Genesys and Virtual Hold Technology to Jointly Market and Deliver Virtual Queuing Solution Globally

SAN FRANCISCO and AKRON, OHIO - - Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories, Inc., an Alcatel company (NYSE: ALA, Paris: CGEP), and queue management solutions provider Virtual Hold Technology, LLC, (VHT), today announced that the two companies signed an agreement to jointly market and deliver virtual queuing solutions to enterprises worldwide.

As part of the agreement, VHT will develop a version of its queuing product that tightly integrates within the Genesys Suite of software, and Genesys will adopt this integrated Virtual Hold product as the future standard for a Genesys virtual queuing solution.

In today's fast-paced world, the need for enterprises to improve the overall customer experience and maintain customer loyalty is critical. Instead of frustrating customers by placing them on hold, virtual queuing gives callers the option to receive a return phone call instead of waiting on hold for a customer service agent.

"By joining forces, Genesys and VHT can raise market awareness of virtual queuing solutions," said Wes Hayden, president and CEO of Genesys. "By combining Virtual Hold's queuing technologies and expertise with the Genesys product suite and market access, we will accelerate the availability and adoption of these technologies, which improve contact center ROI and the customer experience overall."

"Virtual Hold Technology was the first to introduce virtual queuing in the mid-90s," explained Greg Garvey, chairman, Virtual Hold Technology. "Early versions provided basic callback functionality, but customer demand and market experience helped us create an even more comprehensive and dynamic Virtual Queuing solution. This solution has become a critical tool in support of "best practices" for managing contact center peak periods that otherwise lead to excessive hold times and lack of agent availability. The Genesys partnership will greatly enhance our global sales, support and delivery capabilities, which will dramatically accelerate adoption of virtual queuing."

Genesys will resell the VHT virtual queuing solution, while selling its own Voice Callback solution to managed services providers. In addition, VHT has been named a reseller of Genesys solutions, providing the ability to integrate the Genesys T-Server framework and Genesys Voice Platform into the VHT installed base to deliver its customers the ability to conduct business over the phone via improved voice self-service and interactive voice response technologies.

Genesys will market and exclusively distribute VHT products on a worldwide basis to include its extensive network of channel partners. VHT will provide professional services, establish "Centers of Competency" in the U.K. and Australia and maintain a direct sales force in North America focused on non-Genesys customers. In addition, the companies have entered into intellectual property licensing arrangements as part of the agreement. VHT will attend G-Force, Genesys' annual user conference, May 23 - 25, 2005, in Miami, Fla. where both VHT and Genesys will showcase the partnership and solutions.

About Virtual Hold Technology
Virtual Hold Technology, LLC (VHT) is the leading provider of intelligent Virtual Queuing Solutions for Fortune 1000 clients. Since its inception in 1995, VHT's patented award-winning Virtual Queuing technology has provided callback solutions focused on enhancing the customer experience for financial services, energy utility, insurance, telecommunications, cable, wireless and retail corporations such as Wells Fargo, Bank America, Pacific Gas & Electric, Direct Line, BellSouth, Cox Communications, Time Warner Cable, Comcast, Bell Mobility, Ticketmaster and Avon. To learn how VHT's virtual queuing solutions can help you increase customer satisfaction and reduce contact center costs, visit www.virtualhold.com.

About Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories

Genesys, an Alcatel company, is 100% focused on software for contact centers. Leading companies in the Global 2000 and Fortune 1000 use Genesys to deliver better interactions that drive better business. With 3000 customers in 80 countries, Genesys directs more than 100 million customer interactions every day. Genesys allows enterprises to achieve their business objectives by tying together their customer interactions, their people, and their customer information in both traditional telephony and IP environments. Sophisticated routing and reporting across voice, e-mail, documents, and Web interactions, coupled with integrated self service, ensure that customers are quickly connected to the best resource - the first time. Genesys solutions stop customer frustration and allow enterprises to start delivering superior customer satisfaction and better business results. Visit www.genesyslab.com for more information.

About Alcatel

Alcatel provides communications solutions to telecommunication carriers, Internet service providers and enterprises for delivery of voice, data and video applications to their customers or employees. Alcatel brings its leading position in fixed and mobile broadband networks; applications and services, to help its partners and customers build a user-centric broadband world. With sales of EURO 12.3 billion in 2004, Alcatel operates in more than 130 countries. For more information, visit Alcatel on the Internet: http://www.alcatel.com.

Media Contacts:
Amy Fisher, PSB for Genesys, 612.455.1773, afisher@psbpr.com
Ted Mathews, Virtual Hold Technology, 330.670.2281, tmathews@virtualhold.com