Oracle Acquires Telephony@Work Call Center Company

In a move to expand its on-demand software offerings, Oracle on Tuesday said it plans to acquire call center infrastructure software Telephony@Work.

Financial terms of the deal weren't disclosed. Oracle inherited a partnership with La Jolla, Calif.-based Telephony@Work through its Siebel Systems acquisition early this year. Siebel embedded Telephony@Work in its Contact OnDemand offering for hosted contact-center technology. By purchasing Telephony@Work, Oracle extends its control over the Contact OnDemand technology stack.

Founded in 1997, privately held Telephony@Work develops browser-based, carrier-hosted software that handles contact-center infrastructure tasks such as call queuing and distribution, outbound dialing, e-mail sorting and semi-automated response, as well as voice mail and fax services. In addition to entering licensing deals like the Siebel arrangement, Telephony@Work sells its technology to end-user companies and commercial service providers, which host the software for their contact center customers.

Oracle plans to integrate the Telephony@Work technology more tightly with its CRM and business intelligence offerings, according to Mike Betzer, vice president of product management at the Redwood Shores, Calif., software giant.

"Traditionally, CRM applications and telephony components have been delivered as separate, stand-alone applications requiring extensive computer-telephony integrations between the voice and data platforms," Betzer said in a statement. "With the unified software Oracle intends to deliver running over IP telephony, service providers should see increased productivity and an enhanced customer experience."