Call Centers Build on IP

Computerworld - With IP telephony just starting to gain a foothold in many organizations, it's not surprising that research firm McGee-Smith Analytics in Pittstown, N.J., estimates that just 1% of the 80,000 call centers in the U.S. today are using applications built to run over converged IP-based voice/data networks.
But within the next five years, analyst Sheila McGee-Smith and others expect 20% of organizations using call centers to be running IP-based call center systems, which offer features such as automated call distribution, contact management and computer/telephony integration.
Call center managers cite several reasons for the expected transition, including the fact that it costs less to run one converged IP network than it does to run separate lines for voice and data, says McGee-Smith. IP-based call center systems also support improved integration with CRM systems and other business applications, facilitating the sharing of customer data.

Jeff Wasierski, vice president of technology at vCustomer Corp.

But converged call centers have another big benefit. "The top driver of IT call centers is that they allow remote connectivity," says Katrina Howell, an analyst at Frost & Sullivan in New York. Indeed, call center agents can move to any location with a network jack to receive calls, whether at home or abroad. And since call routing can take place over the corporate WAN, toll charges are reduced, which can vastly lower costs.
McGee-Smith notes another virtue: Developers can modify IP-based call center software using open standards such as XML and HTML, rather than having to learn a special language and use proprietary application programming interfaces.
The changeover to IP started about three years ago but has been limited to small and medium-size call centers, Howell says. Migrating to an IP-based installation is still too expensive for the big call centers, which can have as many as 10,000 agents processing credit card accounts or airline reservations, she says. One reason is that an IP-based call center system requires upgrading the private branch exchange (PBX) or replacing it with a native IP telephony system. The big uptick should begin in 2005, Howell says, when many corporations will begin replacing the PBXs they installed in 1999 to address Y2k issues.
Global Savings
Global adhesives manufacturer H.B. Fuller Co., which began adding IP-based call center technology in 2001, has realized more than $2 million in savings, says Kevin Wetzel, manager of global network services at the St. Paul, Minn.-based company. IP telephony and call center servers in one location now service the needs of five call centers in St. Paul, each staffed