Cebit comes to Customer Contact World 2001

A live demonstration of the integrated mobile call centre-CRM solution which created a stir at this year`s Cebit information technology and telecommunications trade fair in Germany, is being recreated by Dimension Data at Customer Contact World 2001 which takes place at the Northgate Dome from 10 to 12 July.

The demonstration marks the commercial launch in SA of Ericsson`s Solidus eCare multimedia contact centre solution which was awarded "best in show" at Call Centre & CRM Solutions 2001, the largest exhibition of its kind held in Dallas, US, earlier this year.

At Customer Contact World 2001, Solidus eCare will be integrated with Siebel customer relationship management software, underscoring its power and versatility as a customer interaction solution.

Rob Browne, Ericsson business development manager at Dimension Data, says that in today`s world of multiple communications channels, the role of the traditional call centre needs rethinking. The traditional call centres need to evolve into full multimedia contact centres.

"Call centres have to take their place alongside all the new communications media - and integrate with them. Solidus eCare is a major step towards Ericsson`s vision of offering anytime, anywhere, mobile contact centre. It`s a solution which fully integrates different communications media - phone calls, faxes, e-mails, Web sites and chat sessions -- to ensure unmatched customer service," he adds.

In addition, Solidus eCare enables companies to make the best possible use of their human resources, ensuring that all incoming contacts are handled by the person best qualified to help - regardless of that person`s location.

"Agents don`t have to be at their desks to help customers. They could be anywhere in the office - or even working from home, if that`s what suits them best - and have access to all the call centre functionality of Solidus eCare via a fixed-line phone or a mobile terminal," Browne explains.

A powerful interactive voice response (IVR) system which can access the company database, coupled with voice recognition and text-to-speech capabilities are available to support automated information services, eliminating the drudgery of repetitive tasks for call centre agents.

"Yet when an incoming call does need to be handled by an agent, all the relevant information is instantly on hand, so there`s no need for the agent to go through the tedious process of establishing who the caller is and why he or she is calling.

"And skills-based routing matches each incoming contact - whether it comes in the form of a telephone call, an e-mail, an Internet chat dialogue or a `call me` request from the company Web site - with an agent who has the right skills to deal with the query.

"Finally, Solidus eCare also offers all the tools required to support traditional telephone-based call centre activities, both inbound queries and outbound telemarketing. All contacts can be assisted by the Knowledge Base - a dynamic body of questions and answers which can help agents deal with callers, as well as generate automated responses to e-mails and Web contacts," Browne concludes.