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Centrex Applications

Meaningful and cost-effective applications for Centrex are increasing, especially as the carriers respond to heightened competitive pressure. The carriers, clearly, are becoming more responsive to end users, are deploying more features on a more consistent basis, and are extending limited network management capabilities to the end user. Additionally, they increasingly are designing rates to attract smaller businesses. Typical applications include multilocation organizations within a single metropolitan area, seasonal businesses, and business which tend to locate only on a temporary basis (e.g., contractors). Additionally, the government and education markets, are heavy users of Centrex, due to capital and expense budget limitations and restrictions.

Centrex Trends and Futures

Centrex is anticipated to increase in popularity in most developed nations due to reasons that include increased competitive pressure, enhanced feature content, improved pricing, enhanced networking capability, ISDN availability, and broadband network access. Additionally, Centrex manufacturers and providers increasingly are applications focused, offering and developing capabilities that include enhanced data communications (e.g., CO-LAN), videoconferencing and integrated messaging. Centrex currently is growing at a rate of approximately 2.95%; most users (43%) are 1,000+ lines, although a significant number (35%) are in the range of 1 to 100 lines, with smaller users growing at the fastest rate (3.5%) [4-3].

Perhaps the most exciting development in Centrex deals with its potential to serve as a means of internetworking multiple PBXs of disparate origin. The city and county of San Francisco recently worked with Pacific Bell (Centrex), Siemens Rolm (PBX), and AT&T (PBX) to integrate Centrex and PBX systems through a series of Central Offices, which serve as protocol translators between the PBX systems and which also serve to integrate the Centrex and PBX users.

Automatic Call Distributors (ACDs)

ACDs function as incoming call switches, serving call center applications. As call centers are highly active, with relatively large numbers of callers queued for a much smaller number of agents, ACDs generally are nonblocking systems. Call centers may be specific to the user organization, but often are set up on a service bureau basis. A service bureau might answer calls for a large number of clients, on either a primary or an overflow basis, with specific software and scripting to support the individual client’s requirements.

The process, as depicted in Figure 4.8, typically involves a front-end voice processing system, which prompts the caller through a menu for call routing purposes. Calls then can be queued by agent group, and delivered to the first available agent in that group. Multiple call centers can be networked in a virtual call center configuration, with calls being routed to the call center in closest proximity to the caller in consideration of network costs. In the event that the closest call center’s queue length exceeds user-definable parameters, the call would then be served to the next nearest call center able to provide an acceptable level of service based on look-ahead routing.


Figure 4.8  Automatic Call Distributor (ACD).

A recent, and much improved alternative allows multiple call centers to be logically connected as portrayed in Figure 4.9. The first appropriate available agent in any of a number of call centers can be identified and reserved via ISDN technology; the call then is connected over an ISDN link.


Figure 4.9  Networked ACDs, connected via ISDN links.

Various techniques can be employed to route the call; options include tone input, calling number, or called number. Regardless of the technique, the process of customer-programmable call handling and routing is known variously by terms such as call vectoring and custom control routing. Once the call is accepted by a call center, the identification of the caller can be determined through several means, including a Personal Identification Number (PIN) or Automatic Number Identification (ANI). The identification number then can be matched against a computer database in order to deliver the caller’s profile to the agent in advance of the connection of the call, resulting in what is known as a screen pop. In this manner, the most available, appropriate and capable agent has access to full account information and, therefore, is able to provide the highest possible level of service. This capability is known as skills-based routing. In addition to agents working at formal call centers, remote agents or even agents-at-home can be networked to an ACD, often over ISDN connections. Service bureau call centers in the United States even make use of inmates in Federal prisons—apparently, they make extremely good employees, with few distractions and they seldom call in sick! The ACD commonly is interfaced to a PBX, as well, in order that calls can be transferred to other departments [4-17].

Benefits of ACD technology include increased productivity, as the agents are served incoming calls from a queue of waiting callers. Additionally, the incoming callers realize enhanced customer service, as they are directed to the call center with the shortest queue, where they are held in queue until an agent is available. While the holding time may be rather long, this approach is preferable to encountering busy conditions that would require repeated attempts to reach an agent. Additionally, more substantial ACDs provide rather substantial workforce management reporting, that allows the system administrator to view and determine trends in calling patterns, average queue lengths, average holding times and so on. Through the use of such a tool, management can better anticipate future incoming call loads and, therefore, can more accurately schedule the number of agents required to handle that load based on customer service objectives.

Customer service is enhanced further when the ACD supports skills-based routing. A credit card company, for instance, might capture the originating telephone number of the incoming caller or request that the caller enter his account number. Through matching that information to a database of customers, the company might determine that the caller holds a platinum card, prefers to deal with a Spanish-speaking agent, and has failed to make a payment with the past two billing cycles. Based on that information, the call might be directed to the closest call center with a readily available and multilingual agent who is capable of initiating collection action [4-18], [4-19], and [4-20].


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