Re Agreement
Netcall PLC
10 February 2004
NETCALL PLC ('THE COMPANY')
Netcall appoints major Japanese group, CTC, as a reseller.
Netcall, the AIM-listed provider of call centre technology products, has
appointed leading Japanese information-technology solutions provider, ITOCHU
TECHNO-SCIENCE Corporation (CTC) as a reseller via Netcall Asia Pacific.
With sales of £1.46 billion (US$2.70 billion) in 2002, the CTC group is the
leading distributor for Sun Microsystems in the world, the leading vendor for
Avaya in Asia Pacific, and for Siebel in Japan.
Through Netcall Asia Pacific's Japanese distributor, Digiberry, CTC will offer
Netcall's QueueBuster product as a part of its range of solutions for the
Japanese market. The product will be marketed along with CTC's total solutions
for computers, networks and applications.
Henrik Bang, Chief Executive of Netcall plc commented:
'We have worked closely with Netcall Asia Pacific and Digiberry to ensure
QueueBuster's value proposition matches the needs of the Japanese market,
including translating the interface and technical support material into
Japanese. CTC recently marketed QueueBuster at a major call centre exhibition in
Japan and received a very positive response from both current and potential
customers. The Japanese market is one of the top 10 call centre markets
globally.
We are pleased that these efforts have resulted in a partnership with such a
highly reputable business in Japan. CTC is well-known for the quality of its
solutions, significant market assessment and rigorous technical testing. Their
desire to resell and support QueueBuster in Japan is a testament to
QueueBuster's value in the international arena. We look forward to working
closely with CTC to maximise sales in this important market.'
10 February 2004
ENQUIRIES:
Netcall plc (www.netcall.com) Tel: +44 (0) 1480 495 300
Ron Elder, Chairman
Henrik Bang, Chief Executive
College Hill Tel: +44 (0) 20 7457 2020
Adrian Duffield / Corinna Dorward
NOTES TO EDITORS:
Netcall plc is an AIM listed company's whose main product, QueueBusterTM,
eliminates the need to be kept waiting on hold by call centres, giving callers
the option of hanging up, keeping their place in the queue and taking a free
call back when a live agent is available to speak to them.
Netcall's blue chip client base includes BT Group plc, The Cooperative Bank, One
Tel, Royal and Sun Alliance, Thames Water, United Utilities and Vertex. All
Netcall's multi-site customers, who have bought QueueBuster for one call centre,
have placed additional orders for their other sites.
The QueueBuster product allows the call centre to manage volumes and costs
whilst delivering a greater level of customer satisfaction. Personalised call
back results in less caller complaints and shifts caller control to the call
centre, so that calls can be better managed. It also eradicates the wasted call
time when customers cannot be immediately connected to the right member of
staff.
Netcall reported revenues of £2.4 million in the year to 30 June 2003 and a net
loss of £332,000.
ITOCHU TECHNO-SCIENCE Corporation (CTC) (http://www.ctc-g.co.jp/) is a leading
provider of information technology in Japan. Established in 1972, CTC operates
in 80 locations across Japan providing total solution consultation, products,
integration, support/maintenance, administration, training and outsourcing. CTC
distributes best of breed technologies including Sun Microsystems, Siebel,
Avaya, Cisco, Network Appliances and Tivoli. CTC's market capitalization on the
Tokyo Stock Exchange at 30 January 2003 was the equivalent of US$1.8 billion.
Digiberry Corporation (http://www.digiberry.com/) distributes Netcall's
QueueBuster product in Japan. The Company has business partnerships with several
foreign partnerswith innovative products and services, and develop markets and
manages distribution channels for these products. Prior to Digiberry, the
founder and CEO Ryu Nowatari was involved with the start-up and development of
the Japanese operations of several notable western companies including AST
Research, Dell Computer, Gateway and Getty Images..
Netcall Asia Pacific is a joint venture between Netcall plc and Committed
Capital Pty Ltd set up to establish distribution for the QueueBuster product in
the Asia Pacific Region. The company was established following Netcall's
agreement with its shareholder, Committed Capital, that it would establish
distribution in Asia in exchange for share options in Netcall. Committed
Capital is a new breed of Private Equity firm specialising in helping
organisations to create significant improvements in shareholder wealth by
deploying its 'Executive Capital' operationally on behalf of current management
and shareholders.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange