Avaya Interaction Center R6.3, S8500 Switch. Avaya, (800) GO-AVAYA. www.avaya.com
Siemens, another huge name in the VoIP market, submitted a low-cost but feature-rich proposal. When Kodiak factored in the estimated cost of required hardware, software licenses and databases, Siemens' setup still came in as the least expensive option at $338,542.
The system lets Kodiak create routing rules based on performance or business criteria. For performance, standard metrics like average wait time, queue size and service levels are factored into call distribution. Business rules, such as caller information, IVR inputs, abandonment rate and time of day, serve more for creating conditional routes than for dynamic responses to the current call environment. Different media types can be prioritized against other forms of contact, both inbound and outbound. Rules, agent configurations and agent features are configured in a graphical environment, and supervisors can dynamically move agents into different groups, force calls to designated agents or change routing on a call-by-call basis. Kodiak could use role-based access control to limit the administrative capabilities of different supervisor tiers.
One feature unique to Siemens' proposal is the ability to time out a transferred contact. If a voice call is not answered within a specified amount of time, the caller can be transferred to a designated extension to leave a message or placed back into the contact-center queue. If an e-mail message is forwarded to a topic expert and remains unanswered for a predetermined period of time, the message is returned to the original handling agent. Phone and Web callers can be told their queue positions and estimated wait times, and can enter an IVR system without sacrificing their spot. The Siemens IVR, manufactured by Intervoice, lets Kodiak's customers enter data by touch-tone or voice command, offers text-to-speech support and can deliver fax-back confirmations and information. Supervisors can keep tabs on all queue sizes, average wait times and service-level compliance.
Subsea cable alternatives can provide a level of comfort for those concerned about disruptions. Realistically, they will continue to play a small, but critical role in the short term.
Maintaining existing network infrastructures often incurs huge technical debt before newer technologies are adopted over time.
Amid ongoing regional uncertainties, telecom infrastructure in the Middle East has expand to include terrestrial low-latency network infrastructure, which offers resilience and agility in navigating political complexities without relying solely on undersea networks.
