IP TELEPHONY

Cosmic Call Center

CosmoCom Universe Call Center adds a new level of functionality to your CRM

As more companies seek an Internet presence, the distinguishing feature between the best Web sites and the has-beens is not simply presentation, but service. This includes a better interactive experience that enables the customer to determine a product's availability, cost and when it will arrive; as well as to get human help and attention. CosmoCom's CosmoCall Universe Call Center suite allows companies to create Web sites with a one-click interface to a powerful call distribution center that routes calls using voice over IP, so agents can be located anywhere. The interface allows the Webmaster to create an e-mail message, as well as allowing the support representative to initiate an interactive text session with the customer. The software can also provide a sound-only or sound-and-video feed to customers as a way to guide them to the appropriate Web pages or products through a graphical interface.

CosmoCall integrates with customer relationship management (CRM) products from a number of vendors, allowing pop-up windows in the CRM application for incoming calls. These show the caller's information, including previous purchases and the items they're interested in, reducing the need for redundant queries.

CosmoCall Universe consists of several parts--the telephone connection server, the message connection server, the automatic call distribution (ACD) server, the Internet connection server, the agent and the WebCaller interface for Web sites. The servers do not have to run on separate PCs.

Phone calls come into the telephone connection server and are forwarded via VoIP to the ACD server, and then to agents who require only a PC headset. E-mail and voice mail comes in through the message connection server, is distributed to the ACD, and then to agents. The Internet connection server allows agents to connect to users over the Internet, using text chat, VoIP, video and other Internet media. Agent software runs on PCs, allowing each agent to receive calls from and talk with Internet customers, or even to send Internet visitors to the appropriate URL or show them how to use an application, while maintaining a text chat window.

The WebCaller interface allows Webmasters to put a button on the Web site that allows users to request an interactive session with an agent, which can be a text- based chat session, or voice and video using the H.323 protocol if the user's PC is properly equipped. The user can also e-mail a request for an agent to call them back, which is routed to the next available agent based on the priorities set up on the ACD server. The user needs only a browser that supports Java. The agent can create multiple windows on the user's screen, for example one with text chat, one with a canned demonstration and one for browsing the appropriate Web site.

Since the communication between the telephone connection server and the agents is via VoIP, agents are not required to be in the same building as the phone switch--they can be located anywhere an Internet connection exists. This makes geographically distributed call centers a possibility. The ACD server allows rules to be created for call distribution based on criteria, such as language spoken, locale and technical qualifications.

The servers install on top of Windows NT, and use Microsoft SQL server for database functions. We saw the server installed, and had a chance to use the features during the recent Gigabit Ethernet tests at the University of Hawaii's Advanced Network Computing Lab.

The telephone connection server requires a Dialogic voice processing board, which can be anything from a single four-port analog board to multiple T1 or ISDN primary interfaces, which could support close to 100 incoming lines per server. Multiple servers are also supported. It provides interactive voice response for call routing, and voice mail for after-hours scenarios. Once the user selects an option, calls are routed to the appropriate agent based on the rule sets.

The ACD server makes it straightforward to create queues, which can be assigned up to 8,000 agents. Rules are defined to distribute calls based on the identity of the caller, the type of request, and the skills required to solve the problem. When agents log on, they become available to service the queue--if no agents are logged on, the system can take a message.

The message connection server routes incoming messages other than phone calls, such as e-mail, faxes and voice mail, from the ACD server to the appropriate agent. Each type of message can be prioritized to use lulls in voice traffic.

The ACD and message connection servers support scripting languages, so that extremely complex functions can be added, such as parsing for caller ID, identifying the caller in a database as an important customer, bringing up the pertinent screen from the CRM application and showing the agent the products the user has looked at on the Web site.

The Universe suite of products is somewhat complex to set up, and integration with existing CRM applications will require some programming, either through the scripting features of Universe or the Microsoft COM+ compliant API. The integration is worth the effort and the combination of a good CRM application and Universe provides levels of functionality otherwise available only with a great deal of custom programming, if at all.

Logan G. Harbaugh is a technology editor at InformationWeek, a sister publication of InternetWeek. He can be reached at lharbaug@cmp.com.