Varolii

Varolii Corporation operated as a provider of on-demand, automated communication solutions, a segment that has become integral to modern customer relationship management. The company was founded in 1999 as AlertOnline by Ken Pawlak, Scott Sikora, and Michael Ho. Its trajectory was marked by strategic evolution, including a rebranding to PAR3 Communications and a key acquisition in 2005 of EnvoyWorldWide, an emergency communications provider. This move broadened its capabilities in high-availability business continuity notifications. In 2007, the unified entities were rebranded as Varolii.

The firm's core business was providing a cloud-based platform for business-to-consumer (B2C) outbound communications. This service enabled enterprises to send automated, personalized notifications to their customers via multiple channels, including voice calls, text messages, email, and fax. The primary applications for this technology were in customer service and collections. For example, clients could automate flight cancellation notices, overdue payment reminders, fraud detection alerts, and prescription pickup notifications. This automation helped client companies reduce operational costs and improve the efficiency of their contact centers. The business model was centered on providing this on-demand software to a diverse client base in sectors such as banking, airlines, healthcare, utilities, and telecommunications. By 2013, Varolii served over 400 companies, including prominent names like Alaska Airlines, SunTrust, and Time Warner Cable, sending millions of communications daily.

A significant milestone in the company's history was its attempt to go public in 2008, a plan that was ultimately withdrawn due to unfavorable market conditions during the economic recession. In 2011, former Microsoft general manager David McCann was appointed President and CEO, leading the company in its final years. The company's journey culminated in October 2013, when it was acquired by Nuance Communications, a major player in voice and language solutions. The acquisition was a strategic move for Nuance to integrate Varolii's robust outbound communication portfolio with its own inbound customer service solutions, creating a more comprehensive, multichannel customer engagement platform.

Keywords: customer interaction management, outbound communications, automated notifications, proactive alerts, customer engagement, cloud communication platform, B2C communication, interactive voice response, multichannel messaging, customer service automation, collections communication, PAR3 Communications, EnvoyWorldWide, Nuance acquisition, David McCann, Ken Pawlak, Scott Sikora, Michael Ho, enterprise communication, business continuity notification