Keeping up with the times: Rockwell moves into e-commerce waters

Rockwell, the company that ushered in the call center era when it invented the automatic call distributor in the mid-1970s, heralded a new era last week when it renamed its Switching Systems Division the Rockwell Electronic Commerce Division.

"We see our role broadening," said Eric Hochstein, director of marketing and strategic planning for the division. "Our expertise in helping companies manage their customers and their customer relationships extends beyond the voice call.

"Call centers no longer rely on the switch to do their thinking. Now, sophisticated computer/telephony integration tells an agent important information about the caller, including the caller's location and buying habits.

The next step involves Web-based commerce and video kiosk dealings. Although Rockwell intends never to give up the phone or the automatic call distributor, it expects to remain a player as personal computers and wireless personal digital assistants develop into business tools.

Important questions remain. How will businesses re-engineer to incorporate multimedia? How do they make the best use of the Internet and the Web? And how can businesses provide seamless customer service while letting the customer define the media? "That's what we will be about," Hochstein said.

The Electronic Commerce Division will include three business units--Call Center Systems, Systems Integration and Consulting, and a new unit focused on emerging personalized e-commerce products.