Biz Buzz

LONG ISLAND

Cisco OKs Verint software

Verint Systems Inc., of Melville, says its new version of workforce monitoring software has been approved for use with a major telecommunications system provider, Cisco Systems Inc. The approval comes after interoperability testing, based on Cisco's criteria for its Unified Communications Manager 8.5 and Unified Contact Center Enterprise 8.0, Verint said Monday. "The combination of Cisco infrastructure and Verint's software and services allows organizations to gain valuable insights into caller issues, guide customer service agents and back-office operations personnel toward timely first-contact resolution, improve staff productivity, and increase customer satisfaction and loyalty," John Bourne, a Verint senior vice president, said in the statement Monday. In addition to voice analysis software Verint, with a workforce of 2,900 and a market capitalization of $1.18 billion, also makes systems to monitor video feeds. -- JOSEPH MALLIA

Suffolk job fair set Friday

The Suffolk County One-Stop Employment Center will host a job fair on Friday at the Nesconset branch of the Smithtown Library at 148 Smithtown Blvd., from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Among the companies and organizations scheduled to attend are NBTY, United Healthcare, New York Life, National Grid, Gurwin Home Care and St. Joseph's College. -- CARRIE MASON-DRAFFEN

Pratt makeover wins award

The architectural firm that remodeled one of the Pratt family mansions in Glen Cove has won an Archi award from the Long Island chapter of the American Institute of Architects. John W. Baumgarten Architect Pc, of Jericho, won the award in a juried competition that drew praise for the project's "bright environment" and "interesting use of furnishings," the company said. The 1912 mansion was once known as Poplar Hill, the home of Frederic Pratt. It had already been in use as a nursing home, a component of the Glengariff Healthcare Center. The Baumgarten renovation made it into a rehabilitation center. As a side note, the design company said, Frederic Pratt founded the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, where Baumgarten got his architecture degree. The AIA award was presented to the architectural firm at a chapter event Oct. 19 at Oheka Castle in Huntington. -- JOSEPH MALLIA

NATION

Oil futures' gain in Oct.: 18%

Oil soared 17.7 percent in October on the expectation that the world's thirst for petroleum would keep growing despite economic struggles in the West. West Texas intermediate, the benchmark oil in the United States, jumped from about $79 to $93 per barrel during the month as fears of another U.S. recession subsided while Europe struck a landmark deal to reduce Greece's debt. Demand from emerging markets remains strong. And a strategy calling for traders to buy WTI futures contracts while selling another variety, Brent crude, also boosted the price of WTI. The conditions that fostered the increase remain in place. On Monday WTI slipped 13 cents to end the month at $93.19 per barrel while Brent crude gave up 35 cents to $109.56 per barrel in London. -- AP

Townshend blasts iTunes

The Who's Pete Townshend on Monday branded Apple Inc.'s iTunes a "digital vampire" that profits from music without supporting the artists who create it. Townshend said that faced with the Internet's demolition of established copyright protections, iTunes should offer some of the services to artists that record labels and music publishers used to provide. These include employing talent scouts, giving space to allow bands to stream their music and paying smaller artists directly rather than through a third-party aggregator. The guitarist was delivering the first John Peel Lecture, named in honor of the influential British radio broadcaster who died in 2004, in London. ITunes declined to respond to Townshend's comments. -- AP