Cover Story
CEOCFO Current Issue
Cover Story Archives
Private Equity Review
CEOCFO Interview Index
Future Features
Analyst Interviews
Corporate
Financials
Contact
& Ordering |
This is a printer friendly page!
Knova Software looks to
dominate the next wave of customer service optimization with Service Resolution Management
solution
Technology
Internet Software & Services
(KNVS-OTC: KNVS)
Knova Software, Inc.
10201 Torre Avenue – Suite 350
Cupertino, CA 95014
Phone: 408-863-5800
Bruce W. Armstrong
President and CEO
Interview conducted by:
Lynn Fosse, Senior Editor
CEOCFOinterviews.com
November 3, 2005
BIO:
Bruce W. Armstrong
President and CEO
In his role as President and CEO of Knova Software, Bruce Armstrong is able to leverage
over 20 years experience developing, marketing, selling, and investing in technology.
Formerly CEO of Kanisa, Mr. Armstrong became the CEO of Knova through the merger of
ServiceWare Technologies and Kanisa. Under his leadership, Kanisa tripled its customer
base and became a recognized leader of Service Resolution Management applications and KM
solutions for customer service.
Prior to joining Kanisa, Mr. Armstrong was EVP of Sales & Marketing at Broadbase
Software (now KANA), where he helped create the analytic application category for CRM; and
VP & GM of the Server Products Group at Sybase, where he ran the company's $700M
enterprise database management business. Mr. Armstrong started his career at Teradata
Corporation, where —after seeing the company through a successful IPO and acquisition
by AT&T/NCR— he was named VP & GM of the $500M Enterprise Solutions Division,
President of Teradata and a company officer of AT&T.
Mr. Armstrong has served on the boards of Accrue, Agribuys, BuyMedia, Citadon, Collabrys,
Delphion, Freeborders, FuelSpot, ICG Asia, ICG Japan, NetVendor, TeamOn, and Vivant.
Mr. Armstrong has a Bachelor's Degree in Computer Science from the University of
California at Berkeley
Company Profile:
Knova Software is a leading provider of service resolution management applications that
reduce service costs, increase revenues and improve customer satisfaction. Built on a
next-generation search and knowledge management platform, Knova's suite of
knowledge-empowered customer service applications automate the resolution process across
multiple channels including contact centers, help desks, email and self-service sites.
Industry leaders including EDS, Ford, HP, H&R Block, Novell, Merrill Lynch, McAfee,
Reuters and QUALCOMM rely on Knova's award-winning solutions to deliver world-class
customer service. Knova Software is headquartered in Cupertino, Calif. For more
information, visit www.knova.com.
The companies award winning application, Knova 6.5 is
built on a next-generation search and knowledge management platform. Knova 6 applications
include:
. Knova Contact Center: An assisted-service application that automates the resolution
process for customer service agents and support analysts
. Knova Self-Service: A next-generation self-service application that enables customers to
help themselves with a personalized, proactive self-service experience
. Knova Forums: An integrated forums application for peer-service that enables customers
to help each other while providing valuable feedback
. Knova Field Service: A knowledge-empowered mobile support application that enables
service professionals to quickly resolve customer issues on-site
. Knova Knowledge Desk: A robust knowledge management solution that empowers service desks
to quickly resolve problems and questions
CEOCFOinterviews: Mr.
Armstrong, what was your vision at the merger to create Knova and how has that developed?
Mr. Armstrong: “The ServiceWare/Kanisa merger created a
company that leads the emerging market for Service Resolution Management. By enabling
enterprises to single-source applications that deliver knowledge via self-service, the
contact center, peer support, the help desk and field service, Knova offers a
comprehensive solution for managing front office knowledge. As companies complete their
acquisition of conventional CRM solutions, the market for SRM applications has begun rapid
growth. Knova is poised to satisfy this market demand.”
CEOCFOinterviews: Mr. Armstrong, what do you do for your
customers that sets Knova apart?
Mr. Armstrong: “We provide knowledge management and
enterprise search technology through our Service Resolution Management (SRM) suite, which
integrates tightly with call management systems typically from companies like PeopleSoft
(acquired by Oracle CP Nasdaq-ORCL), or Remedy (BMC SoftwareŽ, Inc. NYSE-BMC).
Knova consistently wins customers over Inquira, ATG,
and Kana because of our unique ability to deliver 1) applications driven by business
processes that provide both world-class search and KM capabilities; 2) root cause
analytics; and 3) a complete, enterprise-wide platform that turns any relevant content
into knowledge, regardless of where or how it's stored. Our unrivaled competence is in
using both structured and unstructured knowledge to drive resolution rates and reduce the
cost of customer service. Industry watchers like Gartner Group and Patricia Seybold rate
us as number-one in this space.”
CEOCFO: You recently
released your Knova 6.5. What does that bring to the table that was not there before and
what is coming for the future?
Mr. Armstrong: “Knova 6.5 was one of our major point
releases, which we typically do every twelve to eighteen months. This release was
highlighted by a new version of our natural language search engine, a core component of
the Knova 6.5 Knowledge Platform. In addition to Knova Field Service, a new SRM
application for mobile support professionals, version 6.5 includes 1) next-generation
search engine that leapfrogs the competition based on its natural language processing and
contextual proximity indexing; 2) New authoring and content management features for
personalization and 4) Extended international language support and localization
capabilities.”
CEOCFO: You have a
stellar list of clients now; how do you grow your business?
Mr. Armstrong: “We have a fantastic set of technologies
and a full application suite that is used by a number of different customers in different
industries. That said, we are focused on solving particular business pains in specific
industries. Technology, telecommunications and financial services are our main focus right
now. While we have many other clients in healthcare, utilities, retail and several other
industries, our proactive outbound marketing efforts are focused on our key verticals.
This allows us to make the investment to understand those industries’ business pains
and provide solutions that specifically meets their need.
In addition to the U.S., we have a growing customer
base and operations in Europe. We also have a number of multinational customers that are
bringing us into the Asian markets. So we are putting more investment into geographic
expansion.”
CEOCFO: You recently
added a new CFO; is your management team where you need it to be or are you looking at
more changes?
Mr. Armstrong: “We are very happy with our management
team. Our CFO, Mr. Tom Muise replaced the interim CFO from ServiceWare. Mr. Muise spent
the majority of his early career at Tandem Computers, running multiple financial units.
They grew very quickly and spent some time and Synopsys, Inc. (Nasdaq: SNPS) and Embrace
Networks (privately held). He brings great experience to the company, having worked in
many capacities throughout his career as a financial executive, supporting sales, sports,
special services, engineering; he is a very well-rounded operational CFO.”
CEOCFO: What is ahead
for the company?
Mr. Armstrong: “Our strategy is to dominate the next
wave of customer service optimization, which we believe is Service Resolution Management,
with our natural language search and enterprise knowledge management technologies. We
believe that every single customer service organization needs our software, but we will
focus on key verticals, including technology, telecommunications, financial services and
healthcare. Our strategy is to create application solutions – industry by industry
– that meet those industry needs better than anybody else. We will be more focused
and drive higher return on investment than any other vendor out there in this space.”
CEOCFO: Why should
potential investors be attracted to Knova?
Mr. Armstrong: “We have established clear leadership in
a hot, high growth market that is part of the customer relationship management (CRM)
space. The hottest products and categories in the CRM market are in service optimization.
This is the ability to enhance and extend the advancements that have already been made in
call routing and call tracking. Investing in a company that is a leader in a high-growth
market, showing a profit and significant revenue growth, is an attractive opportunity. We
have a long-term, competitive position around the technologies and applications we have
created.”
disclaimers
Any reproduction or further distribution of this
article without the express written consent of CEOCFOinterviews.com is prohibited.
|
