Call Center Industry News

March 2009

ATSI Announces Certified Agent of the Year Award Program

ATSI has created a new awards program that recognizes outstanding ATSI 24/7 certified agents.  The ATSI 24/7 Certified Agent of the Year Award will give call centers an opportunity to nominate a certified agent who has made a significant contribution to the success of their company.  Nominees should be individuals who are team players, professional in the completion of their duties, and customer service oriented.

"The ATSI 24/7 Certified Agent of the Year is yet another vehicle that ATSI has put in place to recognize the important role that certified agents play in all of our call centers," stated Beth Cooper, ATSI's certification committee chairperson.  "These people are the voices and backbone of our business, and their contributions to our success should not go unrecognized."  

ATSI's 24/7 certification programs consist of four tiers: site, supervisor, dispatcher, and agent.  These accreditations are not only a set of best practices, but also an opportunity for call centers to demonstrate professionalism and adherence to these standards, with a goal of 99.9 percent annual run time.  

The first award will be presented during the awards luncheon at the ATSI Annual Conference, June 17-20 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Startel Announces Initiatives 

Startel has several initiatives focused on deploying technology solutions to enable clients to weather this economy, putting them in a position to realize an accelerated return on investment when the economy turns around.  Towards this end, Startel has added staff to the research and development staff, updated product training and curriculum, and implemented continuous improvement methodologies. 

An internal technology refresh is currently underway at Startel that includes deploying a new Microsoft Exchange Server utilizing blade servers and a new firewall.

CMC Release 9.0 includes:

• an updated switch communications link

• the release of IntelliScheduler and Web IntelliScheduler

• Short Message Service (SMS) text messaging

• Startel Information Systems (SIS), which provides immediate access to information that is relative to the user's current situation

• ATSI-compliant enhancements to the system reports

The research and development team continues working on Startel's next generation products.  The major advantages will include a smaller footprint, less hardware to purchase and support, fewer failure points, increased scalability, and a more robust application set.  This system design and architecture will enable Startel to greatly reduce development time.

For more information, call 949-863-8714.

Amtelco Connects to Asterisk and Other Leading ACDs

Amtelco has released the groundbreaking Intelligent Soft Agent for installation in the call center market.  The Intelligent Soft Agent is the next-generation evolution of Amtelco's Infinity call handling and messaging system.  The Soft Agent application is specifically designed for use with Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) based telephone-switching systems.

The Intelligent Soft Agent's streamlined user interface puts the power and flexibility of Amtelco's Intelligent Series suite of applications at the fingertips of call center agents.  The Intelligent Soft Agent application integrates seamlessly with Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) enabled PBX equipment from Asterisk, Avaya, Cisco, Mitel, NEC, Nortel and Siemens, as well as Amtelco's Infinity ACD system.

SIP/VoIP technology provides call centers with the ability to establish low-cost, efficient direct connections to their clients' PBXs and ACD systems.  The Internet-based communication technology makes it possible for call centers to easily and efficiently offer remote receptionist and messaging services with a quickly recovered capital investment.

For more information on the Infinity Soft Agent software, call 800-356-9148 or 608-838-4194.

OnviSource Selected for Avaya DevConnect Program

OnviSource Inc., a provider of integrated call center software product solutions and call center outsourcing services, has been selected by Avaya Inc., a provider of business communications applications, systems, and services, for membership in the Avaya DevConnect program.  The Avaya DevConnect program promotes the development, compliance testing, and co-marketing of innovative third-party products that are compatible with standards-based Avaya solutions.

OnviSource is the developer of the OnviCenter 6 product suite, a family of applications that deliver workforce optimization and customer interaction management software solutions, including call recording, speech analytics, quality assurance, compliance management, screen capture, workforce management, and agent transaction automation.

"Membership in Avaya's developer community will help us deliver end-to-end and unified solutions to call centers and enterprises," said John Hird, vice president of product marketing at OnviSource.  "Building on Avaya's established and enterprise-wide voice and data infrastructure, OnviSource is capable of offering workforce optimization applications that can be seamlessly deployed, while reducing integration time and costs, improving network security and reliability, and preserving customer's prior investments."

DialAmerica Unveils New Organizational Structure

DialAmerica, one of the largest privately owned teleservices companies in the U.S., announced a new organizational structure that streamlines and simplifies operational reporting lines and integrates common functions to better serve clients.  All DialAmerica employees and operations are now organized under four senior vice presidents, each with chief responsibility for a core functional area of the business.

"These changes reflect our strong focus on client satisfaction and development as well as providing a disciplined approach to running our company," said Art Conway, president and CEO of DialAmerica.  "Through our new organizational structure, we will be able to elevate our industry leading performance for our clients to an even higher level."

The four senior vice presidents and responsibilities include:

• Mary Conway, senior vice president and chief marketing officer
• H. Laurence Kyse, senior vice president and chief of call center operations
• Christopher Conway, senior vice president and chief technology officer
• Robert Fischer, senior vice president and chief financial officer

DialAmerica has served the marketing and fundraising communities for fifty years.

AnswerNet Network Changes Its Name Amid New 2009 Initiatives

AnswerNet Network, the world's largest telemessaging firm and a full service provider of inbound, outbound, and e-bound contact center services, announced the company has changed its name to AnswerNet.  The change enables AnswerNet to leverage its brand name in the teleservices industry while aligning its corporate structure with AnswerNet's identity in the marketplace.

"While we were known as the AnswerNet Network, many in the industry identify us as AnswerNet," said president and CEO Gary Pudles.  "At the same time, people who were not familiar with our company structure sometimes thought we were a network of small, independently owned call centers and not the wholly owned, bricks-and-mortar company that we are.  The name change also augments several new initiatives that will help strengthen AnswerNet's role in the industry, such as our Customer Relationship Management Services and a company-wide rebranding campaign."

Amtelco Adds Integral SMS Text Messaging to Infinity

Amtelco has added integral SMS (Short Message Service) text messaging to the dispatching component of both its Infinity platform and Intelligent Series applications.  With the introduction of Infinity Software Version 5.51, both platforms now support two-way SMS messaging that makes it possible for customers to reply to dispatched text messages.  The reply messages can be configured to automatically mark outbound messages as delivered and to send replies to an agent, allowing an ongoing conversation via text messaging.  Both platforms also support unsolicited inbound SMS messaging, enabling inbound SMS messages to be routed directly to agents.

Text messages can be wirelessly transmitted and received using cellular modems attached to the Amtelco server or Intelligent Series server.  Text messages can also be transmitted using an SMS aggregator service.

The SMS communications protocol enables the interchange of short text messages between mobile telephone devices.  SMS text messaging is the most widely used data application on the planet, with 2.4 billion active users, or 74 percent of all mobile phone subscribers, sending and receiving text messages on their phones.

For more information on the Infinity SMS text messaging software, call 800-356-9148 or 608-838-4194.