April 2000

A Potent Mix: Call Centers + LAN Telephony

BY BRIAN STRACHMAN

A dramatic picture. But having described it, I should hasten to add that my background as an analyst makes me less the mad scientist, and more the calm, detached lab technician, clipboard in hand, pondering any number of academic questions. For example, if I were to speculate on LAN telephony�s ability to improve call center capabilities, I�d consider whether LAN telephony was more likely to serve as a catalyst or a reactant.

The distinction is worth attention, for a catalyst facilitates a reaction while undergoing no transformation itself. A reactant, however, not only transforms, but is itself transformed. So, we may consider a pair of questions. First, is LAN telephony in a position to benefit (and even transform) the call center? Second, if LAN telephony demonstrates call center benefits, will LAN telephony itself be transformed? In other words, will LAN telephony shed its novelty status, safely traversing the always uncertain �early adopter� phase?

LAN TELEPHONY TO DATE
Local area network (or LAN) telephony involves using data networking equipment such as Ethernet cabling, routers, and data switches to transmit voice on the enterprise in a packetized format. This approach, carried to its logical conclusion, would obviate the PBX. (Such a development would no doubt shock many long-time industry observers.)

In a LAN telephony network, calls from the PSTN arrive at the enterprise and immediately enter a VoIP gateway. The gateway converts the circuit-switched call into packetized format, very much the reverse of the procedure that most gateways perform at the enterprise. Then, the packetized phone call enters the router or data switch where it is directed across the data network to its intended destination.

An application server typically sits next to the router and controls all of the advanced features such as: voice mail, unified messaging, and (of course) call center functions. The entire process takes place on the same medium and using the same equipment as the data network.

So much for LAN telephony�s constitution and organization. The question remains: Why embrace LAN telephony? Or, more to the point: What are LAN telephony�s benefits? A superficial view would suggest a very limited benefit: the cost savings in laying only one wire to the desktop. But such savings are hardly significant, hardly worth sacrificing the reliability of the PBX.

Unless LAN telephony can cite some solid benefits beyond the dubious �single wire� advantage, it will remain little more than a novelty. However, it so happens that a LAN telephony network does offer compelling advantages, most notably in the call center.

FURTHERING CALL CENTER TRENDS
The call center has always been quick to adopt advanced communications solutions. Long gone are the days of agents dialing for dollars in modern-day sweatshops. More common today is the highly skilled agent, managing a multi-media contact station. In fact, since call centers now represent the convergence of a variety of forms of contact, the very term �call center� is now misleading.

That said, it should occasion little surprise that call center products are among the fastest growing segments of telecommunications. Nor should it occasion surprise that those products which best enable call centers to realize their goals should enjoy the call center�s rapt embrace.

LAN telephony is in a position to help the call center achieve the goals towards which the call center is already striving. Let�s take a look at a few of these goals � or, if you prefer, long-standing call center trends. Then, we�ll look at how LAN telephony may further these trends.

Convergence With E-Commerce
E-tailers are discovering that the call center industry has been managing remote sales transactions for years, and that customer service experience is invaluable in reducing buyer churn. What results is a convergence of the traditional call center with the on-line sales center, a very unwieldy match.

In this convergence, key issues include call routing and the generation of traffic reports. These functions are typically carried out within the call center via the automatic call distributor (ACD), the call center�s most expensive and critical piece of equipment.

To route calls and generate traffic reports, ACDs typically use an elaborate computer database to create call-handling rules for the PBX. In this manner, the ACD serves as a bridge between the data world and telecom world. Trying to organize circuit-switched calls in this manner is like trying to put a square peg in a round hole, yet the industry has been doing so for decades, quite profitably.

But wouldn�t the call center rather put a round peg in a round hole, given the option? In fact, that option may be delivered by LAN telephony. Because every LAN telephony station has either an IP or MAC address, it becomes a simple task to write software that will direct calls to the most appropriate station. Instead of trying to deal with complex sets of proprietary signaling formats to indicate which agent is available and for how long, the entire process can be performed over the data network much more easily. The reporting process also becomes streamlined as it becomes no more difficult than basic network administration.

The Rise Of The �Contact Network�
Another trend in the call center industry is that of multi-site centers and remote workers. Trying to manage call centers in different geographies across different time zones is currently a nightmare. The technical difficulties of having agents in different locales and not lose the ability to transfer, park, or send calls to voice mail, while still staffing appropriately, were enormous.

However, with a LAN telephony system, the entire process is simplified. When an agent logs onto the network using an packet handset, the network immediately becomes aware that the agent is available. The data network doesn�t view things in terms of geography, but just as one big LAN. This holds true even if the call center has a third of its agents in Los Angeles, a third in New York, and the remainder interspersed at home throughout the rest of the country. The system views the entire network as a single entity, and calls can be answered, transferred, and sent to voice mail just as if all the agents shared the same roof. Call centers will be replaced with �contact networks� spanning countrywide.

Going Multimedia
Finally, the most exiting trend in call centers is the �multi-media contact center.� While this is something of a tongue twister, the concept is sound. Increasingly, consumers are conducting remote sales transactions in a variety of ways. When browsing the Internet, the average Web page usually offers these options: text chat, e-mail, VoIP conversation, and (of course) an 800 number. The difficulties arise when the call center agents are forced to answer phone calls, reply to e-mails, conduct real-time chats, and sometimes even speak to consumers via their multi-media computer.

The technology to put all of these contact methods into the same queue, organize them, and create the ability for the agent to accomplish this using circuit-switched telecom is very expensive and difficult to achieve. However, a data-centric voice network can easily solve this problem. As voice in a LAN telephony system is already packetized, and stations are seen as nodes on a network, it becomes a simple matter to integrate phone calls, chats, e-mails, and VoIP calls into a single queue.

CONCLUSION
LAN telephony is poised to transform the call center. Call centers can save millions of dollars in system administration costs and in application pricing by using LAN telephony. The savings accrue because the entire network can be managed as a single unit and all transactions are seen as data throughout the entire process. Once call centers understand the benefits and cost savings associated with LAN telephony, they will be early adopters.

To be sure, the support of the call center is good news for LAN telephony. Up until recently, LAN telephony has been viewed as more of a novelty than a viable business solution. Nonetheless, LAN telephony�s potential is widely recognized. LAN telephony has been available for over a year now, most notably from vendors such as NBX (acquired by 3Com) and Selsius (acquired by Cisco).

Going forward, it will be interesting to see how developments in the call center space will impact LAN telephony. Eventually we may characterize the call center as the catalyst driving LAN telephony�s transformation � from a novelty, to the favorite of early adopters, to the platform that ultimately obviated the PBX.

Brian Strachman is industry analyst, Voice and Data Communications, Cahners In-Stat Group. To correspond with the author, please send your comments to [email protected].