IVR Systems and Media Platforms for SIP Providers

Integrating telco environments with customer relationship management (CRM) systems is a challenge for many contact centers today that want to streamline their operations and improve communications – a media platform should allow you to manage and develop applications easily so these goals can be accomplished.

In a recent blog post from the thought leaders at Interact, Ed McKee explains that with interactive voice response (IVR), a media platform is used to handle media resources such as voice, dtmf and video.  

“IP Media Platforms support Session Initiation Protocol (News - Alert) (SIP) which enables Voice Over IP (VoIP), or put more simply, they allow you to talk to your VoIP service provider,” McKee said. “Most media platforms will support the ability to collect dtmf, play and record messages. Some systems will allow for switching capabilities, and support advanced features such as voice recognition, and text-to-speech.”

As one would expect, more advanced IVR systems will provide enhanced media handling for large conferencing, audio streaming, and most importantly provide a development environment that allows you to make changes quickly and reliably.

With Interact’s SPOT Media Platform, SIP providers can offer value-added services through applications that drive additional call traffic and minute usage. With flexible deployment and licensing options, the SPOT Media Platform is a product for SIP providers looking to add revenue generating value-added services to their portfolio.

In terms of deployment options available for any automated inbound and outbound services, the SPOT Media Platform is cloud-ready. Interact can host the platform in their cloud, or using your own dedicated servers, it can be hosted in your virtual environment. Another deployment option is through a server – Interact can build and ship platforms based on specific requirements. And with portability, applications can be migrated from one environment to the other.

As TMCnet’s Juliana Kenny recently reported, McKee urges us to look beyond the traditional notions of what a media platform can do: “Historically, most people think of media platforms and only see the traditional inbound press 1, press 2 IVR applications… Whether it’s for individual appointment notifications, town hall meetings, or school closings, a media platform should have multiple ways for you to manage and start your outbound campaigns.”

Erin Harrison is Executive Editor, Strategic Initiatives, for TMC, where she oversees the company's strategic editorial initiatives, including the launch of several new print and online initiatives. She plays an active role in the print publications and TMCnet, covering IP communications, information technology and other related topics. To read more of Erin's articles, please visit her columnist page.

Edited by Juliana Kenny