from DSSResources.comSagent Advisors selects Contact Networks' software to better leverage business contacts for existing clients and new business developmentBOSTON, MA, Dec. 19, 2005 -- Contact Networks (http://www.contactnetworks.com), a leading provider of enterprise search software for professional services firms, today announced that financial services firm, Sagent Advisors Inc. (http://www.sagentadvisors.com), an independent, privately owned investment bank, has selected ContactNet to better leverage its extended relationship network. Sagent Advisors recognizes that relationships are the lifeblood of every financial services firm's business and has implemented ContactNet to quickly and efficiently identify 'who knows whom' to better serve existing clients and generate new business. Sagent Advisors' 40 bankers, who have a wealth of experience, significant expertise in their fields and an extensive network of valuable contacts, provide high quality M&A counsel and other strategic financial advisory services to their clients. The firm is continually leveraging its relationships for both existing clients and for new business development. But, even with just one office in New York City, historic methods of pinpointing who has valuable relationships were inefficient and failed to identify every relationship that could make a difference to the business. "We've all come from other large investment banks where the standard practice for identifying contacts was wandering the halls to ask each staff member if they know someone at a particular company or sending out an email blast, which is disruptive and ineffective. At Sagent, we wanted to find a better way to leverage our vast network of relationships," said Scott Kaplan, Sagent Advisors' Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. "With ContactNet, our bankers have minimized the time they spend identifying who has a contact and maximized the time they spend delivering results to our clients." "Three things appealed to us about ContactNet. It solved an important business problem, it was easy to implement, and even easier for our staff to use," said Mark Bell, Director of Information Technology at Sagent Advisors. "There are no conflicts with our existing systems and it integrates seamlessly onto our intranet. With ContactNet, we have a comprehensive source of business contacts, which requires no manual data entry and is very easy to maintain." "In an industry where relationships are a critical firm asset, being able to quickly, easily and accurately access information about 'Who knows whom' is a substantial competitive advantage," said Geoffrey Hyatt, President & CEO of Contact Networks. "ContactNet was built with the knowledge that bankers are protective of their contacts. They want to maintain ownership and control of their relationships and choose when to share them. With ContactNet in place, the Sagent Advisors team works together to leverage its extended relationship network for each client, and to build their business in a way that makes everyone comfortable." Contact Networks' ContactNet is a quick, non-intrusive solution that requires no manual data entry and takes only 24 hours to implement. ContactNet analyzes multiple data sources including CRM systems, address books and email traffic patterns to identify relevant contacts and find the most powerful relationships. The company's proprietary technology is currently being used by some of the world's leading professional services firms, including global consulting companies, law firms and financial services businesses. About Sagent Advisors Inc. Sagent Advisors Inc. is an independent, privately owned investment bank dedicated to providing high quality M&A counsel and other strategic financial advisory services to clients. With no lending, trading, research or investment offerings, Sagent is free from the structural conflicts inherent in multi-product investment banks. As the foremost such team in the industry, Sagent delivers pure advice based on experience, integrity and continuity of personnel. For more information, visit http://www.sagentadvisors.com. About Contact Networks Contact Networks is a premier provider of enterprise relationship search solutions for professional services firms. The ContactNet application transforms individual employee contacts into a trusted firm resource. It enables an organization to securely access and efficiently utilize the relationships and social networks that employees have with outside contacts and companies. Sales and client development teams discover new introductions to target accounts. For more information, visit http://www.contactnetworks.com or call 617.305.7961. |