Z-Tel gets an edge with SnowShore media server

A relatively new and obscure piece of phone network equipment called a media server is starting to make a difference for service provider Z-Tel, which is supporting new services based on the gear.

With a media server made by SnowShore, Z-Tel and software vendor Proficient Networks are cooperating to use online chat and regular phone calls as tools to connect corporate sales staff to potential customers who are browsing the corporate e-commerce site.

The browsing customer is contacted via the Web, invited to online chat with a sales agent, and if the contact seems promising, get on the phone for a conversation.

Getting the service to operate properly requires Proficient's Sales Server software and a service provider network such as Z-Tel's that can bring together the necessary network elements.

A corporate customer using the service would own Sales Server, software that tracks who is browsing the e-commerce site and contacts them via a pop-up window if the browsing pattern indicates the customer seems interested in a particular product. The software also keeps track of which sales agent seems like the best fit for the potential customer based on factors such as where they are located and what products they are trained to sell.

The pop-up window asks the customer if he wants to chat with an agent. If so, Sales Server sets up that chat link via the Web. The software also can set up a phone connection if a business interest develops. The software takes the customer's and agent's phone information and instructs Z-Tel's network to set up the call. The SnowShore media server acts as a bridge to contact both parties.

Because a media server is a general processing platform, it can be linked to many service applications and perform whatever data crunching the applications require. The alternative would be each application residing on its own server hardware that performs dedicated processing.

Z-Tel says it can use its network and the media server to support other services that it is developing. These include a service in which customers contact their voice mail and use voice prompts to return a call, and then return directly to voice mail.

The provider also plans a service that lets users dial by voice and connect by using numbers stored in their Microsoft Outlook address book.

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