 Net2Phone and WebDialogs Sign Strategic E-Commerce Agreement
Collaborative browsing along with Voice over IP application
strengthens Net2Phone's E-Commerce initiative through integrated,
multi-channel customer communication solutions.
Net2Phone makes equity investment in WebDialogs
Hackensack, NJ and Billerica, MA - February 7, 2000 --- Net2Phone
Inc. (NASDAQ: NTOP) and WebDialogs today announced an agreement
to jointly market voice-enabled e-commerce solutions to businesses
worldwide.
The new e-commerce offering will include a unique service-based
model that will allow sales and support agents to enhance the e-commerce
experience and also have the opportunity to upsell and cross-sell
products to further increase revenues as well as capture abandoned
sales. According to a survey by BizRate.com and NPD Group, 75 percent
of online consumers abandon shopping carts.
With this new combined solution, agents can use collaborative
browsing to push web pages to e-shoppers highlighting new products
or other related information, and can converse simultaneously in
real-time using Net2Phone's award-winning Voice over IP service,
thereby enhancing the online shopping experience. The e-commerce
solutions will be jointly marketed to enterprises, portals, service
providers, system integrators, online directories, and call centers
worldwide.
WebDialogs will route all voice traffic over Net2Phone's network,
and Net2Phone will collocate WebDialogs' e-commerce equipment in
its points of presence worldwide.
Additionally, Net2Phone has invested $10 million in WebDialogs,
which represents a significant minority investment, further demonstrating
the Company's commitment to voice-enabling the e-commerce experience.
This is the first of what is expected to be a series of investments
and partnerships to further the Company's e-commerce initiatives.
This strategic investment represents a progressive move within
Net2Phone to offer robust e-commerce applications to call centers
worldwide as well as leverage current relationships to promote easier
ways to complete transactions online. The combined solution uses
a unique ASP model that allows businesses of all sizes to easily
offer such enhanced solutions to their customers with lower overhead
and ongoing costs.
Both Net2Phone and WebDialogs have been offering valuable e-commerce
programs to e-tailers and portals such as 800-FLOWERS (NASDAQ: FLWS),
Infospace (NASDAQ: INSP), Go2Net (NASDAQ: GNET), Lands' End (NYSE:
LE), PAC-WEST (NASDAQ: PACW), Interliant (NASDAQ: INIT), and 3COM
(NASDAQ: COMS). The combined product offering presents a more powerful
and integrated approach to e-commerce.
"Net2Phone recognizes the potential of the Internet as a powerful
medium for personal communications," said Lou Guercia, CEO of WebDialogs.
"Together, WebDialogs and Net2Phone will bring to market a rich
set of interaction applications that will revolutionize the way
businesses and their customers, as well as other Web-based communities
communicate and interact. Net2Phone's infrastructure, IP telephony
technology and deep relationships with some of the leading Internet
sites, coupled with WebDialogs' collaboration engine, will create
the next wave in Web Interaction."
"The Net2Phone/WebDialogs combination brings the proven customer
interaction of the brick-and-mortar shopping relationship directly
to the web," said David Greenblatt, Chief Operating Officer of Net2Phone.
"Using our complementary technologies, equipment, and services,
we can help e-commerce vendors sell more products more effectively
and turn browsers into buyers."
Net2Phone is a leading provider of voice-enhanced Internet communications
services to individuals and businesses worldwide. Net2Phone enables
people to place low-cost high quality calls from their computer,
telephone, or fax machine to any telephone or fax machine in the
world. Net2Phone develops and markets technology and services for
IP voice and e-commerce solutions for the web and other IP networks.
For more information about Net2Phone's products and services, please
visit www.net2phone.com.
WebDialogs, based in Billerica, MA, was founded in October 1997
with the objective to revolutionize customer-to-business interaction
over the Internet. As the leading provider of web interaction technology
and services, WebDialogs' solutions create a collaborative environment
for web businesses and visitors to interact live and exchange information
over the Internet. The service facilitates customer acquisition,
e-commerce transactions, customer service and support over the Internet.
Web Dialogs offers an effective customer relationship tool for e-businesses
that understand the value of human interaction with customers. The
technology is offered as a service to Internet merchants and other
customer-oriented web sites through leading Service Providers.
WebDialogs is a trademark of WebDialogs, Inc. in the United States
and/or other countries. Other product and company names mentioned
herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.
This press release contains forward-looking statements within
the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section
21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Such forward-looking
statements include, among other things, Net2Phone's expected operating
performance for the three months ending January 31, 2000 and thereafter.
Actual results could differ from those projected in any forward-looking
statements due to numerous factors. Such factors include, among
others, the inherent uncertainty of financial estimates and projections,
the competitive environment for Internet telephony, changes of rates
of all related telco rates and services, legislation that may affect
the Internet telephony industry, and Net2Phone's ability to operate
the services described on a large scale commercial level. The forward-looking
statements are made as of the date of this press release, and Net2Phone
assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements,
or to update the reasons why actual results could differ from those
projected in the forward-looking statements. Investors should consult
all of the information set forth herein and the other information
set forth from time to time in Net2Phone's reports filed with the
Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to the Securities Act
of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.
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