|
IP
contact centers have arrived. No longer are they a
“maybe next year” phenomenon. Many organizations
in the banking, insurance, retailing, and manufacturing
industries have implemented Converged Voice over Internet
Protocol
(VoIP) solutions. These solutions handle calls and
empower efficient and effective multi-channel customer
interactions across an enterprise-wide network.
Properly assessed, planned, implemented, and operated
converged IP contact centers can yield substantial
cost savings and significant architectural flexibility
to address strategic business imperatives. They relieve
administrative headaches, free a company from over-reliance
on a few vendors, abolish redundant networks and telecom
carrier tie lines, and provide scalability benefits.
More
and more, traditional call center telephony is out
of synch with modern business needs. The constraints
of housing traditional telephony, agent state management,
call queuing, call routing business rules, and reporting
in one physical ‘ACD’ is now often an
inhibitor to:
| a) |
Reducing excessive call center operating and telecom
costs |
| b) |
Improving the customer’s self-service, multi-channel
experience |
| c) |
Leveraging knowledge workers distributed geographically
across an organization |
If
you were to start to build your call center architecture
from scratch, would you build it by starting with
the traditional telephony, box-centric architecture?
With the benefit of Converged IP Networks, the network
is the logical contact center – no one physical
contact center is needed. This is largely possible
because there are fewer issues once associated with
Quality of Service (QoS) for converged voice and data.
Converged IP Bandwidth is king and is easily available
and, with the proper expertise, readily designed for
converged IP contact center applications.
Successful
converged IP contact center deployments can be found
across numerous industries, even in state government.
Texas, for instance, is one state using the 2-1-1
dialing code assigned by the Federal Communications
Commission for accessing community information and
referral services. Callers find help with housing,
maintaining utilities, food, locating counseling,
services for the aging, substance abuse programs,
and in other areas.
The
Texas Information and Referral Network wanted to make
it easier to access services by utilizing the 2-1-1
dialed number, improving quality throughout all calling
programs, and cutting telecommunication costs. Texas
deployed a virtual call center that linked area information
centers (AICs). The converged IP call center solution
design leveraged the state’s existing IP data
network for 2-1-1 call traffic.
The
benefits that have accrued to Texas to date include
system-wide common features not available in segregated
PBX environments, identical features at AICs regardless
of the call center’s size, significant savings
from shifting toll calls to local calls and an ability
to immediately provide updates to communities during
emergencies or when a disaster strikes.
How
do you determine if transitioning to a converged IP
contact center is a compelling alternative at your
organization? Watch for part 2 of this article in
the next edition of The Midmarket Report. We present
“The IP Contact Center Quiz” and a six-step
process to completing a formal feasibility assessment
to demystify the converged IP contact center solution
architecture and determine if it is right for your
call center.
eLoyalty
is a leading management consulting, systems integration,
and managed services company focused on optimizing
customer interactions. For more information, go to
www.eloyalty.com.
|
