Proactive Contact Center

Description:
Avaya Contact Center Express is a multi-channel, high-volume software solution from Avaya designed specifically for the intelligent routing and computer telephony integration (CTI) needs of medium-sized contact centers.

Avaya Contact Center Express provides a set of multi-channel capabilities that medium-sized contact centers can leverage and build upon:
  • Desktop applications, including agent applications, supervisor applications, and utility applications.
  • Framework applications, including intelligent routing, interaction data, and centralized configuration.
  • Multi-channel routing for voice, e-mail, and Web chat.
  • Outbound dialing with automated and agent-initiated contact preview.
  • Powerful application development tools for complete customization and integration.
  • Simple and fast wizards for desktop screen pops and routing rules.
Agent
Agent is a Windows-based Computer Telephony Integration (CTI) application for optimizing call centers. It displays information about a customer call on a user’s computer screen in a coordinated manner. This exchange of information between computer and telephone system increases productivity and customer satisfaction. All stages of an agent’s telephone activity are automated with Agent, including logging into queues, identifying and answering calls, and managing connected calls. The application provides all the necessary call functions:
  • make call
  • answer
  • hold
  • transfer
  • conference etc through an intuitive, graphical user interfaces.
With release 2.1, the four buttons on the left side of the Callbar can now be customized to perform functions other than those provided.

Screen-based Telephony Telephone functions normally achieved by pressing buttons on the telephone are accessed through keystrokes or mouse clicks on the computer, with feedback provided on the computer screen.

Agent monitors the user’s own extension, VDNs, splits and skills to ensure the contact center capabilities are enhanced and not restricted.

Customizable button function allows for greater flexibility and usage by agents and call centers.

Agent Rules and Rules Wizard
The Rules Plug-in allows you to create a simple set of rules that automatically perform actions on call events that meet certain criteria.

Without changing an application’s code, you can use the Rules Plug-in to enhance desktop functionality. This rule functionality is similar to the email rules capability in Microsoft Outlook.

Wallboard
Wallboard is a Windows-based application that displays real-time statistical information on VDNs, skills or splits and agents in a marquee window.

Installed on agent PCs, the scroll bar of information allows agents to closely track their personal work performance and the performance of their work group (skill or split). Statistical information is sent to Wallboard from the Interaction Data Server, which monitors VDNs, splits, skills and agent extensions, and then calculates statistics about all facets of a call.

Supervisor Desktop
Supervisor Desktop is a tool for contact center supervisors to allow them to manage their team of agents.

Supervisors can maintain real time performance oversight on their team. Further, they can provide instant messages to agents for critical messages.



Media Client Desktop
Media Client is the .Net Windows client application that displays work items delivered from Contact Center Express media stores. Media Client displays campaign information contained in media store work items, displays customer information contained in media store work items, logs the result of the media store connection to a series of log files, returns customer information entered by the agent to media store databases, and allows the agent to suspend the delivery of a work item to a later date.

In the case of the Preview Contact Media Store, Media Client makes outbound customer calls. It also gives you the option of using an enhanced Contact Center Express dialing feature called Smart Dial. In the case of the Email Media Store, Media Client receives and sends emails. In the case of the Simple Messaging Media Store, Media Client provides an "I Say/You Say" interaction window.

Email channel
The email channel allows agents to receive and respond to customer emails. Filtering and prioritization capabilities ensure agents receive the appropriately routed email.

With release 2.1, agents will be able to perform spell check (in German, English, Spanish, French and Italian), utilize an address book, block HTML scripts and ActiveX controls, and resend/re-forward emails.

The contact center can blend customer email inquiries with inbound telephone calls, essentially using this work to fill in the gaps between peaks in inbound call traffic. Agent efficiency is gained through the Filtering function that removes emails that should not be worked on by an agent, while the prioritization function improves customer experience by addressing the most important emails first. Agents will also be able to suspend work on an email, forward an email to another agent (who may be more qualified to answer it), and automatically send an acknowledgement back to the customer.

Enhancements with release 2.1 will increase agent productivity, customer satisfaction and security.

Webchat channel
The webchat channel allows agents to receive and respond to chats initiated by customers on a website.

The contact center can blend customer webchats with inbound telephone calls, essentially using this work to fill in the gaps between peaks in inbound call traffic.

Customers do not need to download an applet onto their desktops - a key concern many people are expressing. Customers can also request and receive a copy of the chat transcript for the references.

Preview contact channel
The preview contact channel allows the contact center to initiate an outbound call campaign.

With release 2.1, call centers will be able to specify a delay before an auto-dial occurs

The contact center can schedule a campaign to occur when there is low call volume in the center, thereby filling in gaps between peaks in inbound call traffic. The center can schedule the campaign to begin and end at particular times as well as to recur on a regular basis.

Agents are able to select an appropriate completion status to allow the campaign manager to determine the effectiveness of the campaign.

Microsoft Messenger support
With release 2.1, Contact Center Express supports Microsoft Messenger as a new multimedia channel. This will allow an end customer to utilize his/her existing MSN Messenger account to communicate with the contact center.

Additional chat capability and channel provides for enhanced end customer experience.

Media Director
The Media Director distributes non-voice work items to contact center agents. This item could be an email, a web chat session or an outbound call request. The distribution of the work item is achieved using the queuing algorithms built into your Avaya Solution. Non-voice work items originate from plug-in modules called media stores. Media stores connect to disparate sources such as email servers or web servers and interact with the Media Director and clients using a well-defined protocol.

The Media Director uses the phantom call capabilities of the switch to generate a call and place it into a specified queue. This allows enterprises to completely leverage their existing investments in Avaya call processing solutions in handling the routing of non-voice communication requests placed to the contact center.

Interactive Voice Response (IVR) Server
The IVR Server acts as a programming conduit between an IVR and a client application. Running on a Windows NT 4.0 or higher server, it monitors the VDNs used to distribute calls to IVR ports and monitors the individual IVR ports.

The IVR Server uses Avaya Computer Telephony software on the Telephony Server to give IVR scripts immediate access to call-related data and to invoke CTI-based call transfers. The IVR Server Data Interface Process (DIP) acts as a bridge between the IVR Server and the Avaya IVR (formerly Conversant IVR). It retrieves data from the server, runs scripts, implements requests and returns events and messages to the server making for an immediate, efficient exchange of information without agent intervention.

Interaction Data Server
This key component of Contact Center Express is an application that monitors VDNs, splits/skills, trunk groups and agent extensions to gather detailed statistical information about all facets of a call, and makes them available to other servers running in the configuration. It stores transaction records of all calls in progress at any time and include with the records a cradle to grave transaction history of any call. The server receives real-time information and, based on the regularity specified, calculates statistics such as talk and wait-time averages. The information is managed locally in memory and recorded to a SQL database.

The Interaction Data Server is designed to receive information from one or more switches. Applications connected to the Interaction Data Server can request information for a specific device on a specific switch. When there are multiple Interaction Data Servers (typically in multiple sites) application requests for information received by an Interaction Data Server can be passed to another Interaction Data Server to be serviced and information can be shared.

With full cradle to grave contact data, the Interaction Data Server provides a means to allow for detailed reporting and analysis. Because the Interaction Data Server will also allow applications to store multiple tag/data values to the transaction database against a call, it allows calls to be easily matched to customers or to agent activities.

Routing Server
Manages the Avaya Computer Telephony connection, monitors VDNs manages VDN licensing, registers for routing services, receives call events issues routing instructions and loads (manages) generic plug-ins, such as the SQL Plug-in, which gives the server access to SQL Server databases.

The Call Routing Server enables intelligent call routing for inbound calls. The routing is based on received call data matched with customer information, contact center statistics or agent availability.

Developer Toolkit
Developer is a collection or 'toolkit' of ActiveX components designed for the powerful Avaya servers. Developers can use these components to create applications that do not require Agent or Explorer to be installed.

Developer allows control over more than just a station. It includes components for monitoring VDNs and adjunct routes and sample controls for line key and agent functionality.

The Developer toolkit can be conceptualized as a three-tier architecture that sits between the Telephony Server and the customer application: The GUI Tier with Line Key, Line Key Group, Agent and Dial Panel OCX controls; the Middle Tier with Station, Routing and VDN OCX controls; and the PhoneX Tier with PhoneX OCX control. Sitting alongside these controls are the Configuration Client, IVR Client, Interaction Data Client and Enterprise Language controls.

MS-CRM integration
With release 2.1, Contact Center Express provides a pre-built connector to Microsoft CRM. It provides integration for CCE voice only and is designed to provide screenpop and call dial from certain MS-CRM screens.

Pre-built integration reduces the amount of work required during an implementation

Citrix Support
Contact Center Express, R2.1 provides official support of Citrix.

Provides administrators the ability to centrally manage client components through Citrix.

Availability of a Work Item Information
With Contact Center Express, R2.1, work time information for non-voice contacts is available for a developer through an XML document. The developer can then utilize this information in another application.

Easier integration to third party applications

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Email: sales@platcomm.com