Contradiction and consistent - Call Center development different views of collision computer world reporter Hongqi
In recent years, the Call Center manufacturers in my country have developed rapidly, form different levels, from universal hardware suppliers to system integrators. However, since Call Center is still a region that is developing, different companies have different understandings. To this end, the reporter has selected an interview with the enterprises in different levels of Call Center. Interview with Dialogic (underlying hardware and software developer) Sales Manager Zhang Zhibin, Tongguang, Tongguo, High-profile, Complex, Jinqiao (system integrator), deputy general manager of the technology, Tongxun and Wuyue Xin ( The relevant person in charge of the company and other enterprises such as Thailand Information (Operator). They have elaborate their respective views in the technical status and development of Call Center according to different layers of their own enterprises.
PBX mode vs. unpbx mode
Call Center was initially developed by the switch. The switch vendor used to guide the development of the call center, but with the rapid development of computer technology, Call Center has developed the route, which is developed from the computer system. In this way, Call Center has a PBX and UNPBX mode.
The PBX mode is a system model based on the PBX (program switch), and UNPBX is a Call Center system based on a computer system.
The PBX program is a conventional switch vendor on the basis of enhancing the routing capacity, with a standard soft, hardware format, provides CTI-LINK, integrated mature voice products as a voice service platform.
Compared with the PBX scheme compared to the PBX scheme, the UNPBX scheme is to save PBX and directly connect the telephone network to the computer system. This kind of Call Center is small in hardware, and only some voice cards, seat equipment, etc. are added to the original enterprise computer system. Most of the functions are implemented at the software level, so its flexibility is quite large.
With regard to the system of PBX and UNPBX, each manufacturer has a consistent view, but in terms of development trends, the views of each manufacturer are not the same.
Almost everyone believes that the stability of PBX is the biggest advantage of PBX mode Call Center. In addition, the standardization of the hardware interface is also one of the advantages of PBX. Due to the long history of PBX, it is quite mature in technology, and the substantial multi-function is implemented by hardware. Therefore, its stability is great than UNPBX systems. At the same time, "windows" connected to the computer system have also formed a relatively complete standard. At the same time, this system is improved on a conventional switch, so its openness is quite limited - it has retained the main features of traditional switches. In addition, in cost, the price of PBX often makes some small and medium companies. A Call Center provider estimates that enterprises use PBX to make a minimum Call Center that only the most basic function need to invest hundreds of thousands of yuan.
In contrast, the UNPBX system is expected to be costly reduced due to the province of PBX. At the same time, due to most of the functionality based on software implementation, the flexibility is also quite high. One customer said that they only spent about 50,000 yuan, set a "mini" UNPBX system. However, UNPBX systems also have its fatal technical defects: 1. Because of the short development time, there is currently no standard; second, computer system hardware (computer and various boards), operating system (such as Windows NT), Call Center There are different levels of stability issues such as all aspects of application software.
It is based on such a feature that is considered to apply to different enterprises. A more common view is that the PBX system is the first choice such as telecommunications, finance, securities and various large and medium-sized enterprises, and UNPBX systems apply to small and medium-sized enterprises with relatively low stability requirements. For the future development trends, different manufacturers have shown a large difference. One point of view believes that UNPBX mode will become the direction of the future development, and another point of view believes that two modes will take each other, and some people think that PBX mode is the mainstream of Call Center.
Zhang Zhibin said that the PBX mode call center is mainly in the abroad to protect the company's existing investment. Many companies have PBX, and the PBX mode Call Center makes this equipment to avoid investment waste. Domestic is different. He has found some customers in exchange with domestic customers: Call Center must have a "big box" (PBX). And he believes that from the capacity, the integration of CT Server (Dialogic server-based Call Center) can be achieved, even more than PBX. PBX although a window opened by computer vendors, the computer can control PBX, but the function brought by this window is very limited. Due to the improvement of integration, UNPBX systems seem to be only a biased of people. According to Zhang Zhibin, Dialogic's latest board product has been integrated 120 voice channels on a board. Thus, the large call center that threw away from the PBX construction has hundreds of thousands of seats.
But he also mentioned that their recent work is to have greatly improved the reliability of the system with partners. He believes that an important part of CTI technology lies in the technical research and development capabilities of the system integrator. The PBX has been tested after a number of years. Although CT Server has developed very fast, but also need to do a comprehensive test, rather than the development of the completion. How to resolve reliability, redundant backup, can guarantee the basic functions of CT Server even if an unexpected situation occurs, is the problem that Call Center manufacturers should consider. To this end, Dialogic is preparing to launch relevant certification in 2001, hoping to make developers and integrators in an open and stability capacity.
For the above two models, Cocurajun believes that there is no mutual replacement, and the trend of development will be the director of the two. For example, PBX will further absorb the openness of the computer system and will significantly reduce the price. Similarly, UNPBX systems will increase in stability.
He said that the current Call Center requires 24 hours a day, so there will be a large Call Center in large and medium-sized and planned requirements. PBX mode. Call Center based on the microcomputer With the appearance of the compact PC, in part, the hardware is partially resolved, but the operating system still has a shortcomings. The PBX gradually joined the characteristics of IP. If the interface from the PBX will be RJ45, not the current RJ11, that is, PBX can directly connect the network cable, and the multimedia signals and data signals that come in. Transforming to the IP package to the internal network. Even the phone used by the agent is also an IP phone. By then, no one will play a Call Center on the PC.
High praise believes that the stability of the Call Center is the most important, and the Call Center requires operation to keep working, not the functional pattern. Software programming provides infinite flexibility, but it cannot guarantee stability. At the same time, the PBX system has better expansion capabilities. He believes that UNPBX systems use software implementations because many functions are implemented, and the expanded software changes issues, while modular PBX can exhibit smoothed transitions during expansion. Thus, the infrastructure of the Call Center by PBX guarantees that the Call Center's basic business does not stop running it is the mainstream of the market. Open VS. Close
Open in many times is the concept of people, not technical. But in the product of Call Center, the opening of technology seems to be more important than the opening of people. But it still has a process of guiding, accepting, and changing.
In fact, the importance of openness is not only reflected in the application of Call Center. Zhang Zhibin gave a simple example. Not long ago, he chatted with a deputy director of the telephone partner, and Zhang like his flat style naturally promoted the importance of technology openness. The deputy director stopped him said: "You don't have to say, I have understood the importance of openness." Then he told a small episode encountered in the work: Their company has a meal card. Later, they would like to use this grain card to do a door card. In this way, employees do not have to bring multiple cards. But when they found the developer, the developer did three months later, and finally announced that they could not force.
This story is verify that Zhang Zhibin said, sometimes the closed system is even worse than the closed thought.
Openness is Dialogic to mention the most in technology. They have been advocating a full-open architecture: board, operating system software, middleware software, database software, application software, etc. have open standards. Make the entire Call Center application can choose from different manufacturers at different levels. In other words, a Call Center is composed of various product coordination work in different levels, not by a manufacturer.
From Dialogic's products, it is the two products that are open for PBX mode and CT server mode, respectively. CT Connect is based on hardware, and the basic signaling is performed, providing the Call Center management software and PBX interface. Similarly, CT Media strives to manage various board cards of various manufacturers, and the disclosure of the card is negative to the technical issues of the upper developers. Software developers can do all kinds of applications such as IVR, TTS above it.
Zhang Zhibin said that CT Media will become a product similar to operating system in the field of Call Center, which separates software vendors and hardware vendors. The board can be managed by CT Media as long as the board is in line with the industrial standard. But in fact, there is still a lot of difficulties in doing this.
When interviewing some domestic voice board vendors, the reporter found that many board cards did not interface in accordance with international standards. In this way, the isolated isolation will encounter hindrance, and CT Media wants to manage the purpose of various panel cards will not be achieved. Not only that, many board vendors have to make their own "feature", and the results often make the standards of the interface can't match it, and make full use of board resources must also use the development kit or interface description of the hardware vendor to perform targeted. Development.
At this point, including Dialogic I have also used development packages to provide development interfaces for superiors. Such a development kit can only be applied to a particular hardware product, which is "dedicated" for users.
Other Call Center suppliers have paid attention to openness. Heli Jinqiao has independently forms a separate product in their products, providing other developers. Before this, the functions of these middleware are integrated in the package, which belongs to a portion of the proprietary system.
The software is open in the computer industry is not a fresh concept, but in the field of Call Center, it still takes time to sufficient open standards. A simple PC may have software products of dozens of vendors, and a huge construction of a large Call Center system often contains only one or two manufacturers' software results. This is an abnormal phenomenon, and it also shows that the software openness of Call Center is still yet to be improved. A worry of the customer is: if a Call Center system software is provided by a manufacturer from beginning to end, and the system is closed, then the system needs to be upgraded, all software investments will start from the beginning.
For open software systems, users' upgrade requirements can be achieved with minimal system changes.
Therefore, regardless of the perspective of users, or from the perspective of manufacturers, the standardization of software and hardware is a considerable part of the development of Call Center technology.
IP 包 包
In an interview, each manufacturer has a high expected value for IP-based Call Center applications. In the traditional Call Center, the user is connected to the Call Center. However, since Internet appears, this situation has changed, and people can have various links with the outside world. Unlike traditional phones, information from the Internet enters the Call Center is existing in the form of an IP package.
This information communication does not need to pass through PBX, but passes through the router and firewall filtration directly into the enterprise internal network. The information in the IP package can be both data or speech, or even video. Therefore, IP brings Call Center to contact a single terminal to contact multiple different terminals.
One technical problem connected to the IP network is how to coordinate traditional telephones with emerging terminals in a Call Center, allowing the agent to serve the users using a variety of different contact modes.
Jun thinks that the development of Call Center will increperly IP mode in the future, even if it enters the Call Center by analog phone line, once the PBX is passed, it will be converted to an IP package. In other words, the Call Center is a system of pure IP. Regardless of the information of the outside world, it will be converted to a unified form -IP in the Call Center system. Because all of the IP packets are in the form of the IP package, various information can be enjoyed on the internal network, and unlike the current system needs to additionally from the PBX pull strip voice line to the agent. PBX is not like time-saving, and use IP package switching technology.
The starting point of this view is that the first three networks should be implemented from the inside. In this regard, the Call Center sub-station in the distributed Call Center system of Nortel is in the form of IP in the form of IP. In distributed network Call Center, different geographic Call Center is connected to a network, and each Call Center is dynamic traffic balance and centralized management. Disperse large Call Center to all over the place, improve the full network service capability, ensure network coverage, while controlling costs.
Distributed Call Center has developed to a certain stage, and the remote agent will appear, that is, the agent can sit at home. Currently, the remote agent is also affected by the communication network bandwidth. But in theory, the customer information is completely forward-forwarded to the form of IP to the office of office. With VoIP technology, users can be distributed by the agent after entering Call Center, and establishing a user with the remote agent. Of course, the remote agent must also be able to log in to the internal network of the enterprise, access the user information required for the agent in the enterprise database.
Technology "specialization"
Domestic Call Center has no longer time, and there is a big difference in the application of abroad. This also brings some technical differences.
In terms of speech card, the general engineers of Wuyue Xin Technology believe that there are mainly four differences:
1. Advanced technology, domestic board lags behind 1 to 2 years abroad. Two of these reasons: First, the application is lagging behind foreign countries, and the technology is driven by the application. Due to the low level of domestic application, large-scale voice services, high-intelligent voice services and three-network combined progress are slower than abroad. The second is the backwardness of basic technology. Such as chip design technology, large-scale software development technology is not as good as abroad.
2. On the software development interface, the software interface provided by foreign board is based on event drivers. This interface is insufficient in this regard, but because the development starting point of the event drive is high, some low-level applications are limited. In terms of the diversity of the development interface, the foreign board is not as good as the domestic board, and the domestic board has almost provide the interface of all software development tools in the market, and foreign cards have been used for interface programs due to the unidentified technical teams in China. Development, so the interface is relatively single.
3. In terms of local adaptability, domestic board is accompanied by the Chinese market, and local adaptability is better. Foreign cards are usually common worldwide, so developers need to develop some developers for their own conditions, which do not want to know the developers of the communication system have certain thresholds.
4. Technical support, due to the difference in technical support costs, domestic cards are superior to foreign boards in technical support.
From another perspective, Call Center has a large starting point at home and abroad. Gao Zi said that the foreign Call Center is to build its construction into a profit center, while the vast majority of Call Center is a cost center. Most of the domestic Call Center is to deal with the complaints of our customers, rarely consider it to bring sales opportunities to enterprises. Therefore, the domestic Call Center has different technical requirements, such as Call Center's Outbound is an important way to understand customer information, carry out market surveys, and tap sales opportunities. But domestic companies have more concerned about this feature.
In addition, due to the difference in language, some speech recognition techniques have been different. Therefore, foreign products must do certain localization work in China, and some unwanted modules are also removed.
postscript
In addition to the above-mentioned related technologies, all interviewers pointed out that Call Center is only a window of the company, which must be combined with CRM, e-commerce, etc. will have better development. This is probably the reason why the market began transferring from Call Center from Call Center in 2000.
The domestic market involves the main manufacturer of call center business:
● Survey switch manufacturer
Lucent, North Telecom, Siemens, Alcatel, Ericsson, 3Com, Cisco, Huawei, Datang, Shanghai Wireless, ZTE Communication, Zhuhai Jiahe.
● Voice board manufacturer
Dialogic, Music Telecom, Beijing Linchand, Shenzhen Dongjin, Beijing Song, Beijing Wuyue Xin, Shenzhen Fei Ring, Shenzhen Baoan Tianshui, Guangzhou Pepsia, Beijing Tianya De, Beijing Taixing Data, Shanghai and Chuang Technology.
● Application software and system integrator
IBM, HP, Lenovo, East America, Heli Jinqiao, Beijing Jingzhou, Beijing Youxin Tongchuang, New Oriental, Beijing Everbright Computer, Yadong, Beijing Huaqi, PTC, PTI, PTI, Beijing, China Feng, Beijing Zhongxun Communication, Dalian Huaxin Technology, Chengdu Si Fang, Zhenjiang Kim Titanium Software, Guangzhou Fi Nit, Shenzhen Wen Zhengming, Fujian Huayong Group, Wuhan Hongwei, Shenzhen Aikang, Shenzhen Jinhua Industry, Nanjing Putian Communication, Shenzhen Zhongxing New Tai, Hangzhou Xin Yada, Beijing Yiyang Group.
● Call center outsourcing service provider
Nine Five-Year Information, Cheng Bo Information Co., Ltd., Shanghai Unicom Paging, Shanghai Runxun Call Center, Shanghai Information Industry Co., Ltd. Call Center, South Bell Customer Service Center.
