Contact centers continue to grow at rapid pace, and the outlook for cloud-based contact centers leads the charge. Organizations continue to integrate their processes into the cloud, and contact centers evolve to match the trend. For example, in 2017 the cloud-based contact center market was about $6.47 billion. By 2023, that number is forecasted to increase to over $24 billion!
The tremendous forecasted growth of contact centers have prompted leading unified communications companies to release new features in their portfolios. Companies like Cisco, T-Metrics and RingCentral offer an impressive array of new technologies geared toward more efficient call routing, email and social media engagement. Let’s look at the latest in trending contact center features and benefits.
New Contact Center Features
Interactive Voice Response (IVR)
IVR offers an automated phone system enabling incoming callers to retrieve information without having to speak with a live person. With an IVR system, a caller provides information by speaking into a phone or entering numbers on a touch-tone keypad. To elaborate, T-Metrics Contact Center (both on premise and cloud) integrates with leading telecom platforms (Cisco, Avaya, NEC, Unify and Skype) to provide IVR solutions, among other features.
Automatic Call Distributor (ACD)
ACD enables organizations to manage a high volume of calls. It identifies the reason a caller contacts a business and routes the call to the appropriate terminal or agent. In brief, a caller gains the capability to reach the right person and get the right support consistently. Cisco’s Call Manager hunt groups combined with Cisco’s Unity Audiotext applications achieve a very functional ACD. In addition, integrating Cisco’s IPCC Express or Enterprise allows users even more features for their ACD.
Predictive Dialer
A predictive dialer automates large reach outs to an organization’s audience through unified communications. To elaborate, it dials from a list of phone numbers and detects busy signals, disconnected phone numbers, voicemail messages and when no one is available to answer. In short, predictive dialing enables a company to keep a customer up to date about a service issue or emergency.
Computer Telephony Integration (CTI)
CTI enables computer and telephone systems in working together to improve a contact center’s efficiency. Computers manage all telephone calls, ensuring an agent will receive a pop-up message with the caller’s account information on their computer screen. In summary, this saves time for both an agent and a caller and allows an agent to access a complete customer profile and provide personalized customer support. T-Metrics Operator Systems features include auto call recording, information directory, pre-recorded greetings, call handling and comprehensive queuing. In short, these features are managed either on premise or in the cloud.
Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
A CRM system provides quick, easy access to customer information, ensuring agents learn about a customer and work to resolve service issues immediately. The system provides visibility into customer interactions across a company and enables agents to review a customer record at any time.
It also bridges the gap between agents and sales representatives, ensuring both parties collaborate with one another. In brief, this minimizes service issues and builds long-lasting customer relationships. For example, RingCentral’s platform integrates with a variety of cloud-based third party CRMs, such as SalesForce and Microsoft Dynamics.
To learn more about the latest in contact center technologies, reach out to one of our solutions specialists by visiting www.yourstrategic.com/contact-us.
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