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IVRCommunity
August 20, 2008
Acme Packet: Conversion from TDM to IP a Major Trend in Today's Contact Centers
Contact centers today — like all businesses — rely on modern tools like e-mail, instant messaging and data services for internal communications. They also rely on real-time interactive services like video conferencing, multimedia Web sites and collaboration tools to successfully serve customers.
These types of interactive communications use Internet Protocol (IP) networks, and to work properly the services must be delivered in a seamless way end-to-end. However, IP networks are not able to provide such seamless delivery without session border controllers (SBCs) to mediate delivery and quality of service (QoS) across network borders.
Burlington, Massachusetts-based Acme Packet (News - Alert) has made a name for itself by providing SBCs for enterprises and contact centers. I recently got a chance to ask the company’s director of enterprise contact center solutions marketing, James Slaby, his perspective on the importance of SBCs, especially in the contact center environment.
Slaby, 25-year veteran of the high-tech industry, will be on hand at the Call Center 2.0 show next month to continue discussion of these topics; he’s co-presenting a session on September 16 titled “Technology Considerations for Contact Center Evolution.” The session will focus on the benefits and challenges associated with transitioning a contact center from TDM to IP.
RT: What is the biggest trend you are seeing in the contact center space?
JS: The conversion from TDM to IP: it has ramifications for every aspect of contact center infrastructure and operations, with huge returns in both CAPEX and OPEX.
RT: What should contact center decision makers know before upgrading their systems?
JS: Don’t overlook call recording; there’s plenty of issues to think through as you move from TDM- to IP-based call recording. Like: “Where’s the best place to replicate signaling and media for delivery to an IP call recording system?”
RT: Where is the most call center growth taking place – US or abroad?
JS: Understand that my perspective is focused on IP contact centers, since that’s where Acme Packet session border controllers (SBCs) are a big help. For a while, it seemed like Europe was enjoying faster growth, largely I think because of the wider availability of SIP trunks. Now that big U.S. providers like Verizon Business and AT&T (News - Alert) and pushing SIP trunks hard, I think that growth gap will close.
RT: How is unified communications (UC) changing the contact center space?
JS: On the upside, it offers real opportunities to improve contact center efficiency, get callers into the hands of the right people the first time. If ever there were a place to focus on decreasing human latency, the big promise of premise-enabled UC, the contact center is it. On the downside, UC adds a lot of sessions, with concomitant issues of performance, application reach, security, SLA assurance, and regulatory compliance. Reaping those benefits will require wrestling with some new challenges.
RT: Is Web integration in contact centers finally happening?
JS: If by that you mean more Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) in the contact center, I would say absolutely yes. What’s interesting from our perspective is how the approaches to securing software-as-a-service (SaaS (News - Alert)) applications looks an awful lot like how we secure VoIP and UC with SBCs; you put an appliance at the edges of the contact center so you can intercept the traffic, clean it up from a security, performance, regulatory compliance, and interworking perspective, and pass it on again.
JS: As usual, Microsoft will get its share of attention; the company’s huge presence in desktop computing demands that. I suspect Microsoft will find it tough sledding at first, but eventually the company will figure it out. Our SBCs have an important role play in contact centers that utilize Microsoft UC solutions, so it’s good news for us.
RT: What about Web 2.0 — is it changing the contact center space?
JS: I’ve only kept one eye on that space, but I think it has another couple of years before it makes a real impact beyond the kind of market noise it’s generating right now.
RT: What is one surprise we will see in the contact center space during the next year?
JS: It will happen, though you may not “see” it: a major outage in a huge IP contact center because of poorly-defended VoIP security threats. Like most big outages, you may never hear of it, or the real reasons behind it will be kept under wraps. (You’d do the same cover-up if it happened to you.)
RT: Why should people come to hear you speak at Call Center 2.0 and what will you be discussing?
JS: If you’re contemplating a contact center conversion from TDM to IP, my discussion of the benefits, challenges, and issues around confidentiality and security of VoIP and UC in IP contact centers should be of interest.
Don’t forget to check out TMCnet’s White Paper Library, which provides a selection of in-depth information on relevant topics affecting the IP Communications industry. The library offers white papers, case studies and other documents which are free to registered users.
Rich Tehrani is President and Group Editor-in-Chief of TMC. In addition, he is the Chairman of the world�s best-attended communications conference, INTERNET TELEPHONY Conference & EXPO (ITEXPO (News - Alert)). He is also the author of his own communications and technology blog. Read More SIP Server Stories » Voxeo IVR Resources
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