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===Safety Services=== |
===Safety Services=== |
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West’s Safety Services line of business provides technology services to: wireline and wireless carriers; satellite, telematics and cable operators; VoIP service providers; alarm/security companies; and public safety organizations, government agencies and business enterprises. Safety Services connects people to first responders—firefighters, law enforcement, ambulance services, and the telecommunicators answering calls in Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs). Safety Services provides 9-1-1 call routing, call location creation and delivery, and call delivery and accuracy compliance tools to U.S.-based telecommunications service providers, including Incumbent Local Exchange Carriers ([[ILEC]]s), Competitive Local Exchange Carriers ([[Competitive local exchange carrier|CLECs]]), as well as wireless carriers, VoIP service providers and [[telematics]] providers. West also provides [[Next Generation 9-1-1]] services, which provide interoperability and advanced routing options for PSAPs. In addition, Safety Services provides 9-1-1 voice and data services and/or call handling equipment to PSAPs across the U.S. and Canada. |
West’s Safety Services line of business provides technology services to: wireline and wireless carriers; satellite, telematics and cable operators; VoIP service providers; alarm/security companies; and public safety organizations, government agencies and business enterprises. Safety Services connects people to first responders—firefighters, law enforcement, ambulance services, and the telecommunicators answering calls in [[Public-safety answering point|Public Safety Answering Points]] (PSAPs). Safety Services provides 9-1-1 call routing, call location creation and delivery, and call delivery and accuracy compliance tools to U.S.-based telecommunications service providers, including Incumbent Local Exchange Carriers ([[ILEC]]s), Competitive Local Exchange Carriers ([[Competitive local exchange carrier|CLECs]]), as well as wireless carriers, VoIP service providers and [[telematics]] providers. West also provides [[Next Generation 9-1-1]] services, which provide interoperability and advanced routing options for PSAPs. In addition, Safety Services provides 9-1-1 voice and data services and/or call handling equipment to PSAPs across the U.S. and Canada. |
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===Interactive Services=== |
===Interactive Services=== |
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Revision as of 14:39, 26 October 2017
 | |
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| Nasdaq: WSTC | |
| Industry | Unified Communications
Interactive Services Specialized Agent Services Telecom Services Safety Services |
| Headquarters | Omaha, Nebraska, US |
Key people | Tom Barker - Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board [1] Nancee Berger - President and Chief Operating Officer |
| Revenue |  $2.3 billion USD |
Number of employees | 10,720 (2016) [1] |
| Website | west |
West Corporation is a public company trading on the NASDAQ exchange under the symbol WSTC. Founded in 1986, West provides clients with communication and network infrastructure services on a global scale with operations in the United States, Canada, Europe, the Middle East, Asia Pacific, Latin America and South America. West has five lines of business: unified communications services, interactive services, specialized agent services, telecom services and safety services. West has acquired many smaller businesses in the past decade like Sprint Conferencing, Holly Connects, Vox Software and more in order to expand their services to clients.
Lines of Business
Unified Communications Services
The common business definition of Unified Communications (UC) is the integration of real-time enterprise communication services with non-real-time communication services, such as unified messaging (i.e., the integration of email, voicemail, SMS and fax.) Through its Unified Communications Services line of business, West delivers cloud-based UC technology (a.k.a. Unified Communications as a Service or UCaaS) which include enterprise voice, conferencing and collaboration, network management, unified messaging and presence, contact center and client application integration. West also provides videoconferencing, Skype for Business integration, webcasts and other digital media services.
West provides UC Services in these categories:
- Conferencing and Collaboration – audio, video and web
- Managed Voice Services – IP-PBX telecommunications infrastructure and applications
- Network Services – data and voice infrastructure and applications
- Webinars and Enterprise Streaming – webcasts, virtual events and video streaming
Safety Services
West’s Safety Services line of business provides technology services to: wireline and wireless carriers; satellite, telematics and cable operators; VoIP service providers; alarm/security companies; and public safety organizations, government agencies and business enterprises. Safety Services connects people to first responders—firefighters, law enforcement, ambulance services, and the telecommunicators answering calls in Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs). Safety Services provides 9-1-1 call routing, call location creation and delivery, and call delivery and accuracy compliance tools to U.S.-based telecommunications service providers, including Incumbent Local Exchange Carriers (ILECs), Competitive Local Exchange Carriers (CLECs), as well as wireless carriers, VoIP service providers and telematics providers. West also provides Next Generation 9-1-1 services, which provide interoperability and advanced routing options for PSAPs. In addition, Safety Services provides 9-1-1 voice and data services and/or call handling equipment to PSAPs across the U.S. and Canada.
Interactive Services
West’s Interactive Services line of business designs, delivers, integrates, manages and optimizes communications applications, services, platforms and networks. West’s technology is considered “omnichannel,” including voice, text, email, push notification, fax, video, web, social media and cloud contact center channels. In most cases, West technology interfaces with a client’s internal systems, such as PBX, customer relationship management and enterprise reporting platforms. West manages mostly from the backend requiring the client to provide all content, provide all social media accounts for West's team to integrate, and doesn't have any innate analytical power within their interactive solutions, but by buying Google Business and Analytics thru Google then they can install Google Analytics into the website.
Interactive Services provides services in these categories:
- Outbound Proactive Notifications and Mobility – customized voice, email, text/SMS and machine-to-machine messaging
- Inbound Interactive Voice Response (IVR) and Self-Service – integrated hosted routing, touch-tone, direct dialogue and natural-language speech solutions
- Cloud Contact Center – solutions for managing and coordinating agents in multiple call centers using new and existing communication channels to route conversations to representatives located around the world
- Web – design and development of websites, including content development, administration and management
- Mobile – design, development and management of mobile applications to enable delivery of messaging to mobile devices
- Professional Services – network management, application design, speech science and usability testing, account support and business intelligence with data analytics
Specialized Agent Services
Specialized Agent Services provides services in these categories:
- Healthcare Advocacy – personalized concierge service that addresses the clinical, administrative, wellness and behavioral needs of employees of large organizations. West also provides wellness and employee assistance programs, biometrics screenings and chronic care solutions.
- Cost Management – healthcare cost-containment services for health insurance payers, third-party administrators and self-insured organizations – e.g., pre-payment claims integrity (or claims accuracy), post-payment claims integrity and recovery, subrogation/third-party liability identification and recovery and surveys
- Revenue Generation – business-to-business sales and account management services for driving incremental sales, increasing market share and strengthening relationships with customers
Telecom Services
West’s Telecom Services line of business provides local and national tandem switching services that facilitate the exchange of voice traffic between originating and terminating networks across the U.S. Telecom Services serves multiple types of telecom providers, including wireless, wireline, cable and Voice over IP (VoIP). West’s national network provides a means for TDM to IP conversion for IP networks that require access to the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN). Telecom Services provides carrier-grade interconnections that reduce cost and merge traditional telecom, mobile and IP technologies onto a common backbone. Telecom Services also provides much of the telecommunications network for West’s conferencing operations.
Telecom Services provides telecommunications services in these categories:
- Direct Inward Dialing
- Termination Services
- Toll-Free Origination & Termination
Industries and Markets Served
- Cable and Satellite Television
- Consumer Services (Customer service, experience and satisfaction operations)
- Education (K-12 schools, districts, and school boards)
- Financial Services
- Healthcare (Providers, payers and pharmacies)
- Industrial Goods / Manufacturing
- Insurance
- Public Safety (Includes government entities)
- Retail
- Technology (Software, telecom, cable and Internet industries)
- Telecom and Wireless
- Transportation and Logistics
- Travel and Hospitality
- Utilities
Business and Acquisition History
1986 – Gary and Mary West found the company in Omaha, Nebraska, as West Telemarketing, an inbound contact center dedicated to combining technology with professionalism and client service.
1989 – West launches an interactive platform, which later serves as the company’s gateway to conferencing services business; this platform remains the basis for West’s reservationless conferencing and alerts and notifications businesses.
1992 – West revenue exceeds $100 million.
1996 – West goes public with a valuation of $1.4 billion, more than 14,000 employees and revenue exceeding $300 million.
1998 – West processes more than one billion minutes of telephony-related transactions, adding nine new facilities to increase call-processing capacity and meet client growth needs.
1999 – West revenue exceeds $500 million.
2000 – West Telemarketing is renamed West Corporation; in the same year, the company receives its first patent award and processes more than six billion transaction minutes.
2002 – West makes its first acquisitions, buying Tel Mark Sales, Dakotah Direct and Attention LLC.
2003 – West enters the conferencing services business by acquiring InterCall and ConferenceCall.com.
2004 – West revenue surpasses $1 billion; West acquires Worldwide Asset Management and ECI Conference Call Services.
2005 – West acquires Sprint Conferencing; Forbes magazine names West to its “Platinum 400” list; and, Frost & Sullivan names InterCall the “Audio Conferencing Service Provider of the Year.”
2006 – West acquires Intrado, a provider of 9-1-1 infrastructure systems and services, diversifying the company’s position in the safety services industry; the company also acquires Raindance Communications; West earns a spot on the Fortune 1000; and, Business 2.0 magazine names West to its “Top 100 Fastest Growing Technology Companies” list. West is taken private with a valuation of $4.2 billion through a recapitalization of the company by two private equity firms.
2007 – West revenue surpasses $2 billion; the company also acquires CenterPost Communications, TeleVox Software and Omnium Worldwide.
2008 – West acquires HBF Communications, Genesys Conferencing and Positron Public Safety Systems.
2009 – West acquires Stream 57.
2010 – West acquires Holly Connects, unified communications provider SKT Business Communications Solutions, TuVox and Specialty Pharmacy Network.
2011 – West acquires Twenty First Century Communications, PostCTI, Unisfair, Smoothstone IP Communications, Contact One and PivotPoint.
2012 – West acquires telecom services firm HyperCube; Gartner, Inc., places West in the “Leaders Quadrant” of its “Magic Quadrant for Unified Communications as a Service (UCaaS), North America" report for the first time, a position West has held in the report every subsequent year.
2013 – West goes public again with a valuation of $5.2 billion.
2014 – West acquires SchoolMessenger and SchoolReach, alerts and notifications providers in the K-12 education market; the company acquires Health Advocate, an independent provider of healthcare advocacy services; West also acquires 911 Enable, a provider of IP-based emergency communications technology in the United States and Canada.
2015 – West acquires SharpSchool, a provider of website and content management technology for the education market; West also acquires U.K.-based hosted customer contact center and unified communications provider Magnetic North, Ltd., and ClientTell, Inc., a provider of automated notifications and lab reporting services to the healthcare industry; in the same year, the company divests most of its agent services businesses.
2016 – West acquires Synrevoice Technologies, Inc., a provider of K-12 notifications in Canada’s education market; West also acquires 911 ETC, Inc., expanding its presence in emergency communications.
2017 – West acquires CallPointe, Inc., and the cloud collaboration practice and assets from Vocus Group in Australia; on May 9, 2017, West announces it entered into a definitive agreement with affiliates of certain funds managed by affiliates of Apollo Global Management, LLC (the "Apollo funds") (together with its consolidated subsidiaries, "Apollo") (NYSE:APO), a leading global alternative investment manager, pursuant to which the Apollo funds will acquire all of the outstanding shares of West common stock for $23.50 per share in cash.
SchoolMessenger class action lawsuit
In January 2014, four people filed a class action lawsuit in Cook County Circuit Court (located in Chicago) against West. West owns SchoolMessenger, a service that sends texts and phone calls to help parents, students and communities instantly communicate about school events, closings and emergencies. The lawsuit alleges that West violated the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). TCPA is a federal law that prohibits companies from making telephone calls and sending texts to certain people in certain circumstances, with penalties between $500-$1,500 (per phone call or text) for each violation.[2]
The plaintiffs sued West because they received text messages, and thus had "their privacy invaded". They made the case class action because they allege that West used SchoolMessenger to send voice messages and texts to "perhaps millions of mobile and wired phones on behalf of tens of thousands of schools and other educational organizations in Illinois and throughout the U.S."[2]
The TCPA law has exceptions for schools to send out messages for a variety of reasons. The plaintiffs however, believed that West was really sending out messages "in an effort to increase sales and to attract additional customers."[2] According to Cook County Record, "...federal law provides exemptions for schools to send automated messages for emergencies and other necessary topics to those who consent to receive them."[3]
West responded by taking the case to federal court to attempt to limit the scope of the case.[2] Merely preserving the text message histories for the court case would cost West over $100,000.[3]
Awards
- April 2013 National College and West Corporation & Business Solutions Distinguished Community Employer[4]
References
- ^ "WSTC Profile". Yahoo! Finance. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
- ^ a b c d Bilyk, Jonathan (2017-03-28). "Court filings: Lawsuit vs SchoolMessenger imperils schools' ability to text, call parents, students". Cook County Record. Retrieved 2017-05-05.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|dead-url=(help) - ^ a b Grimoldby, Stephanie N. (2017-04-06). "Instant Risk: Litigation threat could imperil schools' ability to instantly message parents, others". Cook County Record. Retrieved 2017-05-05.
{{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|dead-url=(help) - ^ "West Corporation Awarded for Support of National College ISE Program". National College. Retrieved 11 July 2013.