Headline Feeds
Genesys has introduced a major upgrade to its contact center product line, the Genesys 7.5 Customer Interaction Management Platform, and also released VoiceGenie 7.1, which offers built-in support for video contact centers.
The contact center 
application builds upon several earlier developments Genesys made in Open IP and SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) that allow customer service centers to switch from reactive to proactive customer service, and better manage traffic and resources.
Leveraging Presence, Analytics
For instance, the proactive contact management functionality generates messages in multiple formats -- such as SMS (Short Message Service) or e-mail -- to inform customers of certain events, such as a sale or impending appointment, thus eliminating unnecessary inbound calls.
The contact center is able to adjust both inbound and outbound interactions based on these events or just based on current traffic.
The application also includes more detailed metrics and reporting across self- and assisted-service channels such as the Web, chat and e-mail.
It also offers presence-based routing that can send, for instance, a high net-worth client to a different resource than the general contact center.
The solution will be available in April 2007.
Smart Self Service
Genesys has also introduced a new version of its self-service platform, which it acquired from VoiceGenie early last year. The most significant enhancement is its video voicemail and avatars functionality that support video play-and-record applications, such as video conferencing, video-enabled music and game applications, and video call-recording -- many of which take advantage of 3G mobile phones and other devices.
For instance, with VoiceGenie 7.1 a cellular service provider can offer its customers the ability to record and send copies of video conference calls, according to Genesys. Other applications might include telemedicine or video sharing.
VoiceGenie 7.1 leverages the latest versions of three standards -- VoiceXML 2.1, CCXML (Call Control eXtensible Markup Language) 1.0 and MRCP (Media Resource Control Protocol) 1.0 -- so the applications can be customized or modified according to the customer's need.
Next-Gen Services
The new application allows users to create hybrid customer service models and products, combining, for instance, self-service with limited assisted service, according to Genesys.
In general, contact center applications are having to move beyond the typical routing and balancing activities of traditional applications and embrace business intelligence as part of the functionality, said Rebecca Wettemann, vice president at Nucleus Research.
"Yes, users want to be able to route calls in a sophisticated way, but they also want to be able to evaluate where there is a problem," she told CRM Buyer.
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