New Mitel AnyWare Offering Ideal for Organizations Looking for Superior Customer Service, Predictable Costs, and Lower Maintenance Requirements

SANTA CLARA, Apr 03, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE via COMTEX) — Mitel (R), a leading provider of cloud and premises-based unified communications software solutions, announced today at the Cloud Connect Conference the release of its Mitel AnyWare Cloud Contact Center solution. The latest addition to the company’s comprehensive suite of cloud-based products, Mitel’s Cloud Contact Center solution is ideally suited to small and mid-sized businesses looking to take advantage of predictable operating costs, avoid capital expenditures and off-load management and maintenance of contact center infrastructure.

Based on Mitel’s freedom architecture, the new cloud-based solution can provide contact center managers and agents the tools they need to deliver a superior customer service experience, which is increasingly becoming a key driver of business growth and success. Mitel AnyWare Cloud Contact Center enables agents to work anywhere – from home, the office, or remotely – while providing all of the management and reporting tools designed to ensure customer inquiries are addressed at the first point of contact. The solution is fully managed by Mitel in highly secure and reliable data centers, offloading customers IT teams from the design, deployment and day-to-day management.

“At Global Premier Benefits we provide critical benefit services and support to seniors at the precise moment that they are needed. Customer satisfaction and retention is key to our success – it’s life-impacting, time-sensitive, and business-critical,” said John Gourdin, Operations Director, Global Premier Benefits. “Our contact center must be up, running and staffed every business day and with Mitel’s Cloud Contact Center, we are able to achieve our business goals while serving our customers efficiently and effectively.”

In addition, Mitel AnyWare Cloud Contact Center supports integration with leading Customer Relationship Management applications including Salesforce.com, SugarCRM, Microsoft Dynamics CRM and other TAPI (Telephony Applications Programming Interface) applications.

“Companies today are under enormous pressure to be more competitive and to improve operating efficiencies and results, and a high performance responsive contact center has become a competitive differentiator,” said Jon Brinton, president of Mitel NetSolutions. “The rich feature set available with the Mitel AnyWare cloud solution can provide small and mid-sized businesses a streamlined process to manage their contact center cost effectively and with the superior performance and integration previously only available to large organizations with large budgets.”

Visit the web for more information on Mitel AnyWare.

About Mitel

Mitel(R) is a global provider of unified communications and collaboration (UCC) software, solutions and services that enable organizations to conduct business anywhere, over any medium with the device of their choice. Through a single cloud-ready software stream, Mitel’s Freedom architecture provides customers in over 100 countries the flexibility and simplicity needed to support today’s dynamic work environment. For more information visit www.mitel.com.

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prairieFyre Software is pleased to announce that it will be showcasing the upcoming release of its Contact Center for Microsoft Lync solution at Lync Conference 2013, taking place February 19 to February 21, 2013 at the Hotel del Coronado in San Diego, California. The Version 5.10.2 release of the Contact Center for Microsoft Lync portfolio introduces support for a variety of new Microsoft back-office and desktop technologies, most notably, the Microsoft Lync 2013 Voice and Unified Communications platform.  Scheduled for release at the end of February 2013, the Version 5.10.2 release also includes support for Windows Server 2012, Windows 8, Office 2013, and SQL Server 2012. With this release, prairieFyre Contact Center for Microsoft Lync customers can gain the confidence required to migrate to the latest stack of Microsoft solutions without having to sacrifice any quality of experience for contact center supervisors and agents.

Come visit us at the prairieFyre booth K9 at Lync Conference 2013 to find out what makes the prairieFyre solution unique and how you can turn your enterprise Microsoft Lync Voice and UC investment into an enterprise-grade contact center. At Lync Conference, executives from companies of all sizes can network with the best and brightest Lync professionals, get educated, see enhanced Lync solutions, share their thoughts and get questions answered, find the tools to accelerate their deployments, and meet with Lync partners.

prairieFyre Software was recently awarded with an Ottawa Business Journal Employees’ Choice Award. The Employees’ Choice Awards (ECA) program honours organizations within Canada’s National Capital Region that recognize employees as their greatest asset. The selection, recognition, and awarding of the Employees’ Choice Awards allows organizations to demonstrate why they are an ideal place for employees to work.

The following is an excerpt from the February 11, 2013 edition of the Ottawa Business Journal that details why prairieFyre was awarded with this honor.

Making a game out of employee performance

The first song one hears upon entering prairieFyre Software’s office in Kanata is Ping-Pong balls bouncing off a table. First introduced about eight months ago, the games table was part of the company’s cultural shift to make its office a great place to work.

“We started off two years ago redefining the strategy for the organization,” says Sheri-Lynne Leskiw, Director of Corporate Services and Organizational Effectiveness. “We wanted to make sure we were viewing our people not only as a cost, but truly as a strategic driver of our success.”

The call centre software firm began by researching what other companies do and then identified deliverables it wanted to achieve each month.

Part of the new strategy involves offering career planning to employees to help them climb the corporate ladder. Fifteen percent of the company’s staff moved into new roles last year as a result of the new program.

“Our motto is that your opportunities here are only limited by your ambitions,” Ms. Leskiw says. “If you have somewhere you want to be, all you need to do is declare it to us and we’ll help to try and get you there.”

Other new initiatives include a recognition program encouraging employees to nominate a colleague for going above and beyond their job description, with CEO Chris Courneya distributing awards at company events.

But sometimes it’s the smallest gestures that mean the most, Ms. Leskiw says. A wellness month, for example, where a yoga instructor and massage therapist came into the office for a day and employees participated in a five-kilometre walk together. A new coffee machine and bean brand after complaints about the old java, celebrated with a mug given to each employee. Fresh fruit brought into the kitchen each week instead of vending machines with unhealthy choices. And of course, the Ping-Pong table.

“We work hard and have high expectations in terms of performance and accountability, but at the same time we recognize that people need a break,” Ms. Leskiw says.

And despite those breaks, the company has experienced double-digit growth since its inception.

That success has allowed prairieFyre to continue hiring new staff and avoiding layoffs during the economic downturn.

Perhaps there are lessons to be learned from playing Ping-Pong on the job.

Contacts
For media inquiries, please contact:
prairieFyre Software, Inc.
Matthew Clare, 613-599-0045 Ext. 1319
Solutions Marketing Manager
mclare@prairiefyre.com

Leading Provider of Contact Center and Unified Communications Solutions is the Only Ottawa-based Company to Receive this Award in 2012

OTTAWA, Ontario–(BUSINESS WIRE)– prairieFyre Software, a leading provider of contact center and unified communications solutions, announced today that it was named one of the Top 50 Best Small and Medium Employers in Canada. The company ranked 31^st in an annual study organized by Queen’s School of Business, Queen’s Centre for Business Venturing, and AON Hewitt and published in PROFIT Magazine.

“We could not be more honoured to receive this recognition,” said Chris Courneya, CEO of prairieFyre Software. “It acknowledges what we’ve known for years: that prairieFyre is a company made up of talented, energetic and innovative people, and that the culture, core values and social aspects of our business are unparalleled.”

prairieFyre Software believes that the success of the company is founded on the achievements of its employees. Despite significant challenges in the global economy the company has more than doubled in the last five years, from 60 to 130 employees, and has seen commensurate growth in revenues and profitability. With products in more than 70 countries around the world, this success has earned prairieFyre internationally recognized industry awards such as TMC Product of the Year (2012), and nominations for Microsoft Impact Awards.

“Employee satisfaction is a top priority for prairieFyre,” said Sheri-Lynne Leskiw, Director of Corporate Services & Organizational Effectiveness at prairieFyre. “With a strong focus on the attraction, development and retention of top talent, we established the ‘Great Place to Work’ strategy in 2010. This recognition validates our efforts to achieve a strategic goal, and create a high performance team that delivers results.”

Becoming a Best Small and Medium Employer is a very detailed and competitive process. Now in its eighth year, this national awards program recognizes top employers with between 50 and 399 employees. This year, more than 200 organizations across Canada participated in the study.

The rankings are primarily determined by using the results from Employee Opinion Surveys. The evaluation process also includes the assessment of organizational practices and perspectives from the leadership team. More information about the Best Small & Medium Employers in Canada is available online at http://bsmestudycanada.com.

About prairieFyre Software Inc.:

Founded in 1998, prairieFyre Software Inc. has deployed contact center solutions to over 8,000 customers in over 70 countries worldwide. These products are built on Microsoft best practices for software design and Mitel and Microsoft’s portfolios of leading telephony platforms and technologies. prairieFyre Software Inc. is located in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, with regional offices located in Destin, Florida, USA; Ardwick, Manchester, United Kingdom; and Sydney, Australia. More information about prairieFyre Software is available online at http://www.prairiefyre.com.

Contacts

For media inquiries, please contact:
prairieFyre Software, Inc.
Matthew Clare, 613-599-0045 Ext. 1319
Solutions Marketing Manager
mclare@prairiefyre.com
or
Queen’s Centre for Business Venturing
Queen’s School of Business
Sandra Olszowka, 613-533-3119
solszowka@business.queensu.ca

‘Microsoft Canada Inc. recognizes the achievements of leading Canadian technology partners’

Ottawa, CANADA, October 22, 2012—prairieFyre Software is proud to announce that it has once again been selected as a finalist in the Communications Partner of the Year category for this years’ Microsoft Canada Impact Awards.  This year marks the tenth annual Impact Awards, recognizing excellence within the Microsoft technology partner community in Canada.

“This year, we celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the IMPACT Awards, which recognizes the outstanding achievements of Canadian Technology Partners, such as prairieFyre Software.” said Mark Dodds, Vice-President of Small Business, Midmarket Solutions & Partners, Microsoft Canada Inc.  “Microsoft depends on our Partners now more than ever before as we enter a new era of cloud based computing. Our partnership is pivotal to growth and success and we look forward to celebrating the commitments of our Partners this year at the IMPACT Awards gala.”

prairieFyre Software was chosen as a finalist in the Communications Partner of the Year category for its Contact Center for Microsoft Lync portfolio of applications, which provides sophisticated contact center functionality to the 10- to 200-agent contact center market, without the traditional costs associated with enterprise-class contact center solutions.

“It’s an honour to be recognized in this year’s Microsoft Partner Network IMPACT Awards,” said Todd Simons, Vice President of Business Development at prairieFyre. “In the last year, we have seen significant growth in the uptake of the prairieFyre Contact Center for Microsoft Lync product and it is wonderful to see that our investment in the Lync platform is being noticed. It is also evidence of the hard work of all the employees at prairieFyre, the satisfaction of our business partner ecosystem, and the strength of our ever-growing customer base.”          

prairieFyre, along with other technology partner winners and finalists in each of the award categories, will be honoured at an awards ceremony at the new Four Seasons Hotel located in Yorkville, Toronto on November 13, 2012.

About the Microsoft Partner Network IMPACT Awards
In 2003, Microsoft Canada Inc. launched the IMPACT Awards, a program to recognize the numerous achievements within it’s technology Partner community.   This year, Microsoft celebrates the 10th Anniversary of the program with 25 award categories designed to recognize innovation across Microsoft Partner Network Competencies, Emerging Technologies, and Marketing, Relationships & Partnering Excellence.

The IMPACT Awards are open to Active Canadian members of the Microsoft Partner Network.

For a list of all 2012 finalists, and more information on the Microsoft Partner Network IMPACT Awards, please visit http://www.microsoft.ca/IMPACT.

For more information on Microsoft Partner Network IMPACT Awards only, please contact:
John Clute
High Road Communications
john.clute@highroad.com

About prairieFyre Software Inc.
prairieFyre Software has deployed contact center solutions to over 8,000 customers in over 70 countries worldwide. They have leveraged this experience to create an affordable yet feature-rich solution that is ideal for enterprises looking for a contact center designed to work with Microsoft Lync Server. prairieFyre Software Inc. is located in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, with regional offices located in Destin, Florida, USA; Ardwick, Manchester, United Kingdom; and Sydney, Australia. 

For more information, press only:
Matthew Clare
Solutions Marketing Manager, prairieFyre Software
mclare@prairiefyre.com
613-599-0045 x.1319

BusinessWire · Oct. 1, 2012—prairieFyre Software, a Microsoft Gold Communications and Independent Software Vendor (ISV) Competency Partner developing unified communications and contact center solutions, is proud to announce the general availability of their Contact Center forMicrosoft Lync Version 5.10.1.