UC for Business - Networked Queuing NEC Australia nec.com.au
Table of Contents Introduction...3 Overview...3 Why Have Networked Call Centers?...3 What Technology Best Provides for Multiple Sites?...3 How Does the Product Work and How is it Optimized for this Particular Problem?...3 Broadcast networking: a peer-to-peer solution...4 Contact Center/Business Drivers...5 Business Drivers...5 Business Benefits...5 Supervisor/Administrator Features and Benefits...5 Features...5 Benefits...6 Example: Mirror site set service function...6 Example: Mirror site view service function...6 Example: Mirror site view service mode function...7 Example: Administrator/File/System setup settings...7 Example: Administrator/Queue settings...7 Example: Administrator/Queue mode settings...8 Agent Features and Benefits...9 Features...9 Benefits...9 Example: Real site queues view...9 Example: Mirror site queues view networked queues viewed individually...10 Example: Mirror site queues view networked queues viewed as one total queue...10 Reports... 11 Example: Queue performance report for a queue using networking...11 System Requirements... 12 Customer Site Requirements...12 PBX Requirements...12 Server and Client Requirements...12 NEC Australia 2010 2
Introduction NEC s UC for Business (UCB) Networked Queuing module extends contact center operations both physically and temporally. Sites can send callers to a remote site when the local site is overloaded; their shift is finished; or when skills-based routing is desired to enhance call distribution among networked contact centers. NEC s UC for Business Networked Queuing module allows up to five contact centers in different geographic locations to network together and operate as if they are one central site. Networked Queuing is currently available only on NEC s UNIVERGE SV8300, SV8500 and SV7000 Communications Servers as well as NEAX 2400 IPX and 2000 IPS. Overview Why Have Networked Contact Centers? 1. Follow the Sun Callers want to have access to a contact center, such as a Help Desk, for more hours than a standard working day. 2. Overflow A peak causes overload at the local site, which is the usual answer point for a particular queue. Meanwhile at other sites, there are several agents idle who can help out when needed. 3. Virtual Contact Center All agents across the network are able to handle calls from a particular queue, so calls can be distributed evenly, using skills-based routing, across all sites. What Technology Best Provides for Multiple Sites? A networked solution resolves multiple site issues by having local and remote sites each with a PBX and CTI server. PBXs are linked via IP or tie line while CTI servers are linked via WAN. When calls arrive in a queue, the local site broadcasts the availability of the call. Through handshaking (by glare control) (when an agent goes off hook in the split second it takes the system to deliver a call to them), there is no reliance on a permanent link for normal operations and minimal data replication is required. As long as local PBXs have direct dial access to remote agents phone extensions, calls can be delivered to remote agents. UCB s Networked Queuing module allows calls to be transferred between one-or-more other sites. Each site registers the relevant queues on other sites. Calls are transferred to those queues only once a remote site responds to a request. How Does the Product Work and How is it Optimized for this Particular Problem? Call delivery configuration does not need to be considered as a network. Existing administrators can use call delivery patterns native to their local CTI server. For example, call delivery patterns can be biased toward the local site; the call will not be available for an overflow site until a specified time has been reached. Alternatively, call centers operating in different time zones can be seamlessly integrated from the callers perspective. If no agents are logged in at the local site, notification will be sent to overflow sites to enable immediate call delivery to overflow agents. In any of the scenarios above, NEC s UCB Networked Queuing module provides the answer. Administrators choose the distribution configuration that best suits the company. For agents, operation is exactly the same as standard UCB queuing; for administrators there is little difference, as queues are set up in the same way for remote and local sites. NEC Australia 2010 3
Broadcast networking: a peer-to-peer solution UCB s broadcast model connects sites via IP/tie line and via WAN (see Figure 1). All sites require a PBX and CTI server each. The PBXs are linked to all others via tie line or IP. The CTI servers are connected via WAN. Figure 1. Broadcast method of networked PBXs: real and mirrored queues. For more information on real and mirrored queues, go to Supervisor/Administrator Features & Benefits section. Decision making is peer-to-peer. Originating sites broadcast call availability across the WAN. Based on this information, the mirror queue at the remote site requests call delivery. There are four main phases: setup, broadcast, delivery and reporting. NEC Australia 2010 4
Contact Center/Business Drivers Business Drivers Answer all customers, as soon as they call, no matter where or when they call. No need to employ additional resources for possible peaks at the local contact center; can use available agents in other centers. Offering callers extended business hours with overflowed call abilities allows businesses to gain a distinct advantage against their competition. Requirement to cater for multiple time zones. Business continuity and disaster recovery. SME businesses are typically made up of many small, multiple sites as opposed to one large corporate site. Maximize labor efficiency Staff retention and better utilization of resources (equalization of workload). Need to provide consistency in customer service and response across multiple sites. Business Benefits Extended hours of operation without extended costs. Consistency in contact center practices and standards. Business continuity improved due to disaster recovery being shared across sites. Networking of human resources better handles peak call flows and reduces abandon rates. Increased revenue results from skills-based routing, increasing customer satisfaction and customer retention. Seamless architecture to the caller improves perception of the contact center. Staff retention with less Overload situations resulting in less burn out. Ability to quantify performance standards companywide through use of Reports results in common standards of practice and customer service. Optimal labor productivity and lower operating costs. Supervisor/Administrator Features and Benefits Each call center can potentially distribute and take calls across the network. The concept of Real and Mirror sites is that the real site is the site where the call first enters the queue. Mirror sites are where calls are delivered across the network. Features Ability to view agents at the local site. Real site supervisors have the ability to change mode at the real site. Ability to view mirror site status, i.e., is the mirror queue in service or out of service? The mirror site supervisor can change the service state of the mirror queue. If the mirror queue is out of service, the reason displays at the real site via the queue tooltip in Agent Desktop as Network, Agent, Mode or Supervisor, i.e., network or local PBX is down; no logged in agents; queue is in a non-networked mode; supervisor has taken mirror queue out of service. If the real queue is out of service, the reason displays at the mirror site via the queue tooltip in Agent Desktop as above. Supervisors/Administrators at all sites access the Q-Master Administrator Application locally and can administer their own queues. Supervisors/Administrators at each site choose which queues are to be available for remote mirroring. Supervisors/Administrators can choose whether calls should be delivered to the local site first or whether they wish to utilize networked skills-based routing across all networked sites. Queues can be mirrored in either or both directions between a pair of sites. Editing rights on a per-user basis are governed by security. UCB s standard backup utility will back up networked queue data at the central site/s. Custom Reporting is available for sites that wish to centralize reporting data across networked systems. NEC Australia 2010 5
Benefits Administrators/Supervisors at all sites are able to control the status of their own queues and agents. Administrators/Supervisors at all sites are able to keep tabs on which locations of the network are in service or not, ensuring maximum answering potential at all times. Supervisors/Administrators can control on a per-queue basis if and when their queues are networked. Businesses can combine their agents into one virtual contact center or they can prioritize local calls to the local center, while at the same time ensuring they always have backup. Example: Mirror site set service function Example: Mirror site view service function NEC Australia 2010 6
Example: Mirror site view service mode function Example: Administrator/File/System setup settings Example: Administrator/Queue settings NEC Australia 2010 7
Example: Administrator/Queue mode settings NEC Australia 2010 8
Agent Features and Benefits Features Agents are able to view the following statistics for networked (mirror) queues: Total networked calls. Queue information including the current status of mirror queue. Benefits Agents become more responsible and self managed, i.e., won t log out or take a break if there are calls waiting in the networked queue. Viewing the current queue status allows all agents in all the networked call centers to react immediately. Example: Real site queues view NEC Australia 2010 9
Example: Mirror site queues view networked queues viewed individually Example: Mirror site queues view networked queues viewed as one total queue NEC Australia 2010 10
Reports Example: Queue performance report for a queue using networking Networked Queuing has introduced a new Report Type (type N) for both Detailed and Historical Queuing Reports in Standard Reports. Custom Reporting module can optionally be utilized to collate and report on data between networked sites. It uses an existing ODBC database server (such as Microsoft SQL Server or Oracle Database. Network access from the CTI server to the database server is required. Custom Reports uses TCP/IP (direct LAN connection) to send data between CTI servers. NEC Australia 2010 11
System Requirements NEC Australia 2010 12
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