Computer Telephony Integration

Major Hassles, Major Payoffs

No question computer telephony integration delivers big improvements in call center performance--if net managers avoid the pitfalls

CTI: Those three letters make it all sound so easy. Rows of agents with information at their fingertips. Operators taking orders and answering inquiries. Big improvements in customer service--and big jumps in corporate profits.

Sure--once everything is up and running. Net managers know there's more to CTI than adding some simple screen pops. Integrating data systems with proprietary PBXs means getting into some heavy-duty customization. And once the delays (and consulting fees) start mounting, guess who starts to feel the heat?

But step back and consider the business benefits. They can more than make up for the misery of managing a computer-telephony integration project. Ask Bill Gay, command center manager at Bank of America N.A. (Dallas). When customers call, their account information now automatically appears on the screen of whichever operator answers the phone. That means speedier service--which frees operators to take more calls and spares the bank from having to hire more help. The bottom line? More than $350,000 saved in projected labor costs. "Our system paid for itself in six months," Gay notes.

And there's good news for corporate networkers looking to reap similar results: At least 10 vendors now sell CTI server software packages--products that act as the principal interface between the PBX and the data system. The bad news? Customers may have to combine two or more of the offerings to get all the functions they want. But net managers can spare themselves the setbacks by getting familiar with what the packages have to offer. Start with server platforms supported and the open APIs (application-program interfaces) available. Screen pops also count--the faster the information is presented to an operator, the sooner the call is completed. Then look into intelligent call routing, call-and-data transfer, and call blending capabilities. Management also is important--not to mention PBX support (a CTI package won't do much good if it doesn't work with the systems a company has in place).

Then check the price, all the while k eeping in mind that customization is going to add to the cost. How much? It depends--but Powerhouse Consulting (Bedford, N.H.) says that bringing basic CTI functions to a 150-agent call center could mean $50,000 in consulting fees. The best bet: Proceed with caution--and pay attention to details.

CTI ABCs

Speaking of details, this is a good place to look at how CTI can change the traditional call center. As things are done now in a typical setting, hundreds of agents wearing head sets handle incoming calls; they're connected to the PBX, which often also includes an automatic call distributor (ACD). An interactive voice response (IVR) unit plays a recorded message, prompting customers to give details of their call by hitting keys on the telephone touchpad. The ACD takes this information and uses it to identify an appropriate agent to handle the call, which is then completed by the PBX.

The procedure also works the opposite way. An outbound dialer sets up large volumes of calls from the PBX to the outside world--say, to prospective customers. As those prospects pick up the phone, the call is then transferred by the ACD to the appropriate agent (see Figure 1 ).

But CTI takes call-center automation a big step further. Each agent's PC is hooked into the CTI server via a LAN. The server itself is connected to the ACD. When the ACD assigns a call to a particular agent, it sends details to the CTI server. Software running on the server then pulls information relating to the call off the database and displays it on the PC as the agent takes the call.

Package Particulars

And there are now plenty of vendors offering packages that can help net managers implement CTI. These packages typically run on high-end workstations loaded with Windows NT or Unix operating systems (see Table 1 ). But that's where the similarities end. Some packages work only with specific PBXs, ACDs, and IVRs. Also, some vendors have particular strengths. Answersoft Inc. (Plano, Texas), Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories Inc. (San Francisco), and Nabnasset Corp. (Acton, Mass.), for instance, started out as application software vendors and integrators. Davox Corp. (Westford, Mass.) is a big player in the outbound dialer market. Lucent Technologies Inc. (Murray Hill, N.J.) and Prospect Software Inc. (San Jose, Calif.)--a subsidiary of Aspect Telecommunication Inc. (San Jose)--come from the PBX w orld.

What's more, some vendors offer CTI server software and a range of ready-made applications, while others, like Dialogic Corp. (Parsipanny, N.J.), provide a platform for third-party apps. Such differences could force users to buy two or more CTI server packages to get what they want. Lucent often partners with Answersoft and Nabnasset, for example, to furnish higher-level CTI features.

When picking client software, users need to make sure that it works with the same APIs as their CTI servers. Even then, some programming and configuration may be necessary to get the two packages talking. Most CTI servers support TSAPI (Telephony Server API) from Novell Inc. (Orem, Utah) and TAPI (Telephony API) from Microsoft Corp. (Redmond, Wash.). Many CTI servers also support DDE (dynamic data exchange), a Microsoft API that lets Windows applications talk to each other, and DDL (dynamic link library), a similar API for Unix workstations.

Getting CTI servers to pull data out of legacy application s creates bigger challenges. Bank of America's account information, for example, comes from a mainframe. When a customer calls, the bank's Prospect CTI server has to work with an IBM 3270 terminal emulator on the agent's desktop to run a script file in order to pull up the relevant information from the host. Prospect did most of the programming. "It's a really slick system," says Gay.

Web developments could eliminate the need for client software in the future. At least one vendor, Answersoft, is already supplying customers with Java-based desktop apps for CTI-enabled help desks. These are downloaded from the CTI server to the agent's desktop when the browser is started. Bank of America thinks it would ease the problems of integrating legacy apps in CTI projects--and would let the bank add information to an agent's screen, such as help facilities for customer service reps. "It would be nice to have everything available through a Web browser," Gay says. 

Business Benefits

Take intelligent call routing, for example. Once the source or purpose of an incoming call has been identified, by capturing the caller's phone number or getting information from an IVR, the CTI server takes over the task of assigning a particular agent to handle the transaction. In this way, calls can be routed to particular agents on the basis of factors that can't be monitored by ACDs. Calls from big-spending customers, for example, can be routed to agents best equipped to deal with them. Similarly, British Airways PLC (London) uses CTI to route night-time calls from Europe to its U.S. call center, so that it can offer 24-hour service when its U.K. call center is closed.

Bank of America uses a similar system to handle banking in two states, Texas and New Mexico, from the same call center. Customers are connected with agents dealing with their particular bank on the basis of the area codes of their phone numbers. According to Jeff Cornejo, MIS developer at Crutchfield Corp. (Charlottesville, Va.), a direct mail seller of audio and video equipment, calling line identity provided by U.S. phone companies works in 95 percent of cases.

Call and data transfer also can deliver big business benefits. Customers switched from one position to another in a call center that's not equipped with CTI may have to repeat the same information every time they're shunted to a new agent. With CTI, this information is passed from screen to screen at the same time as the call is transferred--improving service quality and productivity. "It also means you don't need to have all your staff in one place," says Michael Holmes, systems development manager at insurance firm Norwich Union PLC (Norwich, U.K.). It operates call centers in three cities across the U.K. "About 300 agents is as big as you want to get in one call center," says Holmes, adding that he would also find it difficult to recruit enough quality staff if they were all working in the same city.

Call-center service quality and productivity also can be boosted by analyzing the log of every call and every transaction collected by CTI servers. "Having this information is the holy grail of what we're trying to do," says Crutchfield's Cornejo. The management data helps Crutchfield predict required staff numbers and steer more calls towards productive agents. Crutchfield also uses CTI to correlate caller addresses with phone numbers while they're on the line. This eliminates the need to make a separate call to directory assistance before mailing products.

There's also a feature k nown as call blending, which can be used to switch agents from outbound to inbound calls in response to traffic levels. The usual way of handling this is to set a time limit for answering inbound calls. If a certain percentage of calls aren't picked up in, say, 10 seconds, two agents are switched from outbound to inbound calls. 

Some vendors add an extra twist. Their servers can maintain a list of operators more experienced at handling specific types of inquiries. When that type of call comes in, it can be shifted to one of those agents.

Call blending usually involves a dialing mechanism that presents a script on the agent's screen while setting up outbound calls. There are three basic modes: Preview dialing, which gives the agent a few seconds to read the script before setting up calls; predictive dialing, which starts dialing about 50 percent more calls than necessary, on the assumption that some won't get through; and power dialing, which dials as many numbers as possible and dumps connecti ons that agents can't handle. Predictive dialing enables agents to spend 54 minutes an hour doing productive work on the phone, according to Bob Mann, market support manager at IBM. Without it, they'd do more like 40 minutes an hour, he says.

Hidden Costs

Net managers have to factor in the cost of their own time as well, since working CTI into a call center can take months of labor. First they have to get programmers to customize the CTI server; then they have to coordinate the various groups within the organization and work with outside vendors. And even after that's done, they'll probably have to do it all over again when the network is upgraded.

To help net managers get an idea of how much damage CTI can do to the corporate pocketbook, Data Comm asked Powerhouse Consulting to dra w up a shopping list. It covers a typical 150-agent call center and assumes net managers already have a PBX, an IVR system, an outbound dialer, and desktop PCs.

Given those assumptions, then, it's clear that the first thing networkers have to do is make sure the CTI server can talk with the PBX in use. Most PBX switches, including those from Ericsson AB (Stockholm, Sweden), Lucent, Northern Telecommunications Ltd. (Mississauga, Ontario), and Siemens AG (Munich, Germany), need to be upgraded with special CTI software. How much does that cost? "Anywhere from $10,000 to $20,000," says David Peterson, president of Powerhouse. The price difference, he says, depends on the size of the PBX and how it links into the server. Most modern PBXs, for example, have their own Ethernet ports for attachment to the LAN. Others need a dedicated X.25 line to the server, pushing up costs.

Second, net managers need the CTI software, which comprises both software for the server and for each agent's desktop. For basi c functionality, that comes to $300 to $500 per agent, according to Peterson--or $45,000 to $75,000 for a 150-operator call center. As if that isn't enough, Peterson points out this price includes only the cost of the software and some simple configuration procedures. Customization, he says, is extra: "It could run to $50,000," he points out, noting that the price includes the cost of programmers and part-time consultants. What it doesn't include is the price of the workstation needed to run the server software. So factor in between $10,000 to $15,000 for a high-end machine, Peterson says.

Finally, net managers should weigh the unquantifiable costs--human resources. Internal staff from many departments will have to spend hours in the planning room, specifying requirements, checking proposals, and approving budgets. Although outside consultants can do some of the work, CTI projects are so vast that they take months to complete--and the hours come from everyone's schedules.

Old News

Perhaps the biggest technical problem with CTI is marrying old technologies to new. Consider this: While net managers deal with open standards on their LANs, telecom engineers are still wrestling with dozens of proprietary protocols. "It reminds me of the networking industry in the mid- to late '80s," says Mike Bauer, product line manager for Voicetek Corp. (Chelmsford, Mass.), a developer of interactive voice response software. The proprietary nature of PBXs is a big problem for CTI servers, because they have to pull information off the switch every time they make or take a call.

As a result, most CTI servers support only a handful of phone switches. There is one standard in use: the Computer Supported Telephony Application (CSTA) protocol, developed by the European Computer M anufacturer's Association. But only about half of all PBXs adhere to the spec, which doesn't even provide the server with sufficient information. This forces vendors to write directly to the native switch protocols. Fortunately, most vendors say they will program to a specific switch if customers request it. (Dialogic and IBM are exceptions to the rule: Their software can talk to PBXs from about 20 vendors, including some of the more obscure models.)

If it were just the PBX net managers had to worry about, life wouldn't be so hard. But in a typical call center, two other standalone telephony devices typically need to be integrated into the CTI server--the IVR and the outbound dialer. Both use proprietary protocols to talk to the PBX and to CTI server software.

Learning Process

Making sure that the CTI server software works with all three telephony devices (PBX, IVR, and outbound dialer) is a lesson David Howard learned the hard way. He's project leader at mainframe host integrator M &I Data Services (Brown Deer, Wis.), and he installed CTI software from Genesys. He's happy with his choice, but there were some problems along the way. "Genesys did not provide us with the right driver program for our IVR," he says, explaining how the vendor delivered software for talking to a Unix-based IVR, rather than the OS/2-based IVR his network was using. Now he has some basic advice for other net managers contemplating CTI: "Be grossly over-specific in your requirements. If you think that a particular detail doesn't matter, you're wrong."

To help net managers smooth the integration process, Data Comm has compiled a list of recommendations based on advice from users and consultants (see " Ten Tips "). It include s tips on getting a manager for the project, assigning a prime vendor for implementation, getting all parts of the organization involved right from the design stage, and working out a process for upgrades. Howard, however, says there's something important to do even before getting involved with all of that: Learn the lingo of the telecommunications world. "If you don't speak the language, you can easily get lost in defining your requirements," he warns. Thus it might be wise for net managers to add someone to the staff who has a background in telecommunications.

It's also important to decide who will be in charge of the project. Howard warns against relying on vendors for overall management. "That's your responsibility," he says, suggesting it would be wise to hire an outside consultant as backup. Others say it's best to get a single vendor heavily involved in the project, to avoid finger-pointing when things go wrong. "You need a prime vendor," says Powerhouse's Peterson.

But when things do g o wrong, vendors aren't exactly known as the most helpful folks around. When Genesys delivered the wrong driver program for Howard's IVR unit, the vendor at first refused to fix the problem. "They understood that someone had to write [a new driver]," Howard says. "Getting them to write it was the problem." After a bit of arm-twisting, Howard eventually got Genesys to send a programmer to the site.

Assuming net managers can find someone reliable to be in overall charge, they then have to get all the other staff involved. "You normally have three relevant groups in your company--MIS, the telecommunications group, and whoever directs the call center," says Peterson. "Make sure they're part of the team." He cites an instance where, at the end of a particularly costly project, a server wasn't configured to the corporate standard. Why not? The appropriate MIS staff were not consulted, resulting in an expensive reconfiguration procedure.

There's another reason why it's important to consult users. "Th ere are a lot of disappointed customers with missed expectations," says Christopher Thompson, research director for voice communications at Dataquest Inc. (San Jose, Calif.). Net managers who involve users and get them to define what they want at the design stage will avoid disappointing them later, says Peterson. 

And when it comes to implementation, Peterson suggests a go-slow approach. "Don't try to do everything at once," he warns, adding that net managers should build applications layer-on-layer.

Finally, net managers should be aware that dollars paid for implementation could come back to haunt them. Database changes and operating system upgrades often cause CTI servers to crash, leading to expensive reprogramming. Ask Bob Huggard, director of business development at New Brunswick Telephone Co. (NBTel, Saint John, New Brunswick). Two years ago, the carrier deployed IBM's Callpath CTI server, hoping to add screen-pop capability to a service it was offering to customers. Then the operator upgraded some telephone switches--and the screen pops stopped popping. When Huggard went back to IBM, the vendor quoted "a fair bit of money" to fix the problem. Huggard said no thanks, ripping out the system and replacing it with software from Genesys. His advice? Work through a migration strategy at the design stage--or pay top dollar for upgrades.

Fortunately, there could be a way for some corporations to avoid the integration hassles. M&I Data Services is working on a CTI service for its customers in the banking industry. By the end of the year, users connected to M&I host machines will be able to add a specially configured CTI server from Genesys. Because the system is managed by M&I--which has already worked out the integration issues--users won't have to worr y about upgrades. Similarly, NBTel is already offering a CTI service for small business users of its Canadian telephone network.