Aspect Software

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Aspect Inc.
TypePrivate
IndustryCall center technology
Customer experience
Founded1973; 49 years ago (1973)
Headquarters
Boston, Massachusetts
,
United States
Key people
[Patrick Dennis] (CEO) [1][2][3]
ProductsAspect Via CEC
Aspect CXP
Aspect Workforce Optimization Suite[4]
Revenue$443 million (FY 2014)[5]
Number of employees
1,800 (2019)

Aspect Software, Inc. was an American multinational call center technology and customer experience company headquartered in Westford, Massachusetts. In 2021, Aspect purchased Noble Systems; the resultant organization was officially announced in September 2021 as Alvaria (see "Expansion After the Merger," below).

Aspect had offices in Africa, Asia, Oceania, Europe, North America, and South America.[6]

History[]

Founding, Early Years[]

Aspect was founded under the name Aspect Communications in 1973, when its solution[buzzword] powered the first call center flight booking system with an intelligent Automatic Call Distributor.[7] In 2005, Aspect Communications was acquired by Concerto Software for $1 bln,[8] with the new entity called Aspect Software.[9]

Expansion After the Merger[]

In 2006, Aspect borrowed $1.16 billion to finance its international expansion.[10]

In 2006, Aspect opened its first office offshore in Bangalore, India.[11]

In 2008, Aspect formed an alliance with Microsoft[12] with the latter making an investment in Aspect.[13] Later in 2008, Aspect acquired Massachusetts-based BlueNote Networks.[14] In 2009, Aspect acquired UK-based AIM Technology.[15] In 2010, Aspect acquired St. Louis-based Quilogy.[16] In 2011, Aspect opened a facility in Ireland.[17]

In 2021, Aspect merged with Noble Systems Corporation to form Alvaria.[18] The combined company will be led by Aspect's President and CEO, Patrick Dennis.[19]

New Management[]

In 2012, most of the management was replaced with a new team[20] led by Stewart Bloom.[21] Over the next year, Aspect relocated its headquarters to Phoenix, Arizona.[22]

In 2013, Aspect invested into [23] and acquired Voxeo for $150 million.[24] In 2015, Aspect acquired LinguaSys[25] to add natural language messaging capabilities.[26] LinguaSys technology became the basis of Aspect's Natural Language Understanding component for the Aspect CXP platform.[27] The technology was used to create a chatbot for the supermarket chain Lidl,[28] that won the 2018 Best Consumer Chatbot award at the CogX AI conference, beating X.ai and Microsoft's Xiaoice.[29]

In 2012, Aspect had its credit rating lowered by Standard & Poor's because of the large amount of debt.[30] In 2015, Moody's lowered its credit rating as well.[31] In March 2016, Aspect filed for bankruptcy to reduce its debt load,[32] and emerged from Chapter 11 in May 2016.[33]

In 2016, Aspect released Via Customer Engagement Center, including various products from Aspect's portfolio.[34]

Later in 2019, Aspect was acquired by .[35]

Awards and recognition[]

Aspect Software was recognized by industry analyst firms such as Frost & Sullivan.[36]

References[]

  1. ^ "Leadership". Aspect.
  2. ^ "Aspect Software, Inc.: Private Company Information". Bloomberg.
  3. ^ "Aspect Software announces appointment of Chris Koziol to CEO". ITWeb. 11 September 2018.
  4. ^ "See all Aspect products". Aspect.
  5. ^ "SEC FORM 10-K". SEC.[permanent dead link]
  6. ^ "Global-Office-Locations - Aspect". Aspect.
  7. ^ "History of Invention - Aspect". Aspect.
  8. ^ News, Bloomberg (6 July 2005). "Concerto to Acquire Aspect for $1 Billion". The New York Times.
  9. ^ "Concerto Software And Aspect Communications Complete Merger And Form Aspect Software". CRM Marketplace.
  10. ^ "Ratings Agency Knocks Two Golden Gate Companies In One Day". PE Hub Network.
  11. ^ "India is Aspect Software's 2nd largest centre". Business Standard India. Business Standard. 28 November 2007.
  12. ^ "Microsoft and Aspect Form Global Strategic Alliance". Microsoft. 18 March 2008.
  13. ^ Guth, Robert A. (19 March 2008). "Microsoft Buys Aspect Stake". The Wall Street Journal.
  14. ^ "Aspect Acquires BlueNote Networks". No Jitter.
  15. ^ "Aspect Buys AIM to Broaden Performance Management Portfolio". Frequently Asked. Chief Editor. Archived from the original on 2022-02-06.[dead link]
  16. ^ "Quilogy sold to Aspect". BizJournals.
  17. ^ "Aspect Software opens new facility in Galway". Galway Science & Technology Forum.
  18. ^ "Aspect Software Announces Merger With Noble Systems". Yahoo. May 10, 2021.
  19. ^ "Aspect Software Merges with Noble Systems". Smart Customer Service. May 12, 2021.
  20. ^ "The New, New, New Aspect?". No Jitter. Archived from the original on 2013-02-12. Retrieved 2017-06-23.
  21. ^ "Aspect Software Names New CEO Following Top Exec's Exit". CRN. August 2012.
  22. ^ "Aspect Software Acquires Orlando-based Voxeo Corp. for $150 million". AZ Tech Beat. 11 July 2013.
  23. ^ "EX 2.4 BRIGHT PATTERN AMENDED AND RESTATED VOTING AGREEMENT". SEC.
  24. ^ "Aspect Software to acquire Voxeo for $150 million". The Economic Times. India Times.
  25. ^ "Aspect Software Announces Acquisition of the Technology Assets of LinguaSys". Aspect.
  26. ^ "Aspect Software Acquires LinguaSys". Destination CRM.
  27. ^ "Radisson Blu Edwardian Guests Can Now Text Edward The Chatbot For Service". Forbes.
  28. ^ "Grocer Lidl rolls out natural language chatbot to improve customer experience". ComputerWeekly.
  29. ^ "CogX 2018 Award Finalists". CogX. Archived from the original on 2018-06-29. Retrieved 2018-06-29.
  30. ^ "Ratings Agency Knocks Two Golden Gate Companies In One Day". PE Hub Network.
  31. ^ "Moody's downgrades Aspect Software to Caa2". Moody's. 7 December 2015.
  32. ^ "Aspect Software files for bankruptcy with creditor plan". Reuters. 9 March 2016.
  33. ^ "Aspect Software's $1.2B Debt Rework Wins Court OK". Law 360.
  34. ^ "Aspect Software Announces Launch Of Aspect Via™". Contact Centres. 11 May 2016.
  35. ^ "Aspect Software to be Acquired by Vector Capital". Aspect Software.
  36. ^ "Aspect Software Recognized By Frost & Sullivan As The Workforce Optimization Industry 2016 Global Company Of The Year". TheStreet.
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