DSL Deployment Automation

Cygent and Nightfire announced an alliance that will produce a solution to streamline DSL ordering For ISPs and DSL resellers.

by Wayne Kawamoto [October 17, 2000]

Cygent Inc. and NightFire Software Inc. announced a strategic alliance that should enable Internet service providers and DSL resellers to automate their DSL ordering and service fulfillment through a fully brandable Web-based interface. The joint offering combines NightFire's expertise in automating transactions associated with broadband service fulfillment with Cygent's eBusiness solution.

More specifically, the companies are integrating Cygent's eBSS solution and DSLAdvantage with NightFire ISP Service Manager, NightFire Preorder, and NightFire DSL to provide an out-of-the-box product.

The integrated offering may give ISPs a speed-to-market and cost advantage by enabling them to prequalify customers for DSL via the Web, and deploy products and services more rapidly to their customers.

Web-based solution
The resulting end-to-end Web-based solution promises to support one-to-one marketing, online shopping and ordering, bill presentment and payment, account management, customer service, address validation, automated service availability checks, and ordering of DSL services from a wide selection of DSL providers. It should also allow customer prospects and distribution partners to enter address and phone information into an ISP's Web-based order system and get immediate feedback on the services available for their locations, as well as to place and track orders. "This is a comprehensive offering for ISPs and DSL providers to turn up customers more rapidly at a far lower cost," said Venkates Swaminathan, founder, executive vice president and chief strategist of NightFire. "The ability to rapidly and accurately prequalify customers and process self-service orders will redefine end-users' expectations in obtaining DSL service."

"Our alliance with NightFire will allow service providers to automate accurate customer prequalification to achieve flow-through ordering -- easing the biggest bottleneck in offering DSL service," said Ari Klionsky, Cygent's vice president, business development. "By integrating NightFire's products with Cygent's, we are revolutionizing the way DSL service is bought and sold."

Pricing and availability
Pricing and availability were not finalized at our press time.

—End