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 ®

IP Telephony in the Call Center

Two Worlds Converging
he call center market is booming, with US $700 billion at stake and a 20

T percent annual growth rate, according to Telemarketing Call Center Solutions

magazine. But the market is fiercely competitive, and call centers are struggling
just to maintain profits and preserve customer loyalty.

At the same time, the Internet is moving from an information medium to a

consumer-oriented transaction medium. Web stores are convenient because they
are always open and offer huge selections at competitive prices. Some even allow
online shoppers to tailor the “merchandise display” to suit their needs and interests.
A study by eMarketer predicts that retail revenues from online shopping worldwide
will increase by 784 percent over the next four years, to US $35.3 billion by 2002.
However, according to Yankelovich Partners, there is a problem with Internet
commerce: nearly two-thirds of Web users are unwilling to purchase products
without human interaction.

The solution to both business problems is to combine the human touch of the call
center with the convenience of the Web, creating an Internet-enabled call center. By
offering customers a Web-based interface to products and services, with an equally
convenient link to a live call center agent, businesses can provide a broad range of
exciting new services while increasing sales, cutting costs, and improving customer
service.

Why “Internet Enable”a Call Center?

An Internet-enabled call center creates a personalized, shopper-friendly
marketplace of products and services, which provide customers, call centers, and
their employees with:

Increased sales and marketing

Many Web consumers browse online catalogs, place orders, then cancel at the last
moment. With a push-to-talk button, however, many Web sites report that sales are
up 50 percent or more. An Internet-enabled Web site also opens up the largely
untapped international market, since such callers can use the Internet to avoid
international toll charges.

Improved customer service and technical support

Customers can conduct transactions or receive information 24 hours a day, with
little or no wait time. In addition, they can choose the interaction form they like
best; some prefer email, others the phone. Their transactions are also more accurate,
because they can enter their own information through forms on the Web.

IP TELEPHONY IN 1 THE CALL CENTER

CRITICAL MOMENTS
Companies that are pioneering the
Internet-enabled call center are
emphasizing the importance of
catching customers at the “critical
moment” of their Internet shopping
experience. This “critical moment”
occurs when the customer decides
whether or not to buy a product.
With a Web-based phone link to an
agent, the call centers can interact
with the customer, personalizing the
shopping experience and capturing
customers at their moment of “peak
interest.”
By taking this approach, many
Internet-enabled call centers report
that qualified leads can double or
triple. Sales at some call centers are
up as much as 50 percent with a
push-to-talk feature. These compa-
nies also report that many of the
customers who do not interact with
a live agent have gone as far as
putting items into their electronic
shopping baskets, filling out the
shipping information, and then
leaving the Web site without com-
pleting the transaction.
IP TELEPHONY
Lower operating costs and improved time-to-market
An Internet-enabled call center can manage interactive voice response (IVR), fax,
email, Web transactions, and phone service using a single communications server.
This eliminates expensive and time-consuming system integration and
maintenance costs, and improves time-to-market for both products and services.
Better staffing options and employee flex-time
An Internet-enabled call center solves an important problem for call centers:
finding good staff. Because agents can be geographically dispersed and in different
time zones, new areas for recruiting are available and multilingual support can be
offered more easily. The fact that agents can work at home also makes the job more
attractive to many.
Internet-Enabled Call Center Benefits
An Internet-enabled call center affects most businesses operations, including sales,
marketing, customer service, technical support, operating costs, and staffing
options. Understanding which technologies to implement, and how to leverage
them, is key to gaining a competitive advantage.
Sales
The merging of telephone and Internet technologies is opening a whole new market
for call centers. Many successful online companies, such as Amazon.com, Inc., have
Web sites that can process customer transactions. But unlike books, music, and
videos, which are relatively simple to buy, many other products are complex, such
as high-end electronics devices. In these cases, as customers browse online catalogs,
agents can intervene in a real-time voice call to explain details about the products
and close sales.
Conversely, customers cannot use the phone to browse a catalog or read detailed
product specifications. It is also difficult and sometimes impossible to do
comparative shopping over the phone, and far too time-consuming to do so by mail
or in person. Phone service is needed to enhance Web commerce, and a Web
interface is needed to enhance traditional call center services. The Internet-enabled
call center allows businesses to:
• Boost close rates and do upselling and cross selling
• Increase customer visits through increased customer dialog
• Differentiate themselves from the competition by providing a value-added
service with the personal touch of a live agent
• Enhance customer satisfaction by responding quickly to customer needs by text
chat, Web push, or phone
IN 2 THE CALL CENTER
Operating Costs PUSH-TO-TALK AND
According to Ernst & Young, a call center transaction costs between US $6.00 and CALL BACK
US $7.00, while an IVR transaction costs between US $1.00 and US $1.50, and a Web Capturing customers during the
“critical moments” of a purchase
transaction costs US $0.05 or less. An Internet-enabled call center allows companies
decision requires live interaction,
to optimize the ratio of agent, IVR, and Web transactions. When a live agent is either through a push-to-talk
required for a transaction, voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) technology can save button that enables customers to
speak with agents over the Internet,
the call center long distance toll charges. VoIP calls are bandwidth efficient,
or via call back, in which the call
requiring 10 kilobits per second or less, whereas a standard dialup line requires 64 center initiates an outbound call to
kilobits per second. the customer’s second phone line.
After customers click a push-to-talk
Call centers are also reducing operating costs by using email as a customer service button, they can be put on hold
while waiting to speak to an agent.
medium. According to Forrester research, the number of people using email will Some companies have developed a
increase from 15 to 50 percent by 2001, with email messages growing nearly six multihold feature that enables
times to US $12 billion annually. Customers expect the same level of service and customers to receive a variety of
multimedia content, such as a series
response times with email as they currently get over the phone. of Web pages or audio announce-
ments, streamed through their Web
Marketing browser before connecting to an
agent. Through intelligent call
For the first time, an extraordinary wealth of accurate marketing data can be
handling scripts defined by the call
collected about individual users or, given privacy concerns, aggregate marketing center, this content can be tailored
data can be collected. The data can reveal which Web pages customers visit, to each caller’s profile or interests.
This relevant information can
including the sequence, time spent viewing each page, and other consumer
provide the caller with answers
behaviors. In areas of market research, this saves companies money, bypassing the before consuming an agent’s time,
often time consuming and expensive customer surveys that require one-on-one thereby deflecting calls and
increasing workforce productivity.
personal interviews with customers.

Customer Service
An Internet-enabled call center is more than a sales and marketing tool. With
Internet-enabled call centers, sales and service is merging. Customers can use the
Web to look up the status of an order, 24 hours a day, without the need to talk to a
live agent. This saves call centers money and benefits customers in many new ways.
For example, customers can:

• Track their orders

• Look up the status of their accounts

• Fill out feedback forms

• Participate in threaded discussion groups

When the customer cannot obtain the required level of customer service via the
Web and wants to speak with a live agent, a VoIP connection saves the call center
long distance toll charges that are incurred with an 800 number.

IP TELEPHONY IN 3 THE CALL CENTER

THE LIMITATIONS OF
CALL BACK
The principle advantage of call back
is that abandoned Web-based calls
can be tracked by caller
identification information,
providing the means to reestablish
contact with the caller. However, the
call back option has several
limitations:
• Many consumers do not have a
second phone line.
• Consumers with only one phone
line may not want to go to the
trouble of disconnecting from
their Internet connection and
waiting for a call back. Also, if
they are disconnected from the
Internet, they cannot have Web
pages pushed to them by agent,
or take advantage of other
Internet-enabled multimedia
features.
• Most commonly, second phone
lines are available in the
workplace, where customers
often have LAN access to the
Internet with second phone
lines. However, consumers may
not have the time or permission
to shop on the Internet during
office hours or on company
equipment.
IP TELEPHONY
Technical Support
Customers can use the Web to answer questions, 24 hours a day, without ever
talking to a live agent, which saves the call center money. Customers can obtain a
wealth of technical support information from a Web site, including:
• Answers to frequently asked questions (FAQs)
• Software release notes
• Software patches and fixes
• Product documentation
When the customer cannot obtain the required level of technical support via the
Web, a VoIP connection saves the call center long distance toll charges. In both
instances — customer service and technical support — Internet-enabled call
centers allow the service representative to actually see what the problem or question
is. The customer is better served and the duration of the call is shorter.
Staffing Options
Call center managers know that turnover is high and staffing can be a serious
challenge. It is often difficult to find people who are willing to stay in one location.
A virtual call center (often called a PBX extender) allows managers to recruit the best
employees regardless of their geographic preference. Customer service
representative positions become more attractive for those looking for part-time
work, especially parents of young children. Agents can work overtime during peak
seasons rather than come in for a short period of time. Many companies (as well as
economists and industry experts) believe that this kind of telecommuting repre-
sents the future for a substantial portion of the population. A recent Wall Street
Journal column notes a 7 percent growth in all forms of working at home, full time
or part time, and the trend is expected to continue.
With a virtual or “decentralized” call center, agents can be dispersed in different
time zones to more effectively offer 24-hour service. They can also speak multiple
languages. The agent uses a Web browser as a terminal. Since remote agents use a
Web browser as a terminal, it appears to the customer and call center equipment as
though the agents are working within the actual call center.
IN 4 THE CALL CENTER
Three Options for Building an Internet-Enabled CTI TECHNOLOGY
Some businesses with an existing
Call Center call center infrastructure may be
There are many ways to build an Internet call center, and it is important for call using computer-telephone
integration (CTI) technology. CTI
center managers to carefully consider each option before making a substantial
makes it possible to:
investment in new technologies. Generally, call centers have three options: they can • Automatically route calls based
upgrade their existing call center infrastructure, they can lease call center services on their caller characteristics
• Provide agents with customer
from a network service provider, or they can build a new call center.
data based on voice response
entries
Option One: Upgrading an Existing Call CTI features are delivered through a
specialized communications server,
Center Infrastructure called a computer telephony (CT)
Businesses with an existing call center infrastructure (those who have an automatic server, that handles the following
call distributor (ACD), IVR system, or call management system) can place an functions:
• Voice recording and playback
Internet telephony gateway as a front end to the ACD or call center switch (Figure
• Voice recognition
1). The gateway acts as a bridge between the public switched telephone network • Voice synthesis
(PSTN) and the Internet, making it possible for the call center to deliver • Automated dialing
• Call routing
simultaneous voice and data services to customers and prospects, all over a single
• “Screen pops” on arriving calls
phone line. As the figure shows, the gateway can connect via an analog line to • Call and data coordinated
existing equipment, or via a digital line to multimedia PCs. This allows call centers transfers
• Fax interfacing
to protect existing investments in capital equipment, agent training, and call
management practices.

Existing Existing
Agent Phone
PSTN ACD
Equipment g
alo
An

LAN
Phone Voice Data
Existing
Agent
PC

IP Gateway Dig
ita
l

Multimedia Web Firewall

PC Internet Server

Customer Call Center Agent

Multimedia
PC

Figure 1: Upgrading an Existing Call Center Infrastructure with IP Gateway

IP TELEPHONY IN 5 THE CALL CENTER


CASE STUDY: INTERNET-
ENABLED CALL CENTERS IN
THE NETWORK
The shortcomings of premise-based
gateways are eliminated by moving
the gateway into the Internet. One
company, WebDialogs, an innovative
startup based in Westford, MA, has
developed a server that is located
either at the Internet service
provider (ISP) point of presence or
at an application hosting center.
Because the server sits on or near
the Internet backbone, delay and
packet loss are reduced to a
minimum, which results in a high
quality voice over IP (VoIP) session.
And, because the server supports
several subscribers simultaneously,
the cost per subscriber is
substantially reduced.
Network-based, Internet-enabled
call center services benefit Web
hosting and portal companies,
directory service providers, local
and interexchange carriers, and ser-
vice bureaus. Service providers can
penetrate the call center market
without having to displace installed
customer premise equipment (CPE),
while call centers can offer their cus-
tomers a high quality VoIP connec-
tion without capital equipment or
systems integration expenses.
IP TELEPHONY
After the customer clicks on a push-to-talk button, the application gateway and the
client application residing on the customer’s PC is activated. The customer’s client
digitizes the standard phone signal, compresses and packetizes it for routing over
the Internet, and sends it to the call center. The application gateway at the call
center converts the customer’s Internet protocol (IP) voice packets into a
conventional circuit-switched transmission. The voice transmission is then passed
to the existing ACD where it is queued and routed in the same manner as a
conventional phone call. Both operations can be performed simultaneously,
permitting a two-way, or full duplex, conversation on a single phone line.
Option Two: Leasing Call Center Services
Businesses without an existing call center infrastructure, or those who have older
equipment and plan to invest substantially in technology upgrades, can lease the
services of a multimedia call center from their network service provider.
Competitive local exchange carriers (CLECs), cable companies, Internet service
providers (ISPs), wireless companies, and many other providers of voice and data
services are looking for ways to leverage their networks and to offer enhanced
services to call centers. Conversely, to save on capital equipment costs, or to avoid
costly technical maintenance, newer call centers may prefer to lease their enhanced
services from a service provider, rather than to invest in and maintain equipment in
their enterprise.
Service providers are creating VoIP gateways, which take calls in from the PSTN
(over a T-1, E-1, or ISDN primary rate interface (PRI) line) and route them to
another location over a TCP/IP connection. The gateways can be attached to a
computer telephony (CT) server which may play prompts, record messages, transfer
calls, provide touchtone menu options, convert text-to-speech (TTS), create
conference calls, transmit and receive faxes, and send digital and alphanumeric
pages. It makes little difference whether the phone trunks come directly from the
PSTN or from a PBX. Additionally, service providers with multiple points of
resence can leverage a proprietary wide area network (WAN) to carry voice traffic
to the call center and avoid long distance costs.
IN 6 THE CALL CENTER
Option Three: Building an Internet-Enabled Call Center
with a Single Communications Server
Businesses can invest in a CT server that combines the functionality of an Internet
gateway with traditional computer-telephone integration (CTI) functions. The CT
server makes it possible to integrate a wide array of CT applications from different
vendors while sharing the same system resources (Figure 2). The CT server
functions much like any other mainstream back office server, managing IVR, fax,
email, Web transactions, and IP telephony functions on a single system. It offers
simplified development, scalability, ease-of-maintenance, and lower hardware costs
that can give call centers and service providers a significant competitive advantage.

PBX

eleph ice M

Vo
IP T
ony

ail
Completely Open System
Best of Breed Applications
Easy to Administer Atten Fax
Auto
dant

Shared Resources
Fully Integrated
IVR ACDs

CT Server

Figure 2: CT Server – A Competitive Advantage for Call Centers

An open, standards-based CT server can completely change the picture for

developers. It lets them bring applications to market much more quickly and easily,
since there’s no need to write applications to handle low-level resource management
functions. The CT server enables developers to focus more on building product
value, since software from multiple vendors can share the resources within the
server. And, since the CT server allows switching applications to be combined with
media processing services like unified messaging, voice dialing, or an ACD, the
functionality for a telesales group can easily be added to enhance the call center’s
capability.

IP TELEPHONY IN 7 THE CALL CENTER

 Businesses that want to maintain their existing call center infrastructures can place
a CT server, instead of an IP gateway, as a front end to the ACD. The CT server can
be attached via analog lines to existing agent phones and terminals. The CT server
has all of the functionality of the IP telephony gateway shown in Figure 1, with the
added advantage of allowing call centers to integrate different applications from
different vendors. The CT server also enables businesses that lack an existing call
center infrastructure, or that have older equipment and need substantial technology
upgrades, to eliminate the need for separate components such as an IP gateway, fax
gateway, PBX, ACD, or IVR. The CT server allows companies to build a scalable,
feature-rich, open standards-based Internet-enabled call center (Figure 3).

PBX Existing
g
Analo Agent Phone

p ice M
ele h

Vo
ony
IP T

ail
PSTN
LAN
Atten Fax
Auto
dant

Existing
Data Agent
Phone
IVR ACDs
PC

CT Server

Multimedia Web Firewall

PC Internet Server

Customer Call Center Agent

Multimedia
PC

Figure 3: CT Server in the Call Center

IP TELEPHONY IN 8 THE CALL CENTER

 Conclusion: Creating a Customer
Interaction Center
Separately, the phone and the Internet have revolutionized the business world. The
merging of the two represents the next big wave of high-tech commerce, as the
human touch of the traditional call center is combined with the convenience and
rich multimedia environment of the Web. With a growing portfolio of products and
services, and an increasingly competitive international marketplace, customer
service has emerged as the key ingredient of customer retention.

Internet technology is evolving the traditional call center into a customer

interaction center. Customers can send email, participate in videoconferences, or
chat online — all from a Web site. An Internet-enabled call center integrates
marketing, sales, service, and support efforts, and provides multiple channels and
access points to customers anytime, anywhere. It increases sales, reduces expenses,
and improves customer satisfaction. With US $700 billion at stake, integrating
Internet technologies is one of the most important calls that a call center will ever
make.

To find out more about creating an Internet-enabled call center, visit the IP
telephony section of the Dialogic WorldView™ Web site at
http://www.dialogic.com/solution/internet/index.htm. For the latest information
about CT servers go to http://www.ctserver.com or call your Dialogic Sales Engineer
today.
00-5007-001

IP TELEPHONY IN 9 THE CALL CENTER