Managing Customers With WebCenter
2.0
Successful customer interaction is the key to any business. People who want information
want it now, and they aren't necessarily interested in investing too much time and effort
in getting that information. And companies would do well to realize that in today's
fast-paced business environment, communicating with the customer - in the manner preferred
by that customer - is of the utmost importance. Surly receptionists and static Web sites
just won't cut it.
Acuity Corporation (formerly ichat) has just released WebCenter 2.0, a customer care
solution for Internet-based enterprise relationship management (read: customer service).
Unlike other solutions that provide one tool for customer support, Acuity's WebCenter 2.0
integrates interactive self-service, automated e-mail response, Web-based queuing and
routing, and live interaction through a variety of channels, depending on the customer's
preference. These channels include live text communications (chat), browser screen
synchronization (giving the agent the ability to push pages to the customer, as well as to
see the pages the customer has visited to this point), callback, and real-time voice/video
conferencing.
The solution consists of essentially three parts: The Web Response Unit (WRU); WebACD;
and the Communications Interface Unit (CIU). The WRU enables interactive self-service,
featuring knowledge base searches and modified FAQ inquiries. If the customer finds he or
she still needs assistance from a live agent, they can simply escalate the process by
requesting access to an agent. The WebACD queues and routes the requests based on
attributes such as the customer's identity or DataWake - Acuity's term for the URL trail
left by the customer in his or her quest for information. The WebACD initiates a
connection to the CIU, which is in charge of managing multiple methods of live
interaction, including e-mail, live text chat, browser sync, Internet telephony, and
integration with legacy phone systems.
Scalability is not a problem for Acuity. Using their Real-Time Enterprise (RTE)
platform, which acts like an application layer PBX, they've been able to support as many
as 21,000 simultaneous users against their software. For more information, contact Acuity
at 512-425-2200 or visit their Web site at www.acuity.com.
- Greg Galitzine, CTI� magazine
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Nuance Intros Component Model For
Speech Apps
It may only be in beta, but Nuance Communications' SpeechObjects, a set of reusable
components that helps speed the development of speech-enabled applications, is a product
to look at now. The SpeechObjects don't require developers to have specific speech or
linguistics experience, so they significantly decrease the level of expertise needed for
developing high-quality speech applications.
SpeechObjects consist of three key elements: dialogs, grammars, and prompts. Dialogs
describe the entire flow of interaction, or script, that transpires between a user and an
application. Grammars are lists of valid responses a user might say in a particular
portion of a dialog. Prompts are messages played to a user to evoke a response.
The SpeechObjects range in their complexity. Some are simple, such as a
"date" speech object tasked with recognizing a date in a number of different
formats ("January 27," "1/27," or "1/27/98"). SpeechObjects
can also be compound components, which incorporate other SpeechObjects, making them more
complex as they deal with additional variables.
Other features include what the company calls a customizable "white box"
design, meaning the underlying design and implementation for each SpeechObject can be
easily accessed and altered, adding more flexibility to application development. In
addition, the SpeechObjects contain both design and implementation specifications - they
incorporate the best practices in the design of speech applications and enable the design
of speech applications that will be feasible for deployment in diverse environments.
Combine SpeechObjects' implementation-independent design specification and the
potential for them to be deployed in a number of IVR environments, as well as through
component standards such as JavaBeans and ActiveX, and you have a product that will change
the way speech-enabled applications are built. You can add SpeechObjects' reusable
component designs and implementations to other applications, or assemble them with one
another into complete speech applications.
Nuance is encouraging the development of new components by third parties. A
SpeechObjects Certification Program will enable developers to have their SpeechObjects
certified for quality, consistency, and compatibility. Nuance will also assist developers
in building, marketing, and cataloging certified SpeechObjects. Specifications of the
SpeechObjects standards will be available later in this year, and pricing has not yet been
determined. For more information, contact the company at www.nuance.com.
- Dara Bloom, CTI� magazine
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Mobile Module Available In The
Embedded Environment
Although developers in the embedded computing environment are attracted to
high-performance processors, they haven't forsaken their abiding interest in long-lived
products. Hence, these developers often find themselves in a quandary. On the one hand,
they would like to meet the growing need for high performance in embedded applications,
specifically in telecom and telephony applications. On the other hand, they would like to
minimize software development costs, a goal which often depends on product stability. The
problem is, the most advanced processors typically are characterized by short life cycles,
which can translate into frequent chip revisions or BIOS changes, which can wreak havoc
with finely tuned real-time applications.
Hence, developers will be interested in a recent announcement from the Motorola
Computer Group. In this announcement, Motorola claims to offer the first CompactPCI single
board computer utilizing Intel's Pentium II processor mobile module. Motorola emphasizes
the new processor's high performance as well as Intel's commitment to the processor's
long-term availability.
The mobile module also addresses the embedded environment's need for processors that
can deliver high performance without consuming a lot of power, generating a lot of heat,
or occupying a lot of space. The mobile module, originally intended for the laptop market
turns out to be a good fit for the embedded market, and the CompactPCI form factor in
particular, since CompactPCI cards can't lavish much real estate on oversized components.
The original Pentium II, intended for the general PC environment, was too big and
power-hungry to fit on the CompactPCI form factor. The Pentium II mobile module, however,
is appropriate for CompactPCI since it meets laptop requirements for ruggedness, low
physical profile, and low power consumption. These attributes, plus Intel's commitment to
a long product life cycle, allow the mobile module to meet all the basic requirements for
the embedded environment. According to Tom Franz, general manager of Intel's Embedded
Microcomputer Division, "Our customers are demanding higher performance processors
for embedded applications that can meet the needs of longer product life cycles. That
solution is now available with the Pentium II processor mobile module designed into
Motorola's CompactPCI single board computer."
The Motorola single board computer, designated the CPV5300, is particularly suited for
applications in the central office, in customer premises equipment, in voice and video
communications, in computer telephony, and in wireless infrastructure applications. In
addition, the CPV5300, by conforming to widely accepted, open architectures, provides for
shortened design cycles and faster time-to-market.
Within two CompactPCI slots, the CPV5300 incorporates a 233 or 266 MHz Pentium II
processor, 512K L2 cache, the high-performance 440BX chipset, and up to 512MB of DIMM
memory. The board includes an Ultra-SCSI interface, AGP video featuring the i740 graphics
accelerator with 8 MB video memory, and optional on-board flash, floppy, and hard drives.
The board also includes dual 10/100 Mbit 82559 Ethernet controllers with Alert-On-LAN
technology and network heartbeat and system monitoring of voltages, temperature, airflow,
and chassis status. Standard PC peripherals include dual serial ports, dual EIDE ports,
parallel, keyboard, mouse, and floppy interfaces. All I/O is available through both the
front panel and rear J4/J5 connectors.
Operating system compatibility encompasses Windows NT, Windows 95/98, SCO UNIX,
VxWorks, and Solaris. By integrating the widely accepted open architecture of CompactPCI,
Intel processors, and Windows NT, the CPV5300 provides server-level performance in a
CompactPCI single board computer. In addition, since the mobile module will scale to
future processor speeds, the CPV5300 will chart a performance growth path.
On a side note, the appearance of the CPV5300 is an early sign that general-purpose
boards, based on Intel processors, are beginning to take on tasks once reserved for
special-purpose DSP boards. This trend, predicted by Brough Turner in his February column,
may result in ever-more-powerful Intel chips for PC motherboards, giving DSP designers the
opportunity to create ever-more-innovative DSPs.
However that trend plays out, the CPV5300 presents some interesting opportunities right
now. Samples are available this August, and the list price starts at $2,395.
- Kevin M. Mayer, CTI� magazine
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OnLive! Merges For Comprehensive
Conferencing Line
OnLive! recently merged with Electric Communities and The Palace, Inc. - the new
company was formed to bring together expertise in real-time, multimedia communications
solutions for business use. At the time of our writing, the new, bigger OnLive!
Technologies had existed for a mere thirty days - but the synergy between the three
companies seems to guarantee success.
One of the company's products, the OnLive ACS 300 (audio conferencing server), is
standards-based server software supporting group audio conferences over IP (Figure 2).
OnLive ACS 300 enables users to participate in conference calls from regular phones or
over their PCs, using any H.323-compliant product such as Microsoft's NetMeeting or
Intel's Internet Video Phone. OnLive!'s software enhances such products - the result, as
Bryan Kerr, OnLive!'s vice president of marketing and sales phrases it, is
"NetMeeting on steroids." Of course, in this context, that robustness is a good
thing. In addition, when NetMeeting is used as the client, OnLive ACS 300 automatically
enables T.120 data connections with conference participants. This enables application
sharing (presentations, spreadsheets), as well as whiteboarding.
Designed as a Java-based component product, the audio conferencing software is a good
fit for integration into a range of H.323 solutions, including corporate training,
business collaboration, distance learning, and customer support. ACS 300 interoperates
with the full range of H.323-compliant products, including client applications, gateways,
gatekeepers, directory services, and firewall products, allowing companies to maximize
their investments in current and future business conferencing solutions. Because OnLive!'s
product is software-based, it scales better than a hardware solution. Kerr says they can
get about 200 users in an open, multi-point conference in one Pentium box. There's no
limiting proprietary hardware.
OnLive ACS 300 incorporates the G.723 audio codec, which provides telephone-quality
audio, as defined by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). Intelligent packet
management optimizes bandwidth-constrained environments such as the Internet and
intranets, and enables high-quality audio even over 28.8 Kbps modems.
System requirements are modest, especially on the client side. The minimum client
configuration calls for a 90 MHz Pentium PC with 16 MB RAM. And, as mentioned, a 28.8
modem will suffice - a bonus for distance learning and remote office applications. MIS
will like the Web-based administration and conference scheduling. For more information,
contact the company at 408-617-7000, or visit their Web site at www.onlive.com.
- Dara Bloom, CTI� magazine
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VIP Calling: All The Right Moves
VIP Calling bills itself as the "carriers' choice for Internet telephony."
And, since two of the top 10 carriers are their customers, I guess you can call it fact.
The company supplies economical international telecommunications services to these
carriers and to resellers the world over. They find themselves in the right place, at the
right time, and most importantly, they find themselves with a plan - and they're sticking
to it.
VIP Calling is taking advantage of today's available technology and increasingly
liberal regulatory environment to build out a state-of-the-art network and is supporting
that by entering into partnerships with carriers, resellers, prepaid and debit card
companies, and international callback operators. Basically, carriers route their calls to
a VIP Calling network POP (point of presence) via a direct connection. Digital conversion
and compression is performed, converting the transmission into packets that can in turn be
sent over the Internet. The packets are sent to the POP nearest the destination telephone
number, where the transmission is decompressed, converted back to analog, and sent on to
the destination number. The system is transparent to the caller.
As for hardware, VIP Calling is using Vienna Systems' Vienna.way gateways to perform
the signal processing and compression. Vienna's Vienna.way Call Processing Server performs
the call setup, as well as locating and signaling the nearest destination POP.
VIP Calling also announced that they are the first Internet telephony carrier to upgrade
their network through the deployment of multiple DS-3 connections. The increased bandwidth
enables VIP Calling to carry heavier volumes of traffic and provide enhanced services to
the company's customers. They are deploying three such connections at each of their
"super POPs," located in New York and Los Angeles. The first two are for
Internet access, while the third is dedicated to voice. One of the first two connections
acts as a shadow to the other, enabling the network to continue to function without
dropping calls if the primary Internet connection is disrupted.
While there are many who say Internet telephony is not yet
"here" in the sense that it doesn't scale well or doesn't deliver acceptable
quality over the open public Internet, VIP Calling has the solution: Solid system-level
engineering and network monitoring. By throwing bandwidth at the problem and backing it up
with high-quality hardware and software at the POPs, VIP Calling says Internet telephony
works - and works well - today. As for future value-added services, the company believes
that it's just a matter of time. According to VIP Calling, we are in Phase I of this
three-phase evolution. Phase II will see all sorts of services and applications such as
better voice compression, data sharing, advanced electronic commerce, and more. Phase III
will usher in the age of the so-called dumb network, where all of the end points - not the
network itself - will provide the intelligence. During this stage, companies will be
"communications companies," no longer bound by the limiting definitions of
telecommunications or data communications companies. For more information, contact VIP
Calling at 781-229-0011 or visit their Web site at www.vipcalling.com.
- Greg Galitzine, CTI� magazine
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Not-So-Strange Bedfellows: SS7 And
Data Services
Recent announcements by data networking companies suggest a novel way to counter
congestion on the PSTN caused by Internet traffic. Basically, these companies propose
sequestering Internet traffic and traditional voice communications, and to do so via
gateways to the PSTN's signalling network, Signaling System #7, or SS7. While segregating
traditional voice traffic and Internet traffic may seem the antithesis of convergence, it
is just the first stage in a process that should facilitate carrier customization,
culminating in the creation of high-margin, intelligent voice/data services.
SS7 Bypass
Bay Networks is offering SS7 bypass with its Versalar SS7 Gateway, and SS7 bypass is also
offered by Ascend Communications, with its Ascend Signaling Gateway. Both gateways are
aimed at carriers and service providers, who need to contend with the immediate challenge
of accommodating increased data traffic while building a pathway to enhanced services
based on IP.
As for the immediate challenge, today's service providers aren't prepared to carry the
burden imposed by Internet calls, which typically last five times longer than voice calls.
Internet calls, with their long hold times, increase the number of callers who cannot get
a dial tone or who end up hearing quick busy signals.
The obvious fix, upgrading Central Office switches, is almost too costly and difficult
to contemplate. In addition, such upgrades won't necessarily position carriers to take
advantage of emerging opportunities in data networking such as routing voice, fax, and
data calls over data networks. The alternative, moving routing intelligence from CO
switches to distributed computers, may prove less costly and more open-ended, in that SS7
intelligence may be leveraged to extend the providers' billing and provisioning
capabilities to data networking services.
The Bay Solution
The Bay Networks Versalar SS7 Gateway provides an intelligent access port, which links the
Versalar Remote Access Concentrator to the SS7 signaling network. Acting as a signaling
interface between Versalar RACs and Class 4 and 5 voice switches, the gateway transports
commands across IP networks to the RACs, scaling to individual ILEC and CLEC requirements.
The gateway allows service providers to offer intelligent IP services that comprise
voice/fax over IP, virtual private networks, and triple 56K support.
Bay has engaged ADC NewNet to deliver the Versalar SS7 Gateway. ADC NewNet has
experience converting ISUP signaling to the Q.931 signaling used by Versalar. In addition,
ADC NewNet's AccessManager platform, through its APIs, supports the development of
applications that can be adapted to a variety of network configurations and performance
levels, including simplex architectures and fault-resilient configurations.
The Bay Access Signaling Protocol (ASP), which serves as a gateway between SS7 and IP,
is intended as a way to provide network operators an open solution. Bay has issued a
request for comment to the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) and hopes the ASP enters
standardization in early 1999.
The Ascend Solution
The Ascend solution consists of the ASG and SS7 enabling software on the Ascend MAX TNT.
The ASG is based on the Hewlett-Packard Open Call Platform with Ascend software for call
control, billing, and resource management. In addition, there is a layer of software added
to the MAX TNT to allow for communication between the ASG and the MAX TNT for Internet
call diversion and other applications.
NavisAccess manages the ASG and MAX TNTs for monitoring, provisioning, configuring, and
reporting. NavisAccess provides the integrated network management and control.
Enhanced Services
Both Bay and Ascend outline an aggressive timetable for rolling out enhanced services
capabilities. Both predict that so-called next-generation services should be available in
late 1998 or early 1999.
According to Bay, its solution is capable of supporting policy integration for advanced IP
service features, including Radius, LDAP, and Service Level Agreements (SLAs).
Other benefits cited by Bay include long-distance toll bypass, virtual ISP, and number
portability. Eventually, Bay will implement SCP functions such as call routing, and it
will move RACs from ISPs and enterprises to telcos, eliminating the need for modem
upgrades and reducing cost of ownership.
Ascend plans to enable new services by using existing SS7 networks to route voice, fax,
and data calls over IP, ATM, and frame relay networks. Future releases of the ASG will
equip service providers with Intelligent Network-based services such as alternate call
routing, network modem pooling, and other SS7 capabilities for network resource
management.
- Kevin M. Mayer, CTI� magazine
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