Spescom DataFusion (Pty) Limited has signed a multi-million rand contract with Computer Sciences Corporation to supply Avaya Interactive Voice Response equipment into the Old Mutual Contact Centre environment.
Avaya is the former Lucent Technologies Enterprise Networks Division.
Spescom DataFusion, a wholly owned subsidiary of Spescom Limited, has already previously supplied most major components of Old Mutual's Contact Centre infrastructure, both directly to Old Mutual and to Computer Sciences Corporation (CSC), the company that supports the Old Mutual IT, telephony and Contact Centre infrastructure.
Rod Gilchrist, Senior Contact Centre Consultant at CSC, says that up to now, Interactive Voice Response (IVR) usage within the Old Mutual environment has been very limited.
"This is a highly significant project for Spescom DataFusion, CSC and Old Mutual, since the Avaya IVR will be used as a base to extensively grow the Old Mutual Contact Centre's utilisation of IVR."
Gilchrist says CSC initially carried out an IVR cost- and features assessment for Old Mutual's Contact Centre environment.
"Amidst very stiff competition from two other bidders, Spescom DataFusion, with its history of first-rate support and commitment to the Old Mutual Contact Centre environment, was seen to be able to provide the most cost-effective product and service offering."
Moreover, says Gilchrist, the Avaya CONVERSANT System for IVR, fulfils the client's key requirements with its robust, highly reliable and flexible platform, vast selection of applications and breakthrough customer relationship management (CRM) capabilities.
Three IVRs will be incorporated into Old Mutual's Contact Centre environment - two are to be introduced into the production environment and another into the development environment.
Gilchrist says the project will also include a significant amount of integration work.
"Spescom DataFusion will address such integration as necessary between the Avaya IVR and Old Mutual's Avaya Contact Centre switch, also previously supplied by Spescom DataFusion. CSC will carry out further integration with the existing applications and other infrastructure in Old Mutual's Contact Centre environment."
With the introduction of the Avaya IVR into its customer Contact Centre, Old Mutual will be able to consolidate all its IVR applications on one platform and introduce the most advanced IVR features - unavailable to the company in the past, notes Gilchrist.
"This project will ensure more efficient communication between Old Mutual and its customers and provide them with easier access to their information requirements, enriching the interaction within Old Mutual's Contact Centre," Gilchrist concludes.
Paul Fick, business unit manager: Customer Contact Solutions at Spescom DataFusion, says Avaya, as a worldwide leader in enterprise voice communications and call centre solutions, delivers one of the most powerful IVR solutions in the marketplace.
"Therefore, with this venture Spescom DataFusion complements Old Mutual's Contact Centre strategy by supplying yet another value-adding customer relationship management solution. "It furthermore reinforces Spescom DataFusion's longstanding relationship with Old Mutual and CSC and shows its commitment to the Contact Centre environment to both clients and competitors."
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Spescom Limited is a communications and information technology company with operations in USA, UK and South Africa.
The group is active in two main areas of the world IT market, namely offering product and solutions to connect to the networked economy, and the provision of software solutions to manage information and knowledge.
The strategic focus is on the convergence of knowledge, document, configuration and voice transaction management technologies.
Spescom holds the controlling interest in USA based, Altris Software Inc., a NASDAQ, OTCBB listed company, and the developers of the award winning eB software.
In South Africa, Spescom, in alliance with world leading companies such as Cisco and Avaya, formerly known as Lucent Technologies, provides a range of customer contact and intelligent network solutions to its blue-chip customer base.
The company is a leading supplier of communications solutions and products to network operators and service providers on the African continent.
Spescom, through a joint venture with Siemens, is a world leading supplier of revenue management solutions with installations in 42 countries, focusing on the prepayment of electricity services.
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