategic branding initiative, Professional Teledata has launched a redesigned website.  The freshly designed site provides expanded information about the company's products, personnel and history, training schedule, user group information, and other related subjects.

Prospects will be able to directly download product information, request specific information, view a promotional video, or schedule a direct remote demonstration.  Current customers, through a secure login procedure, can report or request technical support, download manuals and release notes, or access a FAQ/knowledge database section.

Headquartered in Manchester, NH, Professional Teledata provides innovative software solutions to call centers around the world for transaction processing, inbound/outbound program design, and billing management.  

Professional Teledata Announces Multisite Licensing for PInnacle (Jan 08)

Professional Teledata announced optimized multisite configurations for its PInnacle Telemessaging System.  A multisite license allows several sites to share a single telephony installation and server-based database.  Remote sites consisting of only agent workstations can operate as complete, independent operations or dynamically share operational and dispatch responsibilities.  For example, sites can handle their respective first and second shift calls and reassign all third shift calls to a single, designated centralized site.

The benefits include:

• Operation of multiple sites or groups of agents as separate entities, each with their own assigned accounts, dispatchers, and procedures

• Reallocation of traffic and dispatching assignments from site to site on an automatic or manual basis

• Migration of individual accounts from site to site as required

• Maintenance of global management functions across all sites simultaneously

"As the industry experiences continued consolidation and absorption of geographically distant services into single operations, a new paradigm or business model is emerging," said Allen Kalik, president.  "PInnacle's multisite license eliminates the duplication of costly, unnecessary equipment and capacity, yet it maximizes the allocation of human resources."

Professional Teledata's Jim Graham Addresses International Conference (Dec 07)

Professional Teledata announced that Jim Graham, the company's vice president of software development spoke at the 4th Xbase++ Developer's Conference in Berlin, Federal Republic of Germany, November 14-16, 2007.  The conference was sponsored by Alaska Software Technology AG of Germany.

Jim addressed incorporating Xbase++ generated software code in various application products, as well as efficient integration into software products addressing vertical markets.  Jim said, "Xbase++ proved to be a powerful and efficient tool when Professional Teledata migrated their products from a DOS to a Windows platform.  The company developed close working relationships with Alaska Software and several independent contractors during the transition period.  We are pleased and honored for this opportunity to contribute to the success of their conference."

Based in Frankfurt, Germany, Alaska Software markets flexible, scalable software development tools for migration of enterprise-wide data processing infrastructures to future-oriented systems and platforms.

Professional Teledata Announces Availability of SNPP Paging Capability (Nov 07)

Professional Teledata announced the availability of the SNPP (Simple Network Paging Protocol) format for the PInnacle Telemessaging System.  "SNPP is emerging as a reliable and especially timely delivery method for various pagers and other receiving devices," said Allen Kalik, president.  "The telemessaging industry is dependent upon the relay of data and information to clients in an assured and timely manner.  While voice communications are immediate and, by definition, verifiable, the entire paradigm of contacting clients is shifting to electronic, device-dependent contact methods.  The industry has always been quick to embrace and provide the latest technology to their clients, and the SNPP protocols are the most modern of these communication methods."

The SNPP enhancements are being made available currently to all PInnacle users at no charge as part of their standard support package.

Professional Teledata Enhances PInnacle Message Ticket Options (Oct 07)

Professional Teledata announced the availability of expanded formatting capabilities for the delivery of emails, faxes, alpha pages, and printed message tickets to clients from the PInnacle Telemessaging System.  The new options permit multiple formats to be sent to the same device depending upon any variable in a scripted response ("Is this urgent?") or any system variable (time-of-day, day-of-week, on-call individual, and so forth).

"Account setup personnel can design multiple message tickets, and PInnacle automatically selects the most appropriate format when forwarding messages," said Alan Kalik, president of Professional Teledata.  "This is another way the PInnacle System delivers customized solutions to our customer's clients.  Telemessaging services are being required to handle ever-increasing complex applications that far exceed the simple ‘name-number-message' data collection requirements of the past.  Today's collected data must be delivered in a logical, coherent format optimized for interpretation by the client, and PInnacle now satisfies that requirement."

The message ticket formatting enhancements are being made available currently to all PInnacle users at no charge as part of their standard support package.

Professional Teledata Initiates Credit Card Security Compliance (Sep 07)

Professional Teledata announced revised data handling routines to make PInnacle Telemessaging and PI-2000 Inbound Call Processing Systems compliant with revised standards and requirements as established by the payment card industry.  "The security surrounding credit card data has been made prominent in the news by several high-profile failures involving national retailers," said Jim Graham, vice president of software development.  "The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard was established to improve security of all aspects of collecting, handling, storing, and transferring credit and debit card information.  Since our PInnacle and PI-2000 products have the ability to collect, validate, and optionally authorize credit card charges, Professional Teledata responded quickly."

"We are committed to ensuring top-level security with any and all data that is stored through any of our products," said Allen Kalik, president, "so becoming compliant with these standards was an initiative that we immediately embraced."

The PCI compliance enhancements are available to all PInnacle and PI-2000 users at no charge as part of their standard maintenance agreement.

Professional Teledata Announces New PInnacle On-Call Scheduling Capabilities (Sep 07)

Professional Teledata announced new on-call scheduling procedures and capabilities.  "Maintaining accurate on-call schedules has always been a time-consuming but absolutely necessary task required for accurate dispatching to occur, said Pat Kalik, vice president of operations.  "PInnacle now has additional automated input and maintenance features to eliminate tedious, error-prone, repetitious tasks when entering on-call schedules."

Unlimited future scheduling is made easy by entering date ranges, using screen-displayable calendars, or using find-and-replace capabilities.  Administrative personnel can enter reoccurring on-call cycles or delete old schedules with only a few keystrokes.

Clients can access their password-protected schedules via the Internet in a view-only or edit mode and be able to maintain their own schedules.  Informational displays for agents regarding clients' on-call schedules have been improved and expanded.  Schedule descriptions and instructions and are now imbedded and associated with each schedule for quick, single stroke access by operators.

These enhancements will be included in the latest release of the PInnacle telemessaging system and will be available to all users under their standard maintenance agreements.

Professional Teledata Launches New Versions of PInnacle and PI2000 (Jul 07)

Professional Teledata officially released PInnacle Telemessaging System 2.1 and PI2000 Inbound Call Processing Program 6.1 at the sixty-third annual ATSI Conference and Expo.  "We've put a tremendous amount of energy and effort into improving our products and are proud to have implemented a variety of new enhancements, many from our customers' wish lists," said Allen Kalik, president of Professional Teledata as he addressed many attendees at the conference.

"In this release we were able to introduce forty-five product specific enhancements to the systems, a true testament to the dedication our team has to making PInnacle the strongest product in the industry," added Jim Graham, vice president of development.  The newest releases of the PInnacle and PI2000 systems span a wide spectrum of enhancements and new features including: improved account setup, advanced reporting of statistical data, catalog features and functions, and many more.  As is standard with the PI2000 and PInnacle purchases, the new releases have been made available at no charge to all users as part of their standard support agreement. 

Professional Teledata Hires Marketing Professional (Jul 07)

 To increase market share and to ensure long-term growth for the company, Professional Teledata has hired Diana Holland of Outstanding Marketing Solutions to develop and implement the company's marketing strategy.  "We are excited to have Ms. Holland on our team," said Allen Kalik, president of Professional Teledata.  "She brings a refreshing level of energy and enthusiasm to the table, and we are confident that her marketing background will assist us in meeting our long-term goals.  We've always been so focused on developing the products that we have sometimes struggled with letting our audience really know the strengths and value that our product lineup holds.  Ms. Holland will guide our marketing team with those goals in mind."

Holland's firm, Outstanding Marketing Solutions, specializes in strategic marketing planning and implementation of marketing goals through effective advertising methods.  "I'm proud to be the newest member of the Professional Teledata team.  I am so impressed by the products that the company offers.  Their focus truly is on developing the best products for the industry, and that makes my job so much more rewarding," said Holland.

Business and Professional Exchange Recertifies with PInnacle System (Jul 07)

Business & Professional Exchange, Inc. (BPE) has requalified for the ATSI (Association of Teleservices International) Gold 24/7 Call Center Certification Award; it is the first PInnacle system to be awarded.  The certification indicates that BPE, Inc. has met or exceeded the high standards set for call center site certification.

Business & Professional Exchange, located in Beverly, MA, operates a twenty-six-position call center employing fifty agents.  The company was founded in 1977.

Professional Teledata Releases PInnacle 2.1 and PI2000 6.1 (Jun 07)

Professional Teledata announced the latest release of its PInnacle Telemessaging System and PI2000 Inbound Call Processing Program.  "We are excited to include so many items on our customers' wish list," said Jim Graham, vice president of development.  "We strive to make the changes our customers request a reality, and in this release we were able to introduce forty-five product specific enhancements to the systems."  Jim explained that the development team has catapulted the PI2000 and the PInnacle product to new heights.  "The applause around the room as we introduced these improvements is a true testament to our customer focused development."

The president of Professional Teledata, Allen Kalik, states, "The enhancements cover all aspects of operation - from facilitating account setup to the reporting of statistical data.  The new features bring our products to yet another new level of functionality."  Some of the new features include enhanced dispatch sequencing, enhanced conditional script branching, and a DNIS inventory and management program.

The new releases are available at no charge to all PInnacle and PI2000 users as part of their standard support agreement.

Professional Teledata Announces Remote Traffic Monitoring Capabilities (May 07)

Professional Teledata announced the availability of its remote traffic monitor.  This capability permits any Web-enabled computer or handheld device to display the current call traffic activity being handled by a Millennium-based PInnacle telemessaging system.  This feature improves the flexibility and management controls for PInnacle users.

The remote traffic monitor reports include a call queue detail display, an agent detail display, and a summary display.  Information displayed for each call group includes:

• Number of calls in each queue

• Time of longest call in each queue

• Agent availability for each queue

Additional call traffic information includes account name, ANI, and DID, as well as agent ID, activity, and duration of activity.  "The remote traffic monitor is yet another key feature of the PInnacle system providing a convenient management tool for our users," said Allen Kalik, president of Professional Teledata.  "The appropriate people are now instantaneously informed of current system traffic conditions regardless if they are in the next office, at home, or across the country."

Professional Teledata Announces New Voicemail and Voice Logger Features (Apr 07)

Professional Teledata released new voicemail and voice logger features for the PInnacle telemessaging system. The Message Status Voicemail Update automatically updates the status of messages depending upon clients' access. Clients checking messages via voicemail control whether their messages are "delivered off" or "held for future delivery" by simply listening to, saving, or deleting a voicemail message. This status change is customized on a per client basis and requires no special action on the part of the client.

"This is another step towards our goal of automating any process we can," said Allen Kalik, president of Professional Teledata. "Operator time should be maximized for interactive conversations with clients' callers, and automated operations should perform repetitive, rules-oriented tasks."

Professional Teledata also announced the availability of an interface between the PInnacle TAS System and CenturiSoft's Digital Voice Logger (DVL). This logger enables the recording of analog, digital, and VoIP calls. Additionally, agents can copy recorded calls from the logger into voicemail boxes using PInnacle's Logger Recording Copy (LRC) feature.

Professional Teledata Adds Payment Option to Billing Program (Apr 07)

Professional Teledata announced a new payment option for users of their Total Billing Solution (TBS) program. TBS-based call centers can now offer their clients an option of paying monthly or periodic charges through an automatic direct transfer of funds from a designated bank account. Transfers can occur on a prescheduled basis coinciding with a variety of billing cycles.

Jeff List, senior product developer, said, "This is yet another feature in the program to facilitate prompt payments from customers and timely notifications of any potential payment problems. Developed in response to a customer request, it accelerates payments by eliminating errors when using checks, credit cards, or other payment methods."

The new feature is an optional add-on to the TBS program and is available for immediate installation.

PInnacle Adds One-Step Copy Capability (Mar 07)

Professional Teledata announced the PInnacle capability to copy an entire customer account, including script and associated data, to a new account with a single command. "This is part of our ongoing project to simplify account setup and accelerate conversions from other systems," says Allen Kalik, president of Professional Teledata. "Having the ability to quickly and flawlessly copy an account facilitates the use of PInnacle's starter accounts to add new clients. It also assists agents and reduces training when handling scripted calls of a similar nature."

Professional Teledata attributes the ease of account replication to the inherent design of its database. Jim Graham, vice president for software development stated, "From the very early days of our PI-2000 product, it was decided to always give our customers direct access to their databases; i.e., an "open" system. Our databases are simple, unlinked, yet comprehensive, thereby making features such as copying simple and straightforward."

The copying capabilities are part of the standard PInnacle program and are available to all licensed PInnacle users.

Professional Teledata Announces Training Offerings (Mar 07)

Professional Teledata announced the training schedule for its users of the PInnacle Telemessaging System and PI-2000 Inbound Call Processing System. An advanced class in PInnacle setup and operation will be offered on March 21-23. Topics will include advanced scripting techniques and implementation of new PInnacle features.

In addition, a two-day course in the programming and operation of the company's Millennium digital switch will be offered on March 19-20. This course will convene immediately prior to the advanced PInnacle class for those looking to economize on travel expenses and attend both classes in one trip.

The complete current schedule is:

• PI-2000 Basic Administration March 12-14

• Millennium Digital Switch March 19-20

• PInnacle Setup and Operation March 21-23

• PI-2000 Advanced Administration May 7-9

All courses are conducted at the company's headquarters in Manchester, NH.

Professional Teledata Enhances Spell-Checker with Multiple Dictionaries (Jan 07)

Professional Teledata has enhanced their PInnacle Telemessaging System spell-checking capabilities.  The PInnacle spell-checker is an internal English version that is delivered with each system at no additional charge.  Spell-checking is enabled on an account-by-account and field-by-field basis.  Different accounts can access foreign language dictionaries, including Spanish and both Canadian and European French.  All dictionaries have the ability to append user-defined entries.

Jim Graham, vice president of software development for Professional Teledata, also pointed out the availability of both medical and legal volumes that can be appended to language-specific dictionaries.  Jim added, "The current medical dictionary contains over 125,000 entries, and periodic updates are available at a very reasonable cost."

Allen Kalik, president of the company, stated, "Spell-checking, once considered an exotic luxury, is becoming a necessity considering the increased sophistication of the nature of incoming calls.  Medical and legal accounts especially benefit due to the absolute need for accuracy within their communications."

Professional Teledata Sells Milestone 30th System (Jan 07)

Professional Teledata announced the 30th order for a PInnacle System since its introduction in 2003 to The Answer 2 (formerly ADS Communications).  "This represents a significant milestone in the growth of the company," says Allen Kalik, president of Professional Teledata.  He continues, "We entered the telemessaging market with caution and some concern.  Some claimed it was an over-saturated market with an abundance of competitors.  It was the users of our PI-2000 Inbound Call Processing System that encouraged us, both emotionally and financially, to forge ahead.  We now find ourselves substantially ahead of even our most optimistic projections."

Dick Huffer, owner of The Answer 2, said, "We are pleased to be part of this eventful occasion.  We looked at the PInnacle System several years ago and decided it was a ‘not if, but when' decision to become part of the PInnacle family.  It was evident that the designers of the PInnacle System had hands-on experience in running a successful call center."

Professional Teledata Expands Message Formatting (Dec 06)

Professional Teledata announced the expansion of message formatting capabilities on the PInnacle Telemessaging System.  "PInnacle allows a message to generate an unlimited number of destinations based upon responses to scripted questions ("Is this an emergency?") or system/account variables (time-of-day, day-of-week, person-on-call, etc.)," explained Allen Kalik, president of Professional Teledata. "Now each destination within an account that generates readable output can automatically invoke a pre-designed format varying in layout and can include or exclude information as required. The screen image of the message can have its own unique format for optimal operator use."

Allen explained that transmissions to noncompliant HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) destinations can exclude sensitive information without any decision making required by the operator. Alpha pages will usually be a subset of information collected on a call, and multiple dispatched emails can be customized for each recipient. This multiformat messaging environment satisfies the most demanding client requirements.

Professional Teledata Expands Support Staff (Dec 06)

Professional Teledata today announced the expansion of its support staff for PInnacle Telemessaging System installations.  Effective immediately, Wendy Comella and Matt Salvas have joined the company in providing both technical customer support for existing users and account transfer services for new customers of the PInnacle Telemessaging System.

"We are pleased to have Wendy and Matt join the staff, especially since they have experience with both the company's products and the telephone answering industry," said Jim Graham, vice president of software development.  "We look forward to them making a substantial contribution to Professional Teledata's excellent reputation for providing timely and efficient assistance to our growing customer base.  "Wendy and Matt will be based at the company's Manchester, NH headquarters. 

Professional Teledata Makes 2-Way Emailing Available (Oct 06)

Professional Teledata announced the availability of two-way email communications on their PInnacle Telemessaging System.  Agents can send emails to desktops, cell phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), or any device capable of receiving emails.  Recipients may reply with instructions or any other communication back to the agent.  The contents of the replies are automatically linked to the original transmission to facilitate further communications and to act as an audit trail.

Jim Graham, vice-president of software development, added that initial email communications may be accepted by the PInnacle system.  He cites the example of a malfunctioning piece of self-monitoring equipment automatically generating an email and, based upon its content, an agent contacting the appropriate on-call individual to address the problem.  "The advantages to clients are numerous and varied and create new markets and applications for the call center." 

The two-way emailing capabilities are being made available currently to all PInnacle users at no charge as part of their standard support package. 

Professional Teledata Releases Folio Reports for PI/PInnacle (Sep 06)

Professional Teledata released Folio Reports for users of their PI-2000 and PInnacle Telemessaging systems.  A Folio Report is a flexible documentation tool used to present account information to clients.  Folio Reports is being provided at no charge to PI-2000 and PInnacle sites under Professional Teledata's standard support agreement.  Based on Crystal Reports, the product allows for easy selection, display, and output of settings and entries including:

• Account configuration and settings (time zone, colors, etc.)
• Script utilized for generating message ticket
• Screen shots of script pages
• Account specific Help topics
• Client instructions
• Contact information
• On call information
• Answer phrase

Information can be output to a screen, local printer, remote fax, or an email address.  "Maintaining and conveying current account information is often a neglected task in many call centers," said Alan Hartmann, product developer.  "Folio Reports accurately reflects stored account setup information and can be easily reviewed by the client on a periodic basis."

Professional Teledata Releases TBS v3.0 (Jul 06)

Professional Teledata announced the availability of the Total Billing Solution (TBS) Version 3.0.  "This new version incorporates several new features and enhancements in response to requests from both our current users and from market requirements," said Jeff List, Senior Software Engineer for the TBS product line.

Major new features include:

• Items Due Reminder: A "To Do" list generated from Contact Management notes.
• ProfitFinder: Allows users to model the effect of rate adjustments on account profitability and apply changes as desired.
• Email Attachments: Send "billing stuffers" with emailed invoices and statements.
• Enhanced Customer Lookup: Lookup by invoice number, payment, or resource with user-selectable lookup fields.
• Flexible Proration of recurring and periodic rates when starting service, stopping service, or adding a new service to an account.
• Updated Documentation: Online help for any function using the F1 key.

An upgrade to TBS 3.0 is available to all current TBS users at no charge under existing maintenance contracts.  Users will be notified by Professional Teledata when a TBS 3 update is available for their system.

Professional Teledata to Début PInnacleNET at ATSI (Jun 06)

Professional Teledata will demonstrate its new PInnacleNET product at the 62nd Annual ATSI Convention & Expo in Portland, ME on June 21-24.  PInnacleNet provides seamless integration of call handling across multiple PI-2000 or PInnacle sites.   Messages and orders can be taken at multiple remote locations and immediately returned to the originator for dispatching and other post-processing tasks.  Alternatively, calls can be handled entirely by the remote site.  PI-2000 and PInnacle customers benefit from load sharing, agent scheduling efficiencies, and disaster recovery.

"PIinnacle agents are typically trained in a fraction of the time of competing systems, so handling calls on unfamiliar accounts is not an obstacle," said Jim Graham, Vice President of Software Development.

"The sharing of high volume accounts and disaster recovery are obvious implementations of PInnacleNET," added Allen Kalik, President of Professional Teledata.  "Multi-site services will utilize PInnacleNET to create a flexible, configurable, secure operation acting as a single system."

PInnacleNet is currently being tested and will be available for general distribution by July 1, 2006.

Professional Teledata Hosts PIN User Group Meeting (Jun 06)

Professional Teledata hosted the annual Professional Inbound Network (PIN) meeting in Manchester, New Hampshire on May 1-3.  The meeting was preceded by a dedicated pre-meeting session of PInnacle users.  In addition to company and product updates, sessions included:

• reporting and account documentation capabilities
• recent changes in the credit card industry
• monitoring quality of service
• disaster recovery
• marketing of services

A multi-station system was available throughout the meeting for attendees to try out the newest enhancements and improvements.  The meeting concluded with the usual lively wish list session.  Professional Teledata also included a preview of their new PInnacleNET product that will be officially announced at the 2006 ATSI Convention & Expo in Portland, Maine on June 21-24.

Professional Teledata Expands Training Offerings (May 06)

Professional Teledata announced new training courses for its users of the PInnacle Telemessaging System. An advanced class in PInnacle setup and operation will be first offered on July 24-26. Topics will include advanced scripting techniques and implementation of new PInnacle features.

In addition, a two day course in the programming and operation of the company's Millennium digital switch will be offered on May 4-5. This course will convene immediately following the annual Professional Inbound Network conference to be held earlier that week. Other scheduled classes are: 

• May 17-19: PI-2000 Basic Administration 

• June 5-7: PI-2000 Advanced Administration

• July 24-26: PInnacle Basic Administration 

All courses are conducted at the company's headquarters in Manchester, NH. 

Professional Teledata Expands Support Staff (May 06)

Professional Teledata announced the expansion of its support staff.  Elaine Senecal has joined the company as a Product Support Specialist.  Elaine has extensive experience in the teleservices industry and has the unique experience of being a Senior Supervisor at the site of Professional Teledata's first installation of its PI-2000, PInnacle's predecessor product.  "Elaine has exactly the experience we were seeking -- working with PI-2000 and PInnacle, both as a customer and an industry consultant," said Allen Kalik, president of Professional Teledata.  "Elaine will be a huge asset in assisting new users to implement their new PInnacle System." 

Also joining the company is Dale Goulette, Applications Engineer.  Previously with Sprint and eOn Communications, Dale's primary responsibility will be the on-site installation and programming of system hardware at new PInnacle sites. "Dale's expertise with digital telephone switches is directly applicable to our immediate needs and we look forward to his joining our team." says Dale Schafer, VP of Engineering.

Professional Teledata Releases Audio Training Tutorial (Apr 06)

Professional Teledata released the PInnacle Audio Tutorial (PAT).  Designed and written by teleservices and teaching specialists, the interactive audio tutorial is synchronized with a live account file on the PInnacle system for self-instruction by new agents.

The professionally recorded, 100 minute program contains hundreds of exercises divided into 12 lessons covering all agent related aspects of the PInnacle system in a step-by-step manner.  The audio program and scripted starter account will be made available at no charge to all existing PInnacle users.

Professional Teledata Releases New PI-2000 Version 7.0 (Jan 06)

Professional Teledata announced the release of a new version for users of its PI-2000 Inbound Call Processing System (Oe-main version 7.0). Version 7.0 is available at no charge to all PI-2000 users under their current support and maintenance agreement. 

Account setup procedures have been modified and reorganized to improve navigation both between and within accounts and data input. Data representing account information was formerly limited to large table-like displays but users can now view all required fields of any table in a single display. In addition, fields not requiring input are automatically "grayed-out." 

"As the PI-2000 product grew more powerful and capable over the past 12 years, we were constantly adding new and larger tables to contain account information," said Jim Graham, Vice-President of Software Development. "We reached the point where the original scheme of data management was becoming inefficient. Version 7.0 directly addresses the need for quick satisfaction of client's needs." 

Professional Teledata Announces PinnFax for PInnacle Users (Dec 05)

Professional Teledata announced the introduction of PinnFax, a new fax and alpha paging system for PInnacle users. Based on the Linux open source operating system, the new system is capable of up to 48 simultaneous alpha/fax transmissions. PinnFax is an integrated module that is currently delivered with each new PInnacle Telemessaging System from Professional Teledata. 

"The existing FMDS systems are rock-solid and the current industry standard for faxing and alpha-paging." said Rick Moore, chief developer of the new system. "However, PinnFax is a completely re-engineered product retaining the best of the existing system while taking advantage of current developments in hardware and software." 

Incoming Call Data Available to PInnacle Agents (Dec 05)

Professional Teledata announced a new feature to the PInnacle agent interface. Agents and customer service personnel have immediate access to all incoming call data from the eOn Millennium digital switch. The new upgrade is being provided at no charge to all Millennium-based PInnacle sites under Professional Teledata's standard support agreement. 

With a single keystroke, agents can view information regarding all calls received by the PInnacle Telemessaging System. Call records include date, time, client ID, caller ID, calling party name, queue time, if answered, and assigned agent station. Stored in chronological order, search and sort capabilities are included to quickly isolate an individual call. "Written in direct response to our customer's requests, this new capability further improves the efficiency of operations and customer service of PInnacle installations," said Allen Kalik, president of Professional Teledata. 

Professional Teledata Announces Extended VOIP Capabilities (Oct 05)

Jack Dienno of eOn Communications introduced the availability of a new 32-channel VOIP add-on card for PInnacle Millenium users at the recent PInnacle Users Group meeting. The new card is a low cost, single board solution that extends full communications functionality for remote agents. 

"This is a VOIP solution that supports all of the features of agent and administrative phone on low cost SIP," said Dale Schafer, Vice President of Engineering for Professional Teledata. "A remote agent is provided a complete 'virtual extension' with voice communication, patching, transferring - the complete set of telephony capabilities - as if they were resident in the call center." 

Professional Teledata will make the new VOIP upgrade available to existing Millenium PInnacle users starting the fourth quarter of 2005. 

Professional Teledata Adds Profitability Analysis to TBS Billing Program (Sep 05)

Professional Teledata announced the release of Profit Finder, a profitability calculation and analysis tool that operates in conjunction with their TBS (Total Billing Solution) program. The effect of various changes to a rate structure or billing methods may be input to discover the optimal setting for any particular client. Inputs may be considered retroactively to not only model future "what-if" scenarios, but also "what-if-we-had" scenarios. Profit Finder is included in the TBS 3.0 upgrade as part of Professional Teledata's software maintenance program.

Professional Teledata Compliant with New Security Standard (Jul 05)

At the beginning of the year, Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover each had their own methods and standards to deal with the secure handling of cardholder information. In December, 2004 they announced a plan to align all programs under a single standard of commonly accepted industry tools and measurements resulting in a single validation process. The resulting PCI (Payment Card Industry) Data Security Standard was scheduled for full implementation by June 30, 2005.

Professional Teledata announced the immediate availability of upgrades to users of their PInnacle telemessaging system, PI-2000 Inbound call processing system, and TBS billing systems for compliance with the new standard. "In a world under constant siege by unlawful and criminal elements, it is imperative that participants in commerce of all types have the strongest of safeguards in place," said Jim Graham, VP of Development at Professional Teledata. "We are pleased to offer our users the latest and best tools to ensure data integrity."

Professional Teledata Partners with CenturiSoft (Jun 05)

Professional Teledata, the manufacturer of the PInnacle TAS and call center system, will offer CenturiSoft's voicemail and unified message system to their new and existing PInnacle users effective immediately.  The two systems will be fully integrated for live and stand-alone voicemail messaging, announcement, and message relay functions. Already installed in five centers, it is planned that the two products undergo progressively tighter integrations including bi-directional text/voice message tracking and notification. PInnacle is a telemessaging platform with a reputation for flexibility and ease-of-use; CenturiSoft is a feature-rich voicemail system. 

According to Professional Teledata's president, Allen Kalik, "Our customers have been asking for the CenturiSoft as the number one voicemail solution in our industry. It has always been our philosophy to integrate the best products available into our system whenever possible and this was a logical move for us." 

John Pope, President of CenturiSoft agrees, "I have the highest regard for the PInnacle product and their technical staff. I see a strong synergy between our companies and our products." 

Professional Teledata Releases Account Setup Program (May 05)

Professional Teledata announced a new program to input and maintain telemessaging accounts on the PInnacle Telemessaging System, Pinnacle Management Program Ver. 7.0. The new program is designed to facilitate the inputting and setup of new and existing accounts to take advantage of the advanced features the PInnacle offers. Improvements include the ability to work on multiple accounts simultaneously, ease of navigation within an account, and an improved and consistent user interface. 

"Except for startup operations, any purchaser of a new telemessaging system from a different vendor is faced with the task of inputting their entire account base in to the new system," said Allen Kalik, President of Professional Teledata. "To date, because PInnacle was originally conceived as an extension of the PI-2000 system, navigating between and within accounts was neither always intuitive nor painless. Therefore, we decided to start with a clean slate and re-wrote the entire user interface from the ground up. We anticipate the new program will yield a 25 to 35 percent reduction in the time required to setup and enter data for a new account." 

Professional Teledata Releases End-User Internet Access for PInnacle (May 05)

Professional Teledata released PInnacle Web Interface (PWI) for the PInnacle Telemessaging System. PWI permits telemessaging clients to access messages and on-call tables (schedules) using a standard Web browser. The displayed page may be customized to include the call center's logo and other marketing related information. Access and security is strictly controlled by username and password requirements as well as configurable timed logouts.

With PWI, clients can access their account within the PInnacle System, view or print messages and message history, and optionally change the message's status to "delivered." On-call schedules (PInnacle permits multiple schedules per account) may be created, accessed, viewed, or modified based upon the security level of the client.

In addition, clients can generate custom reports with full access to their message database. Custom report development, using standard reporting tools such as Crystal Reports, may be done by the client, call center staff, or Professional Teledata. PInnacle Web is scheduled to be delivered to all PInnacle installations as part of their standard monthly maintenance program.

Professional Teledata Adds Paging Features to PInnacle (Mar 05)

Professional Teledata announced the availability of enhanced digital paging capabilities in their PInnacle Telemessaging System. Only a single agent keystroke is required to initiate and complete dispatches including up to 99 retries within 1-99 minute intervals. 

Also, a series of conditions determine whether a dispatch is to be sent, to whom, and under which circumstances. "This new feature extends PInnacle's design philosophy of accurate, pre-programmed operations with minimal operator intervention," said Professional Teledata's President, Allen Kalik. "Teleservice companies can offer their clients highly customized notification and data delivery options without incurring the usual training and error-prone procedures." 

The improved dispatch capabilities are being delivered to all existing users as part of Professional Teledata's standard support program. Professional Teledata provides solutions to the teleservices and call center industries including TBS billing systems, PI-2000 inbound call processing systems, and FMDS faxing solutions.