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Operating a sturdy and protected call center is no longer as easy as it seems. While so many individuals are concerned with concerns – which, while legitimate and important– such as business continuity and customer loyalty, one cannot enjoy these after-effects until their business first implements the proper call center privacy practices.

I was able to speak with David Baker, Vice President of Sales for Servion, Inc., where he exclusively detailed the importance of this critical step in maintaining a fully secure call center. Bringing nearly 20 years of experience in selling IVR, speech, and CTI (News - Alert) solutions to the call center industry, David’s refreshing and witty take on the subject is self-explanatory of just how easily preventative this issue is to begin with.

Baker begins by posing a very important question to consider: Who in the world is actually serving us? – literally.

“Am I the only person, or does anyone else get a little queasy every time they have to give their credit card information, expiration date and security code over the phone to a live agent?” Baker asks. “First of all, we have no idea where this agent is located (at home, overseas, somewhere in the U.S.). Secondly, are they writing down our credit card information on a piece of paper to make sure they got the numbers right before entering it into their online ordering system?”

You needn’t be a rocket scientist to notice that there is simply something wrong with this method, yet we’ve all been victims of this loose and unhindered business strategy – or at the very least know of someone who has been.

What if this agent takes your valuable and confided information and decides to go sell it on the street – or worse – go for a little shopping spree with it? That’s exactly what Baker says can happen. With the innovations of interactive voice response (IVR) solutions in the call center industry today, however, this shouldn’t be as big of a problem, Baker insists.

“With the widespread adoption of self-service IVR applications out there, I can’t understand why a live agent is still taking down our credit card information over the phone,” Baker says.

So what are some surefire ways to address these issues and protect yourself to foolproof your call center? According to Baker, IVR is the way to go.

By implementing an order entry self-service IVR system, callers’ credit card information is easily and indefinitely protected, as they are entering it via touch-tone or speech recognition. You can only imagine how much more secure this is when compared to relaying it to a live agent. Not only this, but callers can also automate their entire transaction – from ordering to billing to ship-to address information, as well as the payment itself. The majority of self-service IVR systems allow callers to check the status of their order, as well, Baker says.

Don’t be fooled though – IVR isn’t the end-all solution to achieving ultimate protection in the call center. “Although an IVR system is a good defense in protecting your credit card information, it still doesn’t stop someone from being able to use your credit card to order something through a self-service IVR system,” Baker explains.

In order to have a flawless system, you need what Baker deems the “triple threat measure,” which consists of incorporating a PIN and a voice biometrics with a self-service IVR system. All three of these aspects combine to fully protect your credit card information, where voice biometrics and a PIN provide an unprecedented level of customization, working uniquely for each individual for extra security.

“Voice biometrics is like your finger print,” Baker says. “It is completely unique for each person. What voice biometrics does is it allows you to say your name, which in turn becomes your fingerprint for when you call into that particular company.”

So in a nutshell, implementing voice biometrics and a PIN in addition to a reliable self-service IVR system guarantees that you are who you say you are and secures your credit card transaction via the IVR system.

8x8 (News - Alert) Inc. is a Platinum sponsor of ITEXPO West 2012. To be held Oct. 2-5 at the Austin Convention Center in Austin, TX, ITEXPO (News - Alert) offers an educational program to help corporate decision makers select the right IP-based voice, video, fax and unified communications solutions to improve their operations.