Intelligent Call Routing :: essays research papers

Intelligent Call Routing Mr. Harrison decides to call his credit card company to inquire about a credit limit increase. He picks up the phone and dials the company’s 800 number. He is then prompted by a friendly voice that says, â€Å"Welcome to Mycorp, please enter your 15 digit account number†. After punching his15-digit account number into the handset, he is quickly prompted by a friendly agent who greets him with, â€Å"Hello Mr. Harrison, how are you today?† Surprised that the agent knew he was the one calling, he then mentions that he is interested in a credit limit increase. After the agent helps him with his primary objective, the agent says, â€Å"I noticed you have been traveling a lot lately; would you be interested in upgrading to our new Travelers Green Card?† That’s right. The agent knows a lot about him, but how? Remember the 15-digit account number he entered? To Mycorp it’s much more then 15-digits: it’s about every product he has purchased using his Mycorp credit card; his language preference; if he is past due on his bill; if he is considered a high value customer to the organization; the type of card he has, and much more. The call center of today is evolving at an extraordinary rate. New technologies are popping up all over the globe bringing to the table new and exciting products that will help companies to service their customers in faster and smarter ways. One of the products with the most impact on the market today being used to accomplish this is Intelligent Call Management. Many large organizations such as American Express, Wells Fargo, Charles Schwab, and Discover Card are using Intelligent Call Management to provide better service to their customers. A recent survey discovered that 90% of today’s call centers are using voice-processing applications, while another 54% have introduced Intelligent Call Management into their call center. Intelligent Call Management, or ICM, cannot be accomplished with one single piece of hardware. It involves multiple peripherals working together, each providing a different functionality that contributes to the efficiency of the call delivery. (â€Å"Are Y ou,† 2004) Computers and the telephone have technologically collided and as a result CTI, or Computer Telephony Integration, was born. The CTI component is the most important piece in an ICM environment. With CTI, companies are improving their efficiency, lowering their operating costs, and building the infrastructure for new business opportunities.