Unified Desktop
A typical call centre agent navigates between five and twelve different desktop applications to handle a customer interaction. They often have to plough through multiple pages to get to the information they need and then cut and paste information between applications. This extends the call handling time and causes significant frustration to both the customer and the agent.
Call wrap up times are likewise extended by needing to input the same information into multiple systems, leading to a further extension of overall transaction times and creates potential for data entry errors.
Next generation unified desktops leverage SOA techniques and web services to provide non invasive integration with back end systems. They ‘service enable’ data and workflow into more logical and easy to use components on the desktop and then orchestrate the transfer of data back to multiple systems in a way that remains invisible to the agent.
This benefits the agent in numerous ways. A single log-on procedure to multiple business systems can be developed within whatever security policy the organisation uses, saving time both at the start of shifts and during scheduled breaks.
CTI enabled transfers allow the right screen of information to be presented to the agent from the outset of the call. And based on the sophistication of the routing and use of segmentation to differentiate customer services, agents are automatically prompted with relevant information to improve 1st time resolution and suggest relevant promotions to the customer.
Workflow routines can be seamlessly introduced so that at call completion, automated confirmation of call outcomes in the form of email, fax, SMS or letter to the customer are triggered. Likewise back office transaction processing in the form of document production can be triggered with associated systems updates.
Critical Design Decision
The key technical choice around desktop unification is a technical roadmap decision in relation to the use of open standards and in particular SOA. Certain CRM and ERP systems have some of the candidate components but can be considered closed in their systems architecture and are typically slow and expensive to prototype and rollout as a unified desktop solution.
Alternatively purpose built desktop builders are typically free of this legacy and are fast to pilot and much cheaper to evolve. However they introduce another vendor into the mix with the associated issues of reskilling, support and administration.
See alternative business needs description
Datapoint provides the following technologies and services for Unified Desktop and Workflow.