How would you describe the communication technology
scenario in contact centers?
Technology developments
in contact centers have traditionally lagged behind when compared
to other industry verticals. As these contact centers always deal
with the customer on a real-time basis, companies operating in this
domain have shied away from adopting new technologies. However,
most of these companies have understood the benefits and
efficiencies of consolidating multiple modes of communication, into
a unified mode. Since India is a major outsourcing services
provider, we see huge potential for the adoption of UC technologies
in the contact center space.
How can UC solutions help contact centers resolve
customer queries efficiently?
The primary challenge a contact center faces is that a customer
calling the contact center may be connected to a person who has
insufficient knowledge about the subject. This can consume precious
time, and has the potential to significantly impact the
relationship that the customer has with the organization. However,
the same organization may have an expert, who can adequately
address the customer’s query. Now, it is quite possible that
this person could be located in a different location. This is where
UC can make an impact. UC comes into the picture to solve the
‘Who do I communicate with?’ issue. With a unified
platform for contact center communication, a call can be
intelligently routed by looking at the call information and
directing it to the right department. With the right policies,
customers can be intimated via the medium they prefer to be
contacted on.
How can Web 2.0 technologies such as Twitter, Facebook
and other social networking platforms be used as UC
tools?
Contact centers gather information based on inbound or outbound
calls. Social networks can help them understand customers without
contacting them. For example, a company can monitor a social
networking website for customers who have complaints against the
company’s products or services. Its contact center agent can
then offer the customer problem resolution via an outbound phone
call, SMS, chat or other Web 2.0 communication tools.
Our solution also supports Twitter monitoring for analytics. For
example, vendors who need to launch new products, can monitor
Twitter feeds, and get customized alerts based on the feedback of
customers. With integrated UC tools, the feedback can be stored in
a CRM. This information can then be further analyzed for improving
the product, and proactively addressing customer issues.
Are you also offering these UC solutions on an on-
demand, as-a-service basis?
Though we, by ourselves,
do not offer our solutions via a UC as a service model, we have
partners who buy our solutions and offer it as a service, using
their infrastructure. For example, one of our partners, Sify
Technologies, offers contact center as a service to SMBs.