Webified Call Center Roundup
CosmoCom (Hauppauge, NY—631-851-0100) starts from a data networkside approach to webified call centers. Their CosmoCall IP ACD runs on an NT Server, and a Dialogic-based gateway server (possibly co-located in the same server) connects to voice lines. Agents connect across the LAN (thus with less compression need and better delay/quality IP voice) or across a WAN (obviating the need for a call center) via multimedia PC and agent app to the CosmoCall ACD.
We saw a demo recently of CosmoCall’s click-to-chat/push and click-to-talk capabilities. We clicked a web page button (www.cosmocom.com), and a Java applet chat session started after we were given an updated hold time estimate.
The Agent’s PC "rang," and after text chatting with the agent we started up NetMeeting to talk live to them while they pushed us web pages. Since one demo was only on a LAN, the voice sounded okay, though we’ve found that over the Internet VoIP quality varies. When we were done, we went over an order confirmation page pushed to us and we hung up – the agent did the same, though a wrap up status button is missing, to date.
One neat aspect of the demo: because CosmoCall was the whole ACD we not only got HTML form-based CallerID originating web page and database info, but we were able to, from the agent-side software, see inside an integrated e-commerce shopping cart app (really just an object-oriented database app). It happened to be a clothing store, but more generally access to the shopping cart app meant the ability to upsell the ‘Net prospect—e.g. "Yes we do have those skirts in blue, and we also have a special on white ones that go great with those trousers you’ve picked out. Interested?"
CosmoCall can run in a standalone configuration, or it can run integrated to a PBX/ACD as an overflow trunk group—once again connected via Dialogic gateway. (As an added bonus, call centers can have remote PC-based agents through the CosmoCall this way, too).
The CosmoCall keeps its own records (displayed real-time in the server view) and has a database that report-writing programs may read. The server keeps track of agent skill groups and statuses, and uses Intelligent Queuing to balance loads and serve high-priority customers without starving lower ones (it’s all one queue through which customers move slower or faster depending on priority. Agents can have multiple conversations at once, and can receive scripts as dumps from a VAR-integrated database.
CosmoCom’s solution scales by adding more servers for each of its component parts: a master ACD server and queue manager server for agent logins plus N-more Gateway servers (2 trunks per board for now, CosmoCom will use DM3 IPLink boards for T-1 access later). You can start small and activate agents as needed. Pricing for the system: $6,000/per concurrent agent login. CosmoCom charges a 20% maintenance for fee 24-7 support, and has subscription service for software upgrades.
The above excerpt is from the article "Webified Call Center Roundup" which originally appeared in the July 1998 issue of Computer Telephony Magazine.