A Canadian provider of a broad range of software solutions for organizations has strengthened its customer service offerings by buying a software-as-a-service knowledge management developer.
Enghouse Systems Ltd. said Monday it has bought Safeharbor Knowledge Solutions of Satsop, Wash., for an undisclosed price.
Safeharbor makes a solution called SmartSupport, which helps organizations create and organize their product information into a knowledge base with a search engine so customers can access it to answer questions instead of tying up contact centres. The application can also create support forums for customers to ask questions.
The U.S. company says SmartSupport includes a dashboard that allows agents to edit knowledge base content on the go, collaborate with teams on customer inquiries and ticket resolution tasks, track most frequently asked questions and post alerts. It also includes analytic tools that Safeharbor says allow subscribers to measure content performance and help identify up-sell and cross-sell opportunities.
Safeharbor says the solution is used by small, medium and enterprise-sized organizations. Customers include American Airlines.
“This acquisition will give partners, small and medium businesses and enterprises the ability to improve customer service via call deflection and by providing faster, more accurate answers,” Enghouse president Christoph Mosing said in a news release. “In addition, customers can leverage the power of knowledge as a service and social communities and forums as a point of customer interaction, increasing ROI and customer satisfaction.”
Based in Markham, Ont., Enghouse [TSX: ESL] offers a wide number of solutions grouped into three buckets: the Interactive division specializes in customer support applications; the Networks division has solutions for telecommunications network operators; and the Transportation division sell solutions for public and private transportation companies.
Acquisitions have recently played a big role in the company’s growth. Last year it bought three firms. The purchase of Safeharbor is Enghouse’s second of this year. In February it bought Locus Holdings AS of Norway, a maker of fleet management systems in Scandinavian countries for $14 million.
