Unified Communications Market Continues to Mature as Clarus Systems and IQ Services Showcase Multi-Channel Load Testing Solutions at IT Expo East

Richard Whitehead to Cover Topic during "Intro to Unified Communications" Session at 2008 Internet Telephony Conference & Expo in Miami, FL Jan. 23 - 25

REDWOOD Shores, Calif and Miami, FL (January 23, 2008) - Clarus Systems, Inc., a leading provider of integrated management and testing solutions for IP Communication deployments, upgrades and transformations, today announced that its collaborative efforts with IQ Services - a leading provider of proactive communication solution testing services - continue to make inroads for both company's respective solutions within the contact center. Since partnering in October of 2007, both Clarus Systems and IQ Services have collaborated on delivering management solutions that enhance end-to-end voice process lifecycle management within the contact center.

"Within a contact center environment, it is critical that the integrated testing solution be fully functional and configured to ensure the delivery of an interactive customer service experience," said Brendan F. Reidy, President and CEO of Clarus Systems. "Customer loyalty should never be sacrificed as a result of incorrect call routing, scripting, screen pops or recording; therefore the need to incorporate automated performance and load testing management capabilities into your voice solution strategy becomes paramount. Furthermore, proactively load testing a contact center communication system, end-to-end before a peak period, provides organizations a clear view of system performance under high load."

The Automated Load Testing solution, jointly created by IQ Services and Clarus Systems, delivers live calls through the public telephone network to validate a customer's contact center's performance under real-world conditions before a launch. This ensures customers receive a satisfactory experience during normal and peak times. IQ Services accesses and loads the ClarusIPC Plus+ solution via multiple channels, including incoming calls, timed callback, email, Web-based chat, Web services and faxback, allowing customers to observe tune and verify the performance of their contact solution.

"Our test facility can be configured to receive and interact with incoming traffic from an agent or self-service process connected by an outbound dialer," said Jim Jenkins, CEO of IQ Services. "In addition, our automated load-testing service tells customers if an environment will work, as well as if it will perform up to the requirements needed to ensure a positive customer experience - somewhat like insurance for the contact center."

State Employees' Credit Union, N.C. is reaping the benefits in their contact center. "The tests ascertained that the system could handle the load," explained Rick Rhoads, Senior Vice President of e-services. "Additionally, it found that random issues cropped up, particularly related to loan inquiries, that we would not have discovered without the load tests."

Automated Load Testing is just one element that helps bring the unification of presence, real-time communications (IM, telephony, video and application sharing), and near-real-time communications (e-mail, voicemail, short message services) into a single user experience. Unified Communications can provide businesses of all sizes with improved customer service, better return on investment, and a significant competitive advantage.

To further validate the presence of unified communications within the contact center, Richard Whitehead, Chief Technology Officer at Clarus Systems, will be part of a panel that will discuss the "Intro to Unified Communications" at the 2008 Internet Telephony Conference & Expo. The event provides enterprises, SMBs and government agencies the chance to learn how to select and deploy IP-based voice, video, fax and unified communications. Mr. Whitehead's session, scheduled for Thursday, January 24 at 8:00 am, will address how to evaluate, select, implement and take full advantage of unified communications.

"Our approach to Unified Communications is built on four pillars that drive innovation and end-to-end IP Telephony including ROI, bridging the gap between IPT and IT, business intelligence and compliance," said Mr. Whitehead. "Adapting this strategy within the contact center can provide businesses of all sizes with enhanced customer service and offer a significant competitive advantage."

The 2008 Internet Telephony Conference & Expo will be held at the Miami Beach Convention Center in Miami, Florida from January 23 - 25. IQ Services will be exhibiting at booth CC629. For more information about this year's event, please visit: http://www.tmcnet.com/voip/conference

About IQ Services
IQ Services (www.iq-services.com) is a leader in performance testing, load testing, function testing and availability monitoring for contact center and e-commerce business solutions. Contact center managers turn to IQ Services when they need confidence that their contact centers and e-commerce solutions will withstand the stress of real-world use - and will continue to perform as expected in a constantly evolving, dynamic production environment. Since 1996, the company has tested hundreds of contact centers, as well as voice and Web applications, for companies small and large, including many of the Fortune 500. Contact center managers rely on IQ Services for load testing, availability monitoring, and specialized testing and professional services.

About Clarus Systems, Inc.
Clarus Systems, Inc. (www.clarussystems.com) provides integrated voice service management, testing and monitoring solutions for IP Communication and Contact Center deployments, upgrades and transformations. Privately held and based in Redwood City, Calif., Clarus Systems is widely recognized for its award-winning application, ClarusIPC®, which maximizes system availability based on the company’s four pillars of automated testing, performance management, configuration management and business intelligence. Clarus Systems' management solutions ensure ongoing, validated telephony environments that empower unified communications. The company attributes its success to its roster of elite Global 2000 enterprises, system integrators, and managed service providers within the financial services, aerospace & energy, and public sector & education market segments.

©2008 Clarus Systems, Inc. ClarusIPC® , Empowering Unified Communications, and the Clarus Systems logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Clarus Systems, Inc. Other product or company names mentioned herein are the trademarks of their respective owners.

Company Contact:
Sally A. Egan
Marketing Director
Clarus Systems, Inc.
215-527-6849
segan@clarussystems.com