Alvaria
Alvaria, Inc., formerly Aspect Software, Inc., is an American multinational software company that sells call center and customer experience (CX) software technology to large enterprises. The company is headquartered in Westford, Massachusetts. In 2021, Aspect purchased Noble Systems Corporation; the resultant organization was officially announced in September 2021 as Alvaria, Inc.[6]
| Formerly | Aspect Communications (1973-2005) Aspect Software, Inc. (2005-2021) |
|---|---|
| Company type | Private |
| Industry | Call center technology Customer experience Software |
| Founded | 1973 |
| Headquarters | , |
Area served | Worldwide |
Key people | [Jeff Cotten] (CEO) [1] |
| Products | Alvaria Cloud Alvaria CX Suite Alvaria Workforce Engagement Management Suite Alvaria Motivate Alvaria Workforce[2] |
| Revenue | $443 million (FY 2014)[3] |
| Owner |
|
Number of employees | 1,915 (2022) |
| Website | www |
Alvaria has offices in Africa, Asia, Oceania, Europe, North America, and South America.[7]
History edit
Aspect was founded under the name Aspect Communications in 1973, when its software powered the first call center flight booking system with an intelligent Automatic Call Distributor.[8]
In 2005, Aspect Communications was acquired by Concerto Software for $1 billion,[9] with the new entity called Aspect Software.[10] Concerto was created in 2002 when Davox Corporation acquired CELLIT and renamed itself Concerto Software, Inc.[11]
In 2006, Aspect borrowed $1.16 billion to finance its international expansion.[12]
In 2006, Aspect opened its first office offshore in Bangalore, India.[13]
In 2011, Aspect opened a facility in Ireland.[14]
In 2012, Aspect had its credit rating lowered by Standard & Poor's because of the large amount of debt.[15] In 2015, Moody's lowered its credit rating as well.[16] In March 2016, Aspect filed for bankruptcy to reduce its debt load,[17] and emerged from Chapter 11 in May 2016.[18]
In 2012, most of the management was replaced with a new team[19] led by Stewart Bloom.[20] Over the next year, Aspect relocated its headquarters to Phoenix, Arizona.[21]
In 2016, Aspect released Via Customer Engagement Center, including various products from Aspect's portfolio.[22]
In February 2019, Aspect was acquired by Vector Capital.[23]
Acquisitions and investments edit
In 2008, Aspect formed an alliance with Microsoft[24] with the latter making an investment in Aspect.[25] Later in 2008, Aspect acquired Massachusetts-based BlueNote Networks.[26]
In 2009, Aspect acquired UK-based AIM Technology.[27]
In 2010, Aspect acquired St. Louis-based Quilogy.[28]
In 2013, Aspect invested into Bright Pattern[29] and acquired Voxeo for $150 million.[30]
In 2015, Aspect acquired LinguaSys[31] [32] to add natural language messaging capabilities.[33] LinguaSys technology became the basis of Aspect's Natural Language Understanding component for the Aspect CXP platform.[34] The technology was used to create a chatbot for the supermarket chain Lidl,[35] that won the 2018 Best Consumer Chatbot award at the CogX AI conference, beating X.ai and Microsoft's Xiaoice.[36]
In 2021, Aspect merged with Noble Systems Corporation to form Alvaria.[37][38]
In 2022, Alvaria acquired Cicero Inc.[39]
Products edit
Awards and recognition edit
Aspect Software was recognized by industry analyst firms such as Frost & Sullivan.[45]
References edit
- ^ "Alvaria Leadership". Alvaria.
- ^ "Alvaria Cloud products". Alvaria.
- ^ "SEC FORM 10-K". SEC.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Vector Capital Investments". Vector Capital.
- ^ "Abry Portfolio of Investments". Abry partners.
- ^ "Aspect Software Announces Merger with Noble Systems". Alvaria.
- ^ "Alvaria Global Office Locations". Alvaria.
- ^ "History of Invention - Aspect". Aspect.
- ^ "Concerto to Acquire Aspect for $1 Billion". The New York Times. 6 July 2005.
- ^ "Concerto Software And Aspect Communications Complete Merger And Form Aspect Software". CRM Marketplace.
- ^ "Davox to Change Name to Concerto Software". Retrieved 13 September 2022.
- ^ "Ratings Agency Knocks Two Golden Gate Companies In One Day". PE Hub Network.
- ^ "India is Aspect Software's 2nd largest centre". Business Standard India. Business Standard. 28 November 2007.
- ^ "Aspect Software opens new facility in Galway". Galway Science & Technology Forum.
- ^ "Ratings Agency Knocks Two Golden Gate Companies In One Day". PE Hub Network.
- ^ "Moody's downgrades Aspect Software to Caa2". Moody's. 7 December 2015.
- ^ "Aspect Software files for bankruptcy with creditor plan". Reuters. 9 March 2016.
- ^ "Aspect Software's $1.2B Debt Rework Wins Court OK". Law 360.
- ^ . No Jitter. Archived from the original on 2013-02-12. Retrieved 2017-06-23.
- ^ "Aspect Software Names New CEO Following Top Exec's Exit". CRN. August 2012.
- ^ "Aspect Software Acquires Orlando-based Voxeo Corp. for $150 million". AZ Tech Beat. 11 July 2013.
- ^ "Aspect Software Announces Launch Of Aspect Via™". Contact Centres. 11 May 2016.
- ^ "Vector Capital Completes Acquisition of Aspect Software". www.businesswire.com. 2019-02-04. Retrieved 2024-04-03.
- ^ "Microsoft and Aspect Form Global Strategic Alliance". Microsoft. 18 March 2008.
- ^ Guth, Robert A. (19 March 2008). "Microsoft Buys Aspect Stake". The Wall Street Journal.
- ^ "Aspect Acquires BlueNote Networks". No Jitter.
- ^ "Aspect Buys AIM to Broaden Performance Management Portfolio". Frequently Asked. Chief Editor. from the original on 2022-02-06.
- ^ "Quilogy sold to Aspect". BizJournals.
- ^ "EX 2.4 BRIGHT PATTERN AMENDED AND RESTATED VOTING AGREEMENT". SEC.
- ^ "Aspect Software to acquire Voxeo for $150 million". The Economic Times. India Times.
- ^ "Aspect Software Announces Acquisition of the Technology Assets of LinguaSys". Aspect.
- ^ "Aspect Software Acquires LinguaSys". Destination CRM.
- ^ "Aspect Software Acquires LinguaSys". Destination CRM.
- ^ "Radisson Blu Edwardian Guests Can Now Text Edward The Chatbot For Service". Forbes.
- ^ "Grocer Lidl rolls out natural language chatbot to improve customer experience". ComputerWeekly.
- ^ . CogX. Archived from the original on 2018-06-29. Retrieved 2018-06-29.
- ^ "Aspect Software Announces Merger With Noble Systems". Yahoo. May 10, 2021.
- ^ "Aspect Software Merges with Noble Systems". Smart Customer Service. May 12, 2021.
- ^ "Alvaria Completes Acquisition of Cicero Inc. Intelligent Analytics Platform". www.businesswire.com. 2022-07-19. Retrieved 2024-04-03.
- ^ "Alvaria CX Applications". Alvaria.
- ^ "Workforce Engagement Management Suite - Alvaria Workforce". Alvaria.
- ^ "Workforce Engagement Management Suite - Alvaria EX". Alvaria.
- ^ "Workforce Engagement Management Suite - Alvaria Real Time Optimizer". Alvaria.
- ^ "Workforce Engagement Management Suite - Alvaria Mobile". Alvaria.
- ^ "Aspect Software Recognized By Frost & Sullivan As The Workforce Optimization Industry 2016 Global Company Of The Year". TheStreet. 3 March 2020.