ISI in the News

Please contact Charles Ruykhaver for more information about this press release.

SCHAUMBURG, IL - The prospect of being bitten by the millennium bug has forced most companies to take a close look at their computerized equipment and operations. A case in point: Equitable Life Insurance Company of Iowa. When the corporate telemanagement system had to be replaced, Equitable made the decision to switch to a new vendor. Their choice: Infortel-NT designed by ISI of Schaumburg, Illinois.

Beyond Y2K compliance, the Infortel-NT system, based on the Windows NT client/server architecture, offers Equitable a variety of benefits. The company initially purchased the Automatic Collection module of the Call Accounting application and the Enhanced Fraud Alert module, providing pager notification when suspicious activities occur on the network.

"The new system has more capacity, it's faster and more user-friendly," according to Pam Thomas, Telecommunications Manager for Equitable. "If we have issues that need to be addressed, ISI's customer support is always there for us. Our purpose in buying the Infortel-NT system was to replace one that was not Y2K compliant. We could have gone on with the existing vendor, but the support was not there. In addition, the previous system was very cumbersome. It was not user-friendly. So there were a lot of reasons to change telemanagement vendors."

Think Globally, Act Locally

Based in Des Moines, Equitable Life Insurance Company of Iowa offers life insurance and annuities to clients nationwide through a dedicated career agent distribution system. Founded in 1867, Equitable of Iowa is the oldest stock life insurance company west of the Mississippi River. Equitable is currently implementing a voice response system that will service all U.S. sites from the Des Moines area. Pam Thomas is an integral part of the implementation team.

In 1997, Equitable was acquired by ING Group, headquartered in The Netherlands. ING is one of the largest integrated financial services organizations in the world. As a result of the acquisition, Thomas is receiving a crash course in global thinking.

"We're not just concerned about this site," says Thomas. "We have to consider what's going on at other sites as far as making technical decisions, making sure that the systems we implement in Des Moines can be used globally, if desired. So we look at the big picture as we're working on new telecommunications technologies like the Infortel-NT system. That's a major issue for us."

Profiles in Courtesy

Pam Thomas prizes the quality of the customer support she received from ISI, from her regional sales representative to the installation technicians, technical assistance and training engineers.

"Our regional sales representative was our initial contact," says Thomas, "and stayed in touch with us during the entire implementation. And she still stays in touch. Once a month I get an e-mail message asking if there's anything that she can do for us; she's very proactive. I'm the president of a local users group, and I've recommended ISI to several people. A lot of that recommendation was based on our ISI sales representative's professionalism and the sales support after the installation, which was wonderful."

At ISI, the emphasis is not on selling products, but on working with customers to find the best solution for their needs. ISI is totally dedicated to customer satisfaction. And customers often find themselves forming a special bond with their ISI account representative.

"Our sales rep is extremely knowledgeable about her products," says Thomas. "I think that is a strong suit of ISI representatives who know their product and what it can do for the customer. If she doesn't know an answer, she goes and finds it instead of just giving you some sales jargon. She is a great asset to us and ISI. I hope they give her a big raise!"