ETE405 :: Lecture 5

Dr. Mashiur Rahman

Book : Cisco - Voice over IP Fundamentals Page 95-

Chapter 6. Voice over IP Benefits and Applications

• Benefits of Voice over IP (VoIP), including cost savings, single infrastructure savings, and new applications

• Using a packet telephony call center versus a circuit-switched call center

• Service provider prepaid calling card applications

• Service provider enhanced services (such as Internet call waiting and click to talk)

• An enterprise VoIP case study

Key Benefits of VoIP

• Price savings

• Ability to have one Information Services (IS) department that supports both voice and data networks

• Enterprises and service providers do not need common infrastructure

• Enables voice mail systems to be put on standards-based platforms

IP Telephony Savings

• Toll charges – least cost routing avoids toll charges.

• Management costs– System management labor – time and money saved.– Users’ personal proile changes – handled by users, not

IT staff.– MACs – quick and easy to handle from – anywhere on the network.

• Physical circuit-switched ports no longer required.

• Fewer circuits from the PSTN needed.

Call Center

Call Center: Inside view

What is a call center?

• A call center is a centralized office used for the purpose of receiving and transmitting a large volume of requests by telephone.

• We can provide services remotely and earn a lot of money!– The global market of call centre industry was US$

382.5 billion in 2004 and is expected to reach US$ 641.2 billion by 2009.

– Total BPO (Business Processing Outsourcing ) market is worth $122 - $154 billion. India has revenues of 10.9 billion USDfrom offshore BPO and 30 billion USD from IT and total BPO (Genpact, WNS Global Services, Transworks Information Services, IBM-daksh, and TCS BPO).

Old and New method

• Circuit-Switching Call Centers

• Packet Telephony Call Center

Circuit-Switching Call Centers: challenges

• Many toll-free numbers—CSCCs must manage the number of circuits the enterprise uses. Using more circuits increases the cost of operating the CSCC and, therefore, can potentially decrease profits.

• Misrouted/rerouted calls—Each time a call must be routed to a different agent (because, for example, an agent might not have the correct skills to answer a customer's question, or he does not speak a customer's language), revenue is lost.

• Multiple centers—The capability to "follow the sun" increases the "brick-and-mortar" costs in a CSCC. Following the sun implies that different physical call centers must exist to keep workers working a normal shift. This also is known as time-of-day routing. (When the United States call-center operators are sleeping, for example, Australian operators can take the calls.)

Circuit-Switching Call Center

• Percentage distribution/overflow routing—The capability to handle overflow between different physical locations increases the profitability in a peak call-flow time. But, if this overflow mechanism is not properly managed, it can cost more to overflow the call than to not service the incoming call.

• Employee turnover—Call-center work can be stressful, and, because of the repetitive nature of such work, keeping workers can be difficult.

• Seasonal staffing needs—Oftentimes, call centers experience more volume during certain periods. As such, they must hire people to accommodate the high-volume periods, and then lay people off when volume drops.

• Inconvenient busy hours—If the call center does not have a "follow the sun" model, it must hire staff to work inconvenient hours, such as the night shift, for instance.

• Regional call-center talent—Having skilled workers come into a brick-and-mortar facility can lower the number of possible workers in the pool of talent. Telecommuting so that regional workers can work within any geography in a specific time zone increases the number of workers in the available pool.

solutions

• Computer Telephony Integration (CTI)—One application is for caller information (such as the caller's name, buying patterns, and address) to be "popped" onto the agent's screen so that the agent can handle the call more quickly.

• Skills/application-based routing—Routing calls to the proper agent based on technical skills, language, and any other skill can increase the speed by which the call is handled.

• Information duplication—Call agents can avoid asking the same question twice if transferred to a new agent. This is possible due to the information on the first agent's screen "popping" onto the new agent's screen when the call is transferred to the new agent.

• Interactive Voice Response (IVR)—This enables callers to input basic information (such as account information) so that calls can be handled more quickly.

Packet Telephony Call Center

• This connection to the legacy PBX is accomplished by having an external call-processing engine that connects to the PBX and to the Call Manager through CTI links. The external call-processing engine enables telecommuters and PBX call agents to answer calls as though they are attached to the call center.

• With a connection from the legacy CSCC into the IP network, you can use enhanced features such as IP-based IVR systems (also known as Voice Response Units [VRUs]) and unified messaging services such as fax–to–e-mail, text-to-speech, speech-to-text, and so on.

• Call Center Corporation is no longer tied to physical ports for the VRU, and the entire messaging infrastructure (e-mail, voice mail, applications, and so on) is tied into one common infrastructure.

• The call-routing or call-processing engine is now just part of the data network and is removed from the PBX. This enables telecommuters, call-center agents, and branch office agents to have the same access to the same information. Access to a common infrastructure gives everyone equal footing, and it gives the customer a common look and feel.

Common Infrastructure for All Call Agents

Inbound and Outbound

• Requests for help, especially technical help

• Inquiries or requests for information

• Placing orders, in product purchases

• Applications for services

• Filing complaints

Inbound Outbound

•Sales •Lead generation •Proactive Marketing •Market research •Public opinion calls •Order call outs