Contact centers continue to utilize IVR applications as traditionally designed, screening and steering calls, allowing customers to perform basic transactions, but customers are not looking for basic – they are looking for extraordinary. In an ever-changing global economy and an even more frequent change in voice of the customer, contact centers continue to use an aged IVR application system, when such solutions as VoiceXML (News - Alert) are waiting to be explored.

The year 2011 is the year the IT manager should explore outside traditional IVR thinking because in a declining economy, improving customer experience and delivering higher-value interactions couldn’t hurt. There is a bonus for the upgradation – more cost-effective management and improved flexibility. The telephone isn’t going anywhere, but they way of communication is.

As Prashant Lamba, director of business development for Phonologies (India) Pvt. Ltd., commented in his recent study, “Trends in 2008 Contact Center Market,” “Organizations are expected to quickly reduce costs and increase agent productivity by adoption of Unified Communications (News - Alert) solutions, companies will expect that standards within the contact center to remain high.”

Vendors trying to sell traditional contact center solutions, such as VoiceXML IVR Engines, find themselves at a loss and needing to change their sales strategy as a focus on new markets becomes of importance. Proper identification of key trends in the contact center market will separate the top competitors from those vendors stuck in the past.

With that said, VoiceXML will likely displace proprietary IVR solutions in the enterprise and service provider markets, while outbound IVR is expected to become a key enabler of proactive communications.

Interact, an innovative software company dedicated to developing high performance, cost-effective communication solutions for enterprises and operators worldwide, proves to be forward-thinking in the area of VoiceXML and IVR applications, with Interact’s SPOT VoiceXML/CCXML based Interpreter Set. Designed to reduce or eliminate application load and memory penalties, SPOT is able to process hundreds to thousands of voice channels on a single high performance server, reducing initial investment and increasing both site efficiency and call processing times. Operators can now deploy cutting-edge services at a minimal Total Cost of Ownership.

Recently TMC’s (News - Alert) Tammy Wolf reported that the implementation of IVR systems into businesses and organizations is becoming more common nowadays, and with Interact’s SPOT VoiceXML customized applications, IVR can now enter a fresh arena – the education field. Application of IVRs on a campus or within an educational institution is now the optimal choice, as all queries are efficiently handled and answered – thereby ensuring that information is received by all parties involved.