Portugal Telecom (News - Alert), a global telecommunications operator, has selected ClickSoftware Technologies Ltd. to provide a range of software solutions. ClickSoftware (News - Alert) is a provider of workforce management and service optimization solutions.

The technology leveraged by Portugal Telecom is expected to help the company to protect market share in its traditional telecoms business, support its rapidly expanding operations in broadband, IP television and cellular services and to achieve its ambitious targets for the rollout of fiber to the home.

Portugal Telecom is an integrated company as it has played a pioneering role in the provision of quadruple play services that combine broadband, television and telephone with wireless, according to company officials. Effective planning, scheduling and dispatch of the nationwide field force will be key to delivering these services on time and winning new business in the future.

“We underwent a rigorous selection process. This included an initial presentation from prospective vendors, a Request for Information, a Request for Proposal and then a week-long proof of concept using real customer and field data,” said Jason Inacio, PT’s Field Force Director, in a statement.

“At every stage ClickSoftware was a strong performer, particularly with the proof of concept and the provision of multiple satisfied reference clients in the telecommunications industry. The company has also shown significant and impressive growth over the last nine years, which is a clear indication that it is doing all the right things for its customers.”

As Portugal Telecom expands its services globally and becomes more technically demanding, it has elected to implement ClickSchedule, ClickMobile, ClickLocate, ClickAnalyze and ClickPlan to balance the deployment of its field resources with greater accuracy and control across its 35 million residential and corporate customers.

“The ClickSoftware tools that we are now deploying are perfect for helping us execute our ambitious business plans in a controlled and accurate manner. The potential for improving our customer services will help us win new clients and maintain existing customer loyalty. If we can achieve this we will increase our market share. In addition we expect to significantly improve the productivity of our workforce, enabling us to do more with less,” added Inacio.

ClickSchedule will provide significant efficiency in scheduling technicians as it relies on specific variables to schedule according to need and availability. ClickMobile is used to update workers in the field and receive work progress updates. ClickLocate provides dispatch staff with a real-time view of technicians and ClickAnalzye allows for insight into the performance of the workforce against specific strategic objectives.
 

Hannan Carmeli, president and chief operating officer of ClickSoftware commented, “We are delighted to be working with a company like Portugal Telecom. They are setting the bar high for timely and decisive selection and implementation processes. The company executives clearly realized that they needed a partner that had the proven track record and technologies in place, to match their own strategic ambitions.”

ClickSoftware announced in July that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the assets of AST, which is marketed as The Contractor Office. The terms of the agreement dictate that all assets of AST, including its technology, customers and employees, will become the property of ClickSoftware.

July proved to be an active month for ClickSoftware as the company also made headlines with the news that BackFlip Software, a business process communications provider, signed a partnership agreement with the company whereby ClickSoftware will integrate BackFlip Process Communications On Demand for ISV’s with ClickSoftware’s ClickContact customer-interaction management solution.