Northern Telecom (Nortel) has announced the release of Remote Agent, a portfolio of packaged hardware and software options designed to provide call center agents located any distance from a Nortel Meridian 1 call center with full access to all formal agent features and functionality. The Remote Agent solution also extends a seamless management and reporting structure by including remote agents as an integral part of Meridian 1 call centers.

Remote Agent provides customers with a Call-on-Demand option, which is designed to enable an ISDN connection to be disconnected automatically if the ISDN line is idle for a specified period of time, thus avoiding non-essential continuous usage charges. Remote agents are still logged in and are automatically reconnected when calls are either received or initiated, or when remote agents press any function keys on their Meridian digital telephones. In the event the ISDN link between the remote and the switch fails, the system automatically logs out the remote agent.

The solution ensures that the security of confidential information is maintained through a mandatory log- in sequence by the remote agent. If the system recognizes the password, a connection is made between the switch and the remote unit. The system supervisor can disable access for any particular agent or change the agent passwords at any time.

Nortel's newly introduced FastView and FastView+ computer-telephony integration (CTI) software capabilities can be used by remote agents as an option. FastView and FastView+ are Windows- compatible agent productivity enhancement applications that reside on agents' personal computers. The software provides access to formal call center features such as screen-based activity codes, screen-based log-in sequence for multiple queue assignment, automatic updates of queue statistics, Return To Queue and many other functions. FastView+ also offers a broad set of middleware capabilities that enable screen pops based on automatic number identification, calling line identification, intelligent call rules, Dynamic Data Exchange Interface and outbound preview dialing from any Windows-compatible application.

Nortel expects Remote Agent will be available in the third quarter of this year in seven pre-assembled software and hardware packages. Remote Agent packages range from options that include Remote Agent ISDN extender hardware and a Meridian M2216 ACD agent set to options that include FastView or FastView+ software for CTI requirements at the remote site. A version of the ISDN extender module supports direct headset connections that require no telephone set. This version of Remote Agent will work with the FastView and FastView+ applications on remote agents' personal computers. Nortel said its headset option is the first such configuration of its kind in this industry.

For more information, contact Brian D. Murphy at 214-684-8589.