CosmoCom tunes in $12M in Marconi orders

By Rich Scherr, LocalBusiness.com

Jan 08, 2001 01:35 PM ET

MELVILLE, N.Y., Jan. 8 (LocalBusiness.com) -- CosmoCom Inc., a privately held developer of call center platforms, said today it has gained commitments for at least $12 million in software orders from Pittsburgh communications giant Marconi.

The Melville, N.Y. company said the orders are contingent on it completing developments that integrate its Universe product line with the Intelligent Packet Network product line of Marconi -- a process CosmoCom officials said was "well underway."

If completed, it would be the largest deal in CosmoCom history.

"It's a tremendous confirmation of what we're doing," CosmoCom Executive Vice President Steve Kowarsky told LocalBusiness.com. "Here's Marconi, which is a major provider of telecom infrastructure, recognizing in their own product offering that telephone companies are migrating toward an IP-based strategy, and that what we have is a very important component of that."

CosmoCom's call center platform, Universe, connects Web-based businesses and their customers in multimedia sessions via the Internet and telephone. The software also manages e-mail and voice messages, and supports live online customer care.

Deal a "natural"
The deal was "a natural," according CosmoCom President and CEO Ari Sonesh, because "Marconi's IPN provides exactly the managed IP communication backbone that CosmoCall Universe requires."

Marconi develops software that allows service providers to build converged networks.

The relationship has been a long time in the making. The two companies have worked together extensively in the past, and Marconi was what Kowarsky called a "very substantial" investor in the company's recent $40 million round of financing.