HTK, which specializes in public mass-notification solutions using mobile technology, is expanding into customer service and marketing automation with the launch of a web-based digital media platform that it says provides a unified and personalised approach to customer interaction. 
HTK Horizon integrates mobile SMS, MMS and WAP with a wide range of other inbound and outbound communication technologies, including interactive voice response (IVR), email and web, as well as fax, pager and Airwave SDS (Short Data Service).
HTK says the platform is ideal for a wide range of applications, from sales and marketing, billing and payments and customer service, to operations management, meeting reminders and providing emergency warnings and information via text message, email or voice, depending on customer preferences. And because its a web-based, Software as a Service (SaaS) solution, its fast to implement and easy to integrate, with on-demand, usage-based pricing and no up-front costs.
By integrating with CRM data, acquired customer knowledge and geographical mapping tools, HTK Horizon delivers one-to-one personalised interaction to improve customer satisfaction and loyalty, while reducing costs and enhancing revenue potential. The system also supports full integration with VoIP-enabled contact centres.        
Because most of us have our mobile phones with us most of the time, they present an attractive proposition for companies to communicate and interact with their customers, says HTK CEO, Marlon Bowser. But getting it wrong can be a disaster, and too many companies have tried using mobile technology to save costs at the expense of customer satisfaction and loyalty. HTK Horizon is designed to reduce these friction points and provide customers with an experience that is tailored to them individually. By harnessing and integrating the very best in customer interaction technologies and making it easy to access via the web, Horizon can help organisations of any size return to good old fashioned customer service, as well as saving money.
Horizon lets users send personalised outbound messages across a range of communication channels, while inbound response channels can be set-up for end-to-end campaign management, with dashboard style reporting in near real-time. Additional plug-in applications enable the automation of a wide range of day-to-day business processes, such as appointment and payment reminders, marketing campaigns, customer surveys and information capture.
HTK has worked with several customers in the development of Horizon, including Cable & Wireless, BT and Specsavers. UK mobile operator O2 is already using Horizon to interact with its pre- and post-pay mobile customers, using SMS call-to-actions and personalised inbound IVR.
HTK has helped to revolutionise the way we manage our information IVR, says O2 UK Communications Manager, Chris Brown.. Ultimately, they have delivered a market-leading solution that gives our millions of customers a personalised, easy way to self-serve a huge range of information, maintaining great customer experience and satisfaction.
HTK Horizon is built with high levels of security and fault tolerance, and is compliant with open industry standards such as JSR-168 for web portal applications, XML web services and the latest speech technologies. There is no up-front cost and usage licenses start from 25 per month for a single user.