BY CAROL MEIER

Call centers have become a key part of a company's marketing and sales strategy and tactics. Technology, coupled with the booming economy, has created a highly competitive environment that has made customer service an important differentiator in the fight for market share. Customers around the world want service 24x7, and companies need real-time quality interfaces with their prospects and customers in order to take advantage of global sales opportunities.

Fueled by the rapid expansion of the e-businesses and the Internet, the number of contact centers is quickly multiplying. In order to achieve the maximum benefit from the convergence of the PSTN (Public Switch Telephone Network) and the Internet, the managers of these contact centers must now deploy technology and applications that will empower their agents to expertly manage every customer interaction. Instant access to customer data, as well as records of previous interactions, is vital for superior customer service.

Until recently, the hardware and software necessary to run a call center required large budgets and heavily-staffed IT departments. Smaller companies have traditionally been left to do the best they could with what they had, or were forced to outsource when they would have preferred to keep their call center in-house. With the advent of open, software-based phone systems, all that has changed. The call center functionality available today with a software-based phone system allows even very small call centers the flexibility and technology options previously reserved for large call centers.

ACDs Offer Greater Efficiencies 
Most businesses are discovering that they have some level of need for Automatic Call Distribution (ACD). A small inside sales staff may want to manage the incoming calls and distribute them to available sales people. A company with two or three customer service reps may prefer to have incoming calls automatically put on hold in a queue and handled in the order in which they are received, rather than send them to voice mail. Administrative staff may currently route calls to various departments as they attempt to complete other tasks. ACD capability frees up valuable human resources to focus on multiple projects and, in many cases, this leads to vastly improved customer service.

In a customer-focused call center, the ACD is the backbone of operations. Whether trying to meet metrics for revenue per call or service levels, call center managers want easily-configured CTI (Computer Telephony Integration), scalability, and control of programming. In any call center, customer service is paramount -- the more information and control agents have, the higher the satisfaction level of the callers and, in turn, the higher the profitability of the organization.

Software-Based Phone Systems Vs. Proprietary PBXs, IP-PBXs
By its nature, a call center application is data-intensive: administrators need to understand call queuing, volumes, hold times, duration, and other important measurements. Until the advent of the software-based phone system, only large or deep-pocketed businesses could afford call center solutions that tracked this data. Most ACDs were high-cost add-ons in a separate box from the in-house phone systems, known as Private Branch Exchanges or PBXs. And both the ACD and PBX were proprietary technology. Smaller organizations used make-do solutions or voice mail.

Software-based phone systems have revolutionized the set of options available to small- to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) because they run on a computer platform that integrates ACD functionality into the phone system. SMEs can now offer the same level of customer service as bigger corporations due to these systems, and have the tools to be more efficient within their call center regarding their use of staff, sales people, and receptionists.

Several new products have come to market which provide call management functions on router-based technology platforms. While many champions of these router-based IP-PBXs claim they will fundamentally change business, the current drawbacks -- particularly in the call center -- often outweigh the benefits. In an IP-PBX, internal telephones are connected directly to the LAN (Local Area Network) instead of the voice network. Certain features such as call queuing and delivering calls to agents, music/audio on hold, and call recording are not currently available in today's packet-based technologies and may not be available for a while. At this point in time, IP-based phones are often expensive and based on proprietary protocols, and applications are often limited by network bandwidth. On the other hand, because they take advantage of open standards, and utilize PSTN connectivity as well as VoIP, software-based phone systems are able to integrate seamlessly within office environments where both PSTN connectivity and IP-based technology are critical. Having a server-based solution provides professional-quality ACD and call center functionality while allowing connections through either the PSTN, Voice over IP (VoIP), or both.

Intelligent Call handling And Screen Pops
Because a software-based phone system includes intelligent ACD functionality, calls from customers can be handled in a customized fashion, using incoming caller ID numbers or PINs that are input by callers. User-developed and easily programmable special rules can route your top customers to your best agents (or a different call queue), and the caller's contact information follows the routed call and ends up as a screen pop on an agent's screen. This is possible through low-cost integration of the phone system with contact management applications such as GoldMine or ACT!, and can readily extend to other vendors' Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software.

IVR And Database Integration Betters Customer Service, Increases Sales
Interactive Voice Response (IVR) systems have traditionally been external boxes that connected to proprietary phone systems. IVR systems provide an excellent way to handle routine calls, such as common questions or order status inquiries, without tying up agents. By pressing a key on the dial pad, the caller bypasses the queue and can immediately obtain the information required. A software-based phone system integrates and runs the IVR application without the cost of additional hardware for the server, and additional telephony boards may be unnecessary as well.

From a customer service perspective, the most important benefit of using a software-based phone system to provide IVR capabilities is that all of the caller's information transfers seamlessly from the time the caller responds to IVR prompts until the agent answers the call. If the call should transfer to an agent, the agent will know who the caller is, their account number is, and what actions the caller has taken thus far. When a company sets up an IVR system that is separate from the phone system, customers and agents often spend more time on the phone than they need to and customers feel frustrated when they have to repeat information to a live agent.

Call Center Reporting
In order to take full advantage of the ACD capabilities of a software-based phone system, vendors have added call center reporting modules. These modules help the call center manager understand patterns, performance trends, and resource usage, with easy access to the information. Among the statistics commonly tracked are agent performance trends, average call volume by time of day, average wait time by time of day, cumulative calls and average talk time, inbound call outcome trends, inbound call volume trends, outbound call trends, queue comparison, trunk performance, and wait by outcome.

Good modules provide preset reports, as well as the capability to edit those reports to fit the particular call center or develop customized reports using information from the ACD database and a spreadsheet. Call center managers then have all the information they need to schedule agents and manage service levels. In addition, the reports are invaluable in forecasting staff and equipment expansions that will be required.

VoIP Options And Web-Enabled Call Centers
A software-based phone system can provide IP capability and support Voice over IP, allowing the business to optimize its network connectivity to reduce costs and create more contact and labor options. Call centers that choose to leverage VoIP could have some agents work in remote locations with calls routed via VoIP, as could telecommuters working at home with DSL or cable modem connections. Even branch offices that share workloads could use IP to connect offices with two servers.

VoIP capability can significantly improve sales and customer service, especially when integrated into a company's Web sit as a click-to-talk option. When a potential customer is browsing a Web site, perhaps thinking about making a purchase, the ability to instantly speak with an agent turns a random inquiry into a revenue transaction. Whether the potential customer has only one phone line or just doesn't want to take the time to pick up the phone, VoIP can catch the potential customer at the peak of his interest. When the user clicks that button, the agent establishes a VoIP connection and the customer uses the computer speakers and microphone or headset to ask a question or solve a problem. Businesses are also using Web-enabled call centers with VoIP to save on long distance and international calls.

Moving To A Software-Based Phone System With An Integrated ACD
There are several reasons to purchase a new ACD or phone system. Growth, or a move to a new location are two of the most common reasons to begin the research on a new phone system. Many call centers also face the limitations of whatever incomplete solutions they had put together as the company grew. In any of these situations, call centers can take advantage of the opportunity to research the cost and benefits of a software-based phone system versus a proprietary PBX.

The cost/benefit analysis should consider the following options:

• A stand-alone ACD with the current phone system;
• A PBX or IP-PBX phone systems with add-on ACD functionality; and
• A software-based phone system, which includes the ACD as part of its standard functionality.

If growth is currently an issue in your call center, or is expected to be an issue in the near future, then scalability of the phone system is also a key issue. Productivity gains and improved CRM reached through integrated ACD, IVR, and VoIP capabilities of a software-based phone system will likely satisfy any CFO. Call center managers should investigate the potential benefits of increase profitability, sales, and customer loyalty when choosing a new call center phone system.

Carol Meier is vice president of marketing at Artisoft, Inc., a developer of software-based phone systems for small- to medium-sized businesses and corporate branch offices. Artisoft's award-winning computer telephony solutions enable businesses to increase productivity and gain competitive advantage while reducing business operation costs. Artisoft provides its customers with best-of-breed software-based phone systems tailored to meet ever changing business needs.