01:12 PM
Interactive Intelligence Releases Mobile Development Platform for Customer Service
Indianapolis-based communications software provider Interactive Intelligence has released Interaction Mobilizer, a software platform that enables organizations to deploy customer service applications on multiple mobile operating systems, devices and social media websites.
Compatible with iOS, Android and Windows Phone, as well as Facebook, Interaction Mobilizer creates apps in a device-independent, high-level language. Apps created allow customers to request a call-back from a service representative and be updated periodically as to when the call-back will occur, with future versions will support chat, text messaging, and video. Customers also can log on using their Facebook ID, or company-supplied credentials, as desired.
Chuck Wilson, director of the finance and insurance solutions group for Interactive Intelligence, told Insurance & Technology in an interview that the platform was developed based on input from customers.
"From a development standpoint, the challenge of writing for multiple platforms is tough," Wilson says. "we approached our customers and talked about a single platform that they could develop with native look and feel for the OSes."
[Read how Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina uses a similar platform for unified mobile development.]
However, the offering doesn't just make things easier on IT departments, Wilson adds. The apps created are able to make it easier for policyholders to connect with their insurers as well.
"There's been a disconnect from using the mobile app to connecting with somebody," he says, explaining that Interaction Mobilizer will continue to roll out features that connect users with contact-center staff through several channels. Because it also enables login using Facebook, users will be able to connect in emergency situations even if they've forgotten their user name and passwords.
"Through the industry you are seeing the idea of an open authentication that lots of web properties and applications are supporting," he adds.
Nathan Golia is senior editor of Insurance & Technology. He joined the publication in 2010 as associate editor and covers all aspects of the nexus between insurance and information technology, including mobility, distribution, core systems, customer interaction, and risk ... View Full Bio