It is often said that a revolution now and then is not such a bad thing, to which many would reply; if it ain’t broke – don’t fix it. As a Libran, I can see the merits for both arguments (or is that each argument?). That’s how it was when it came time to take a fresh look at delivering a contact centre* solution for the popular (the marketing department tell me over 150,000 systems and counting) IP Office platform – Avaya’s global SMB offering.
There’s no doubt that Compact Contact Center (CCC) has been a resounding success for IP Office. It had to be. With Avaya enjoying the leadership position in enterprise contact centres, CCC not only had to be good – it had to be reliable, flexible, and scalable. And it had to address the unique demands that a not-so-big (hereon referred to as SMB) business places on a contact centre—for example, being easy to use and simple to administer.
Now we have the new kid on the block; Customer Call Reporter (CCR). Due for general availability in early August 2009, CCR has been quietly doing the rounds of field-trials for the last few months. In my role as a Systems Engineer for Avaya South Pacific, I have been one of the first to see what the new kid has to offer – and (perhaps more importantly), I have been able to gauge initial client and partner reaction.
So why a new product you ask? The answer lies in the shifts and trends in the needs of SMBs: applications which are not only a valuable tool, but are even easier to deploy and use, tools which don’t require extensive training and are intuitive to operate, and solutions which can be delivered on a wider array of platforms.
Enter CCR. Firstly, CCR is delivered using the familiar web-browser – which means a wider array of platforms can be supported (Mac, thin-client anyone?). Because CCR is browser based, implementation costs are lower, as only the central CCR server needs to be installed – no client software is required on a user’s computer.
Secondly, the Graphical User Interface (GUI) for the Supervisor has been re-styled to give a cleaner, simpler, and more modern experience. Moreover, the operation and customisation of the GUI for a user is much more intuitive than CCC.
Thirdly, CCR introduces Reason Codes for an agent’s Busy Not Available state – a common feature request among existing CCC users.
So what’s missing you ask? CCC still offers a few differentiators over CCR: the support for traditional wall-boards and a wall-board messaging server are currently unique to the CCC platform, as is the ability for a supervisor to force an agent’s state, as well as the popular Call Back Request facility.
So which one do I choose? For the foreseeable future, both CCC and CCR will be available for consideration by customers requiring a contact centre. My initial thoughts are that CCR brings to the table a solution for businesses who never even considered a formal contact centre before. Because it’s highly scalable, CCR provides a very cost-effective solution for a help desk with only five agents or less – but will also scale up higher than CCC (75 agents vs. 150 agents). The simplified browser-based GUI of CCR will appeal to those workers who aren’t solely responsible for watching statistics all day, or who have little to no experience in managing a contact centre.
So where does CCC fit? Perhaps more formalised contact centres will find comfort in CCC’s traditional client/server based architecture. Those users familiar with legacy supervisory software may feel more at home with CCC’s powerful Call Center View (CCV) module. Finally, those contact centres with specific requirements around wall-boards and messaging will find a more mature product in CCC.
So what of existing CCC customers considering CCR? An interesting question, as the two solutions are very different from an architectural and operational perspective. Financially, Avaya has made it easy for CCC users to change to CCR by offering a very reasonably priced one-size-fits-all change-over license. Interestingly, I have found that the response from existing CCC customers who have had a sneak-peek at CCR is overwhelmingly favourable (which came as a pleasant surprise) – many citing the simplified and flexible GUI, along with the easy creation of tailored reports, as compelling reasons to consider a change to CCR.
So there you have it; a little revolution isn’t such a bad thing after all. The King is dead, long live the King!
* As an Australian and a servant of the Queen’s English I reserve the right to spell it like this!
