b+s Connects CCE Edition

Transcription

1 b+s Connects CCE Edition A Business Whitepaper by Bucher + Suter May, 2014 Todd Samalin, Sales Engineer Contents General Introduction... 2 What is b+s Connects?... 2 b+s Connects Introduction... 2 Editions... 3 Voice Routing... 3 Case, and Social Media Interaction Routing Social Media... 4 b+s Connects for Salesforce Collaboration Edition... 5 b+s Connects for Salesforce Voice Architecture... 6 b+s Connects for Salesforce - CCE Edition Multichannel Architecture... 7 b+s Connects for Microsoft Dynamics CRM Why Implement Multichannel Integration?... 8 The role of Cisco s WIM and EIM... 9 Connects Return On Investment (ROI)... 9 Conclusion... 10

2 General Introduction Providing communication channels that meet customer needs and expectations is a key component of any contact center technology strategy. Offering this kind of tailored, customized service is not easy, especially when customers and agents are in multiple geographies and wish to communicate through a wide range of channels such as telephone, chat, etc. To be efficient with such a multi-channel approach, 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. 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. Connects by Bucher + Suter (b+s) provides CRM integration to Cisco Contact Center Enterprise (CCE) 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 CCE and Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software which allows agents to handle multichannel interactions (telephone calls, , chat, tickets etc.) and manage their state (ready, not ready with reason, login, logout etc.) within a gadget embedded in and tightly integrated to their CRM. Connects improves contact center efficiency by enabling CCE to act as the single routing engine for all interaction types provided by the CRM system, not just the standard voice interaction. Connects allows CCE to track agent availability and multichannel interactions for unified routing and reporting. This approach ensures that all interactions, regardless of type, are queued to the most appropriate agents using intelligent routing based on predetermined criteria. This is a crucial part of meeting customer expectations as well as saving customers and agents time. 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 multichannel interaction 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 CCE 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 Connects for Salesforce and Connects for Microsoft Dynamics CRM. b+s Connects Introduction The Connects product line delivers a rich set of integration features between Cisco and a CRM system. Connects provides softphone capabilities on the desktop, allowing agents to manage their availability and handle telephone calls, , cases, Social Media posts and web chats. The Connects browser based gadget can be embedded inside the CRM or displayed as a separate window on the agent s desktop. Key features include screen pop, click to dial, auto-logging in the CRM, record sharing and more. Connects provides a system linkage that sends messages from the CRM to the Cisco universal queue engine, allowing Cisco to route multichannel CRM based interactions. This universal queue means that common business rules can be applied to all interaction channels. Connects reduces agent idle time and creates a more seamless customer experience regardless of the channel chosen for communication. Connects enhances contact center productivity, reduces costs, improves both customer satisfaction and agent performance and makes an agent s job easier to perform. Whitepaper b+s Connects CCE Edition Page 2 by Bucher + Suter

3 Editions Bucher + Suter offers three different editions of its Salesforce connector. Each version serves a specific set of use cases and is intended to be utilized by customers based on which Cisco platform they own. They are Connects for Salesforce Contact Center Enterprise (CCE) Edition, Contact Center Express (CCX) Edition and Collaboration Edition. The CCE and CCX Editions are designed for contact centers and provide advanced contact center specific functionality. The Collaboration Edition supports a rich set of Cisco Unified Communication features such as embedded video, voice telephony and Instant Messaging capabilities. Although the Collaboration Edition features are designed for enterprise users rather than agents, as contact centers demand more sophisticated collaboration tools Bucher + Suter will port Collaboration features over to the CCE and CCX Editions. Voice Routing All editions of Connects support full voice CTI. Agents can sign in and out and change their state within the Connects gadget. In this way the Cisco router can keep 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. Connects for Salesforce is not just easy to use and implement but it also provides a myriad of useful features such as Cisco Outbound Option support for preview, progressive and predictive dialing (CCE Edition only), auto sign on, HTTPS/SSL support, not ready and wrap up reasons, call logging, and a notes field inside the gadget. The b+s Connects for Salesforce gadget embedded in the Salesforce GUI Whitepaper b+s Connects CCE Edition Page 3 by Bucher + Suter

4 Case, and Social Media Interaction Routing Unlike the CCX and Collaboration Editions, Connects for Salesforce CCE Edition allows cases to be created or updated in Salesforce and then recognized, tagged and routed by CCE to the appropriate Customer Service Representative (CSR) based on Salesforce workflows and outbound notifications to CCE. Customer into the contact center can also be routed by CCE and handled by the agent inside of the Connects for Salesforce gadget. The following is a description of how Salesforce, CCE and Connects for Salesforce work together to provide and Social Media routing in a unified queue: 1. An comes into Microsoft Exchange. 2. An Exchange rule forwards the (based on inbox destination, subject or sender) to a Salesforce address. 3. Salesforce picks up the and creates a case. 4. Based on Salesforce rules and case content (state, priority, etc.) Salesforce notifies Connects for Salesforce about the newly created case. 5. Connects for Salesforce retrieves additional information about the case from Salesforce (owner Id, priority, case number, sender, Subject, etc.). 6. Connects for Salesforce sends a route request to Cisco s CCE to route the case (not the ). 7. CCE sends a route select event to Connects for Salesforce to let it know which agent should receive the case. 8. Connects for Salesforce notifies the agent about the new case (including the retrieved data). 9. The agent accepts the case in the b+s gadget, the case opens automatically, the agent reads the and responds to it from inside of Salesforce. Social Media 1. A customer tweets or posts a comment on Facebook. 2. Twitter and Facebook plug-ins poll the social media channels every 5 minutes. 3. The Salesforce administrator specifies a key word search criteria (e.g. the company s name). 4. Salesforce creates a case if a new tweet or post matches the criteria. 5. Upon case creation, Salesforce sends an outbound notification to Connects for Salesforce. 6. Connects for Salesforce sends a route request to Cisco s CCE to route the case. 7. CCE sends a route select event to Connects for Salesforce to let it know which agent should receive the case. 8. Connects for Salesforce notifies the agent about the new case (including the data about the post). 9. The agent accepts the case in the b+s gadget, the case opens automatically, the agent reads the Social Media post and responds to it from inside of Salesforce or from Twitter or Facebook directly. Handling a case in the Connects Gadget Whitepaper b+s Connects CCE Edition Page 4 by Bucher + Suter

5 b+s Connects for Salesforce Collaboration Edition Connects for Salesforce Collaboration Edition is an integration between Salesforce and Cisco Unified Communications Manager (CUCM) or Business Edition 6000/7000 which allows employees to communicate with customers and coworkers inside of the Salesforce GUI using a Bucher + Suter developed gadget. The browser based gadget is embedded inside of the Salesforce GUI providing voice, video calls, web collaboration and IM. The b+s gadget can control a hard phone (IP Phone on desk) or installed Softphone (IP Communicator or Jabber). Alternatively, terminating the voice stream in the browser using Cisco s Jabber SDK Plug-in negates need for a hard phone or softphone. This integration goes well beyond the traditional voice integrations of the past, offering new ways for employees to communicate without leaving Salesforce. Employees can take advantage of these media channels without needing multiple applications and interfaces. This unified, all in one approach simplifies the user experience, reduces training and allows customers to interact with the company in the way that is most convenient for them. Before Connects for Salesforce Collaboration Edition, companies had to purchase a variety of systems which weren t integrated together and install multiple desktop applications. On the other hand, Connects for Salesforce Collaboration Edition is a pre-integrated, out of the box solution which is easy to install and configure. It is 100% browser based which means no installation on the employee desktops and requires no additional servers, reducing cost and complexity. Connects for Salesforce Collaboration Edition allows employees to use the Bucher + Suter gadget to conduct Instant Messaging sessions from within the Salesforce GUI without the need for a separate Instant Messaging client. This improves efficiency as the employee can work within a single pane of glass rather than having to switch between applications. The employee can control his presence and see his contacts presence inside of the gadget without leaving Salesforce. Integrated video functionality means that employees can accept or initiate video calls within the gadget without the need for additional hardware or software. Connects for Salesforce Collaboration Edition allows companies to take advantage of today s communication channels with minimal implementation costs, a rapid and straightforward installation and no custom development required. Whitepaper b+s Connects CCE Edition Page 5 by Bucher + Suter

6 b+s Connects for Salesforce Voice Architecture Cisco Finesse offers a REST API for CTI applications. In a voice only implementation (multichannel uses other interfaces described in the next section) 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 the API to communicate with Contact Center Enterprise 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 Voice 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 the new standard which has and will replace older Cisco APIs and it s where Cisco continues to invest significant R&D dollars. Leveraging the latest Cisco technology and avoiding obsolescence is a key component of Bucher + Suter s product development strategy. The diagram above depicts a Salesforce/CCE 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 CCE Edition Page 6 by Bucher + Suter

7 b+s Connects for Salesforce - CCE Edition Multichannel Architecture By purchasing multichannel licenses, Connects can also be deployed to support non-voice interactions such as , chat, Social Media, case, fax etc. This deployment does entail additional servers used to communicate with CCE s multichannel interfaces. The b+s Agent Adapter is a component of the multichannel implementation of Connects for Salesforce CCE Edition. It acts as the communication path between the b+s gadget and CCE (via b+s MCAL) to enable multichannel state and interaction control. It is used for passing agent state changes from the gadget to CCE, altering an agent to an incoming or case, popping the case into the agent s Salesforce GUI upon accepting the case in the gadget etc. The b+s Routing Adapter receives Salesforce outbound notifications (case routing) and sends them to CCE as a route request. Connects manages real time interaction and agent state events between Salesforce and CCE s Media Routing Peripheral Gateway (MR PG) and CTI Server. The MR PG and CTI Server are the interoperability points between CCE and 3 rd party applications such as Salesforce. Through Connects all incoming tasks are processed by Cisco's CCE and are distributed to the best available agent using CCE's scripting logic. Whitepaper b+s Connects CCE Edition Page 7 by Bucher + Suter

8 b+s Connects for Microsoft Dynamics CRM Bucher + Suter s Connects for Microsoft Dynamics CRM - CCE and CCX Editions are very similar to the Connects for Salesforce versions. With Connects for MS Dynamics CRM, a company can enable voice and integration control inside of the Microsoft Dynamics CRM GUI. is Microsoft Exchange based, handled inside of MS Dynamics CRM using Microsoft tools. Here again, Connects allows the Cisco routing engine to determine the best agent to receive the and Connects works with MS Dynamics CRM to push the to the agent. 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. The b+s Connects for Microsoft Dynamics CRM gadget rendered in a separate window outside of the CRM Why Implement Multichannel Integration? There are a variety of 3 rd party chat and management software programs on the market today but many lack the ability to integrate into the Cisco Contact Center. These products have their own routing engines, agent GUIs and reporting tools. This means that agents can handle either telephone calls or multimedia interactions but not both simultaneously due to the lack of integration between the CCE voice routing brain and the 3rd party chat/ routing brain. b+s Connects is designed to utilize Cisco s CCE as the single routing engine for all media types. Using Cisco s CCE as a unified multichannel routing engine allows contact centers to identify interactions of any type and route the request based on customer identity, DNIS, target address, menu selections etc. The Cisco Contact Center system can identify which agents are available, how long they have been available, which contact center has a low or high level of activity and a variety of other key matrices that are used in making the optimal routing decision. A single queue provides the highest level of routing efficiency and a truly integrated platform makes consolidated, multichannel historical and real time reporting a reality. Whitepaper b+s Connects CCE Edition Page 8 by Bucher + Suter

9 The role of Cisco s WIM and EIM The Unified Web Interaction Manager (WIM) and Unified Interaction Manager (EIM) are products built by egain and sold by Cisco which allow customers to communicate with Cisco contact center agents via chat and . Connects is intended for Cisco customers who want to implement a chat, and voice universal queue but do not wish to purchase WIM or EIM. The multichannel implementation of Connects cannot work in conjunction with WIM and EIM since it is an alternative rather than a complementary product. WIM and EIM have their own graphical user interface that agents use to manage state (login/logout, available, not available, etc.) and handle chat and . On the other hand, customers who wish to maintain a single pane of glass can use Bucher + Suter products like Connects to transform their existing CRM into a multichannel cockpit capable of supporting both telephone calls and multimedia interactions in a single application. 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. Enhancing a website with Connects text chat capability also provides both network and labor savings. By allowing agents to handle multiple chats simultaneously, the contact center will require fewer agents to handle the same number of interactions, resulting in labor savings. Giving agents the ability to handle text chats (and other types of multimedia interactions) during lulls in voice traffic means that agents can be productive during periods in which they would normally be idle, further decreasing labor costs. In addition, text chatting results in fewer telephone calls as customers can resolve their requests and questions online. A reduction in call volume will lower 800/888/877 number telephone bills. Text chatting can increase sales revenue, further improving the ROI. Allowing customers to quickly and easily pose questions to agents via chat can reduce uncertainty during an Internet sale and thus reduce shopping cart abandonment. During the chat session the agent can suggest additional products, increasing average cart size. Whitepaper b+s Connects CCE Edition Page 9 by Bucher + Suter

10 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 gives companies 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 enabling technology, helping to increase agent productivity during periods of low call volume by blending , chat and task handling. Enabling multi-channel interactions in a contact center helps drive efficiency and cost reduction since a universal, multi-channel agent can effectively handle a larger volume of customer interactions than voice-only agents. Intelligent voice and case routing based on user defined criteria improves efficiency and ensures that interactions are routed to the agent best able to handle them. By implementing multichannel technology like Connects, contact centers can improve efficiency and reduce costs by collaborating with customers using the communication method most convenient for them. In summary, Connects is an out of the box, easy to use, easy to implement and feature rich integration of CRM systems and Cisco s CCE. 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 CCE Edition Page 10 by Bucher + Suter