MINNEAPOLIS and ALGONA, Iowa – April 19, 2010 – Pharmacists Mutual Insurance Company has purchased the Interactive Intelligence (Nasdaq: ININ) all-in-one IP communications software suite, Customer Interaction Center™ (CIC), to support its on-site and branch office employees.

CIC was sold by Interactive Intelligence reseller, Spanlink Communications. Spanlink will also provide ongoing support of the system.

Pharmacists Mutual, a provider of insurance products and financial services to pharmacists, pharmacies and associated businesses, began looking for a new communications system following the H1N1 flu outbreak in 2009, according to the company’s chief technology officer, Barrie Parker.

“The swine flu outbreak prompted us to reevaluate our disaster recovery plans,” Parker said. “Providing financial peace of mind for our 46,000-plus customers is our number-one priority and it became evident that if an outbreak was to occur within our organization, our current phone system would limit us.”

Pharmacists Mutual selected the Interactive Intelligence software because of its flexibility, rich feature-set and ease-of-use, according to the company’s network administration manager, Brian Stamper.

“Our previous phone system was largely outdated, difficult to administer, and didn’t meet our redundancy or flexibility needs,” Stamper said. “Administering it required logging in to a number of separate applications – we had one application for our automatic call distributor, one for voice, another for our phones, and so on.”

Pharmacists Mutual evaluated an upgrade to its existing system and reviewed communications solutions from four other vendors in a request-for-proposal before deciding on CIC.

"After we met with Spanlink and reviewed the Interactive Intelligence CIC system we were impressed by the amount of out-of-the-box functionality it offered,” Stamper said. “In addition to running on a single, all-in-one platform, a fully redundant CIC system was a more cost-effective purchase than several of the competitive products we evaluated."

When the implementation is complete, the Interactive Intelligence software suite will support several hundred Pharmacists Mutual employees, about 15 percent of whom work remotely from branch offices. The initial deployment will enable advanced communications functionality, including unified messaging, multichannel recording, and real-time monitoring and reporting.

"We’re excited about CIC and anticipate a number of benefits for our employees and customers,” Stamper said. “In addition to having a strong disaster recovery plan in place, we’ll have a single point of administration and be able to eliminate our costly branch office phone plans.”

Pharmacists Mutual plans to complete the first phase of deployment by the end of Q2 2010.

About Pharmacists Mutual Insurance Company
Pharmacists Mutual Companies has evolved as a specialized insurance resource for pharmacists, pharmacies, and associated businesses and professionals. Founded in 1909 as Druggists Mutual Insurance Company of Iowa by pharmacist Al Falkenhainer, it was begun, and remains a mutual company owned by its policyholders. Today, Pharmacists Mutual operates in 49 states* and the District of Columbia, and has grown to be the nationally recognized leader, serving pharmacists' needs under the Pharmacists Mutual umbrella of companies: Pharmacists Mutual Insurance Company, Pharmacists Life Insurance Company and Pro Advantage Services®, Inc., d/b/a Pharmacists Insurance Agency (in California). The company can be reached at 800-247-5930 or info@phmic.com; on the Net: www.phmic.com.**

*Not all products available in every state. Pharmacists Mutual is licensed in the District of Columbia and all states except FL.  The Pharmacists Life is licensed in the District of Columbia and all states except AK, FL, HI, MA, ME, NH, NJ, NY and VT.  Pro Advantage Services®, Inc., d/b/a Pharmacists Insurance Agency (in CA) is licensed in the District of Columbia and all states except HI.  Check with your representative or the company for details on coverages and carriers.

**Notice: This is not a claims reporting site. You cannot electronically submit a claim to us. To report a claim, call 800-247-5930.
 
About Spanlink Communications
Spanlink Communications is a leading provider of unified communications and customer interaction solutions leveraging technology from Cisco and Interactive Intelligence. With more than 20 years of experience, Spanlink helps organizations link people, processes and business communications technologies to enhance human interaction, employee productivity and the customer experience. Spanlink’s collaborative approach begins with understanding its customers’ business objectives; and then creating, implementing and supporting leading technology solutions to achieve those objectives. Spanlink is a Silver and Master Unified Communications certified Cisco partner, and an Interactive Intelligence Elite Partner. Find news and information at www.spanlink.com. Follow Spanlink on Twitter at: http://www.twitter.com/spanlink.