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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 Yet with these accomplishments came many challenges - not the least of which was an outdated and overtaxed PBX and voice mail system.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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