Home-based Call Centers Provide Flexible Work Options and Virtualization

Contact centers implementing geographically distributed branches and home-based agents are finding the traditional premise-based PBX far too limiting. With the call recorder moved into the network, applications developers no longer have to deal with the geographic restrictions created by hardware located on-sight.

Recording "in the cloud" provides them with the flexibility they need to place their agents wherever the business needs them to be. CTI Group's SmartRecord IP, can easily integrate with a virtual PBX to provide real time, blanket and selective call recording for all agents regardless of their geographic location, providing superior quality call monitoring support for all branch and home locations.

Company Sees Significant Measurable Savings By Adding

In this time of economic uncertainty, one thing is certain – cutting costs is the only way to stay afloat. Since increasing revenue is an unlikely goal in this penny-pinching economy, most companies are focusing in on ways to cut their costs or “trim the fat.” Call management solutions are one sure way to identify unnecessary costs and opportunities for streamlining telecommunications systems and cracking down on policy enforcement.As an example of how call accounting solutions can help companies increase efficiencies and lower costs, we have a specific customer testimonial. A second party facilitator for insurance companies needed to find a way to manage and properly allocate the costs for their long distance service. They could no longer expend the resources necessary to manually track all in and outbound calls for a large multi-national company.

Previously, this company had allocated five full-time resources that were strictly assigned to scouring through telephone bills page by page and line by line for each facility. They would then allocate the appropriate costs for each location and compile their findings into an excel spreadsheet. Not only was the company providing staffing to do these tedious analysis, they were also experiencing a significant delay in this analysis. It was nearly a month after the bill was received that the final reports and allocations were submitted. This means it could have been as much as two months after the actual calls were made. With this significant delay, going back and questioning activities that seem out of the ordinary was pretty much out of the question. The delay made going back and tracking these activities virtually impossible. This customer was able to install a call management solution to bill back both internally and externally for long distance service and maintenance. With 16,000 employees in 300 offices worldwide, they needed to not only track the calls, but to easily summarize the usage for proper allocation. The regularly scheduled reports provided the customer with an efficient way to summarize the usage associated with each affiliate and therefore allocate their expenses. Equally, they were able to quickly and efficiently review their telecommunications activities and address any issues quickly. The most exciting surprise that the customer experienced by integrating a call management solution was in actual, realized cost savings. In 1991, when they first began using the new call management system, they were able to realign and regroup their long distance lines and cut 2 to 3 T1s in the process. From this, they incurred an annual savings of $12,000 per location by eliminating unneeded bandwidth. Given that cost savings are hard to come by these days, this was quite a welcomed surprise.

Additionally, this company was able to reallocate the five full-time resources that they had previously dedicated to bill allocation and analysis to other projects, thereby efficiently and effectively using the resources they already had without having to add any additional resources. This allowed the company to cut their new hire budget significantly and therefore, allowed them to see even further cost savings.

By simply adding a call management solution, this company was able to realize real cost savings. As many companies struggle to keep their doors open, these types of investments may seem like bad idea, but the potential cost savings available far out way the initial cost of a call accounting system.

Adding Applications to VoIP Offerings Encourages Customer Loyalty

The value added to any VoIP offering by adding applications is clear. Many VoIP providers are opting to outsource this application development by purchasing ready to use applications packages that are developed specifically to integrate with their switches. Along with eliminating research and development costs, this generally results in a better product by allowing the service provider to focus on providing service and allowing the applications provider to focus on developing the most robust, integrated applications possible. It’s a win/win.

The key component that many service providers are missing in this equation is that the most successful applications are those that are directly integrated at the switch level. Sure, there are multitudes of inexpensive, plug-and-play applications out there that can be added onto a service provider’s platform, but if the application is not developed specifically to integrate with the switch, there will be issues. Some issues that can arise are dropped calls and entire system outages due to call flow paths, incomplete switch communication with the application resulting in incomplete data, and security issues due to lowered integration integrity. These are just a few of the issues that service providers experience when they try to take the easy way out and add an application that has not been sufficiently integrated at the switch level.

By layering applications that are integrated with the switch, the service provider is able to provide the applications that their customers need to run their business while also maintaining the security and service integrity that they are so well known for. Applications offerings is quickly becoming the real differentiator in the VoIP service provider market. Since the VoIP architecture provides such a unique and optimal environment for developing applications, these applications are far superior then those provided in the traditional telephony space and therefore make VoIP service far more enticing to the enterprise customer. And this is where the service provider has the chance to provide the top of the line applications to their customers. The quality of applications available in the VoIP market is just so feature-rich and robust that it really does behoove the service provider to provide the best solutions possible.

The long term benefits of integrating feature-rich applications into your VoIP product portfolio are immeasurable. Enterprise customers are hesitant to change systems once they have integrated a system into their work processes, so once the service provider has integrated their applications into the operations of their business customers, they can all but guarantee those customers as long term customers. Once a service provider integrates into a customer’s business practices, it can depend on that revenue for years and maybe even decades to come.

By adding robust and feature-rich applications such as hosted call recording to a VoIP product portfolio, a service provider can instill long term customer loyalty. Since VoIP is such a perfect architecture for creating the best and most robust applications, these applications can be such a differentiator for getting customers to switch to VoIP. Then, once they have switched to the new VoIP service, they are able to integrate these much improved VoIP applications into their operations. These applications become such an integral part of the customer’s every day business practices that they are unwilling or unable to move…thus, instilling customer loyalty.

Hosted Call Recording with Superior Security

With SmartRecord IP, your contact center records can be archived and maintained by CTI Group. In the event of a natural disaster, fire or some other unforeseen event, your call records remain safe.

SmartRecord IP comes equipped with superior security designed to defeat and deflect internet assaults. The archives and records maintained on the SmartRecord IP web interface are completely secure from outside intrusion, allowing contact centers to enjoy the benefits of hosted call recording without concerns about security.

It is imperative that contact centers have a safe haven for their records. CTI Group offers a safe archiving and retrieval system for all recorded calls. SmartRecord IP offers peace of mind that all call records are being maintained off-site and that those records are safe and secure.

SmartRecord IP easily integrates into existing telephone networks and equipment; transition to CTI Group’s hosted call recording solution will be transparent to your users. Installation, maintenance, and configuration of SmartRecored IP is CTI Group’s responsibility.

eBilling: Carrier Challenges to New eBilling Software Adoption

While most companies and individual consumers alike are turning more to eBilling as their bill presentment and payment avenue of choice, that doesn’t mean there aren’t challenges to getting people to adopt an eBilling platform. Most barriers to entry in the past had been based on customer demand. That’s not really the case any longer, but there are still issues that eBilling platform providers face.

First, carrier adoption is a big barrier to entry in the sale of an eBilling platform. It is difficult to get a carrier to adopt a new program when the one they are using “works just fine.” How do you get a company to invest in a system that they don’t even know they need? Many carriers are also concerned with the control they would have over their billing system. Many of them have been using the same systems for so long and they are able to handle issues and problems that arise with that system easily and efficiently. Handing over that control to a new vendor is a very scary proposition for many carriers and could leave them apprehensive about adopting something new even if that “something new” is the system their customers want and need them to implement.

Second, many carriers are faced with local telephone regulations which require that they provide a paper bill. Many state and local governments have these regulations in affect to protect the consumer and have not considered the environmental and financial consequences of this legislation. For those carriers, it is important to identify the needs of the companies and individuals in that market. If enough people request eBilling instead of paper billing, legislation is likely to be overturned.

Third, carriers are working with incredibly outdated and unintelligible billing systems as it is, so switching to a new system sounds like an even bigger headache than the one they are currently facing. This is a problem with software switch. You know that switching software will come with some bumps in the road and finding the right timing to endure that pain is very difficult for any company. It is always difficult to change systems and no transition is seamless, but an easier and more effective system could be in place sooner than later, if you install quickly. Procrastinating is only prolonging the inevitable.

Finally, many business leaders have a very conservative mindset and don’t want to get off task. If their plan for a new billing system involved adding x, y, and z, they will not want to discuss any more advanced system options. However, the advantages of push presentation, eBilling software far outweigh the perceived hassle of installing a different solution.

While there are these barriers to entry for adding an eBilling solution, the benefits of adding the right eBilling solution, sooner rather than later, far outweigh the perceived issues/problems with implementing a new system. Carriers have the ability to improve their current billing systems, and provide their customers with a more robust billing and analysis solution while contributing their part to the green movement.

VoIP is Alive and Well; As Long As You Are Willing to Pad Your Offerings With Applications

Many bloggers and industry experts have been in deep discussion this year about whether or not VoIP is dead. This question might be a little bit more complicated than some might think. Most would think of VoIP as simply providing dial tone and long distance, but VoIP telephony is so much more than that. And while many VoIP providers may not be seeing the quick adoption to VoIP that was expected, that may have more to do with their applications offerings than their delivery of dial tone and long distance service.

Issues with VoIP adoption have centered largely on service quality. These issues have turned many early adopters away from VoIP and they have gone back to their traditional wire-line service. And they were right. There were issues with phone line service quality as well as customer service quality in a large segment of the VoIP market. But, here we are talking about VoIP as if it is as simple as providing a dial-tone.

The beauty of VoIP, and the reason that VoIP is not and will not be dead in the near future, is simply that VoIP provides an excellent building block to providing business-critical applications that are more flexible, scalable, and geographically redundant than was possible with traditional wire-line technology. By VoIP’s very nature, given that it is service providers via the web, it is easily integrated into a more flexible portfolio. VoIP telephony is not limited by physical telephone wires and the markets are much easier to infiltrate because the internet is its backbone…and the internet is everywhere.

VoIP is a technology, like a floppy disk drive or an iPod. It’s the content that you put on those disks and iPods that make them useful. Similarly, the content (applications) you build on a VoIP platform is what makes VoIP technology useful. Such applications could include hosted call recording, telemanagement, or ACD reporting software. The more top of the line applications a carrier offers its customers, the more desirable its service will be. It is the applications that make the VoIP service, not the service itself, and the future opportunities in VoIP will be in providing the most advanced applications options to customers. This will be the future differentiator.

So, to say that VoIP is dead might be a bit premature. The way that VoIP technology was originally delivered is becoming a thing of the past and better ways of deploying VoIP service are emerging, but VoIP itself is alive and well. VoIP’s future success rests on the fact that it is easily deployable and that the best and most robust business-critical applications are available and will continue to be available in the VoIP framework. Applications providers have more options and more flexibility in the VoIP architecture to provide that flexibility, and business customers are going to continue to require that these applications options be available. The real question that we should be asking ourselves is, who will be providing the best and most diverse applications feature-set to their customers? Because these are the VoIP providers of the future.

What is Proteus Trader and How Can It Work For You?

Proteus Trader is an advanced telemanagement software solution that gives financial institutions total visibility of their phone costs and usage. It is the only solution available that integrates dealerboard data and fixed line, mobile, internet, email and voice recording usage under a single organizational database and a secure web interface. Proteus Trader can collect data from either a single site or a global network with hundreds of remote branches/locations.

Proteus Trader can monitor traffic across unlimited remote sites enabling control of all communications from a central location. Proteus Trader has a superior reporting function providing over 50 standard report formats while allowing tailor made reports. Its web browser interface means you can collect data and schedule reports whenever you like, wherever you are. This can include a telephone bill comparison to ensure you are always getting the best carrier rates or response time efficiency allowing you to manage call center activity and customer service levels. Proteus Trader can operate in both a fixed and free-seating environment. Additionally, communication costs can be reduced by creating employee accountability for personal use of business communication tools, such as company mobile phones and unnecessary calls to high cost numbers. Proteus Trader can also measure response and handling times along with identifying missed and unanswered calls.

Simplifying Telecommunications Management with PBX Plug-and-Play Telemanagement Systems

In a world of expanding communication systems, it is necessary to be able to manage the entire spectrum of communications from landlines to Internet and mobile phones to email. In addition to being able to manage the cost of communication systems, it is important to manage staff productivity, network efficiency and bandwidth utilization. Having information about the ways employees are using communication systems empowers managers to make decisions that can improve productivity and profitability for the company.

Companies with worldwide office locations find the task of managing communication devices particularly difficult. PBX-integrated call management systems can seamlessly integrate communication devices in real time across multiple office locations and deliver reports, trend analysis and proactive alerts around system use. Regardless of whether the company is using VoIP, regular telephone service or a combination of both, the results are based on how various types of communication are being used and the cost of that communication. The information in these reports provides managers with vital business intelligence they need to run a streamlined, cost-effective communications systems.

PBX-integrated call management systems are equipped with a range of standard and custom reports that are easily automated with output on screen, print or email. They have many standard report templates designed to meet the typical needs of a communications management solution. These template reports include cost analysis, traffic times, and trend reports. But if these templates do not fully cover the exact needs of the end user, an advanced filtering system can also be included that enables end users to easily design and update any number of customized reports, saving valuable time while fitting the needs of the end user.

These PBX-integrated telemanagement systems are also equipped with a versatile alarm system that alerts key personnel of actions of particular interest within the communications system. Alarms can be customized and sent to an individual or a group, typically via e-mail or flagged on screen. Alarms are instant, providing information in real time once a call has been terminated. Many times, default alarm templates are available, including one that identifies when and from where a 911 call was placed. One company found this function particularly helpful in their multi-level office building to identify if an emergency call was in fact an emergency or if it was an accidental misdial. Alarms can also be scheduled to show when no calls are received within a certain time period or when the length of the call is more or less than the specified parameters. Alarms can also be used for immediate detection of fraud and security breaches as well as alerting the end user of telecom equipment failures. All of these alerts can quickly and efficiently provide the end user with the information necessary to keep the business running smoothly and efficiently while providing a safe and secure environment for their employees.

Companies use these PBX-integrated call management systems to monitor their employee activity and telecommunications usage. They are able to spot fraud at its onset and able to identify cost saving opportunities sooner rather than later. These systems allow companies to properly manage their telecommunications systems with consistent return on investment within three to four months of installation.

What does Web 2.0 mean for Telephony Service Providers?

In a 2007 Study by IBM (“Web 2.0 Meets Telecom”), they found that, in the telecom industry, changes in basic business models were the number one key indicator of future success. In other words, industry leaders in the telecom industry are planning to change their business models to be more collaborative and more robust so that they can be competitive in the future.

In long term business planning, leading telecom companies are looking toward collaborating with external partners to provide a more robust offering. They are realizing that they have the ability to provide a more diverse product offering. Historically, they had offered traditional services like call waiting and voicemail, but it was becoming increasingly clear that enterprise customers were looking for more from their telecommunications providers. They were looking for more overall business management and monitoring tools, which were not historically offered at the provider level.

This new, more collaborative approach to providing telecommunications service is sometimes referred to as part of the Web 2.0 revolution. It is characterized as facilitating communication, information sharing, interoperability, user-centered design[1] and collaboration on the World Wide Web (www.wikipedia.com). So, it makes sense in the telecommunications arena that Web 2.0 would refer to partnering and sharing as well, especially when we talk about the VoIP telecommunications arena. Since VoIP telephony runs entirely over the internet, it only stands to reason that it, too, would be somehow involved in the Web 2.0 revolution.

With major players in the telecommunications arena looking for partnering opportunities to stay competitive in the new Web 2.0 environment, applications providers are finding themselves in pretty high demand. Service providers, hardware manufacturers, and resellers alike are all looking for an easy way to integrate management and monitoring tools into their portfolios to fulfill the growing needs of their enterprise customers.

The variety of offerings by applications providers is endless. From high quality, highly integrated management software to plug-in trunks added to existing systems. Originally, many telecommunications leaders were turning to the plug-in trunk applications. They saw these applications as the easiest and most cost effective way to provide their enterprise customers with the applications they needed.

However, they eventually found that these applications lacked feature functionality, consistency, and security. Some of the higher quality and highly integrated management software packages provide point and click online interfaces, geographic redundancy (available anywhere in the world), and scalability; features that many of their enterprise customers found that they needed to effectively utilize management software.

Some of the most popular management software packages being utilized in the new Web 2.0 revolution are IP call recording, ACD reporting, and Call Management Software packages. Those that are integrated at the switch level seem to provide the highest level of security and scalability, while also being more reliable overall.

The Web 2.0 revolution has motivated telecommunications industry leaders to rethink their business philosophy and expand their portfolios to include external partner integrated software that can provide the solutions that enterprise customers need. This new integrated software provides management tools that allow these enterprise customers to take a more hands on roll in managing their telecommunications usage and expenses.

Proteus gives you total visibility of your communication costs and usage.

In the world of expanding communication systems, it is increasingly necessary to be able to manage the entire spectrum of communications from landlines to Internet and mobile phones. In addition to being able to manage the cost of communication systems, it is important to manage staff productivity. Possessing information about the ways employees are using communication systems empowers managers to make decisions that can improve productivity and, ultimately, profitability for the company.

Proteus is an easy-to-use call accounting system that captures and records data on incoming and outgoing communications directly from the PBX switch. By automatically collecting information into professional management reports in real time, Proteus provides analysis of your total communications arsenal including cost allocation throughout the company, bill verification, traffic monitoring, efficiency analysis and system abuse identification.

Proteus quickly demonstrates commercial value. ROI can be recognized to the enterprise immediately, but most often a true return is realized in 3 to 4 months. That means you are simply growing revenue 4 months after installation, as a result of more efficient communications expense management. This quick ROI is achieved by identifying and eliminating external fraud, unnecessary telecom expenditures, employee time abuse, employee telephone misuse and lost business opportunities. Bottom line: Proteus allows your business to manage communication costs more effectively.

Analysis – Save Time and Money in Billing Processes

Analysis provides a vital service to business customers while saving time on account management and billing print fulfillment costs for the service provider. The customer can understand and manage spending by creating their own reports and allocating costs with the option to access their bill. Reports are available instantly at every level of analysis – from trend summaries to individual line items.

Cut customer service costs by providing tools for customers to resolve their own billing queries.
Maintain proactive customer relationships; by encouraging online activity, service providers can develop a better understanding of consumer behavior.

Fast, powerful cost analysis. Clients can set up watchpoints in this electronic invoice presentation software to view succinct, customized summaries of the reports that matter to them. The ‘click and drill down’ design can produce chart summaries in more detail with just a few clicks.

Cost effective IP Call Recording with Internationalization and Super Security

When industry regulations necessitate recorded phone calls, we’ve got you covered. Remaining legally compliant is vital to your business success, and our call recording feature substantially lowers your risk. In addition, our easy-to-use solution improves your customer experience so you can build proactive, powerful consumer relationships. Our cost-effective, user-friendly IP call recording solution ensures that you have the flexibility, scalability, and compliance coverage you need – with no capital investment in hardware or software.

Your business requires superior call recording services, and we provide a flexible solution to meet your unique needs. Whether you’re a retailer depending on phone order confirmations or an insurance provider that relies on claims recordings, we support you with an industry-leading solution – one that’s changing the face of call recording and VoIP services by employing customer-focused innovation.

Bringing you internationalization and superior security - language and time zone barriers are now a thing of the past. Our advanced internationalization features guarantee that you can fully benefit from our call recording solution, regardless of your geographic location. We understand how important data security is to your business. A superior data encryption process ensures your calls are well protected. In addition, recorded calls required for legal, regulatory, or compliance purposes can be safely transferred from our web-based system to your proprietary system individually or in batches.

Law Firm Uses Proteus Enterprise to Invoice for Billable Hours

An International Law Firm uses CTI Group’s Proteus Enterprise to invoice customers. Since lawyers track their billable hours, this law firm is able to take the call data directly from Proteus Enterprise into an in house application that in turn makes all of the call data available to the attorneys via a web interface. Then, the lawyers can mark their calls to keep track of the clients that should be charged for those call hours.

Human error is eliminated from this process of tracking billable hours. Because all calls made are automatically uploaded to the web interface, so all call hours are accounted for. Many law firms use systems that require that the attorney front load the information and log all of their calls. This leaves a lot of room for error in forgetting to log calls. However, by using this telemanagement system to document all call hours, the attorney simply has to categorize that call and the invoice is processed.