At a time when working hours are not restricted to a strict 9-5 schedule and no geographical boundaries exist for employees, unified communication technology makes communication easier by converging data, voice, video and Web applications. The lack of communication at critical moments may lead to serious consequences both in terms of customer relation and employee’s productivity; unified communications is geared toward addressing this gap by making several types of communication applications and devices interoperable through a single platform.

As far as the banking and insurance sector is concerned, studies and research have found that UC capabilities can go a long way to help companies achieve enhanced productivity and customer satisfaction. Having identified this need for UC solutions in financial sector, German provider of scalable call distribution systems, Andtek has developed convergent and mobile solutions for multichannel integration in financial services.

This Cisco (News - Alert) platform-based solution facilitates integration of several communication services across the channels, such as voice/data communication, video surveillance and building security, voice recording, call centers with intelligent call distribution and more.

In a statement, Andtek explained that using unified communications solutions, the individual bank and insurance offices, call centers and headquarters can act as a single virtual entity. The technology allows for all business processes to be handled through a single communications platform. With the multichannel integration of communication applications, the geographically dispersed employees gain access to all relevant information about a customer. This in turn helps the employees solve any issues in a jiffy, whether in office or away from it. From the customers’ perspective, UC technology helps them reach bank or insurance company staff via a single phone number. The net result is enhanced customer satisfaction in a mobile business environment.

No wonder research conducted by IDC (News - Alert) has shown that unified communications has become the driving force in competition. More and more large corporations, including banks and insurance companies have already acquired an IP-based network infrastructure and are planning investment in UC servers, as reported in a recent study by Berlecon Research.

Andtek revealed that an increasing number of insurance companies are turning to unified communications applications from ANDTEK GmbH based on Cisco IP networking technology. Many banks are also using Cisco IP technology, including the Sparkasse KölnBonn, Germany’s largest municipal savings bank, the HypoVereinsbank and the Basler Kantonalbank.

ANDTEK’s "Contact Center" application, which offers call distribution software that optimizes call routing and customer service with comprehensive reporting options, is currently being used by many insurance companies, including those with more than 1,000 employees. The system allows centralized management of the entire customer service enterprise via a single platform.

For the financial sector companies having a large customer database, "AND Desktop AC," the switchboard console solution makes a suitable UC solution. This IP communications solution allows a complete overview of all telephone lines within the company and displays detailed information about a caller (on the IP phone or PC).

For the financial service providers that are required by law to record telephone conversations, Andtek offers "AND Phone (News - Alert) Recorder," which not only records phone calls, but encrypts and signs them to protect them from tampering. Telephone calls are always recorded from the beginning, even if the employee only later activates recording. This function allows the reconstruction of the exact wording and can be used as evidence in court, if necessary.

According to industry estimates, about 90 percent of all German banks want to implement unified communications systems by next year to improve internal cooperation and customer service, while increasing cost efficiency, with many companies being at beginning stages of implementing UC solutions.

In a news statement, CEO of   ANDTEK Roland Russwurm said that banks and insurance companies should be quick in adopting UC.

“If you hesitate too long and stick to your stand-alone solutions, you’ll be frustrating your own staff and risking your customers’ loyalty,” Russwurm commented.

Early this year, Andtek won a new customer in Generali Deutschland Informatik Services GmbH (GDIS), one of the largest financial services groups in Germany.

GDIS uses ANDTEK's solution, automatically distributing incoming calls to the right agents throughout the companies’ approximately 1,400 employees at five separate call center sites.

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