How many times have you heard the term "call center in a box"? That catch-all has been around for years, and some vendors use it to describe their tools, but few call centers are - yet - using what could accurately be described as all-in-one systems that route calls and provide the intelligence on top of that to manage an entire operations structure.

But the tools that exist are very advanced, with excellent functionality and reliability. Of all the technologies that we can lump under the heading of "next-gen," this type of bundle is the closest to real market uptake and acceptance. These tools actually work.

And they make sense from an operational perspective, too. As call center guru Art Rosenberg has pointed out, informal call center management is going to be increasingly important from an enterprise perspective. He points out that field sales, field services, "help desk" functions are all part of the next generation of customer contacts that need to be included in a unified view of the customer.

He has written that "managing formal contact center personnel (recruiting, training, scheduling, evaluating) is just one part of the total job, and the tools for doing all of that are indeed important. But, as customers become increasingly multi-modal and mobile in their communications, so too will the skills and responsibilities of the contact center staff have to change."

In that environment, wrapping all the call center technology in one tightly unified blanket is critical. As is making it accessible managerially to a broad range of professionals across the enterprise.

All-in-ones are an interesting breed, coming as they do from companies that have eschewed the traditional "big-ACD" mode of call processing. One example is CosmoCom, mentioned above, and their IP-centric system.

Another is Interactive Intelligence's (Indianapolis, IN) Customer Interaction Center. CIC is built on an open standards-based platform that replaces legacy PBXs, ACDs, IVR systems, voice mail systems, fax servers, and computer telephony middleware with its platform-based "processing engine."

The flexible Interaction Center Platform also allows organizations to integrate CIC to existing IT infrastructures, scale to thousands of users and multiple sites, and take advantage of cost-reducing voice over IP (VoIP), SIP, and Intel's Host Media Processing (HMP) software. It's modular, meaning you can add apps that focus on outbound, or multimedia recording, or multi-site routing. But unlike traditional big-ACD tools, it's a one-stop setup for a wide variety of call center operations needs.

Ahead To The Future

We hate the term "next-generation" as much as you do. It's a convenient way for marketing people to assert that their latest enhancements push the boundaries of current technology, requiring you to update your systems and spend more money.

But hidden under the marketing hype is the reality that technology does move forward. And at the moment, we are poised to see call centers awash in exciting new tools that really do things differently. Some of these technologies, like VoIP and all-in-one bundles, are going to allow managers to come up with new ways to assess their centers' performance and better attend to the nuances of customer care.

When we say the call center industry is mature, what we're really saying is that we've mastered what we've got, and now we're ready for what's next.

What Readers Think About the Future

Does VoIP Really Work?

One reader wrote in with some thoughts about VoIP integration in call centers. Here's an excerpt.

While server-based VoIP telephone systems may be coming of age in the lower line sizes, the techniques for recording conversations are stuck in the past, at best merely stop gaps. The challenge facing voice recording vendors is developing a solution that is truly integrated, future proof and above all secure.

The challenge you're facing is what you don't know and what vendors aren't saying. You and the technology, you think, are ready to plunge into VoIP. You've done the research, considered the risks. Security issues make conversation recording critical to transaction verification, liability protection, safety and training. But you're covered. You already have a voice recording solution that will work with your new VoIP system and VoIP phone sets. Or will it?

The unfortunate truth is that your existing system most likely will not work with a server based VoIP system, unless you are tapping into the legacy trunk side of your network, limiting your feature options. When those trunks eventually give way to point-to-point IP, where will that leave you? Most recording vendors will offer a solution based upon Cisco's Switched Port Analyzer (SPAN) or port mirroring. Though never intended for this application, it can be used to gain access to voice and messaging because SPAN "mirrors" all activity on equipped switches and routers via a spare port.

Many switches and routers do not support SPAN, and if they do, they may occupy all the ports. No problem. Just upgrade your network. That's only ten or so switches and routers in a typical 250-user installation. Don't forget to factor in those costs. All right, you bite that bullet but then your company changes its security policy. All calls are now encrypted. Suddenly, your investment in the upgraded network is money wasted. Explain that to the CFO.

Before taking the VoIP plunge, ask your vendor how they will address these issues, explain the hidden costs to implement their solution, and guarantee that your investment is protected against security policy changes. Don't be surprised if they struggle for answers.

What Readers Think About the Future

Agents Are Super-Critical

I feel that the agent is the most important person in the call center. If an agent is not trained properly, you run the risk of losing customers. Also, if an agent is not monitored whether it be by means of double jacking or remote monitoring, and constructive feedback not given in a timely manner, then you may have quite a few ineffective agents.

Agents are only as good as the communication and training that they receive. In response to making your more knowledgeable agents take the most or more complex calls, you will eventually burn them out, then what are you left with? All agents in a contact center should be trained the same and all of them should be able to handle any call that may come through. I have been a CSR, a CSR lead, and now a customer care supervisor, and of all the calls that I take from CSRs, the main issue that I see is that we have not properly trained them. Remember, it is not your product that is most valuable, it is the people that you have in place to sell your product, your agents.


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