Call Centers

Genesys has released two products aimed at easing deployment of the Genesys Voice Platform by two of its user constituencies: managed service providers of Genesys applications and companies that have implemented both SAP and Genesys. The Genesys Customer Interaction Portal for Self-Service signals a...

Avaya has rolled out two products aimed at expanding its footprint in the mid-market segment, as well as a completely new venture for the on-demand space. The new applications include a single-server product called Avaya MultiVantage Express, which offers IP telephony, messaging, contact center and ...

Cisco Systems has released the next version of its Unified CRM Connector. Like previous versions, it links into the Microsoft CRM application to provide integrated contact center-CRM functionality. Version 3.0 of the Unified CRM Connector, however, is much more appealing to users than its predecesso...

Aspect Software has announced it is supporting the emerging open source Internet protocol for PBX -- the Asterisk Business Edition -- with a software package that includes the Asterisk Business Edition license; SIP phones; application servers and IP gateways; interoperability with Aspect contact cen...

The trend of Americans and Canadians buying call centers in India is driven by the low cost of these facilities and by the speed with which buyers can begin using them. The first article in this series focuses on the advantages of buying a facility with less than 100 seats in Bangalore, primarily ...

Paul English, a Massachusetts-based software engineer turned customer service "guru," has become famous nearly overnight for his "dial zero for a human" automated phone system revolt. Judging from the widespread phenomenon and national attention, this is a customer service movement long overdue. H...

Genesys has updated its contact center and workforce management software suites. The former adds intelligent contact center routing functionality in a software-only application. The latter update includes the ability to dynamically reschedule agents in the middle of the day in response to call volum...

Indian call centers are being purchased by U.S. and Canadian companies seeking to quickly gain access to call center services offshore, particularly outbound services. Although media attention focuses more on the sale of U.S. assets to Asian and Middle Eastern firms, this trend in the other directi...

The global outbound dialing market -- dominated by equipment vendors including Aspect, Avaya, Genesys, Nortel and Cisco -- not only is saturated in many regions, especially North America, but also is facing stiff headwinds, according to a new study by Frost & Sullivan. These challenges include a...

Genesys has announced plans to acquire VoiceGenie, a provider of self-service voice applications -- a move that is expected to solidify the drive to determine which standard will dominate the industry. The acquisition of the privately held firm, which is expected to close in a few weeks, will also a...

Microsoft and Alcatel expect to deliver a product next month that will target mid-sized companies with contact centers around the world. The two companies announced their intentions on Wednesday. The new product will be based upon Alcatel's OmniTouch Contact Center Premium Edition and Microsoft Dyna...

The hosted contact center subsector is the fastest growing in the hosted CRM space, suggest new statistics compiled by Frost & Sullivan. It is increasing at a rate that is at least as fast as the rate of expansion seen in the hosted CRM industry during the early 2000s, Frost & Sullivan Progr...

Kana has updated Response, its e-mail response management application, and Response Live, its live chat and Web collaboration module. The new versions provide better integration across customer touch points, along with additional functionality that allows desktop agents to answer customer questions ...

The contact center and software and service market continues to remain fragmented, according to Gartner's latest report on the industry, with various applications in the space addressing only a portion of users' needs. In large part, that is because the leading functions users want from such applica...

Enterprises that have already invested in contact center equipment may think managed services have nothing to offer them, but much of the managed services functionality offered today works in tandem with the Customer Premise Equipment already in place, enhancing features already in use. Advances in ...