BEDMINSTER, N.J. -- AT&T today announced new features that give users of the AT&T BusinessDirectÒcustomer support and management Web portal increased visibility and control of their network performance and investments. Enhancements to AT&T BusinessDirect will bring greater value to users by placing network management, support, visibility and cost control directly into their hands.
The new tools being added to AT&T BusinessDirect include AT&T BusinessDirect Map and AT&T eBill.
-- AT&T BusinessDirect Map provides customers with a graphical map of their network as well as intuitive point-and-click network-management and monitoring capabilities including a single, integrated view of inventory, service ordering, and trouble-reporting tools that can proactively identify and resolve problems.
-- AT&T eBill allows customers to analyze billing data on a location-by-location or circuit-by-circuit basis, to make inquiries, to request billing adjustments, and to pay their bills electronically.
"AT&T is setting a new benchmark for the industry by empowering customers with network visibility and control, and collaborative networking capabilities," said Bob Sloan, AT&T eSales & Service Vice President. "By putting advanced networking tools into the hands of our customers, AT&T is giving businesses real-time, end-to-end visibility into their networking cross-application environments to help them cut costs, gain market share, and link with their customers more effectively."
Each month, roughly 400,000 businesses conduct an average of 2.4 million transactions using AT&T BusinessDirect. Customer transactions through the portal -- including ordering and maintenance inquiries -- increased 17 percent last year.
Companies such as Thomson Financial and Harrah's use the AT&T BusinessDirect suite of online service and support tools to improve the return on investment of their AT&T solution.
Thomson Financial is finding value in the simple and intuitive means AT&T BusinessDirect provides to support and manage their network infrastructure.
"AT&T BusinessDirect allows us to drill down to network information on a state-specific level, view historical data on maintenance, and troubleshoot when needed," said Mary Laux, Telecom Analyst at Thomson Financial. "This means that we spend our time more efficiently and place greater emphasis on business critical activities and less time monitoring the network."
The new enhancements to AT&T BusinessDirect illustrate AT&T's commitment to raise the industry bar in customer service and support. The company invested $700 million in 2003 to significantly improve the customer experience and streamline processes.
About AT&T
For more than 125 years, AT&T (NYSE "T") has been known for unparalleled quality and reliability in communications. Backed by the research and development capabilities of AT&T Labs, the company is a global leader in local, long distance, Internet and transaction-based voice and data services.
