Company Roundup: Commence Corp., ADP, AT&T, Truphone, Wipro
Commence Corp.: Commence Corp. (Eatontown), a specialist in midmarket customer relationship management (CRM) systems that has been in business 25 years, has updated its product line to answer user needs. Commence Version 5.5 is a cost-efficient cloud and desktop CRM system that offers more power than so-called freemium CRM systems at a significant cost savings over corporate options, the company said in a statement.
The company now provides an internal instant messaging system that resides within the platform. The system includes group chat features and a Twitterlike “follow” feature, so managers can reach multiple employees at once and keep tabs on internal dialogue. Called Conversations, the feature strikes a balance between the urgency of a phone call and the slow response of emails, a spokesman said.
Integration with Microsoft Word lets Word users prepopulate templates with information stored in the Commence CRM system, and click-to-dial support allows mobile users to tap a contact’s phone number to dial it.
AT&T: Wireless carrier AT&T is now offering a $199 wireless home-phone-and-Internet device across the Northeast. The carrier began selling the all-in-one device and accompanying plans September 27, 2013, in New Jersey. It is free with a two-year commitment.
The tabletop unit provides consumers unlimited nationwide home phone calls over the AT&T wireless network, and Internet via the 4G wireless LTE network. The device is portable, so users can take it with them to summer homes, for example. A specialist isn’t needed to set it up.
For $30 per month, current wireless customers can add the device to a mobile share plan with unlimited nationwide calling and 20 GB or more of shared data. Individual home packages start at $60 a month.
Truphone: Truphone, a U.K. company whose R&D component is located in the NJIT Enterprise Development Center (Newark), has introduced service in Hong Kong, Poland and Germany for its U.S. customers. The company provides businesses a new way to communicate when away from home by putting multiple international numbers on one SIM card. This lets businesses pay some of the lowest rates possible for voice, text and data as they roam from country to country, says Truphone. The service can now be used in more than 200 countries.
Wipro: The Bangalore- and East Brunswick, N.J.-based IT consulting and outsourcing company Wipro has appointed Ireena Vittal, a strategic consultant in emerging markets, agriculture and urban development, to its board of directors. Vittal, a former partner at McKinsey & Co., will serve as an independent member of the board. She said she looks forward to contributing to the company’s next phase of growth.
