VIENNA, Austria, May 30, 2000 - Cisco Systems, Inc., today announced that Telekom Austria, that country's number one telecommunications provider, has chosen Cisco hardware and software for its Intelligent Multimedia IP (Internet Protocol) Contact Center. This center will provide state-of-art directory assistance and customer care services using a Cisco networking solution comprised of Cisco Network Applications Manager (NAM) software and Cisco's VCO/4K open programmable switch with network Interactive Voice Response (NIVR) developed by APEX Voice Communications - a Cisco New World Ecosystem partner.
With this complete Cisco solution, Telekom Austria can now connect callers immediately to the best qualified agent in any of its directory assistance and customer care centers throughout the country. In addition, the platform will offer a unique level of network-wide call control, with intersite call transfers between agents rearranged automatically through the network. Cisco NAM will become an integral part of Telekom Austria's intelligent network, so that Telekom Austria's customers can also profit from virtual contact centers and network CTI services.
"With this new progressive call center technology, we are once again one step ahead," said Wolfgang Hachmeister, chief of customer care, Telekom Austria. "We wanted a total solution, including a network IVR to improve service to our customers while satisfying detailed national requirements in the area of billing and network signaling. Cisco was extremely responsive in delivering a solution to meet all of our requirements. The new Intelligent Multimedia IP Contact Center not only improves customer satisfaction, but also boosts employee motivation, helping them achieve an even higher level of service."
"Working closely with Telekom Austria's partner DATAKOM, we relied on our strong product set as well as the knowledge of our sales and product management team to come up with an open architecture that best fit their needs, " explained Christian Fritsche, general manager, Cisco Austria. "The Cisco NAM, APEX and VCO teams worked through the business objectives, regulatory issues, and signaling requirements to give Telekom Austria exactly what they were looking for."
The Intelligent Multimedia IP (Internet Protocol) Contact Center solution delivers call routing and CTI features while continuing to support Telekom Austria's legacy equipment and applications. Cisco NAM will provide a unique networking solution that allows Cisco's VCO/4K switch to control connections transparently to all of the Telekom Austria sites. This will enable call transfers to be handled through the network, so that inter-site trunking is reduced to a minimum. The feature is invoked automatically from Telekom Austria's CTI application, and transfers directory assistance data along with the call.
Cisco NAM software is used by major service providers throughout the world to provide a complete package of network services including virtual call center services, network CTI, network IVR, and integration with other contact media such as email and collaboration over the Web. Cisco NAM bridges the traditional telecom and VoIP worlds to provide the highest level of service to carriers and all of their customers.
The Cisco VCO/4K open programmable switch enables service providers worldwide to build scalable, cost-effective networks that support the rapid deployment of wireline and wireless voice services. It is the basis for some of the most innovative applications on the market today, such as pre-paid calling, IVR, voice-activated dialing, and messaging services.
APEX Voice Communications, a Cisco New World Ecosystem partner, provides a variety of enhanced voice applications, including voice mail, unified messaging, prepaid calling, international callback, and billing. The Cisco New World Ecosystem is a community of technology partners enabling service providers to rapidly deploy innovative networking services. Cisco and its partners offer a wide range of solutions for Packet Telephony, Voice Applications, OSS/BSS, Internetworking and E-Business. Cisco's New World Ecosystem partners support open, standards-based architectures and a shared commitment to interoperable, multi-vendor implementations.
