September 1998
Unify & Conquer: Unified Messaging As Part Of
A Total Communications Solution
BY CHRISTINE HOLLEY, INTERACTIVE INTELLIGENCE
When Jay Larson began his search for a unified messaging system, he was no stranger to
the latest developments in the computer-telephony integration (CTI) industry. As head of
Systems and Facilities for a mid-sized electronic presentation's equipment supplier,
Larson had been following the CTI market closely. His company, Boxlight Corporation, was
growing fast and furious. Going from a handful of employees in 1992 to over 200 in 1998
was a mark of true success. Yet with these accomplishments came many challenges - not the
least of which was an outdated and overtaxed PBX and voice mail system.
Like many other interaction-intensive businesses, Boxlight relied heavily on its phone
system. With remote offices around the globe and an internal call center designed to
service end users and resellers, Boxlight put a premium on fast and efficient
communications. Implementing a unified messaging system as part of a corporatewide
automation process was paramount to Boxlight's future success in the marketplace.
The Problem
By the end of 1997, Boxlight's system was barely accommodating 100 users in two buildings
at corporate headquarters and six remote sites. "We had experienced rapid growth over
the years and we were outgrowing the capacity of our last switch," said Larson.
"It served us fairly well for three to four years, but we wanted to do more
sophisticated ACD routing. We also found it vastly inefficient to retrieve voice mail,
e-mail and faxes from three different places."
A total communications solution was in order, yet Larson was weary of traditional CTI
products. Based on his experience with implementations, he knew the expense and difficulty
of integrating to a network. He was already having trouble keeping his existing switch,
voice mail and auto-attendant communicating with one another. "I wanted the new
solution to be part of our network, not some foreign platform that needed to be
bridged," remarked Larson. "It also seemed silly to install a proprietary
unified messaging application when we were already using Microsoft Exchange for
e-mail."
The Solution
Larson couldn't find a traditional CTI solution that allowed him the flexibility he
desired. What he did find, however, was a solution built on a radically different notion
of CTI. Known as all-in-one communications server technology, this software-based solution
provides a totally open architecture with features galore - including a powerful unified
messaging component. The new communications server effectively takes the place of
proprietary devices such as PBXs, ACDs, IVRs, fax servers, voice mail, and CTI gateways.
The communications server solution solved Larson's dilemma of forcing separate devices to
talk to one another. Even better, installation and maintenance costs are reduced because
one vendor can provide all software for a single Windows NT server.
The communications server's unified messaging component was an especially welcomed
departure from what Larson had seen in previous CTI installations. A typical CTI solution
would've provided for retrieval of voice mail, e-mail and faxes, but only through the
e-mail client. Different messages must be managed and administered separately. Flexibility
is limited, since processing and remote accessing of messages is based on a proprietary
back-end application. Communications server technology truly unifies the messaging
process, however, by allowing local and remote access to voice mail, faxes and e-mail
through the e-mail client, phone or a Web browser. Management and administration of all
messages is centralized.
In addition to a unified messaging component, a communications server's ACD can also
provide exceptional functionality. The ACD queues and routes e-mail, faxes, voice mail,
pagers, Web chats, voice-over-net phone calls and regular phone calls. "The new
system allowed us to use our current messaging platform for all communications while
providing us with extremely flexible ACD queuing," noted Larson.
Implementation And Applications
Although Larson had installed phone systems in the past, he wasn't sure what to expect
with such a uniquely comprehensive solution. "The most surprising aspect of the
implementation was how smoothly it went," commented Larson. "I think we had it
up and running in about two hours. Our last switch took about three weeks to get
operational, including several days where we had no dialtone. We also had to figure out
how to accommodate zoned overhead paging. All in all, though, I've never had a system
installed and working as quickly as this one."
Boxlight's communications server configuration utilizes PBX, IVR, ACD, unified
messaging and fax features. Microsoft Exchange serves as the messaging platform. Each user
has an Exchange account that's used for voice mail and fax, as well as e-mail. Users have
workstations running Microsoft Outlook as the e-mail client.
Boxlight uses two T1s for inbound toll-free and outbound long-distance. It also has 16
CO trunks for local calling and inbound international, with another dozen or so for RAS,
fax machines, etc. The off-site users at Boxlight's distribution facility 25 miles away
are connected via channels split off of a point-to-point T1. Boxlight also installed a
12-port GammaFax board so agents can automatically fax catalogs, price quotes and
additional information to prospective customers.
DNIS and ANI identify inbound calls. The DNIS digits determine menu prompts appropriate
for that particular call. For instance, a toll-free number listed in a Boxlight equipment
rental advertisement takes callers straight to the ACD group for rentals, while a call for
the main office would provide options for sales, rentals, tech support, etc. Boxlight
telesales representatives are assigned to geographic regions, so the ANI is checked
against a database of area codes and routes the call to the appropriate ACD group for that
section of the country.
Boxlight is currently in the process of integrating the new communications system with
its sales automation software. The new integration will allow added functionality, such as
auto-dial from the contact record, screen pops on inbound calls, logging calls to a
contact record and the ability to transfer a customer's record along with the call to
another department. The integration effectively eliminates the need for middleware since
screen pops and data integration are built-in features of the communications server.
Future examples of integration include utilization of the communications server's Web chat
and call-back request features when Boxlight builds its next-generation Web site.
Benefits
Unified messaging has increased the productivity of Boxlight agents and enhanced customer
satisfaction. Users no longer have to walk to a fax machine or check their phone for
voice-mail messages. All messages are delivered straight to the desktop as an attached
e-mail message. And with the communications server's text-to-speech capabilities, users
have access to e-mail, fax or voice mail from any touch-tone phone. Forwarding, saving,
combining or otherwise managing messages is now a very simple task. Customers are
especially pleased since they can use the most convenient method of communication for them
and be assured that they will get equal treatment.
While Larson concedes that unified messaging has greatly improved communications for
Boxlight, he says that it is the combined "all-in-one" nature of the solution
that has really made the difference. In fact, Boxlight is enjoying benefits it never
expected. "I love the fact that I don't have to buy proprietary equipment at inflated
prices," said Larson. Productivity is way up too. The ability to do skills-based
routing with salespeople in multiple queues has allowed us to answer more calls per sales
representative. Our abandonment rate is next to nothing."
There exists yet another measure of success that supercedes all others, according to
Larson: "The most important measurement to me is the overwhelming positive feedback
from both our customers and our employees. We plan on deploying communications server
technology at a new office shortly and expect more great things from this revolutionary
alternative to traditional CTI."
Christine Holley, market communications specialist for Interactive Intelligence, is
responsible for the company's media relations in the US, Europe and Asia. Ms. Holley has
been writing for the high-tech industry since 1994 and has extensive experience marketing
for small, high-growth software development firms.
Interactive Intelligence is a global leader in the Windows NT-based
computer-telephony integration market. The company sells Enterprise Interaction Center
(EIC), an all-in-one communications server for call centers, enterprises and service
providers. EIC functions as PBX, IVR, ACD, voice mail system, fax server, CTI gateway and
more.
Boxlight Corporation is a leading global supplier of computer-generated
presentation equipment. Headquartered in Poulsbo, Washington, the company has offices in
the U.K., The Netherlands, Belgium and South Africa.
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