VoIP is in your future

The other major architectural change on the road to contact center Nirvana is to the packet-switched world of IP from traditional, circuit-switched TDM.

The migration path generally will start with IP-enabled products, using a TDM infrastructure at the core, with IP to the desktop and IP for networking to remote locations. The next step is a full-blown IP-centric solution with an IP switching  infrastructure throughout.

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The other major architectural change on the road to contact center Nirvana is to the packet-switched world of IP from traditional, circuit-switched TDM.

The migration path generally will start with IP-enabled products, using a TDM infrastructure at the core, with IP to the desktop and IP for networking to remote locations. The next step is a full-blown IP-centric solution with an IP switching  infrastructure throughout.

Voice over IP (VoIP ) is compelling, and most contact centers need to start planning for it. There are three key business drivers:

Economics - Convergence of voice and data into a common infrastructure for wiring, routers, network connectivity and others holds promise. Companies will be able to deploy, manage and maintain one network to serve all communications needs, saving on infrastructure, and potentially resources, in the long term.

Applications - VoIP creates the potential for applications that couldn't have been done before, or couldn't have been done easily or effectively. This is particularly true for a multimedia and/or multisite environment, in which Web contacts, virtual operations with outsourcers overseas, and remote sites or seats, such as home agents, all could improve the customer experience. The business case for these applications also can be compelling because they save significant numbers of call center agents and prove a more cohesive reporting view of all contact handling.

Building block for the future - VoIP is an inevitable part of the contact-center infrastructure. Many centers will wait for catalysts such as major growth, a new site, time for replacement, or the need to support new applications. Or they will invest in VoIP infrastructure knowing it is the platform for the future.

"The promise and value of VoIP in the contact center is in defining an open standard that lets multiple vendor products work together," says Bern Elliot, an analyst at Gartner. "Different platforms and applications can use the same infrastructure. This in turn leads to broader choices.

"Right now, the market is pushing to get a start," he says. "The contact center lags general telephony in migration to VoIP by about two years, because it is more application-centric - and a more complex and robust application. The applications can't precede the infrastructure needed to make it possible. For VoIP to go faster in contact centers, it now needs the pull of more applications that are easier to integrate."

All major switch vendors provide IP products for contact centers. Traditional switch vendors, such as Aspect, Avaya, Nortel, Rockwell and Siemens , offer traditional TDM switches with IP phones and IP networking between sites as options in their IP-enabled or hybrid products.

They also offer IP-centric call-center products, but few call-center customers are buying them.

Lessons learned The keys to success when implementing VoIP include: • Define applications and business benefits. Define the reasons for migrating to VoIP. • Assess and invest in network infrastructure as needed. Many vendors, such as Avaya and Siemens, offer network assessments and tools through their professional services organizations. • Invest in the redundancy and reliability solutions that vendors offer. • Ensure that voice and data staff work together. Collaboration is key in planning and implementation. Train and hire people with the necessary skills. • Test and pilot.

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IP-centric players, such as Cisco and 3Com , are pushing IP-centric products, but they are aware of their limitations. They aren't trying to compete head-to-head on a feature-by-feature basis with robust ACDs, and they aren't selling much to large (more than 50 seats) mission-critical centers (yet). Cisco is positioning itself as an "ACD alternative" rather than an "ACD replacement." But the IP-centricity of these vendors means that they are further ahead in deployment of pure IP products.