Southborough, Mass. - July 26, 2001 - ViryaNet Inc. (Nasdaq: VRYA), a provider of wireless workforce management solutions for field service communities, today announced the successful pilot implementation of ViryaNet Service Hub at Citizens Communications, a full-service telecommunications provider and one of the country's largest independent incumbent local exchange carriers (ILEC).
On June 11, 2001, Citizens Communications launched the first stage of the ViryaNet Service Hub implementation to automate the dispatching of service orders, trouble tickets, and work requests to its 2,500 technicians, enhancing Citizens' ability to serve its customers in a timely fashion while increasing operational efficiency and worker productivity.
"This first stage of implementation means that customers of Citizens Communications in the Blooming Prairie, Minnesota area are benefiting from ViryaNet Service Hub," stated Win Burke, president and CEO, ViryaNet. "Citizens' technicians serving the greater Blooming Prairie area now carry hand-held CE devices or laptops that route them through their daily responsibilities via ViryaNet
Service Hub's mobile gateway. Dispatchers in Sherburne, New York are monitoring and assisting these technicians through ViryaNet Service Hub, while senior management and supervisors are receiving increased insight into the operation's performance."
"A critical issue facing customer service organizations today is manpower utilization," said Monica Braden, director of OSS for Citizens. "As we acquire new markets, the satisfaction of our customers hinges on how quickly and reliably we resolve service calls. ViryaNet Service Hub will increase the efficiency of our field technicians by ensuring that we respond with the right technician to
resolve our customers' service issues."
"We will improve customer satisfaction by using a state-of-the-art workforce management system that provides the ability to deliver efficient customer service, react responsively to increased volumes, and diminish travel times," continued Braden. "ViryaNet solutions are key to our continued success in meeting customer commitments and managing costs."
"Citizens is one of several 'go live' Service Hub implementations scheduled for the next several months," said Burke. "The ViryaNet team is singularly focused on getting our customers up and running as quickly as possible so that they begin seeing the return on investment and the value of our solutions." The success of this project is the result of hard work and dedication of staff
from ViryaNet, Cap Gemini Ernst & Young, and a top-notch, committed team from Citizens Communications.
About Citizens Communications
Citizens Communications (NYSE: CZN, CZB) is a full-service telecommunications provider serving 2.5 million lines in 24 states. Citizens is divesting its natural gas, electric, water, and wastewater treatment services and focusing on being a pure-play telecommunications provider in small- and medium-sized markets. Citizens Communications also owns 85 percent of Electric Lightwave, Inc. (NASDAQ: ELIX), a
facilities-based, integrated communications provider that offers a broad range of services to telecommunications-intensive businesses in the West. Additional information about Citizens Communications is available at
www.czn.net and
www.citizenscommunications.com.
About ViryaNet
ViryaNet is a provider of wireless workforce management solutions for field service communities. These solutions enable field service organizations to efficiently schedule and dispatch field service personnel, capture and record logistics and labor activity, and monitor, report, and measure this activity - meeting an organization's installation, preventative maintenance, and break-fix obligations.
ViryaNet's wireless workforce management solution supports wireless devices over standard wireless networks.
ViryaNet's solutions feature application program interfaces (APIs) that allow organizations to integrate popular front- and back-office applications. ViryaNet's professional services team and implementation partners enable implementation of the Company's solutions for wireless workforce management.
Safe Harbor Statement
Safe Harbor Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: The statements contained in this press release that are not purely historical are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 21E of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, including statements regarding ViryaNet's expectations, beliefs, intentions, or strategies regarding the future. All
forward-looking statements included in this document are based upon information available to ViryaNet Inc. as of the date hereof, and ViryaNet Inc. assumes no obligation to update any such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. These and other risks relating to ViryaNet's business are set forth in ViryaNet's Form F-1, as amended, declared effective by the SEC on
September 19, 2000, and the other reports filed from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission.