Verizon Unites its Enterprise Portals

Enterprise customers of Verizon Wireless and Verizon Business will begin to see one Verizon when they log onto a newly united self-service portal launched today through which customers can manage accounts for both their wireless and wireline services.

The two business units have joined forces to launch the Verizon Enterprise Center (VEC), a unified portal that gives large-business customers a seamless online experience. Verizon has re-tooled Verizon Business Customer Center and merged Verizon Wireless customers from the My Business portal into it. The new VEC portal provides a single sign-on with integrated access. Enterprise customers can use it to place orders, view and pay invoices, create trouble tickets and analytical reports, and monitor and manage their wired and wireless voice, data and IP services.

“The new VEC supports our corporate effort to provide customer enablement tools that let customers manage their products and services and make it easier to conduct their day-to-day business with Verizon,” said Mark Chodoronek, executive director of global customer enablement and billing assurance at Verizon.

Paul Hughes, vice president of enabling technologies for Yankee Group, said the new single login option for business and wireless customers is a true competitive differentiator for Verizon.

It also helps customers focus on improving productivity and controlling costs by providing options for electronic invoicing, managing their network and control their inventory.

The VEC is available to providers in the U.S., but will be implemented globally by year’s end, Chodoronek said.

The new VEC also includes dashboard enhancements. In particular, customers now have access to a single, near real-time overview of network topology. Customers now can receive severe-weather advisories via the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) on their Dashboard.

“By adding this dimension, customers are prepared for when they see weather events coming they can reroute call center traffic or be prepared to activate contingency or redundancy plans,” Chodoronek said.

Customers also can use the dashboard to zoom in on certain locations to get specific site information. It also provides access to create, view and update trouble tickets; conduct circuit testing and analysis; perform access line testing and track trouble resolution status.

On the revenue side, the VEC can be used for ordering by both centralized telecommunications departments and authorized end users. In addition to accessing statements online, making payments, and using advanced reporting options, customers can conduct real-time account management functions.

“This offers a true one stop shop for customers to get to their accounts and services from both Verizon entities,” said Diane Koskey, marketing manager of business Internet sales and marketing at Verizon. “Logging into two navigation portals just creates complications.”

Chodoronek said that in addition to the ability to create, view and track trouble tickets, customers have access to test functionality for both passive and active testing. “We have streamlined the application considerably by letting customers do circuit testing on local access as well as other voice and data services,” he said.