Edify heads to NT
The company's self-service software is now available on Windows NT, with enterprise customer service and human resources software following suit later this year.
Edify, whose 5.0 release of its flagship Electronic Workforce software provides a platform for companies writing enterprise customer service or human resources software, also said it will ship NT applications for electronic banking and human resources later this year.
To boost its move to Windows NT, the company also announced partnerships with Microsoft, Hewlett-Packard, Compaq, and Tandem, now part of Compaq.
"Being on NT means we can start going after companies strategically, rather than department by department," said George Fan, Edify's director of product marketing. "Because we were on OS/2 in the past, there was less interest at the enterprise level."
The packaged applications for online banking and employee self-service are an effort to "move Edify up the food chain," he said. By letting customers access information by phone or on the Web, companies can reduce their customer service costs.
The NT version of Edify's Electronic Workforce is available for about $50,000, but existing customers get the NT software free under maintenance agreements. The employee self-service software, called Employee Service System, costs around $50,000, while the banking software, called Electronic Banking System, costs about $150,000.
Software is available directly from Edify, but the company expects to announce value-added resellers (VARs) later this year.