Verint Systems today announced that it has been named a leader in the new Forrester research report, The Forrester Wave: Workforce Optimization Suites, Q3 2016, published August 31, 2016.

Forrester evaluated Verint Workforce Optimization (WFO), an integral part of the company’s Customer Engagement Optimization portfolio, alongside eight other solutions. In its analysis, it states that “Verint should sit comfortably on the shortlist for mid- to large-size enterprises seeking a broad set of tools linked together with workflows or for companies looking to extend WFO into back-office or branch/retail environments.” In the report, the firm also points to Verint’s use of actionable intelligence within its suite, noting that “many of the company’s customers specifically cited the unification of its WFO suite as a reason for selecting Verint.”

Forrester Evaluation Criteria

In its 39-criteria evaluation, Forrester developed a comprehensive set of metrics that provides a detailed look at breadth of capability, strategy and market presence, and included vendors with strong presence in the WFO market and a WFO suite—not just disconnected components—as well as those that generate frequent interest from Forrester clients. The specific WFO capabilities covered in the report include interaction recording, quality management, workforce management, interaction analytics, performance management, elearning and coaching, and strategic planning.

Analyst Perspectives on the WFO Market

“Customer service application pros see WFO tools as the gasoline that powers customer service organizations,” wrote Ian Jacobs, Forrester senior analyst, in the report. He added, “Unique among vendors in this Forrester Wave, Verint Systems brings a customer engagement focus to the mix, stemming from its acquisition of customer service specialty vendor KANA Software.” Verint was also recognized as a leader in The Forrester Wave: Customer Service Solutions for Enterprise Organizations, Q4 2015.

Of this workforce optimization evaluation, Jacobs cited interaction analytics and partner ecosystems as key differentiators, noting that those “that provide broad interaction analytics, including historical and real-time speech, text and desktop analytics, as well as a broad system of partners, stand out from the rest.” The author also cited “the rise of omnichannel customer service [for raising] the profile of WFO as a driver for both operational performance improvements and business transformation.”

“Verint is honored to be recognized as a leader in Forrester’s evaluation of workforce optimization suites and for what we believe was a strong evaluation of our comprehensive, unified suite,” says Elan Moriah, president, Verint Enterprise Intelligence Solutions. “We’ve taken a strategic approach to customer engagement through our solutions, services and customer experience program, which uses our own customer interaction data to help ensure successful customer journeys and positive experiences.”