REDWOOD CITY, Calif., and AUSTIN, Tex., Feb. 6, 2006 -- Merced Systems Inc., the leading provider of contact center and operational performance management applications, today announced the release of Merced Performance Suite 2.7. The Merced Performance Suite increases the efficiency of contact centers by consolidating data from disparate sources, delivering advanced analytics, providing personalized dashboards, and integrating workflow and process improvement tools.

Merced Performance Suite 2.7 enhancements allow customers to rapidly automate critical managerial tasks through additional pre-configured workflows and new offline features. Additionally, enhanced data management capabilities further reduce application administration and deliver the lowest total cost of ownership on the market.

"Merced Performance Suite 2.7 is the most comprehensive performance management application available," said Michael Schmier, Merced vice president of products. "By working closely with our existing customers, we've been able to deliver a set of new features that allow our customers to rapidly extend their applications to meet their changing needs. This results in greater business impact at the lowest total cost of ownership possible."

Version 2.7 of the Merced Performance Suite

With the release of version 2.7, the Merced Performance Suite extends its workflow and data management capabilities by introducing:

-- Additional Pre-Configured Workflows: best practice processes for agent development and performance improvement plan (PIP) tracking

-- Extended Data Management Capabilities: allow customers to more easily and rapidly extend their applications

-- Offline Features: integrate paper based processes with online activity tracking and archiving

New Pre-Configured Workflows Guide the Operation through Industry "Best Practices"

Version 2.7 extends the Merced Performance Suite's workflow capabilities by delivering industry-specific functionality that cannot be easily replicated with a generic reporting solution or analytic tool. By allowing operations to quickly automate best practices, an organization can easily reduce variation to improve overall performance.

The Merced Performance Suite is now available with two additional pre-built workflows that can be easily configured to meet a customer's specific needs:

-- Agent Development Process -- allows Supervisors to assign individual goals and track targeted performance improvements.

-- Performance Improvement Plan Tracking -- collects individual performance improvement plan information, tracks progress against agreed upon objectives, and documents corrective action.

Additional Data Management Capabilities Reduce Total Cost of Ownership

The enhanced data management capabilities of Merced Performance Suite version 2.7 allow operations to easily extend their applications without the need for highly specialized, expensive resources. With the release of version 2.7, the Merced Performance Suite extends its data management capabilities by introducing:

-- Auto Schema Generation: maintains the underlying data model automatically to accommodate additional data sources without manual data model updates.

-- Online Dimensional Updates: ensure 24/7 application availability by automatically updating data without taking the application offline for end users.

Offline Features Extend Automation of Paper Based Processes

Merced Performance Suite version 2.7 allows operations to easily integrate paper based activities with online process tracking and automation. Merced's new offline capabilities extend critical best practices beyond the application resulting in more accurate documentation at reduced cost.

With the release of version 2.7, Merced's offline features automate paper-based activities including:

-- Detailed written evaluation sheets and scorecards

-- Easy historical report archiving - both online and on paper

-- Written compliance tracking

Availability

The Merced Performance Suite 2.7 is available immediately. For more information, please visit http://www.mercedsystems.com.

About Merced Systems, Inc.

Merced Systems is the leading provider of contact center and operational performance management systems, including enterprise class analytics, personalized dashboards, workflow and data integration. Profitable for three consecutive years, Merced Systems' award winning products serve customers in a variety of different industries including Banking, Brokerage, Insurance, Consumer Credit, Telecommunications, Healthcare, Digital Media, and Consumer Goods. Merced Systems is based in Redwood City, Calif. For more information on Merced Systems, please visit http://www.mercedsystems.com .