Level 8 has sold its other interests to focus on Merrill Lynch’s Cicero integration software.
Merrill Lynch developed its CRM integration platform Cicero because it needed an efficient and cost effective integration platform; last year, it licensed the project to software development firm Level 8 in exchange for a stake in the company. Cicero 4.0, the first generally available version, was launched in July. Late last week, Level 8 sold off its other main product, Geneva AppBuilder, to focus on Cicero.
Cicero is a desktop integration platform, which aims to let contact centers deliver best-in-class customer service while lowering costs. It delivers a simplified agent desktop organized by task rather than by application, using a universally understood book, chapter, and page metaphor to access customer information. The power of Cicero is that it is workflow oriented. It can intelligently bring the representative to the appropriate screens, by enabling applications to share information seamlessly.
Convergence and consolidation in the financial services industry have spurred a rethinking of the way organizations and their information systems are structured. Customers today expect an integrated organization to assist them in real time across product areas. Cicero makes this a reality, allowing representatives to run linked applications on the Windows desktop as required, depending on the demands of the tasks they are trying to perform.
Cicero is not the only workflow-oriented application in the market providing seamless integration. Other companies such as Fugotech have similar offerings. However, Cicero has a major unique selling point in that it was created by one of the world’s leading financial services firms and has been proven to work in Merrill’s dynamic and demanding business environment.
The Gramm-Leach-Bliley act has led to a lot of discussion in the industry about technology vendors possibly becoming financial services providers and the threat that this may bring to established players. Merrill has taken a leap of faith, turned tables and made technology provision into another revenue generating initiative by spinning off its internally developed application. Microsoft, watch out!
