KANA will form part of the contact centre's information "backbone", delivering the customer service staff full and easy access to the details of each institution's products, common processes and procedures. This information will give customer service staff all the information they need to resolve customers' and financial advisors' (IFA) queries, regardless of their complexity. IFDS will also roll KANA out to its institutional clients, so they can keep the knowledge base updated with the latest product and regulatory information - ensuring the contact centre can base their information to customers on the latest intelligence.

KANA will help IFDS achieve the following objectives:

1. Enhance customer service: by providing a single, easy-to-search knowledge base for all customer service queries, IFDS will increase still further it's first-time call resolution. In an ever more complex and heavily regulated world, easy access to the latest information at all times is vital.
   
2. Drive business expansion: with its representatives already handling calls on behalf of 27 institutions, KANA will help IFDS to acquire further clients in a controlled manner.
   
3. Increase profitability: KANA IQ will create highly productive, multi-skilled teams enabling IFDS to support ever greater call volumes.

"Customer service is a critical part of our client offering - and also the most sensitive area of their business," explains Simon Hudson-Lund, Chief Operating Officer, IFDS. "When we ask clients to entrust their customer care to us, we must be sure that we can answer their customers' questions with the same degree of professionalism and courtesy as they would themselves - we are a true ambassador for their brand. With its emphasis on delivering easily-available, authoritative information directly to our customer service desktops, KANA is a key element of our strategy."

Alf Saggese, SVP EMEA for KANA, adds: "Financial institutions must be scrupulous in their attention to customers' needs. Not only must they ensure a first class experience for every caller, there are also strict compliance guidelines, which must be adhered to. Ensuring everybody in customer-facing roles have easy access to the right information can guarantee success on both counts - as well as enabling them to handle more calls in less time. We’re delighted that IFDS is placing KANA at the heart of its expansion plans, and look forward to a long and exciting relationship."