Call Center Software Featured Article

TMCnet Call Center Software Week in Review

By Linda Dobel
TMCnet Contributor

November is proving to be an excellent month for call center management looking for new solutions to stay current and improve their call center operations. Like the previous week, this week TMCnet reporters were once again busy covering a host of new call center software offerings announced by their developers.

 Among the TMCnet reports on new call center software solutions this week, Inova (News - Alert) Solutions, Inc. announced a novel incentive program designed to help call centers that want to transition from legacy reporting systems to Inova’s reporting solutions , which it says are easier and more flexible to use, among other things.

TMCnet Contributor Mandira Srivastava reported that the incentive program aims to educate call center management on the benefits of real-time reporting and includes a review of the system the center currently owns and provides a trade-in allowance for its output devices as well as free installation of Inova LightLink middleware. The company has also established a plan designed to make ownership of more Inova solutions more cost-effective, the article explained.

Another company that announced a solution this week designed to make it easier for call centers to enjoy the benefits of current technology is TCN Inc. TMCnet’s Contributor Madhubanti Rudra reported that this global provider of on-demand, end-to-end interactive voice communication (IVC) solutions is offering its clients the opportunity to contract for its suite of predictive dialing and voice messaging functionalities on an on-demand, pay-for- use basis as a result of TCN’s adoption of cloud technology. The report stated that TNC will not cap usage nor will it require minimum usage/expenditure or a definitive contract period.

Just as it’s great news to learn of new solutions hitting the market, it’s always encouraging to learn how call center software is being put to use by companies because it provides a better idea of how the solutions actually work, beyond the mere solution description. It was gratifying then that TMCnet Contributors relayed a number of stories this week about companies that are benefiting from call center software that is already on the market.

One of those stories came from TMCnet Contributor Mini Swamy, who reported that Aspect’s (News - Alert) Aspect Unified IP will be the key contact center technology platform to facilitate the growth plans of one of the fastest-growing outsourcers in the UK called Clearanswer.  According to the report, Clearanswer has been using the Aspect platforms’ advanced inbound/outbound functionality, especially its skills-based routing, for the last two years, and it hopes to again gain success by taking advantage of its multichannel contact handling capabilities as it endeavors to expand its service offerings through SMS and email.

Finally, if you’ve ever wondered why you are so driven to keep abreast of all the new developments in call center software and customer relationship management (CRM), you may be glad to learn that you are not alone. According to a survey from Nucleus Research called CRM Technology Value Matrix that TMCnet Contributor Arvind Arora reported on this week, CRM decision makers are looking for more capabilities in their CRM solutions and major vendors are scrambling to meet those demands, making staying current on what is being introduced to the market an imperative.  

The report details many of the new capabilities and features that are both desired by business consumers and being made available by well-known vendors. Not surprisingly, mobile application support, web optimization, customer self-service and social capabilities get top billing. The report authors say decision makers will find the report useful for assessing software for its usability and functionality and for planning for future investments.