The agreement will combine the respective strengths and expertise of both companies to address customer needs and deliver advanced web self-service solutions to the Financial Services sector.

The shift in customer service from assisted banking channels such as branches and contact centers to self-service channels like the Internet and mobile devices has been increasing rapidly in recent years. The need of the customer to find the right information in the shortest possible time is paramount to the success of these self-service channels.

Transversal solutions enable organizations and customers to engage online in order to improve customer experience, increase sales and reduce costs. Transversal's advanced natural language and semantic technology determines customer intent and requirements, enabling the majority of customers to have their sales and customer service questions answered online, without having to phone or email. Transversal's advanced algorithms join up the web and contact center customer service channels, facilitating 'assisted sales' by routing customer enquiries to the appropriate sales or customer service staff. Given the current turmoil in financial markets, it is now paramount that banks deliver the highest levels of online service in order to both retain existing customers and cost-effectively win new business.

The strategic alliance will provide Transversal with a global channel to market and a strong footprint outside Europe through a proactive, innovative and large scale partner with proven capabilities in the financial services market. Wipro Technologies, the global IT services business of Wipro Limited, has a client base that includes over 180 Fortune 1000/Global 500 companies. It employs over 72,000 IT practitioners and domain consultants. In the global financial services space, with more than 15,000 consultants and more than 85 large global financial services customers, Wipro is one of the most prominent services and solutions coompanies. It has expertise working across the entire range of market participants in the financial industry, developing and implementing solutions in the banking, capital markets and insurance sectors and offers consulting, ITO and BPO services and solutions.

"The global breadth and depth of Wipro Technologies' expertise and reach is second to none," commented Dee Roche, Director of Marketing, Transversal. "The web channel is becoming ever more critical to winning and retaining customers. This strategic partnership will therefore speed global adoption of web self-service in financial services by combining our advanced technology with Wipro's proven innovation and track record."

Wipro selected Transversal to join its portfolio of best of breed solutions following an extensive evaluation of the eService market. Transversal was chosen due to the combination of its financial services expertise, advanced technology and ease of implementation and management. Existing Transversal financial services customers include Barclays Bank, Norwich Union and Standard Life. Barclays has used its Transversal deployment to create new revenue streams by analyzing customer questions and serving up product ads alongside question and answer content. Serving highly tailored advertising via Transversal web self-service has increased click-through rates by 500%.

"Wipro's success is built on our combination of market understanding and innovation," said Ravi Kiran N, General Manager - Banking & Financial Services, Wipro Technologies. "As financial services evolve we are seeing a growing need for advanced web self-service amongst our global customer base. Transversal was the natural choice of partner due to the combination of its market-leading technology and experience and knowledge of the financial services market."

Transversal's Intelligent Interaction Platform enables organizations to engage more effectively with online customers, improving the customer experience and consequently increasing sales. Working as the core of an organization's customer interaction strategy, Transversal's technology intelligently manages all customer service interactions through search, web self-service, virtual agent, email and chat. It analyses and understands customer requirements from the context of the customers' search activity and, based on that, offers the most relevant information and response mechanisms.