The Fusion Agent Portal is a way for a company with lots of call center agents -- and lots of business apps that the agents need to use -- to coordinate the broad streams of information into one simple interface. They call it a portal; that word connotes a window, or a simple "view" into what's going on in your business apps. In fact, the software is much more powerful than that. The power belies the simplicity of the user interface.

Fusion Agent Portal is built on the same underlying technology as their earlier Fusion product. Both tools start from a simple premise: that there are too many applications cluttering up the agent's screen, clamoring for attention. When agents are forced to switch between applications time is wasted and errors are introduced.

Instead, they created a way to "non-invasively" gather together all the various apps (no matter what platform they run on) and present their information and their full functionality through one interface. Hence, "Fusion."

This variation introduces a level of workflow control and business process optimization to the coordinated desktop. They've added capabilities including dynamic scripting that switches to different apps at different points within the call as they are needed, without forcing the agent to make the mental or physical distinction between them. As far as the agent is concerned, she is on a call, processing call information, and it doesn't matter to her what particular app is being used.

There are also some quite nice notification and alert features in the system, and a great tool for the agent to auto-benchmark herself, letting her play what-if scenarios with her performance over the rest of the shift. Jacada seems to be taking their underlying idea of Fusion in an innovative and genuinely interesting direction.

Also of note, they've signed two major customers -- huge outsourcer West and cable company Cox Communications.