NT is a well-suited platform for fax. You can add NT fax systems to an NT
server to provide a fax solution that peacefully coexists with other
server-based processes. Fax servers also scale gracefully, centralizing the
ability to respond to increased user demand. For example, both Biscom's NT
Enterprise fax server and RightFAX's RightFAX NT 5.0 can serve two or 2,000
users by adding more fax cards to the server as demand increases--you do not
need to deploy additional fax machines. Both of these products can load-balance
across multiple fax servers, adding another dimension to scalability and
redundancy. One fax-server farm can support 96 or more faxing ports. (For more
products that can perform faxing and other applications, see the
"Computer Telephony Buyer's Guide".)
NT's security protocols let administrators ensure personal fax inbox
security. Administrators also benefit from NT's intuitive GUI standards; you can
administer and monitor a typical NT-based fax server from any LAN workstation.
Many fax applications are possible when you use a fax server. One such
application is fax mail. Sending and receiving personal fax mail is possible
when the server is integrated with messaging front ends such as Microsoft
Exchange and Outlook, Lotus cc:Mail and Notes, and Novell's GroupWise. These
front ends feature Direct Inward Dialing (DID) phone-line support at the fax
server. DID directs incoming faxes to personal inboxes, increasing security and
eliminating the manual routing of faxes.
With this level of integration, messaging front ends let you simultaneously
send messages to both email addresses (internal and Internet) and fax numbers.
To do this, you simply type the text and specify a file attachment (e.g., a Word
document file). Then the messaging client, email server, and fax server send the
message text and file either as a native fax or as text with a file attachment.
You do not need to decide how (i.e., what medium to use) to send the message to
each recipient or prepare the text in two different formats.
Another application available for a fax server is fax-on-demand. FOD
systems let you request one or more fax documents by calling into a system using
a touch-tone phone to request those documents. IRS tax forms and company product
and pricing information are but a few examples of the types of documents you
typically receive by FOD.
A related application is fax broadcast. A popular alternative to mailing,
fax broadcast is commonly used for newsletter and other periodic announcements.
Although service bureaus handle a significant amount of this broadcast traffic,
fax servers usually offer convenient fax broadcast features.
Because fax servers are versatile, easy to administer, scalable, and a
timesaver for users, it is no surprise that the market is rapidly growing at a
rate of 20 percent annually. In 1997 alone, vendors expect to ship more than
200,000 fax servers.
Automate Phones with IVR
You can use IVR systems to automate all or portions of phone transactions.
Companies commonly use these systems in such applications as ordering, support,
or answering product or service questions.
In the simplest IVR systems, a single menu routes the caller to the right
group of employees in an organization. This menu uses such directions as: "For
help with your Super Widget, press 1. For help with your Software Shredder,
press 2..." Such basic front ends eliminate the need for callers to speak
to a live operator before being routed to the right employee or department.
More sophisticated IVR automation can guide callers through a series of
question-and-answer menus to meet many or all of their needs. Sophisticated
systems can feature skills-based routing, which directs callers to those
representatives who are best qualified to meet their needs. Routing is
accomplished through caller ID information and callers' touch-tone answers to
questions about their needs.
An impressive array of benefits is compelling many corporations to use IVR
solutions. Companies can experience shorter call times because callers can get
answers to commonly asked questions before being connected to a live person.
(Although vendors do not state so publicly, IVR deployment can result in
workforce reductions and improved bottom lines. Companies generally avoid such
statements to avoid negative publicity.)
Companies can also increase their customer satisfaction levels because
callers are connected to the right person faster (even if that person is off
site) and get their needs met faster. Some IVR menus even let callers select
their language of choice, offering better service to callers who speak different
languages.
Finally, using Dialed-Number-Identification-Service (DNIS) or DID
information from incoming calls, one IVR platform can provide multiple services.
For example, using the same platform and phone lines, a business can offer
order-by-phone and technical-support services, thereby reducing costs while
improving customer service.
IVR systems are quite at home in corporate LAN and NT server environments.
Because the heart of any IVR system is the database, the database is usually "live"
and located in a database management system (DBMS) server or a set of files on
the corporate LAN server. You can use NT to deliver near-universal database
connectivity with Open Database Connectivity (ODBC) protocols. Microsoft SQL
Server is widely used as the database server engine. The NTFS file system
provides a robust foundation for ensuring solid file-access performance and less
downtime.
NT-based IVR, properly designed, is inherently scalable, allowing such
solutions to seamlessly migrate to multiple systems. NT's clustering technology
(Wolfpack) will enable IVR solutions that achieve true hot-standby status. (For
more information on how to ensure a successful solution, see "7
Tips to Deploy a Successful IVR System,". For more information on
clustering, see Mark Smith, "Clusters for Everyone," June 1997.)
Call Center and Workgroup Solutions
The concept of call centers started many years ago as a simple one: Put lots
of people in a big room, give them phones, and have them answer incoming calls
or place calls from a predefined list of numbers. Now, call centers are highly
sophisticated operations that rely on computers, networking, and CT technology.
Call centers are usually quite large, requiring hundreds of employees,
expensive ACDs (or ACD loads on PBX systems), and host computer systems. The ACD
queues incoming calls, asks callers to answer a few questions via touch-tone
phone, and then prompts them to wait for the next available representative as
recorded music or information plays in the background.
Computer telephony integration (CTI) enables a wealth of call-handling
features that can improve any call center's performance. Some features are
designed to help company representatives operate more efficiently. These include
screen pops (which put the caller's record on the representative's screen before
the call is connected), call blending (which mixes outgoing calls with ordinary
incoming call traffic to keep representatives busy when incoming calls are
slow), and call control (enables representatives to transfer callers with a
quick click of a mouse rather than pushing telephone buttons). A predictive
dialer feature can even predict the right flow of outgoing telemarketing calls
so that when a person answers, a representative becomes available and can be
immediately switched to that call.
Other features are designed to help callers either reach the right person
(skills-based routing) or take care of callers' needs without their talking to a
live person (IVR automation). But a customer doesn't even need to dial a phone
to be helped. With Web-enabled connectivity, you can synchronize a call center
with a customer's Web browser activities. When the customer clicks a button on
the company's home page, it triggers a company representative to call that
person. From there, the representative can see the same screen the customer is
viewing or even control the screen that both are seeing.
Companies don't need large call centers to benefit from CTI. You can think
of small organizational workgroups (such as a support group of 20 employees who
want to improve their efficiency) as small call centers because they have many
of the same needs as large call centers. Although most vendors have overlooked
providing call center technology to small workgroups consisting of fewer than
100 people, a few have risen to the challenge. Vendors such as Applied Voice
Technology (AgentXpressNT) and MaxQ Technologies (ComSense) offer NT-based
solutions that provide workgroup-level support without giving up any
functionality. (For more about how to use CTI technology in small workgroups,
see the sidebars, "How to Build Your Own Call Center," and "Call Center and IVR Success: Number Nine Visual Technology.")
The PBX-Enabled CT Server Revolution
A revolution is brewing in the PBX marketplace. CT servers, sometimes
referred to as "UnPBXs," are making their way into the business world.
These devices will forever change the way you think about PBX phone systems.
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