IP Integration, a systems integrator operating in the UK, is now reselling Convergys’ Interactive Voice Response (IVR) voice portal and speech automation solutions to the UK contact center market.

IP Integration reportedly has strong track record of developing robust CTI (News - Alert) middleware and seamlessly designing, developing and delivering complex, integrated contact center applications to the market. The Convergys partner sells contact center systems primarily to companies operating in the retail market, including some of the most respected brands in travel and gaming in the UK, as well as the public sector.

Recent research from Convergys (News - Alert) finds that the number of consumers preferring automated channels has doubled in the last four years. The research shows that 55 percent of the population prefers having the option to use self-service automation to find their own resolution versus waiting to speak with someone on the phone.

Today’s advanced IVR solutions use advanced speech recognition to enable consumers to carry out a natural dialogue with an automated agent that can help them carry out a transaction or get information on a self-serve basis. Although there are still some stigmas, misconceptions and negative attitudes towards these systems, consumers are becoming increasingly accepting of them, and in many cases they are finding that they can get what they want faster using a speech-enabled self-serve system compared to waiting on hold for a live agent.

These systems are particularly valuable to banks, telcos, insurance companies, utilities and other services-related industries which deal in high volumes of low-value transactions and/or requests for information. Customers can use the IVR system to carry out simple transactions, such as a balance transfer, or get information, such as a checking account balance, using voice (or, optionally, touchtone) commands. Or, in the case of commerce-related businesses, customers can make simple, low-value purchases, just as if they would from an e-commerce site, without having to interact with a live agent. Very often companies that handle higher value transactions -- or more complex requests for information -- give callers the option to transfer to a live agent at any time should they need to.

Beyond the advantages they bring in terms of improving customer service, today’s IVR systems also help boost efficiency and cut operating costs inside the call center. As speech recognition technology improves and consumers become more accepting of these self-serve systems, their reliance on live agents will continue to decrease. And, as has been well-established, labor is the single biggest cost facing any contact center, so there is a definite cost savings and ROI factor that comes into play when organizations deploy these systems.

 

That’s not to say the goal in deploying these systems is to push as many calls as possible away from the live agents -- rather it is to provide improved service by allowing consumers to control their own interactions. Through their ability to identify the customer who is calling (typically through caller ID), these systems provide the secondary benefit of more accurately steering a customer’s call to the appropriate agent, based on the agent’s skills set, who the customer is, or perhaps based on past interactions between the customer and a specific agent.

Yet another benefit is, through integration with a contact center’s CRM, order management or other back-office systems, the IVR can collect information about a customer through the initial interaction, combine it with the customer’s historical data, including past transactions/interactions, and pass all of that information on in the event the call escalates and needs to be handed off to a live agent. This way, the agent has all of the customer’s pertinent information – including the reason why they are calling – right there on his/her desktop as of the moment the call transferred.

“As our own research shows, customers like having options when they contact a company,” said Mike Betzer (News - Alert), president of Relationship Technology Management at Convergys, in a release. “Companies must balance automated self-service with agent-assisted service in order to deliver the service experience customers want.”

“Together with IP Integration, which has a strong reputation for its agility, technical credibility, and focus on the provision of next generation customer care, we have the ability to meet the need for greater self-service through advanced IVR/voice portal and speech automation solutions in the United Kingdom,” Betzer added.

Dave Glasgow, sales director for IP Integration, said “Convergys’ voice response and speech automation solutions deliver the tangible value that meets our clients’ high expectations. Combined with their broader customer care portfolio and the high level of expertise available from our local Convergys team, we fully anticipate a successful long-term partnership.”

Last week Convergys announced that it had released version 2.0 of its Product Control Manager software, a centralized product catalog and product lifecycle management system that supports the creation, management, dissemination, and use of product and service data, and covers the full technical, commercial, and price definition of products.

Part of Convergys’ BSS/OSS solution portfolio, version 2.0 of Product Control Manager includes new features that provide enhanced support for product change management, dynamic data modeling, and real-time integration with external systems. With this solution, communications service providers can more effectively manage their products across all network and service domains, shorten time to market for new convergent offers, improve quality, and reduce the costs associated with managing a complex product portfolio.