VoIP Solutions in the Calling Center Environs

VoIP Solutions in the Calling Center Environs

by Kristen Kiya

Call centers have become an important part of any modern business activity. From e-commerce sites to brick-and-mortar companies - entities from different backgrounds gain significantly through the support of modern day call centers. And within this call center environment, the customer care capabilities as well as the productivity of individual employees can be improved significantly by resorting to VoIP solutions.

The benefits of switching to VoIP solutions is there for all to see. With convergence of voice, video and data networks, there is a significant reduction of costs as well as increase in corporate agility. Regional calling charges are not applicable to VoIP calls. Companies having business interests in different parts of the globe can thereby accrue the economic benefits of lower calls charges - significant by any counts.

To cater to the increasing demand from calling centers and other businesses, VoIP business solutions conforming to industry hardware and software standards are being designed and developed. A "standard" format means that different manufacturers from varied backgrounds can benefit from the common interfaces and make the most of advanced solution VoIP. An easy integration of these solutions with the existing infrastructure makes them all the more valuable.

And the best part is that the VoIP solutions are easy to implement, especially within the call center environs. Telephone signals are converted into digitally compressed information packets through a gateway server. Internet Protocol (IP) is then used to route the packets on a private or a public network. The incoming packets are received through a gateway at the other end, and the information packets are decompressed at this stage. A receiver's telephone network is then used to distribute the telephone signals.

Call center users could implement VoIP technology through multiline PCI cards plugged into their desktop computers. PC-based phone switching systems are readily available in the market, wherein basic PBX functions are augmented through premium services pertaining to data safety, accessibility and relability. The management and operating system software that needs to be selected would depend on specific applications. In general, however, the LINUX or the Windows NT/2000 is the common choice.

Corporate business enable call centers to distribute their calls automatically. Many of the VoIP solutions come with automatic call distributor (ACD) convenience. This and other such equally innovative applications enable users to handle incoming calls dynamically. Centralized remote management of individual calls is another possibility that could be explored. Moreover, the VoIP solutions that are used in the calling centers are empowered with complex skill-based call routing as well as and data and call management.

To conclude, it can be stated that the current and next generation VoIP solutions that offer real time voice and fax information over the Internet, are facilitating the call center businesses and empowering them to stay ahead.