New ways of communication are appearing on the Internet and rapidly expanding every day. For example, Email is the most relevant - 10 million emails were exchanged in 1999 and more than 35 billion emails were exchanged in 2004 (IDC source). Until recently, Chat was exclusively used in specific sectors (internet providers, community, dating, and so on…). More recently, it is considered a professional communication tool, finding its place in professional companies, associations, and institutions. With respect to SMS, more than seven billion SMS messages were sent in the first six months of 2005 (ATR source) and continues progressing 40% per year.

It was believed and documented in the early 2000’s, before the technology “bubble burst”, that “traditional” media would disappear.  However, communication media such as the Facsimile is widely used for formal documentation such as loan applications, ID or passport photocopies, certification, and/or attestations.  Mail is used less but remains the official means of response and/or request.

Mutualization of the use, the management, and the follow-up of those various communication medias is in the core of multi-channel communication challenges. Indeed, not only does Mutualization have a strong impact on Customer Services organization but also on business potential and end-users services delivery quality.

In early 1999, Akio clearly understood these ideas when positioning itself in the Customer Services and Call Centers inbound emails management market. Six years later, Akio is presently the first French software editor that is able to propose a Mutualization solution for all written medias and to also offer their clients the means of that Mutualization.

Thanks to the excellence of our solutions, Akio’s aims to: