MELVILLE, N.Y. & HERZLIA, Israel--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 11, 2001-- CosmoCom and VocalTec Communications Ltd. (Nasdaq: VOCL) (VocalTec) today announced a strategic alliance to provide hosted IP Contact Center solutions to service providers.

The joint solution will take advantage of CosmoCom's leading all-IP contact center infrastructure and VocalTec's superior Softswitch-based VOIP solutions. The combined solution will enable service providers to offer network based, location and media independent IP call center services to enterprise customers. CosmoCom and VocalTec will engage in joint marketing and sales of the solution to service providers globally.

"VocalTec has been at the forefront of helping Telcos achieve visionary integrations of the Web and packet telephony with hosted customer service offers," said Elon Ganor, CEO of VocalTec. "Through our new alliance with CosmoCom, the leading IP contact center provider, service providers will be able to establish packet voice networks that combine key call center routing and management functions with value-added Web communications services to form a compelling next generation hosted Contact Center offer for enterprises."

The joint solutions will allow carriers to offer a wide spectrum of hosted contact center services, from full network-based ACD (automatic call distribution) configurations for virtual IP contact centers to solutions that provide individual call routing decisions on the network level for legacy multi-site PSTN based call centers.

"Leading edge service providers that have implemented Packet Voice networks are now evaluating the opportunity to generate additional revenue by offering hosted application services over that network," said analyst Terry White of InfoTech, a market research firm specializing in telecommunications. "For example, hosted IP contact center services offer enterprises a unique opportunity to improve customer service. Customer service agents can now respond to all forms of customer contacts, including voice calls, e-mail and instant messaging. By using a hosted IP service, enterprises have the flexibility to locate their agents at anywhere that has access to the IP network."

VocalTec's Softswitch Architecture provides carriers with the framework for a next generation IP voice network in which the CosmoCom solution can be hosted for provisioning of enhanced Contact Center services.

CosmoCom has completed extensive interoperability testing between the VocalTec solutions and the Cosmocall Universe platform. Service providers can now offer enhanced contact management features such as interactive voice response (IVR), web collaboration, e-mail management, real-time reporting and live multi-channel IP sessions to subscribers served through many different types of networks. The interoperability of the solutions is facilitated by the VocalTec Softswitch's support for critical VOIP technologies such as SIP, H.323, MGCP as well as SS7 signaling.

"We are pleased to be working with VocalTec, the premier innovator of VOIP solutions to serve our carrier customers' needs," said Ari Sonesh, CEO of CosmoCom. "By combining our experience and technologies in this strategic alliance we bring the best IP network call center solution to market."

About VocalTec

VocalTec Communications Ltd. (NASDAQ: VOCL) is a world leader in providing software-driven solutions for the deployment of next-generation, IP-based international and long-distance telephony networks and related enhanced services. Racking up more years of Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) experience than anyone else in the industry with carriers such as Verizon, Deutsche Telekom, Global One, Marconi, ITXC and the China Telecom PTAs, VocalTec is renowned for its highly intelligent routing and business powering enhanced services. VocalTec multiple services solutions are commercially deployed in over 100 countries, supporting H.323, SIP, MGCP and other critical VOIP technologies. VocalTec world-leading services include International and Long-Distance Calling, Voice VPN, Calling Card, Exchange Carrier, Voice over PC and Voice-enhanced E-Commerce. These services are deployed in large, multinational carriers and are used by hundreds of call centers and millions of end-users. Visit us at www.vocaltec.com http://www.vocaltec.com/.

About CosmoCom

CosmoCom is the leading provider of all-IP, universal access contact center platforms. CosmoCom's flagship product, CosmoCall Universe(tm), is a carrier-class system enabling service providers to offer, on a hosted basis, mission critical contact center applications to their clients. CosmoCall Universe supports multichannel customer interactions via telephone and Internet, live and message-based, fixed and wireless - in one high capacity, high availability, multi-tenant platform. Headquartered in Melville, New York, with offices and distribution partners throughout the world, CosmoCom has received an array of industry awards. Market analysts Frost and Sullivan recently reported that CosmoCom's large and growing installed base represents a 50% share of the US IP-ACD market. For more information about CosmoCom, please visit www.cosmocom.com http://www.cosmocom.com.

NOTE: VocalTec is a registered trademark of VocalTec Communications Ltd. Other trademarks are the property of their respective holders. Certain statements contained in this release may contain forward-looking information with respect to plans, projections or the future performance of VocalTec Communications or any of its subsidiaries or businesses, the occurrence of which involves certain risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, product and market acceptance risks, the impact of competitive pricing, competitive products, product development, commercialization and technological difficulties, and other risks detailed in the Company's reports filed from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission.