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Computer telephony integration (CTI) is the middleware application that
enables the telephony and computer systems to talk to each other. It
synchronizes the voice call with the associated customer data when the ACD
places the call to an appropriate agent. A CTI enables agents to get the
customer information on the desktop and thereby improve interaction with the end
customer. This also improves the average handling time of a call because it
helps shortens the talk time. Thus, a CTI that is integrated with the ACD and
the back-end applications can provide good returns on investment.
TECHNOLOGY OPTIONS
CTI is usually complementary to the ACD because it relays the call-event details
along with the customer information to the agent’s desktop.
l Two Options: First is to have
the proprietary CTI interface that comes with the ACD and the switch. However,
even with a proprietary switch, there are standard CTI links available with PBX/ACD
vendors such as Avaya, Nortel, Cisco, and Aspect who have developed CTI
integration for working with the various database and CRM applications.
Third-party customized application options are available which can integrate
with the ACD platform with necessary ready-telephony APIs.
Secondly, and more recently, CTIs have taken on a distinctly PC/LAN flavor as
Microsoft/Intel and Novell/AT&T are building applications on a dialogic
platform. Most of the PBX and ACD vendors today have adopted the
computer-supported telephony applications (CSTA) standard.
l Various Flavors: From the
simple functionality of fetching caller information based on CLI/ANI to be
populated on agent screen, to the more complex functions like screen transfer
when an agent transfers the call to supervisor or another agent. The simple–name
and address–information can be populated on agent’s desktop where the
desktop application will have a ready interface to the telephony device.
l Optimizing It: Various things
need to be kept in mind for optimizing the CTI deployment. First, all calls need
not land up at an agent’s desk. There are many routine queries that can be
handled by an IVR, and the CTI must be intelligent enough to forward such calls
to an IVR. This can contribute a lot towards optimum agent utilization.
Second, one must plan the call flow meticulously, taking care not to make the
call holding periods too long. Often, IVR services are too lengthy and tests the
customers’ patience to the edge. It is important to remember that the IVR is
deployed for better customer care therefore the customer experience must take
precedence over other considerations: technical, financial, or otherwise.
Third, the success of good IVR services depends, in large measure, on having
good back-end systems where information flow from the database server is
synchronized properly with the IVR. The IVR can be directly connected to the
corporate database, in which case costs are reduced greatly, but there will be
need for elaborate security systems. This can also increase the load on the
database for other corporate users, leading to high response time. Therefore, in
many cases, corporates create a snapshot of the database to feed the IVR; it
also improves the response time.
However, when creating a snapshot, it is very important to maintain
synchronization between the local database and the central database otherwise it
will again lead to increased lag in response time. Synchronization is also
important for providing different levels of responses according to the time of
the query. For instance, daytime and nighttime queries may require different
treatments.
BUYING TIPS
day and assign the number of ports accordingly. It is important to consider the
number of calls to be handled during peak hours, when deciding on the number of
ports. Distribution of ports, vis à vis call traffic, will directly reflect the
quality of service being offered.
Check out for
integration issues with the backend-CRM database and the ACD. CTI must use
standard interfaces or an open API to integrate third-party solutions. The
screen scripts should be easily configurable, depending on the database pop-up
requirements. Otherwise, it would lead to a huge integration effort and hidden
costs.
One must define
synchronization between the IVR and the database. It is also important to check
whether the IVR supports synchronization or not. Small ones usually do not.
Ensure that all
the required licenses are supplied along with the system for integrating with
CSTA or any other CTI protocol. This will allow a seamless integration with the
adjuncts such as dialers, IVRs, and loggers, without requiring any additional
procurement of licenses.
It is important
to check whether the CTI product offers off-switch ACD, sometimes also referred
to as off-switch queue control or skill-based routing. Choosing an ACD with the
capability of using external applications allows an organization to compensate
for an absent or mediocre ACD capability of a PABX, LAN-based telephone system,
or centrex. However, if the PABX’s ACD capability is more than equal to the
task, buying the off-switch ACD as part of the CTI software package is a waste
of money.
Market Information
The Indian CTI market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 50.6 percent during
2002—09. According to Frost & Sullivan, the CTI market stood at $1.6
million during 2002 and is estimated to be in the range of $4.3 million during
2003. With greater adoption of technologies by call centers, the trend is
clearly towards buying the entire suite of applications to integrate the seats
with CTI.
The CTI industry in India is highly fragmented, with many
players. Chief amongst which are: Avaya, Nortel, Cisco, Aspect, Crompton
Greaves, Genesys, Servion, and Parsec. Avaya and Nortel continue to dominate the
market, bundling CTI as part of their total call-center solutions.
The market trend is also moving towards buying total
solutions with CTI being bundled with ACD, outbound dialing, IVR, and multimedia–rather
than buying point solutions.
Cisco, Concerto, Parsec, Interactive Intelligence, and Servion offer
solutions on the soft switch. Parsec and Servion did well in the Indian market;
bagging deals in the government, telecom, and financial sectors. Cisco has made
steady headway with IP-based contact-center solutions while new players like
Concerto Software have also ingressed into the market by bagging total-solution
deals. The average price for a low-end CTI software stands at $220 per agent
seat.
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