b+s Connects CCX Edition

Transcription

1 b+s Connects CCX Edition A Business Whitepaper by Bucher + Suter April, 2014 Todd Samalin, Sales Engineer Contents Introduction...2 What is b+s Connects?...2 b+s Connects for Salesforce...3 Architecture...4 b+s Connects for Microsoft Dynamics CRM...5 Connects Return On Investment (ROI)...6 Conclusion...6

2 Introduction When it comes time to choose an integration technology for the contact center, business leaders demand a solution that is feature rich, simple to use and cost effective. IT managers seek solutions that are easy to implement and simple to maintain. To maximize efficiency, agents must be able to work with a single Graphical User Interface (GUI) without having to switch between applications. They need to be able to take advantage of time saving features such as click to dial, screen pops, record transfer, call logging etc. Connects by Bucher + Suter (b+s) provides CRM integration to Cisco Contact Center Express (CCX) customers in a pre-integrated package that is easy to install and offers the functionality demanded by today s contact centers. This white paper describes the b+s Connects product line and the values it brings to contact centers. What is b+s Connects? b+s Connects is an out of the box integration between CCX and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software which allows agents to handle telephone calls and manage their state (ready, not ready with reason, login, logout etc.) within a gadget embedded in and tightly integrated to their CRM. Cisco s approach with the Cisco Finesse desktop is to provide a container application that allows companies to embed a CRM GUI inside a tab within Finesse. However, it has become common practice for most organizations to enable their agents to work inside the CRM as much as possible verses forcing them to access applications outside the CRM in order to service callers. Bucher + Suter Connects strategically takes an alternate strategy by flipping the Cisco approach and embedding call control and status tools inside of the CRM where agents spend most of their time. This greatly increases the level of integration that can be realized between the CRM and the Cisco CCX system. It also streamlines contact handling, provides quick access to agent tools, improves efficiency and means that agents won t have to constantly tab back and forth between applications when searching for information. Tabbing between windows and applications takes time - time that customers spend waiting. Bucher + Suter offers two versions of Connects: b+s Connects for Salesforce and b+s Connects for Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Whitepaper b+s Connects Page 2 Bucher + Suter

3 b+s Connects for Salesforce Bucher and Suter s Connects for Salesforce CCX Edition is a pre-packaged integration of Cisco s CCX and Salesforce. The solution provides full CTI functionality to help drive contact center efficiency, reduce costs and increase customer satisfaction. Agents can sign in and out and change their state within the Connects gadget, which is embedded in the Salesforce GUI. In this way CCX keeps track of agent activity so it knows which agents are available to answer calls. Agents can conference, transfer and accept interactions within the Connects gadget in Salesforce. Connects for Salesforce provides agents with several ways in which to receive assistance from coworkers. A consultation transfer allows the first agent to speak with the second agent prior to transferring the call and the system automatically puts the customer on hold. During this process, screen transfer allows the first agent to pass Salesforce records to the second agent in order to provide additional information about the customer or call. Connects for Salesforce pops customer information into the agent s Salesforce GUI with a telephone call arrival, using Caller ID or other data to identify the customer. When an agent needs to transfer a call to another agent, the screen pop follows the call so that the customer won t have to identify himself a second time and wait for the new agent to pull up his record. The system also displays customer information inside the gadget and administrators can choose the most relevant data to display. Seamless integration with the Salesforce GUI allows agents to handle telephone calls without needing to switch between applications. This streamlines agent workflow and reduces training. Since Connects for Salesforce is a preintegrated solution, implementation costs are low and deployment rapid. Connects for Salesforce is not just easy to use and implement but it also provides a myriad of useful features such as auto sign on, HTTPS and SSL support, not ready and wrap up reasons, call logging, a notes field inside the gadget and Cisco Outbound Option support for preview, progressive and predictive dialing. The b+s Connects for Salesforce gadget, embedded in the Salesforce GUI Whitepaper b+s Connects Page 3 Bucher + Suter

4 Architecture Cisco Finesse offers a REST API for CTI applications. The Connects for Cisco Contact Center gadget communicates with the Cisco Finesse Server using a XMPP over HTTP (BOSH) connection. The connection is setup and established from the Connects gadget web application. Connects uses Cisco Finesse as an API to communicate with Contact Center Express for route request/route response, passing agent state changes from the gadget to Finesse, passing ANI to the CRM for screen pops, displaying Finesse not ready and wrap up reasons in the gadget, altering an agent to an incoming call, connecting the call to the agent s phone upon accepting the call in the gadget etc. Connects does not use the Finesse agent GUI but instead replaces it with a user friendly, feature rich user interface embedded in the CRM GUI. Connects for Salesforce Architecture The Salesforce user interface in the web browser contains a frame to load and display Open CTI applications. The Cisco Finesse Webserver hosts the Open CTI application from b+s and forwards requests from the gadget to Finesse. The Connects gadget s webpages are hosted on the Finesse webserver, not in the Salesforce cloud. The Finesse REST API is a thin-client, industry standard, broadly applicable Web 2.0-based application programming interface (API). It simplifies development and hides the complexity of the underlying architecture and functions. So why use the Finesse API rather than an older technology such as CTIOS? Bucher + Suter decided to leverage Finesse s API in the connects product line because it is Cisco s latest and greatest integration technology, it s their new company standard which has and will replace older Cisco APIs and it s where Cisco has invested and will continue to invest significant development dollars. Leveraging the latest Cisco technology and avoiding obsolescence is a key component of Bucher + Suter s product development strategy. The diagram above is Salesforce/CCX integration but the architecture is similar to other cloud based CRM systems integrations such as Connects for Microsoft Dynamics CRM (online version). Whitepaper b+s Connects Page 4 Bucher + Suter

5 b+s Connects for Microsoft Dynamics CRM Bucher + Suter s Connects for Microsoft Dynamics CRM - CCX Edition is a web-based, out of the box, plug and play gadget for agent state and call control in Microsoft Dynamics CRM. Since it s a browser based gadget, no desktop installation is required and since the gadget is hosted on the Finesse server no additional hardware is required. Standard features such as wrap up with reason and not ready with reason give supervisors the historical reporting information they need to closely track what their team members are doing and why. Connects for Microsoft Dynamics CRM can reduce handle time, speed issue resolution and enable faster call processing by providing agents with screen pops of customer information at the time the telephone call arrives. This cost savings alone can provide a rapid Return On Investment (ROI). Another important cost saving feature is click to dial which allows agents to click on any telephone number in Microsoft Dynamics CRM and the system will dial the number so that the agent doesn t have to waste time dialing it manually. The b+s Connects for Microsoft Dynamics CRM gadget rendered in a separate window outside of the CRM Whitepaper b+s Connects Page 5 Bucher + Suter

6 Connects Return On Investment (ROI) Connects can provide both labor and carrier network toll charge cost savings. A key labor savings initiative is to reduce the amount of time agents spend on phone calls without jeopardizing superior customer service. The goal is to be able to handle the same workload with fewer agents or re-purpose agents to handle other work. Network savings entail reducing the time customers spend connected to a contact center s 800/888/877 numbers, thus lowering a contact center s telephone bill. Connects screen pop capability provides both labor and network savings. By not having to re-ask the customer for an identifier and search for the correct record, contact centers can shorten the time agents spend on phone calls This provides network and labor savings as average handle time is reduced and customers spend less time on the contact center s telephone lines. Click to dial is another important money saving feature that Connects provides. Instead of agents wasting valuable times manually typing a phone number into their phone/softphone they can make outbound calls with a single click of the mouse. In a contact centers with high outbound calling volumes, saving even 5 10 seconds per call can result in a significant cost reduction. Conclusion Connects provides out of the box integration between the Cisco Contact Center and CRM software such as Salesforce and Microsoft Dynamics CRM. It also provides companies with the ability to integrate Cisco to other CRM systems in a straightforward, industry standard manner. Finesse is used as the API to provide communication between Connects and the Cisco Contact Center. Connects embeds Finesse based CTI control into the CRM GUI allowing agents to leverage the CRM as a single pane of glass for servicing customers. Alternatively these controls can be presented in a separate browser window, utilizing minimal screen real estate. Agents are able to more efficiently handle interactions with customers by not having to switch between applications and by taking advantage of time saving features such as screen pops, click to dial, call logging, sharing records with other agents and more. Connects is an out of the box, easy to use, easy to implement and feature rich integration of CRM systems and Cisco s CCX. About Bucher + Suter: Bucher + Suter is a Registered Cisco Developer Network partner and Advanced Technology Partner that delivers integrated multi-channel solutions on top of Cisco Contact Center, enabling customers to realize additional business value from their Cisco investments. Bucher + Suter has been helping customers implement strategic solutions for over 12 years and today supports some of the largest Cisco Contact Center environments in the world. For more information, visit info@bucher-suter.com or call Whitepaper b+s Connects Page 6 Bucher + Suter