When it comes to contact centre delivery, there are numerous advances that will make a massive impact on the way government communicates with its citizens over the next few years. While voice recognition and VoiceXML are already making great strides into the modern contact centre arena, two innovations that I find particularly exciting for the medium-term are the virtualisation that the `contact centre on demand` model offers, and the future benefits of speaker verification through voice biometrics.
The `contact centre on demand` offering is typically managed from a central voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) telecommunications location, and includes services such as intelligent call routing for all incoming calls, speech recognition, and complete integration with an organisation`s Web services and applications (such as CRM).
It holds huge potential for government, allowing for services in outlying and rural areas to be offered at these physical points in an identical manner to how they are offered in metropolitan areas - technologically speaking, that is. If consistent service delivery is not enough motivation, consider the cost savings for municipalities that can subscribe to a managed service rather than each of them going through the rigours of building their own infrastructure.
Furthermore, it is possible to set up a contact centre agent from home - all they need is a PC, a headset and a broadband connection - which has particularly interesting implications for government`s job creation drive.
Another technology with enormous potential is speaker verification, or voice biometrics. Because each person`s voice is as unique to them as their fingerprints, a company or government department can use voice biometrics to quickly and efficiently make sure the person at the end of the line is who they say they are. Applications for this technology include installations in pension fund payout kiosks - already installed in some units in South Africa.
It`s a two-stage process that involves capturing an initial voice sample, and then each time authenticating a person according to how their voice matches that original sample. Think how much better (and quicker) it is - instead of being authenticated by, for example, the Department of Social Development`s call centre in a Q&A session around ID number, address, phone numbers, etc, just by saying "Kaiser Chiefs" or any other secret passphrase, you are already securely into the department`s systems and ready to transact.
What makes these technologies so exciting - other than what they can do for both government and citizens - is that the fundamental concepts on which they are built is focused on customer or citizen-centricity. They are expressly designed to make a quantifiable difference in peoples` lives. Whether this means a farm worker in the most remote village in the Eastern Cape, or an executive in a city centre, these technologies make access to critical information that much easier and efficient.
Thanks to the proliferation of contact centre and biometric technology, the South African government has a wide array of options at its fingertips that can be used to give all South African`s citizens a voice. And for those companies operating in this space, it is a privilege to be playing such an important role in giving a voice to all.
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