Product Leadership Award

Transcription

1 INSERT COMPANY LOGO HERE 2014 North American 2013 North Web American RTC-enabled SSL Certificate Contact Center Applications New Product Innovation Award Product Leadership Award Frost & Sullivan 1 We Accelerate Growth

2 Contents Industry Challenges... 3 New Product Attributes and Customer Impact of Voice4Net... 4 Conclusion... 6 Significance of New Product Innovation... 7 Understanding New Product Innovation... 7 Understanding New Product Innovation... 7 Key Benchmarking Criteria... 8 Best Practice Award Analysis for Voice4Net... 8 New Product Attributes... 9 Customer Impact... 9 Decision Support Matrix The Intersection between 360-Degree Research and Best Practices Awards Research Methodology Best Practices Recognition: 10 Steps to Researching, Identifying, and Recognizing Best Practices About Frost & Sullivan Frost & Sullivan 2 We Accelerate Growth

3 Industry Challenges Web Real-Time Communication (WebRTC) is an application programming interface (API) standard that permits voice and video calls and shares files within Web browsers windows, but without downloading third-party software plug-ins. With WebRTC customers no longer have to back out of Web applications on their smartphones, or pick up separate desktop or wireless phones, to make calls. As a result customers often experience an improved Customer Experience, while companies could achieve higher productivity and lowered costs. Companies that use WebRTC on their contact center agent desktops aim for shorter agent handle time (AHT) and improved first contact resolution. Agents can click to accept calls as they would for chats or texts, and avoid spending extra seconds in handling calls through separate hard or soft phones. Meanwhile contacts from mobile apps and Web sites can be pre-qualified and directed to agents. WebRTC collects context from web sites or apps that would normally be collected in IVRs. WebRTC also simplifies home agent deployment by avoiding having to download soft phones or install hard phones. But customer contact organizations often face challenges in realizing benefits. The most daunting challenge, from a customer usability perspective, is that the WebRTC API is not universally available, especially in mobile browsers. Frost & Sullivan research indicates that 40% of end users browsers may never support WebRTC. Apple is the big holdout to WebRTC in mobile; many smaller mobile browsers, such as Nokia Symbian and BlackBerry OS, also do not support WebRTC. Related to this issue is the ongoing evolution of the WebRTC standard. Microsoft has announced that it will be supporting WebRTC in Internet Explorer (IE), but it will be aligned to a newer WebRTC standard, WebRTC 1.1, or Object Real-Time Communication (ORTC). Google and Hookflash also have been working on ORTC. ORTC/WebRTC 1.1 promises greater interoperability between browsers than the present WebRTC 1.0. It also will support advanced features such as scalable video coding and simulcast. But no date has been given for the launch of the ORTC-enabled IE, or any other ORTC products. Consequently companies may ask if there is a return on investment (ROI) in WebRTCbased solutions if the prime business case for it is built on customer convenience. Companies also may wonder when or if the standard will become universally applied in most browsers. As WebRTC represents a new set of standards and related technologies and practices, companies are approaching it cautiously. The challenge then becomes to devise a powerful, versatile, and yet affordable WebRTC-enabling contact center solution that delivers an attractive ROI. Companies also are looking for WebRTC solutions that would complement and integrate with legacy ACD platforms. Finally, companies want a WebRTC application that is easily deployable and customizable. Frost & Sullivan 3 We Accelerate Growth

4 New Product Attributes and Customer Impact of Voice4Net Criterion 1: Match to Needs The Voice4Net RTC Framework Suite is an overlay application that incorporates WebRTC technology into the contact center. The RTC Framework Suite uses an IP gateway server integrated with agent desktop client applications. It is compatible with other suppliers ACDs and PBXes through the Voice4Net CCHD solution architecture. The Voice4Net suite meets several industry needs. First, more customers are turning to Web-based channels, which will increase their exposure to, and their use of, WebRTC voice and video. A 2014 Frost & Sullivan survey reports that chat, mobile app, social, video, and Web channel use will increase while IVR, live agent, and use will decline. Second, more customer interactions are taking place on multichannel smartphones. Frost & Sullivan forecasts that the number of smartphones shipped in North America will more than double over the next few years, from 165 million in 2012 to 360 million in Third, Frost & Sullivan is seeing a shift of workers, like contact center agents, from bricksand-mortar sites to their homes. Frost & Sullivan reports that approximately 30% of respondents to a recent survey work from home at least part of the time. It is interesting to note that WebRTC in the RTC Framework Suite supplanted a complex multichannel desktop connection engine that Voice4Net had developed for the CCHD platform. WebRTC eliminated many small applications that were needed to make dialers, IVRs, chat servers, clients, and other channels appear to peacefully coexist on agents desktops. With the simpler WebRTC framework in play, Voice4Net can now create more new features and capabilities. Criterion 2: Quality The Voice4Net WebRTC solution has several high quality features. The Voice4Net RTC Desktop Client enables supervisors to drag-and-drop agents, queues, workflows, and resources on the fly. Similarly the Voice4Net RTC Desktop Designer lets managers create and change agent desktops, incorporating channels, functions, and data resources within the browser windows. Connecting the parts is the Voice4Net RTC Gateway Server, which performs RTC-SIP interworking, media gateway coding functions, and SIP-PSTN connectivity. Multichannel skills-based routing is handled through the customers switch connected to the CCHD platform and the Gateway Server. Voice4Net has toolkits comprised of APIs and SDKs, building blocks and templates for standard functions, and integration libraries for many common contact center platforms. Criterion 3: Positioning The Voice4Net RTC Framework Suite is unique in the marketplace on three grounds. First, Frost & Sullivan 4 We Accelerate Growth

5 it is intended to supplement, not supplant most other suppliers voice, video, and textbased channel solutions. Second, it has been natively-developed by Voice4Net, not by third parties. Third, the features and functionality have been based on a careful identification of contact center needs and how centers operate, drawn from many years serving the industry; Voice4Net was founded in Criterion 4: Design The Voice4Net RTC Framework Suite has been designed for fast and simple customization. Indeed, the RTC Desktop Client and Designer applications use widgets, which can be added or swapped as needed. Widgets avoid the need to write specific applications or even to understand the underlying software. Widgets also handle security protocols. Companies can select widgets for a wide range of functions, including screen pops and surveys and multi-channel interaction. They can build desktop screens with widgets by department or by agent. In the future Voice4Net will allow companies to build their own widgets that can run on the Voice4Net WebRTC Framework. Criterion 5: Customer Purchase Experience The Voice4Net WebRTC Framework is being rolled out after nearly two years of development. One of the first customers is Telespeak, an Orlando, Florida-based hosted contact center, enterprise voice, data, and video, and unified communications and collaboration (UC&C) solutions provider. The company also has education and healthcare market solutions. Additionally, Telespeak offers business process outsourcing through its Contact Centers of America (CCA) unit, using bricks-and-mortar and home agents. TeleSpeak initially used Asterisk open source applications for its hosted contact center solutions. But as business and project size grew, the company found that Asterisk could not economically scale for and reliably support larger (500 seat-plus) programs and as a result it had to turn down those projects. Telespeak and Voice4Net entered into a development and marketing partnership in early 2013 in order to replace the Asterisk solution with Voice4Net s WebRTC-based platform. The TeleSpeak-developed interface could then sit on top of the Voice4Net contact center and UC&C applications. Telespeak liked that WebRTC does not rely on single SIP servers, resulting in vastly more scalability but with fewer points of failure. The company also liked the fact that separate chat, web, or softphone clients are baked into WebRTC, allowing TeleSpeak to fully integrate all of the channels on the same desktops. Finally, TeleSpeak could reduce the number of vendor solutions from as many as five to one (Voice4Net). TeleSpeak and Voice4Net agreed to install the Voice4Net RTC Framework in January, Google also assisted by providing coding and development suggestions. TeleSpeak had its hosted contact center on WebRTC first, as this was where the need and the market Frost & Sullivan 5 We Accelerate Growth

6 was the greatest, followed by UC&C, and finally education and healthcare-vertical solutions. TeleSpeak used its own in house multi-tenant Support Services contact center as the application test bed. Eventually, in September, 2014, TeleSpeak entered the beta phase and formally released the solution in November, The WebRTC-based UC&C and vertical solutions will go live sometime in Initial results have been promising. For example, the development and deployment times has been reduced from weeks down to days, and in some cases even hours, if the Telespeak customer is interested in upgrading specific functionalities. Criterion 6: Brand Equity Voice4Net has a wide range of satisfied customers across many verticals, many of which would benefit from its WebRTC solutions. This includes companies such as American Specialty Health, GTI Global Telecom, Patient Account Services and Laclede Gas. Voice4Net also has installed systems for governments, among them Harris County and Fort Bend County, Texas, located in the large Houston metropolitan area. Conclusion WebRTC is an exciting new standard that allows for truly unified multichannel voice, video, and text communications and file sharing through desktop and mobile Web browsers. Customers and company representatives can now communicate with each other without specialized downloads or separate phone hardware, software, and lines. The potential value to both customers and companies is immense in terms of convenience, shorter and yet richer, context-laden calls, and in the ability to more easily support home agents. Voice4Net is helping companies take advantage of many of the WebRTC benefits with its Voice4Net WebRTC Framework. The solution integrates voice and video with the other channels on the agent desktop. With its strong overall performance, Voice4Net has earned Frost & Sullivan s 2014 New Product Innovation Award. Frost & Sullivan 6 We Accelerate Growth

7 Significance of New Product Innovation Ultimately, growth in any organization depends upon continually introducing new products to the market, and successfully commercializing those products. For these dual goals to occur, a company must be best-in-class in three key areas: understanding demand, nurturing the brand, differentiating from the competition. This three-fold approach to delivering New Product Innovation is explored further below. Understanding New Product Innovation Innovation is about finding a productive outlet for creativity for translating ideas into high quality products that are of a consistently high quality and have a deep impact on the customer. Frost & Sullivan 7 We Accelerate Growth

8 Key Benchmarking Criteria For the New Product Innovation Award, we evaluated two key factors New Product Attributes and Customer Impact according to the criteria identified below. New Product Attributes Criterion 1: Match to Needs Criterion 2: Reliability Criterion 3: Quality Criterion 4: Positioning Criterion 5: Design Customer Impact Criterion 1: Price/Performance Value Criterion 2: Customer Purchase Experience Criterion 3: Customer Ownership Experience Criterion 4: Customer Service Experience Criterion 5: Brand Equity Best Practice Award Analysis for Voice4Net The Decision Support Scorecard is organized by New Product Attributes and Customer Impact (i.e., the overarching categories for all 10 benchmarking criteria; the definitions for each criteria are provided beneath the scorecard). The research team confirms the veracity of this weighted scorecard through sensitivity analysis, which confirms that small changes to the ratings for a specific criterion do not lead to a significant change in the overall relative rankings of the companies. The results of this analysis are shown below. To remain unbiased and to protect the interests of all organizations reviewed, we have chosen to refer to the other key players in as Company 2 and Company 3. DECISION SUPPORT SCORECARD FOR NEW PRODUCT INNOVATION AWARD (ILLUSTRATIVE) Measurement of 1 10 (1 = poor; 10 = excellent) New Product Innovation New Product Attributes Customer Impact Average Rating Voice4Net Competitor Competitor Frost & Sullivan 8 We Accelerate Growth

9 New Product Attributes Criterion 1: Match to Needs Requirement: Customer needs directly influence and inspire the product s design and positioning Criterion 2: Reliability Requirement: The product consistently meets or exceeds customer expectations for consistent performance during its entire life cycle Criterion 3: Quality Requirement: Product offers best-in-class quality, with a full complement of features and functionality Criterion 4: Positioning Requirement: The product serves a unique, unmet need that competitors cannot easily replicate Criterion 5: Design Requirement: The product features an innovative design, enhancing both visual appeal and ease of use Customer Impact Criterion 1: Price/Performance Value Requirement: Products or services offer the best value for the price, compared to similar offerings in the market Criterion 2: Customer Purchase Experience Requirement: Customers feel like they are buying the most optimal solution that addresses both their unique needs and their unique constraints Criterion 3: Customer Ownership Experience Requirement: Customers are proud to own the company s product or service, and have a positive experience throughout the life of the product or service Criterion 4: Customer Service Experience Requirement: Customer service is accessible, fast, stress-free, and of high quality Criterion 5: Brand Equity Requirement: Customers have a positive view of the brand and exhibit high brand loyalty Frost & Sullivan 9 We Accelerate Growth

10 Decision Support Matrix Once all companies have been evaluated according to the Decision Support Scorecard, analysts can then position the candidates on the matrix shown below, enabling them to visualize which companies are truly breakthrough and which ones are not yet operating at best-in-class levels. DECISION SUPPORT MATRIX FOR NEW PRODUCT INNOVATION AWARD (ILLUSTRATIVE) High Competitor 2 Voice4net Competitor 3 Customer Impact Low Low New Product Attributes High Frost & Sullivan 10 We Accelerate Growth

11 The Intersection between 360-Degree Research and Best Practices Awards Research Methodology 360-DEGREE RESEARCH: SEEING ORDER IN Frost & Sullivan s 360-degree research THE CHAOS methodology represents the analytical rigor of our research process. It offers a 360-degree-view of industry challenges, trends, and issues by integrating all 7 of Frost & Sullivan's research methodologies. Too often, companies make important growth decisions based on a narrow understanding of their environment, leading to errors of both omission and commission. Successful growth strategies are founded on a thorough understanding of market, technical, economic, financial, customer, best practices, and demographic analyses. The integration of these research disciplines into the 360-degree research methodology provides an evaluation platform for benchmarking industry players and for identifying those performing at bestin-class levels. Frost & Sullivan 11 We Accelerate Growth

12 Best Practices Recognition: 10 Steps to Researching, Identifying, and Recognizing Best Practices Our awards team follows a 10-step process (illustrated below) to evaluate award candidates and assess their fit with our best practice criteria. The reputation and integrity of our awards process are based on close adherence to this process. STEP OBJECTIVE KEY ACTIVITIES OUTPUT 1 Monitor, target, and screen Identify award recipient candidates from around the globe Conduct in-depth industry research Identify emerging sectors Scan multiple geographies Pipeline of candidates who potentially meet all bestpractice criteria 2 Perform 360-degree research Perform comprehensive, 360-degree research on all candidates in the pipeline Interview thought leaders and industry practitioners Assess candidates fit with best-practice criteria Rank all candidates Matrix positioning all candidates performance relative to one another 3 Invite thought leadership in best practices Perform in-depth examination of all candidates Confirm best-practice criteria Examine eligibility of all candidates Identify any information gaps Detailed profiles of all ranked candidates 4 Initiate research director review Conduct an unbiased evaluation of all candidate profiles Brainstorm ranking options Invite multiple perspectives on candidates performance Update candidate profiles Final prioritization of all eligible candidates and companion best-practice positioning paper 5 Assemble panel of industry experts Present findings to an expert panel of industry thought leaders Share findings Strengthen cases for candidate eligibility Prioritize candidates Refined list of prioritized award candidates 6 Conduct global industry review Build consensus on award candidates eligibility Hold global team meeting to review all candidates Pressure-test fit with criteria Confirm inclusion of all eligible candidates Final list of eligible award candidates, representing success stories worldwide 7 Perform quality check Develop official award consideration materials Perform final performance benchmarking activities Write nominations Perform quality review High-quality, accurate, and creative presentation of nominees successes 8 Reconnect with panel of industry experts Finalize the selection of the best-practice award recipient Review analysis with panel Build consensus Select winner Decision on which company performs best against all best-practice criteria 9 Communicate recognition Inform award recipient of award recognition Present award to the CEO Inspire the organization for continued success Celebrate the recipient s performance Announcement of award and plan for how recipient can use the award to enhance the brand 10 Take strategic action Once licensed, share award news with stakeholders and customers Coordinate media outreach Design a marketing plan Assess award s role in future strategic planning Widespread awareness of recipient s award status among investors, media personnel, and employees Frost & Sullivan 12 We Accelerate Growth

13 About Frost & Sullivan Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, enables clients to accelerate growth and achieve best in class positions in growth, innovation and leadership. The company's Growth Partnership Service provides the CEO and the CEO's Growth Team with disciplined research and best practice models to drive the generation, evaluation and implementation of powerful growth strategies. Frost & Sullivan leverages almost 50 years of experience in partnering with Global 1000 companies, emerging businesses and the investment community from 31 offices on six continents. To join our Growth Partnership, please visit Frost & Sullivan 13 We Accelerate Growth