“Vimpel- Communications” (“VimpelCom”) (NYSE: VIP – News), a leading provider of telecommunications services in Russia and CIS, and Amdocs (NYSE: DOX – News), the leading provider of software and services to enable integrated customer management and the intentional customer experience TM, announced today that VimpelCom has successfully implemented Amdocs Self Service to support its more than 40 million corporate and individual subscribers in Russia. Â
The Amdocs software enables VimpelCom customers to manage their accounts online, enabling the carrier to improve customer satisfaction and retention, while reducing operating costs associated with billing and customer service.
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The Russian telecommunications market is continuing to grow rapidly, with the number of mobile subscribers increasing more than 100 percent from 2003 to 2004, and continuing at the same rate in 2005. In order for carriers like VimpelCom to keep up with the growth, they must maintain the highest standards of customer service and Amdocs Self Service helps to do that cost-effectively. The Amdocs Self Service will enable VimpelCom’s corporate customers to view their billing information, as well as set permission schemes for employees within their organization to control their expenses. Corporate customers can also monitor their expenses by utilizing the report feature to analyze past charges. VimpelCom’s individual subscribers are also now able to view their billing information and history, and order services.
“Our subscribers across Russia increased from two million in 2002 to more than 40 million today,” said Vladimir Filippov, vice-president, information technologies, VimpelCom. “With this increase, VimpelCom needed to reevaluate its approach to managing customer accounts, keeping in mind that the customer experience must be seamless regardless of where the subscriber is located. Amdocs Self Service software allows us to do that just that by creating a single and intentional customer experience via the Internet.”
Offering self-service capabilities is one step in a larger business strategy that VimpelCom and other carriers are adopting, called integrated customer management – an approach that aligns critical business processes to create a single view of the customer from all points within the organization, while helping the carrier to become more agile to react to and even anticipate market needs. To reach that goal, Amdocs has already helped VimpelCom implement Amdocs Billing and Amdocs CRM products. Amdocs Self Service will be integrated with the existing applications to create a single platform for all of VimpelCom customer interactions.
“Carriers in Russia — and indeed around the world — face strong competition from traditional players as well as new market entrants,” said Michael Matthews, chief marketing officer for Amdocs. “For a service provider like VimpelCom to remain a leader, one of the keys to building profitable relationships with corporate and residential subscribers is creating a customer experience that places customers in control of their own account.”
About VimpelCom
VimpelCom is a leading international provider of mobile telecommunications services in Russia and Kazakhstan, with newly acquired operations in Ukraine, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. The VimpelCom Group’s license portfolio covers approximately 232 million people. Geographically it covers 78 regions in Russia (with 136.5 million people, representing 94% of Russia’s population) as well as the entire territories of Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan. VimpelCom was the first Russian company to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”). VimpelCom’s ADSs are listed on the NYSE under the symbol “VIP”. For more information, visit http://www.vimpelcom.com/
About Amdocs
Amdocs combines innovative software and services with deep business knowledge to accelerate implementation of integrated customer management by the world’s leading service providers. By delivering a comprehensive portfolio of software and services that spans the customer lifecycle, Amdocs enables service companies to deliver an intentional customer experience TM, which results in stronger, more profitable customer relationships. Service providers also benefit from a rapid return on investment, lower total cost of ownership and improved operational efficiencies. A global company with revenue of $2.039 billion in fiscal 2005, Amdocs employs about 12,000 IT professionals and serves customers in more than 50 countries around the world. For more information, visit Amdocs at www.amdocs.com.