"The customer comes first" is a common motto for many companies, and never has that been more relevant than in the current economy. Today, companies face the challenge of meeting the changing needs of customers through innovative products and ideas, while, at the same time, focusing on increasing business efficiencies.

At your service Ottawa-based Corel Corporation is doing just that.With more than 15 years of experience in the software and graphics industries, Corel has earned an international reputation as a developer of award-winning graphics and business-productivity applications including CorelDRAW™ and WordPerfect™. As one of Silicon Valley Nor th’s most influential software companies, Corel’s mandate is to provide its customers boundless power to create — anytime, anywhere.

Looking to further enhance customer service, Corel decided to open sales offices worldwide. In the past, most of Corel’s sales representatives were based in Ottawa and travelled frequently to countries such as Japan or South Africa for client meetings — often expensive in terms of time and travelling costs. If there was a problem, to get an issue resolved a customer would have to call Ottawa — no matter what country they were located.

Today, with 100 remote users around the world, Corel can provide local customer support and can respond more quickly to customer requests. Also, by establishing a local presence, sales representatives are able to generate new revenue streams for the company.

"At Corel, we are incredibly customer focused and we are constantly looking for new ways in which we can deliver what our customers want. In fact, 70 percent of the new features in WordPerfect are in response to our customer feedback," said Louise Hanlon, Communications Specialist at Corel. "Our sales representatives are an important part of that process."

To connect its global sales personnel, including those in South Africa and Australia, and provide its sales team with access to the corporate data at company headquarters in Canada, Corel turned to AT&T Global Network Services for its Remote Access Services which includes the award-winning Global Network Dialer.

"The companies that use our services are looking for an easy and reliable way to connect their remote and travelling users back to the head office, as well as to the Internet," said Mike Song, Product Manager for Remote Access Services. "With this product, we are providing customers such as Corel with the tools they need to connect their offices worldwide, helping to improve business efficiencies and enhancing customer service." AT&T Remote Access Services provides users with reliable access to corporate information, the Web, e-mail, news, file transfer and search tools, whether they are working in a remote office or travelling abroad. Users are able to quickly set up a connection simply using their account number, ID and password and by selecting a local phone number. The Global Network Dialer offers secure simultaneous access to the Internet and the corporate intranet, customizable login options and configurations, updated phone list, helpdesk contact information by country, and can support major platforms including Windows™, Macintosh™, Linux and hand-held PDAs.

"Our biggest IT issue is our sales representatives being able to connect to the corporate network for important files, spreadsheets, presentations and e-mail," said Larry Cooke, Services Manager at Corel in Ottawa. "That’s where the AT&T Global Network Dialer has helped us out tremendously, especially in Latin America where it’s not easy to get access. They rely on the dialer as their only method of communication to corporate data."

The company has also found the dialer to be helpful for employees traveling on business. "It’s especially useful as there is a local dial up so that they don’t have to reconfigure the local ISP," said Cooke.

According to Cooke, the company examined other options before choosing AT&T Remote Access Services, including using an Internet Service Provider. However, it found that this option did not fit its needs. "It would have been too difficult to have to reconfigure for every remote spot that employees travelled to," said Cooke. "That’s what led us to AT&T’s services. All you have to do is select a local phone number for the area that you are in and you’re ready to go."

Corel’s global sales team also has access to AT&T Global Network Services round-the-clock helpdesk support. The company has helpdesks in more than 50 countries that can quickly respond to customer queries and requests in many languages. According to Cooke, the response time from AT&T’s helpdesks has been an added value. "When I open up a service ticket, industry standard turn around time is two to three days. There have been occasions when AT&T has it done in 30 minutes," he added.

Cooke also said the Corel team benefits from a positive relationship with AT&T Client Executive Shirley Cho. "AT&T is certainly as customer focused as our company in terms of the level of service and attention that they give us." To learn more about Corel, visit www.corel.com

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