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I
THE IMPACT OF VOIP
ON CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP MANAGEMENT
A Thesis
Presented to the
Faculty of [INSERT FACULTY NAME HERE]
[INSERT SCHOOL NAME HERE]
In Partial Fulfil lment
Of the Requirements of the Degree of
Master of Science in
Computer Science
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Abstract
The ever-growing sector of customer relationship management (CRM)
depends on the network industry as a back-end hardware support for
communication. The current study observed voice-over-Internet protocol or VoIP
as one of such technology, which offers feasibility with many added advantages
than other traditional communication technologies like PBX and PSTN. In order
to understand the real impact of VoIP on CRM, the study took the concern of
complete background of VoIP. The study observed the trends of CRM and the
convergence factors of CRM with VoIP and the precautions that need to be taken
before implementing the VoIP for CRM applications. The study mainly observes
the challenges put before CRM with telecommunication adaptations and how
VoIP is able to solve the questions. Technology architecture of VoIP, VoIP
standards were closely observed. The myths of VoIP deployment,
implementation issues and influencing factors of VoIP growth and the challenges
involved with VOIP deployment in particular to CRM are also observed. The
impact of VoIP on CRM is analyzed under Productivity and Cost as prime
concentration. Return of investment in VoIP is understood in terms of costs at
different levels of implementation. The Study has been conducted under the
method of Historical case study analysis and observed the results of VoIP
implementation in two CRM companies Key com and Click Communications.
The study found that VoIP deployment results in reduction of costs for CRM
operations with increased efficiency. But still the wall power dependency and the
complexity in technical adaptations resulted as major limitations of the
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deployment. The study recommends for a thorough business plan before
pursuing technical deployment of VoIP for CRM and usage of integration
software as connector to realize the maximum interoperability and savings. Also
the research suggests for the further research on deployment of VoIP for
Wireless applications for wide spread utility of technology.
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IV
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Abstract ................................................................................................................................ II
List of Figures.................................................................................................................... VI
Chapter 1: Introduction ..................................................................................................... 1
Statement of Problem ........................................................................................ 2
Purpose of the Study ......................................................................................... 2
Importance of the Study .................................................................................... 3
Scope of the Study ............................................................................................ 4
Rationale of the Study ....................................................................................... 5Definition of Terms ............................................................................................ 6
Overview of the Study ....................................................................................... 9
Chapter 2: Literature Review .........................................................................................10
Relevance ....................................................................................................... 10The Status of VOIP in the Technology Industry ......................................................... 10
Scenario of CRM........................................................................................................... 12
Convergence of VoIP to CRM ..................................................................................... 13
A Warning Before Convergence .................................................................................. 15
Background of Convergence and Facts .......................................................... 17Technology trends in CRM .......................................................................................... 17Technology trends in the evolution of VoIP ............................................................... 20
The Telecommunications Challenge for CRM implementation ................................ 23
Shortfalls of Traditional Phone Services for CRM applications ....................... 24
Reasons for a Contact center to move to VoIP: .............................................. 28
Considerations for the VoIP implementation to CRM ...................................... 31
The Technological Architecture required for VoIP for CRM ............................. 34
VOIP STANDARDS ......................................................................................... 42H.323 .............................................................................................................................. 42Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) .................................................................................. 44
Other Standards ............................................................................................................. 45
The Myths of VoIP deployments...................................................................... 50
Implementation issues with VOIP .................................................................... 51
Factors influencing VoIP growth in CRM ......................................................... 55
Challenges involved in the VoIP implementation of CRM ............................... 58
Productivity impact of CRM with VoIP ............................................................. 61
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Cost Impact of VoIP ........................................................................................ 63
The ROI of VoIP in CRM ................................................................................. 67
Market Overview ............................................................................................. 74
Chapter-3 - Research Methodology: ...........................................................................77
Research Approach: ........................................................................................ 77
Data Gathering Methods: ................................................................................ 82
Originality & Validity of Data: ........................................................................... 83
Limitations of the Study: .................................................................................. 83
Summary: ........................................................................................................ 84
Methodology .................................................................................................... 85
Approach..............................................................................................................................85
Data Gathering Method ................................................................................... 89
Database of Study ........................................................................................... 91
Case studies.................................................................................................... 911. KEYCOM .................................................................................................................. 91
2. CLICK COMMUNICATIONS ................................................................................ 97Click Communications is a wing of communications of KBS, Promotions of
Bradford, which is in the textile business with UK retailers. The organization has
nearly 300 distributors throughout the UK. ................................................................. 97Validity of Data .............................................................................................. 100
Originality and Limitation of Data ................................................................... 103
Summary ....................................................................................................... 104
CHAPTER-4 ...................................................................................................................... 105
Data Analysis ................................................................................................ 105
CHAPTER 5....................................................................................................................... 111
Summary ....................................................................................................... 111Recommendations ........................................................................................ 113
Conclusions ................................................................................................... 116
BIBILOGRAPHY .............................................................................................................. 117
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VI
List o f Figures
Figure 1 - Simple VoIP System37
Figure 2 - Call Processing Server38
Figure 3 - VoIP Gateway Functions.40
Figure 4 - VoIP Protocol Structure...48
Figure 5 VoIP Protocols.....49
Figure 6 - Overall average Installation costs..69
Figure 7 - VoIP cost per unit.70
Figure 8 - ................................71 ! ... ! .
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Chapter 1: Introduction
CRM stands for Customer Relationship Management. It is a process or
methodology used to learn more about customers' needs and behaviors in order
to develop stronger relationships with them.
CRM entails all aspects of interaction a company has with its customer, whether
it is sales- or service-related. An example of a CRM would be a database
containing detailed customer information that management and salespeople can
reference in order to match customer needs with products, inform customers of
service requirements, etc. Many software applications are now available that
permit you to record information about this relationship from the time the client
asks the first question. Good CRM software is much more efficient than
fragmented records as it can save time in tracking communications and
transactions with a particular person.
More specifically, CRM is a business application derived from technology, and
hence has caused more confusion than any other form of technology that has
been available in the market to date. Survey after survey has shown that the
majority of companies are aware that the technology exists, but they are
confused as to how precisely it will benefit users and their customers.
The increased demands for customer interaction modes in sharing Voice, Data
and Video have led to the different modes of network convergence. Among these
modes, PSTN, PBX, and VoIP are the trial-and-error scenarios, where the VoIP
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implementation trend is continuing as a preferable deployment. But the risks,
which include initial costs, denial of services, and accessibility, are creating
doubts for the organizations IT architectures in considering VoIP deployment.
In this context, the study of the impact of VoIP on CRM provides a great deal of
insight into how the sector functions.
Statement of Problem
VoIP implementation is showing a rising index in the enterprise and
customer-interactive applications like CRM and call centers, but the industry still
perceives some risks with the new wave of telephony application integration.
Hence the current study intends to analyze the pros and cons in implementing
the VoIP in the field of CRM to understand the impact on the later business
application.
Purpose of the Study
These days, a growing number of enterprises are focusing their efforts on
building more comprehensive CRM models to enhance their customer relations.
Through the development of a more holistic, seamless and integrated approach,
these organizations want to improve the quality of their customer services. Thus,
it is evident that the very nature of CRM implementations is now quite pervasive
The competitive organizations want to offer customer services through call
centers and leading-edge software which needs utilization of key data of the
customers. By connecting such live data, its possible to escalate performance
and reduce errors associated with the double and triple data-entry cycle thats
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typical when companies rely on paper or a mix of mobile and connected systems.
These CRM analytics need an uninterrupted linkage of client connectivity at low a
cost and with a high rate of proficiency for data and voice.
Under this purview of necessities, though VoIP stands to meet most of the stated
requirements of the CRM field, there are some challenges to negotiate for the
deployment of the technology for the profitability of the business application.
Thus the current study closely examines such differences and determines the
impact of VoIP on CRM.
Importance of the Study
The study observes the convergence of VoIP with CRM in terms of technological
implications as well as from a business prospective. Hence the study
concentrates on the architecture as well as the commercial aspects of the
merger. This gives a complete format of the structure to any one who wants to
know about the VoIP impact on CRM applications.
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Scope of the Study
The study covers the following areas to identify and observe the whole impact of
VoIP over CRM.
Trends of Technologies in the field of CRM
Considerations for the VoIP implementation to CRM
The myths about VoIP
The technological architecture required for VoIP for CRM
Factors influencing VoIP growth in CRM
Risks involved in the VoIP implementation of CRM
Cost impact of CRM with VoIP
The ROI of VoIP in CRM
Productivity impact of CRM with VoIP
Future trends of VoIP in CRM
Drivers for the implementation of VoIP
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Rationale of the Study
Although there is a vast amount of literature available on the independent fields
of VoIP and CRM, there is no direct study on the impact of VoIP on CRM.
The study proves its rationale by making itself unique with the combination of the
technology applicable in the business area. So far there has been no direct study
conducted in the area where the impact is analyzed in detail.
But by analyzing the case studies of CRM businesses with the implementation of
VoIP, the research identifies the real impact of the technology on business
operations.
The study also helps us to understand the various factors of technological
implications influencing business growth that will definitely enhance the
researchers understanding of the subject. Analysis from this study will improve
our understanding of enterprise deployment of VoIP in CRM.
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Defini tion o f Terms
CRM stands for Customer Relationship Management. It is a process or
methodology used to learn more about customers' needs and behaviors in order
to develop stronger relationships with them. (CRM Guide)
VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol). The technology used to transmit voice
conversations over a data network using the Internet Protocol. Such data
network may be the Internet or a corporate Intranet. (Shift networks)
ADPCM - Adaptive Differential Pulse Code Modulation a way of encoding sound
files so that they take up less space.
Blocked Calls - What happens if the network doesn't have enough lines to allow
calls to reach their destination?
May also be used to refer to a call from an originating number that is blocked by
the receiving telephone number.
CLI / CLID - Caller Line Identification otherwise known as Caller ID or Caller
Display. The caller's telephone number is sent through to your CLI enabled
phone, so it can tell you who is calling. CLI can work with VoIP systems, but
some handsets seem to have difficulties.
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Hard-phone - A physical VoIP telephone.
IP address - A unique number used to identify a computer or other networked
gadget. IP addresses are written as four numbers separated by periods, like this:
168.192.0.99 and can be used like phone numbers to make an IP -to-IP call - as
long as both parties have unique IP addresses and software set up.
PBX - Private Branch Exchange, A private telephone exchange for one
organization or business. Users can call one another through the PBX (usually
using a short 3-4 number code) or use one of the external lines connected to the
PBX to call the outside world.
PSTN - The Public Switched Telephone Network is the non-internet international
phone network that carries voice and fax data. The network nowadays uses
mostly fiber-optic cabling to carry most of its data, though the wire that actually
enters your home or office is usually still just copper.
The big difference between PSTN and the Internet is that PSTN creates an
exclusive circuit between you and the person you are calling that lasts as long as
the call does. Internet data doesn't create an exclusive circuit: it sends the data in
packets that will take whatever route is most efficient at the time, and while you
are receiving voice call packets you can still receive packets of other data such
as email or web pages and a service provider that can cope with NAT.
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Registrar / SIP Registrar - A Registrar is a SIP server responsible for keeping
track of where a user is contactable, and providing that information to callers. A
SIP phone must register its current location with a registrar server to allow calls
to be made to it using a phone number or alias. Without a SIP Registrar, the
caller would need to know the correct IP address and port of the telephone.
SIP - Session Initiation Protocol is a protocol that sets up, manages and then
terminates a multimedia session. The session itself could be used for video,
multimedia conferencing or gaming, or of course for an IP phone call. If the
phone software says it supports SIP, what it means is that means it is able to use
that protocol to talk to a server or router, which will do the job of connecting the
call. Many devices support only one of these protocols, to ensure that all the
devices that buyer and Service Provider use the same protocol
Soft-phone - A software program that allows your computer to act as a
telephone - usually used with a microphone and headphones.
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Overview o f the Study
The current research paper intends to observe the emerging trends and the
technologies establishing the trends in the field of CRM. The study also collects
data on the benefits and challenges involved in the convergence of VoIP with
CRM. Then the paper examines the various types of architectural patterns
involved in the basic structure of convergence. In addition, the paper analyzes
the commercial aspects, such as the ROI and cost factors involved with the
convergence. Finally, the paper analyzes the gathered facts and assumptions in
the light of case studies dealing with VoIP and CRM convergence. In this way,
the paper analyzes the real impact of VoIP in the field of CRM.
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Chapter 2: Literature Review
Relevance
The Status of VOIP in the Technology Industry
John Q. Walker and Jeffrey T. Hicks, in their paper VoIP Implementation and
Management, quote Geoffrey A. Moores statement that the adaptation of new
technology goes through a predictable process. According to Moore there is an
initial period where pioneers tend to ignore ROI because they want to deploy the
technology which gives them a real or perceived technological advantage.
(John Q. Walker and Jeffrey T. Hicks., Pg-2)
Walker and Hicks also state that VoIP appears to have crossed the chasm,
moving past the Early Adopter phase and into the Early Majority phase.
The above authors claim that, "Early Majority users are more cautious about
expanding capital on still-evolving technologies. They therefore prefer to wait
until a technological innovation has a positive track record. In the Early Majority
phase of a new technology, it is difficult to ignore ROI and important to build a
business case before making a purchase. The benefits of VoIP can be measured
in different ways. Bottom line cost savings are fairly easy to quantify. Other VoIP
benefits, such as productivity improvements, are more difficult to quantify in
terms of ROI. These types of benefits sometimes require a leap of faith or
intuition about potential results". (VoIP Implementation and Management)
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Chris Roberts, in his paper on Voice over IP, explains the shift in the
conventional telephonic system in the following way: "Many of the analogue PBX
(Private Branch Exchange) and PABX (Private Automated Branch Exchange)
installations are nearing the end of their economic life with many manufacturers
discontinuing product lines in favor of IP (Internet Protocol) telephony enabled
replacements. The chances are, however, your data network is amongst the
estimated 85% of networks in use today that are not ready to support IP
telephony without modification2. With an industry-wide move to voice and data
convergence, VoIP is likely to feature prominently in organizations IT strategic
planning and investments over the next 5 to 10 years." (ccip)
According to Johanne Torres, "Analysts believe that with the margins on all types
of voice calling continuing to decline, telecommunications hardware and software
vendors will unlikely see the service providers substantially increase their CAPEX
budgets. The study, titled North American Telecom, International Telecom, and
VoIP: A Global Market Perspective 2005-2011, predicts an international VoIP
revenue of $84 billion this year, representing about 28 percent of international
voice traffic revenue. Additionally, by 2011, VoIP bypass of international voice
traffic is expected to hit $96 billion, or just over 22 percent of international voice
traffic."
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Thus it is shown that VoIP implementation has become a significant part of the IT
strategic planning process than a simple more necessity particularly with
up-and-coming organizations.
Scenario of CRM
Gary Barnett, CEO of Aspect Communications, in addressing the 'Internet
Telephony Miami Conference in February 2005' states, "VoIP would play an
instrumental role in turning contact centers into multi-faceted Interaction
Management Centers within the next four years, claiming that VoIP and SIP
would simplify and enable new applications and contact center functionality as
the contact center became increasingly integral to the enterprise" (VOIP in
business).
Many contact center analysts now believe that VoIP is taking off in the contact
center, stressing that the value-added benefits of VoIP are too numerous to
ignore.
Camille Mendler, Research Director of Yankee Group Europe, believes that the
usage of VOIP is reaching a tipping point.
NextiraOne has a stronghold in contact center deployment in Europe, and the IP
Communications is enabling organizations to improve agent productivity and be
more flexible in meeting customer demands. In particular, it points to the building
of virtual contact centers. The use of sophisticated load-balancing techniques
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can lead to a potentially huge savings on a companys telephone charges,
compared with traditional call forwarding models, which result in fewer agents
needing to be roistered for duty at any one time. This in turn allows those who
are working to be busier and more productive.
Many experts also stress the impact that rapid advancements in IP
communications will have in bringing about the integration of enterprise apps,
consolidation in administration and analytics, and enhanced productivity amongst
global and remote workforces. As customer expectations for flexible
multi-channel communications rise, IP communications is now seen as the best
way to deliver the necessary high quality services, both rapidly and
cost-effectively.
Convergence of VoIP to CRM
Tom Burkardt, chairman and CEO of BlueNote Networks, in his article CRM
Platforms Need a Voice for Collaboration, emphasizes the need for VoIP in
CRM.
Citing the evolutionary stages of CRM, Burkardt mentions 4 stages where CRM
organizations deal with their customer-centric issues, viz: Consolidation,
Communication, Coordination, and Collaboration.
According to Burkardt, Consolidation is a stage, as initial implementations, CRM
platforms provided a way for companies to consolidate their customer and supply
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chain processes and data. He also points that the initial implementations were
hampered by their complexity and the proprietary nature of their programming
languages. Also, they suffered many security issues in giving customers access
to the data.
At second stage, CRM platforms used browser-based Web interfaces as a way
to simplify the way end-users accessed CRM data. To establish communication
with the customer, their initial efforts relied on the integration of Web
technologies. The Web integration made it easier to "communicate" the
information to a more diverse internal and external user community - more
simply, more quickly, and more effectively.
An easy-to-use user interface and hosted solutions, however, are just the
beginning. Another Web innovation -- Service Oriented Architectures (SOAs)
based on Web Services (WS) standards -- is set to reshape CRM platforms
again. According to AMR Research, 20 percent of large enterprises have already
integrated SOAs into their business systems with another 33 percent planning to
implement in the next 12 months.
In the fourth stage, Burkardt mentions the collaboration between SOA and SIP.
They both leverage Internet and Web-based standards at their core; are highly
scalable and location independent; integrate with legacy applications and
architectures; combine smaller application resources to provide more
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comprehensive business applications; and offer resource reuse by developers,
users, and applications.
Explaining the need for Voice for CRM, Burkardt illustrates that in a "collaborative
CRM" world, the manufacturer's sales manager would not only be able to view
inventory and manufacturing schedules in real time, but the manager would also
be able to initiate a voice or video call from the CRM application to manufacturing
immediately.
Adding Voice to CRM, according to Burkardt, offers increased productivity, fast
response to business needs, and a way to collaborate in real time using any or
all corporate application and networking resources. When considering all of these
benefits, bringing SOA and SIP to your CRM infrastructure looks like a winner.
A Warning Before Convergence
In contrast to the positive statements mentioned above, George Goodall,
research analyst at the Info-Tech Research Group says, "Voice over IP (VoIP)
can be very successful in the enterprise," and "On the other hand, it can also be
a massive failure." The key, Goodall says, is to step very carefully and make sure
that everything is in order before trashing that old private branch exchange (PBX)
and going to IP. He adds, "Most of the problems with VoIP implementation can
be caught before you implement it. You can save a lot of trouble if you proceed
carefully."
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These statements from Goodall are a warning to organizations to be cautious
before implementing VoIP in their organizations.
Hence the current study tries to analyze the various factors involved in VoIP
implementation in the context of the CRM industry in the following sections. The
study will closely examine the architecture, benefits, and risks involved in the
implementation.
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Background of Convergence and Facts
VoIP enables organizations or Contact centers to connect with small groups of
people to offer better CRM services. Customers who call the contact center can
get the information about the local bank or about their account from Customer
Service Centers. For this, highly secure communication lines are necessary.
VoIP enables the CRM to maintain effective customer response management
through the seamless contacting and routing of each contact. VoIP offers such
facility to the CRM operations through the following architecture.
Technology trends in CRM
Predictive dialer technologies were the feasible utilities for CRM in the year 1980.
These were highly utilized by outsourced teleservice companies and in-house
telemarketing centers. The primary use of predictive dialers was for outbound
telemarketing for such applications as collections, lead generation and sales
support, etc.
Earlier to this technology, companies like Rockwell, Aspect, Teknekron
Infoswitch, etc. formulated Automatic Call Distributor (ACD) technology during
1970s and early 1980s. This ACD technology made a contribution to the
development of inbound telemarketing, and predictive dialers.
The current era of the modern technologies started from 1990s and includes the
development of the following:
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CRM technology;
Workforce management;
Monitoring;
IP contact center technologies;
Speech technology;
Outsourcing technologies;
Off-shoring technologies (VoIP);
Data security;
Performance management and optimization;
E-learning;
Home agent technologies; and
Last, but not least, workforce optimization.
Though the above technologies contribute a major growth, the advent of VoIP
gave a good turn to the telecom industry with high cost savings and efficiency.
Industry Outlook for VOIP:
The year 2004 can be said as the year of VoIP. During this period, new items
have been added to its menu as the technology becomes a platform for new
feature development that has revolutionized the telephony.
There are two factors that aggravate the growth. One is the service providers'
rollouts of VoIP services to home and business users.
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The other factor in support of VoIP's readiness for mass market deployment is
that OEMs delivered VoIP equipment to the enterprise with the quality, reliability
and user-friendly features that businesses wanted. This resulted in switching of
large customers to VoIP.
As the key investments are made in critical requirements such as billing, tracking
minutes and customer service, VoIP began its rapid ascent as the dominant
telecommunications technology of the twenty first century.
According to Infonetics Research, VoIP service revenue nearly doubled in Asia
Pacific, Europe, and North America from 2004 to 2005. The number of worldwide
VoIP subscribers is expected to double from 2005 to 2006, where it will top 47
million, and the market is expected to prosper for at least the next 5 years. (Marin
Perez)
The study, titled North American Telecom, International Telecom, and VoIP: A
Global Market Perspective 2005-2011, predicts an international VoIP revenue of
$84 billion this year, representing about 28 percent of international voice traffic
revenue. Additionally, by 2011, VoIP bypass of international voice traffic is
expected to hit $96 billion, or just over 22 percent of international voice traffic.
Analysts believe that with the margins on all types of voice calling continuing to
decline, telecommunications hardware and software vendors will unlikely see the
service providers substantially increase their CAPEX budgets. (Johanne Torres)
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Technology trends in the evolut ion of VoIP
But VoIP is the only serious replacement/upgrade phone system being
considered today in the enterprise. Till recently, many decision makers delayed
merging their voice and data networks into a single infrastructure supporting
voice and IP communications on the desktop. But now, VoIP integration is driving
major changes in the enterprise by delivering information more efficiently than a
dual-network approach. Enterprises of all sizes can now flexibly host all of their
IP-based solutions in the corporate office and extend these services across IP to
branch offices, saving costs and improving employee productivity across the
board.
A four phase evolutionary trend of VoIP solutions are as follows:
PBX-based gateways
PBX equipment manufacturers have contributed to the early phases of the VoIP
market. The PBX based approach can integrate VoIP functionality with the
existing corporate voice communications platform. The vendors also contribute
reliable software and hardware to the voice market.
As these vendors have minimal experience in IP-centric data networking,
connectionless networks and non-determinate protocols, the issues of voice
signal quality in the IP world becomes a problem with the PBX-based approach.
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Though the market position for PBX-based gateways is strong among telecom
buyers and distribution channels, it is extremely weak on the data
communications side. So the PBX vendors could not maintain a long standing
dominance in the communication world.
Lack of technology standards is the one major hindrance to the adoption of PBX-
VoIP. CRM centers, which are to be standardized according to the Industrial
practices are supposed to prove themselves with quality norms. In such an
instance PBX-VoIP solution may not be the best solution for the desired
transparency.
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Router-based gateways
Manufacturers of routers and other data networking hardware are also a
presence in the VoIP market. Here data communications managers and
networking equipment resellers play a vital role with good stand in IP technology.
The IP quality-of-service (QoS) techniques clear the voice quality problems.
The router-based VoIP approach could not offer the perfect voice technology and
call management, thus it can hamper the smooth functionalities of CRM. And the
failure to raise the reliability standards disqualifies them from serving the
corporate voice infrastructure.
The end-to-end solutions that serve the entire enterprises operations also could
not make them familiar, as most of the technology implementations would go on
trial and error basis and plug-in modules, and would not dare to go for such type
of VoIP plan.
PC-based gateways
These are the stand-alone gateways offered by small vendors on the market.
These products offer a router- and PBX-independent solution. These vendors
exhibit a greater ability to rapidly adopt and define the industry standards. As
these are based on a PC platform, reliability is a big question here. Also these
solutions are expensive, as they themselves do not hold manufacturing of
equipment.
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Intelligent, multi-path switching gateways
The multi-path switch implementations have the solutions for the major problems
of the voice market voice quality, network reliability, and vendor independence.
The Telecommunications Challenge for CRM implementation
The economics of investing in a business phone system that is feature-rich and
can scale to its potential growth precludes young companies from purchasing
these powerful tools.
Limited funds and a dynamic, often dispersed, business environment make the
options going forward an intermediary step until the company grows large
enough to consider a premise-based PBX.
With Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology, the customer contact
centers now have a cost-effective, feature-rich alternative to the traditional
business phone system that facilitates the geographic independence to work
from homes, a powerful business feature set along with local and long distance
for a fraction of the cost of both the low-feature multi-line phones or the feature-
rich PBX.
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Shortfalls o f Traditional Phone Services for CRM appli cations
Traditional telephone networks were designed solely to carry low-fidelity audio
signals with a high level of reliability. Though these networks are reliable for
voice communication, the business operations are not comfortable with them
because of the following reasons:
They are expensive to build each phone must be individually connected to
the central office switch, which is usually several miles away from the
subscriber's location
Resource Utilization: Use dedicated circuits for each call, which require fixed
connection and operator taxation throughout the calls duration, whether or not
voice is actually being transmitted
Scalability: the traditional phone systems dont posses the capacity to operate
on large scale to address potential growth
Poor data transmission: Transmits data at very low rates and resolutions,
making them poorly suited for delivering integrated Internet communications,
entertainment-quality video or other rich multimedia content
Lethargic: these systems cannot be leveraged to provide new or differentiated
services or functions, such as a geographic independency.
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Specific Business advantages of VoIP applications
The VoIP technology comes with the following software components in general,
and can be configured individually depending on the need of clients contact
center.
Unified Messaging/Converged Communications:
Unified messaging software is one of the core components VoIP systems, which
enables users to check e-mail, voicemails and faxes from their e-mail inboxes,
and listen to their e-mails and faxes from their phones.
The people who are away from their regular e-mail boxes can call in and have
their e-mails automatically read to them. Also the Voice messages can be
converted into e-mail messages to make them available to read on mobile or
computer. This capability makes all messages always available, thus improving
responsiveness and employee productivity.
Call Identification and Routing
This software identifies priority phone numbers and forwards those calls to a
device of the user's choice such as a cell phone or pager.
A call from a specific customer can be routed to the receivers cell phone, while
all other calls can be diverted to voicemail, or to another colleague. VoIP system
enables the users to make decisions about their routing, thus increasing
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productivity by allowing them to prioritize important calls and circumvent less
important ones.
Call Recording and Monitoring
Call recording and Monitoring features can be configured automatically by the
system admin with VoIP during network set up without the assistance of external
tapes and recorders, unlike PBX systems.
This results in a cost efficiency as call recording with VoIP is doesnt require the
purchase of additional hardware. The recording software with built in hardware in
PC provides the advantage of VoIP system.
IP Paging
IP paging applications allows the VoIP owners to perform simultaneous overhead
voice paging to multiple locations within a facility, branch office buildings or
remote locations using the Internet or intranet. This lets them communicate
company-wide emergency alerts or general announcements very efficiently.
This feature also enables the users to send text messages of voice
announcements. This can be useful to school administrators who want to send
announcements to teachers without disturbing the students.
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This text-messaging feature can also alert call center employees about the
number of customers in the call queue. This feature also results in CRM by
informing customers about queue lengths and time of their service etc.,
Date Tracking and Reporting
VoIP technology enables companies to create new phone numbers and analyze
the usage of those numbers easily. The resulting reports contain valuable
information to strategize production, marketing and customer service operations.
For example, the customer's marketing department might create a new phone
number to support an ad campaign, and then use the software to track the phone
responses and evaluate the campaign's effectiveness. By accessing the same
data the HR department of the same company can identify the trends in call
volume and duration and can schedule the staff to meet the call demand.
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Reasons for a Contact center to move to VoIP:
The rationale for moving to VoIP usually includes:
Cost savings
Improved efficiency and productivity
Simplification and consolidation and
Improved capability
Cost Savings: The cost savings in Contact centers with the deployment of VoIP
mainly result from reduced toll call costs. While this may be an operational cost
saving, some considerable capital expenditure may be required to achieve this.
But with the new network equipment, VoIP implementation makes less
installation cost impact in the beginning of transition.
The increased turnover with the resulting direct cost savings is a big advantage
to CRM with VoIP.
Improved Efficiency and Productivity: Todays VoIP systems come with a variety
of productivity tools such as integrated email, voicemail, fax and messaging.
Other features may include called party presence, and a follow-me/find-me
capability. By integrating with such features, CRM systems can offer better
customer service.
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Simplification and Consolidation: VoIP is an opportunity to consolidate data and
voice communication in CRM implementations. The convergence of VoIP with
CRM can reduce equipment requirements, simplify network management and
lead to application convergence. Complexity can be reduced with properly
planned networks, flexibility to add, change or remove nodes. The operational
efficiencies like desktop-to-desktop video conferencing helps in improving
communication and improve internal customer relationship.
Improved Capability: The separate communications paths used for voice and
data in a TDM world are combined into a consolidated data infrastructure in the
VoIP architecture. Also VoIP can deliver numerous features including advanced
call routing, computer integration, unified messaging, integrated information
services, toll call bypass and encryption. These can only be possible with the
union of telephony with facsimile, video conferencing, electronic white boarding,
multimedia and other multi platform services. The integration of service center
calls with web services and shared screens can provide faster query resolution
times, aiding Customer Relationship Management. The features like voice
messages delivered to multiple mailboxes over the Internet, voice-annotated
documents and follow-me features where a person is always contactable at a
single telephone number or extension number, irrespective of physical location
are the tremendous tools to improve CRM.
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And in a multi-site environment, an IP-enabled architecture simplifies inter-site
connectivity. In such instances the headquarters location equipment provides all
of the routing intelligence, and directs inbound calls to the appropriate location
over the WAN.
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Considerations for the VoIP implementation to CRM
To implement the VoIP for CRM, the first step is to have a vital plan in hand in
the following areas:
Business planning
A critical business plan for the VoIP implementation will help in finding out the
Break Even time and ROR issues. Not only that but he business case will also
put forth the segmentation and targeting operations well in advance. The basic
contents of the business plan to look for contact center VoIP implementation are
as follows:
The type of industry sector to outline the related features of contact
center, and henceforth the call communication system features.
A clear cut definition of mode of operation of contact center between
volume-oriented and value-oriented
Classification and determination of target customers of contact center -
internal or external customers
Definition of activities and nature of contact center weather it is only for
customer support or also to help generate additional sales and
revenue
Consideration of different service provision media like - voice, e-mail
and web
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The business goals will help the organizations to choose the options of VoIP that
they want. TDM-based users need few options; IP-based contact centers use
rich functionalities. A TDM deployment requires separate administration of each
site, imposing a greater financial and personnel burden.
Whereas, an IP-based system lets a single contact center manage all sites with
greater security, scalability and adaptability. IP based contact a center diffuses
more to customers, channel agents through data and voice communications and
by using multimedia options. These features help the contact centers to
communicate the promotional strategies, to resolve account queries and to up
sell or cross sell the products and services. Customer buying experiences can be
recorded and tracked for the further usage. This data in turn can also be
converted into the MIS reports and metrics for the contact center to enhance the
productivity of the call centers. These varied business requirements can be
incorporated into the business plan at the beginning to smooth the
implementation.
Implementation planning
The business plan must also avoid hindrances and functional dropouts. This
execution plan helps the contact center to meet its objectives in the areas of
functionality, cost, and features.
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Some considerations to prepare the implementation plan are as follows:
What's the best design for the network?
How will it interface with other network components, such as voice mail
or an existing customer relationship management system?
Will the system be centralized or decentralized across many sites?
Will customer service include a Web-based component, or only voice?
How will the system be managed?
How will be the systems reaction for the additional users, locations, or
features in the future?
Here the types of data that the system needs to capture and maintain should also
be configured to manage an effective representation of information and reduction
of cost in database management.
Deployment and support
As like every other IT projects, VoIP deployment plan should be planned and
documented for ongoing support and maintenance of the implementation. For
VoIP deployment, the company has to consider the following factors to choose
between making its own or to outsource the services:
How large and complex is the deployment?
Does the deployment plan supports the onsite staff and equipment with
the appropriate knowledge?
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Can the current staff cover the deployment, or is additional support
warranted?
The deployment outsourcing can be made through the service vendors who
make quality deployments through certified standards and expertise. These
vendors can offer the customizable and packed solutions for varied and
affordable features exactly suitable for the VoIP deployment. Thus a carefully
drawn deployment along with these vendors can result in cost effective and quick
implementation. The early involvement of such vendors in the deployment plan
will help the companies to define and prioritize their requirements, to mix and
match the available features.
Contact centers can benefit most from VoIP when they engage in detailed
business planning, thorough implementation planning, and knowledgeable
deployment and support.
The Technological Architecture required for VoIP for CRM
The Center for Critical Infrastructure Protection (CCIP), illustrates the technology
architecture of VoIP as given under:
The communication of VoIP calls exists in three ways:
1. PC-to-PC
2. PC to Phone or Phone to PC and
3. Phone to Phone
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Juniper networks states that all the above must perform the same functions as
the PSTN network, which are,
1. Signaling
2. Database services
3. Bearer Control and
4. CODEC operations
Signaling
Signaling is the means by which devices communicate, initiate, manage, and
terminate functions to complete a call. In a VoIP network, signaling is achieved
through the exchange of IP messages compared with a PSTN network where a
PABX, PBX or a switch manages call connection and routing.
Database Services
In a PSTN, endpoints are identified through the allocation of a phone number. In
a VoIP network and IP address is the primary means of identification, although
an endpoint may also be allocated a phone number. A call control database
records and manages endpoint identifiers and mappings. It will also record
transactions for billing, audit, operational and security management. (Chris
Roberts)
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Bearer Control
In simple terms, this is the call connect and call disconnect management.
CODEC Operations
CODECs (coder/decoders) provide the means to convert analogue voice signals
to digital signals and reverse the process on delivery. CODECs are also known
as VOCODERs or voice coder/decoders.
On conversion from analogue to digital, a data stream is packetised and
transported across the network. The receiving endpoint will not only have to
reassemble the packets into the correct sequence, but also decode the contents.
Clearly commonality of standards and CODECs is essential if the communication
is to be intelligible.
Any detected signaling tones are routed around the CODEC that can modify the
tones to the point it is not recognized by the device being signaled, (Chris
Roberts).
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Major Components of VOIP:
The major components of a VoIP network are as follows as depicted by CCIP:
1. Call processing server;
2. User devices;
3. Media/VoIP gateways; and
4. IP Network.
The following figure illustrates the simple network of VoIP with the above
components:
Figure 1 - Simple VoIP System
Source: http://www.ccip.govt.nz/ccip-publications
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1. Call Processing Server
A call processing server, also known as an IP/PBX manages all VoIP
connections. These can be deployed in various configurations from a single
server through to a server farm. Fault tolerance, redundancy, reliability, load,
flexibility and traffic growth will factor in the choice of configuration. These
deployments are based on standard hardware running specialist software
applications. Call processing servers are also available on router platforms or as
an appliance.
To establish a VoIP communication, control traffic establishes and manages a
call while the voice traffic is carried as a VoIP payload or voice stream in a peer-
to-peer fashion in an RTP stream. Exceptions to this are some conferencing
functionality, music-on-hold and routed voice traffic to another call server.
Figure 2 - Call Processing Server
Source: http://www.ccip.govt.nz/ccip-publications
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2. User Devices
User devices may be discrete devices, sometimes known as hard phones or
software based or soft phones. Such devices include VoIP phones, PCs and
other desktop or mobile VoIP devices such as laptop computers.
3. Media/VoIP Gateways
Sometimes also known as gatekeepers, which were traditionally used for, call
admission and control and bandwidth management. With technology
convergence, the distinction between this function and traditional gateways has
fallen away and the functionality now exists within traditional gateways.
The main function of a media gateway is to create VoIP packets from analogue
voice signals using CODECs.
Other features such as compression, echo-cancellation, and silence suppression
and traffic management are often incorporated into gateway functionality.
Media gateways can fulfill a number of functions:
Trunk gateways that form the interface between a telephone and VoIP
network, typically managing multiple digital circuits;
Residential gateways that provide an analogue interface to a VoIP network.
Examples include cable modems, xDSL devices and broadband wireless
devices;
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Access media gateways provide an analogue or digital PBX interface to a
VoIP network. Examples include small-scale (enterprise) VoIP gateways;
Business media gateways that provide digital PBX interface or an integrated
soft PBX interface to a VoIP network;
Network access servers that connect a modem to a telephone circuit and
provide data access to the Internet.
Figure 3 - VoIP Gateway Funct ions
Source: http://www.ccip.govt.nz/ccip-publications
The above figure illustrates the functional components of gateways using the
H.323 standard 33.
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4. IP Network
The IP network connects the, often distributed, elements of a VoIP network. As
VoIP traffic is sensitive to delay, Quality of Service must be maintained. This is
discussed below. The IP network prioritises VoIP traffic through Class of Service
(CoS) identifiers to ensure VoIP traffic is not affected by other network traffic.
QUALITY OF SERVICE
Data networks are designed to transport data efficiently but can be susceptible
to jitter, delay, packet loss, data errors, bandwidth fluctuations and dropped
connections. While IP was designed to manage these conditions, latency and
jitter can have an unacceptably detrimental effect on voice and video over IP.
The reliability of todays PSTN allows fast call setup times, a robust feature set,
and a sophisticated billing and settlement system. This has created expectations
of QoS for VoIP calls, which should be at least as easy and as good as PBX or
PSTN calls (sometimes referred to as toll quality or feature parity). In some
cases, the fact that VoIP is perceived as an application of technology, compared
with a simple telephone, creates expectations of higher capability. VoIP QoS
requires careful network management, monitoring, fault resolution, call
management and security management.
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QoS covers the following aspects:
Voice quality;
Network performance;
Call control (packet loss and voice processing); and
Interoperability.
VOIP STANDARDS
The VoIP standards summarized by Centre for Criti cal Infrastructure
Protection(CCIP) are as under:
The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) and the Internet Engineering
Task Force (IETF) are the two major international organizations recommending
standards for VoIP. The ITU recommends H.323 and the IETF recommends the
Session Initiation Protocol (SIP). While there is some overlap of functionality
there are differences in approach and terminology. In addition, some vendors are
providing proprietary, product dependent implementations. Both protocols can be
extended to manage new capabilities. The argument has been advanced that
H.323 is more stable because of its maturity but SIP provides better support for
some functionality and is easier to implement. Fortunately the ITU and the IETF
are now co-operating in developing standards in this area. (CCIP)
H.323
Currently in version 2, H.323 is a standard recommended by the
Telecommunication Sector of the ITU. It defines real-time multimedia
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communications and conferencing over packet-based networks that do not
provide a guaranteed Quality of Service (QoS) such as the LAN and the Internet.
It is an umbrella standard belonging to the H.32x class of standards
recommended by the ITU for videoconferencing applications:
These were amongst the earliest standards to classify and provide solutions to
VoIP.
1. H.310 for conferencing over Broadband ISDN (B-ISDN);
2. H.320 for conferencing over Narrowband ISDN;
3. H.321 for conferencing over ATM;
4. H.322 for conferencing over LANs with guaranteed QoS;
5. H.324 for conferencing over Public Switched Telephone Networks.
Earlier versions of H.323 had a large overhead in control signaling, particularly
when establishing a session. This has presented some scalability limitations,
especially when a large number of simultaneous sessions are presented.
Subsequent versions have focused on addressing these issues. (CCIP)
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Session Initiation Protocol (SIP)
As the Internet developed, the IETF produced a large number of standards and
Protocols through the Request for Comment (RFC) process. In the VoIP area,
some were based on ideas in the H.323 standard and developed through the
RFC process.
SIP is a protocol to invite an individual user to participate in a point-to-point or
unicast session and part of the IETFs multimedia data and control protocol
framework. It manages the setup and orderly termination of sessions which may
include telephone calls, videoconferencing and multimedia distribution.
Sip is text-based and designed to be simple, efficient and extensible. It has
inherited some design characteristics from the Hypertext Transfer Protocol
(HTTP) and the Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP). (CCIP)
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Other Standards
Other relevant standards and recommendations include:
1. H.225 defines the lowest layer that formats the transmitted video, audio,
data, and control streams for output to the network, and retrieves the
corresponding streams from the network;
2. H.235 specifies the security requirements for H.323 communications. Four
security services are provided: authentication, integrity, privacy, and non-
repudiation;
3. H.245 specifies messages for opening and closing channels for media
streams and other commands, requests and indications;
4. H.248, also known as Megaco (MEdia GAteway COntrol), is a current
draft standard and a co-operative proposal from IETF and ITU. Also
described in RFC
5. 3015. It addresses the same requirements and has many similarities to
MGCP;
6. H.261. If video capabilities are provided, it must adhere to the H.261
protocol with QCIF as its mode;
7. H.263 specifies the CODEC for video over the PSTN;
8. Various audio CODECs are specified under G.711, G.722 G.723,G.723.1,
G.726, G.729 and G.729.a;
9. T120 a protocol for data and conference control.
Over 120 leading computer, telecommunication and technology organizations
have indicated their intent to support and implement H.323 in their products and
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services. This wide-ranging support establishes H.323 as the de facto standard
for audio and video conferencing over the Internet. (CCIP)
VoIP Protoco ls
There are a number of other protocols that may be used in VoIP applications.
Although these protocols will generally interoperate with H.323 standards, some
may not. Other protocols include:
1. Media Gateway Control Protocol (MGCP). A development of SGCP and
IPDC protocols.
2. IP Device Control (IPDC). A group of protocols for controlling hardware
devices such as control gateway devices at the boundary between the
circuit- switched telephone network and the Internet. Examples of such
devices include network access servers and voice-over-IP gateways.
3. Real Time Transport Protocol (RTP). Described in IETF RFC 1889, this is
a real-time, end-to-end protocol, utilizing existing transport layers for data
that has real-time properties.
4. RTP Control Protocol (RTCP). Described in IETF RFC 1889, a protocol to
monitor QoS and carry information on the participants in a session. It also
provides feedback on total performance and quality so allow modification
to be made.
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5. Resource Reservation Protocol (RSVP). Described in IETF RFC 2250-
2209. This is a general purpose signaling protocol allowing network
resources to be reserved for a connections data stream, based on
receiver-controlled requests. There may be scalability issues in using this
protocol due to its focus and management of individual application traffic
flows.
6. Simple Gateway Control Protocol (SGCP). SGCP is a simple "remote
control" protocol that the call agent uses to program gateways according
to instructions received through signaling protocols such as H.323 or SIP.
Now superseded by MGCP, an IETF work in progress.
7. Session Announcement Protocol (SAP). Protocol used by multicast
session managers to distribute a multicast session description to a large
group
8. Real Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP). Interface management to a server
providing real-time data
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9. Session Description Protocol (SDP). Describes the session for other
protocols including SAP, SIP and RTSP. In common with many
communication and data systems, the protocols used in VoIP generally
follow a layered hierarchy, similar to the Open Systems Interconnect
theoretical model developed by the International Organization for
Standards (OSI). There are, however, exceptions to this, for example IP
over ATM. (CCIP)
Figure 4 - VoIP Protocol Structure
Source: http://www.ccip.govt.nz/ccip-publications
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The following table provides an overview of the principal VoIP protocols, as
described in a Cisco white paper:
Figure 5 - VoIP Protocols
Source: http://www.ccip.govt.nz/ccip-publications
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The Myths of VoIP deployments
Jeff Fried used the following commonly identified myths, while analyzing the
pitfalls that interfere with the successful implementation of the project:
1. VoIP is just another data application: Generally organizations often
underestimate the complexity of VoIP deployment. Consistent delivery of high-
quality user experience is a challenging task which is overlooked very often.
2. Voice quality is not an issue: even after the surplus availability of bandwidth
voice quality is another area that needs concentration. This requires careful
configuration of the system, than just flipping a switch or setting the knobs on the
network correctly. The user's perception of voice quality depends on a range of
factors, including a network that can be complicated to engineer and difficult to
troubleshoot, and which requires regular maintenance.
3. All VoIP phones are created equal: With IP telephony, calls are not limited to
traditional telephone devices; users can take advantage of soft phones, personal
digital assistants and wireless devices, as well as traditional phones. The
characteristics of the phone and the application matter as much as the health of
the network--a cheap phone on a clean network can sound worse than a high-
quality phone on a poor network. Successful VoIP deployments require a
systems view that takes infrastructure, applications and instruments into
account." (Communications News)
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Implementation issues with VOIP
CCIP assumes that implementation of VoIP is more problematic though it is
justifiable for financial, operational or strategic reasons. Hence CCIP proposes
certain aspects that are to be accommodated:
Functionality; which may include interoperability, reliability, availability
and accessibility
Fault tolerance and management
Accounting and call billing
Configuration management
Addressing and directory management
Access control, authentication and encryption
Security
Legal considerations and
Network deployment
Functionality
VoIP offers an effective communication which overcomes the geographical
locations and the media they connected with each other like POTS, VoIP phone,
wireless phone, PC, facsimile etc., VoIP also offers the similar telephony services
in terms of reliability, interoperability, availability, accessibility, QoS, management
and security.
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Along with multimedia and multi service applications the features like text-to-
speech/speech-to-text and voice response systems enhance the functionality of
CRM applications. (CCIP)
Fault Tolerance and Management
Fault Tolerance became a mandatory specification for every current day network
system. Fault tolerance is a function of the design, systems architecture,
interoperability and quality of the system devices and software. To offer such a
Fault tolerance system, with VoIP, the legacy networks should be reengineered
to provide the QoS and robustness expected in a VoIP network. Swift
identification and resolution of failures, faults and other problems is a
fundamental network management task. (CCIP)
Accounting and Call Billing
VoIP helps in maintaining CRM accounting and Call Billing particulars. VoIP
tracks the network traffic and call management which in turn helps the CRM
business owners to allocate and recover costs where appropriate. The VoIP
should also help in maintaining call metrics by giving a complete record of call
duration, number dialed, source and destination IP address, packets sent and
received etc., Users should receive a consolidated billing for network usage.
(CCIP)
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Configuration Management
The VoIP configuration should be flexible enough to any changes in live-system
implementation in the areas like authorization, record keeping, backup and
management of configuration changes. The live system changes may include
protocol changes, compression algorithm modification or change, dialing plans,
access control, audit, recovery, fault management, port reassignment and so on.
(CCIP)
Addressing and Directory Management
The configuration changes like IP address reassignment, dynamic directory
updates, changes in Telephone numbers should be made transparent to the
users and are supposed to maintain regularly. (CCIP)
Access Control, Authentication and Encryption
Access to VoIP networks should be at least as carefully managed as access to
data networks. VoIP also offers authentication and encryption capabilities that
can enhance access control and call security. (CCIP)
Security
VoIP adds a level of complexity to network operations and the network must be
designed with particular security to resist the new vulnerabilities that the new
implementation may bring. (CCIP)
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Legal Considerations
There are a number of legal and contractual considerations that may impact the
decision to implement a VoIP network. These may include:
Caller ID and Local Number Portability (LNP);
Calling line identification restrictions;
Malicious call identification;
Legal interception;
Carrier selection; and
Emergency services (911 calls). (CCIP)
Deploying a VoIP Network
Once the implementation of a VoIP network has been agreed, there are a
number actions required. While not an exhaustive list, these include:
Systems and network architecture design;
Selection and procurement of core infrastructure devices and cabling;
Interfaces to the PSTN;
Determination of routing plans and an internal number convention;
System resilience including automatic recovery calls flows and calls
rerouting rules;
Single point of failure identification;
Disaster recovery planning and equipment acquisition;
Billing strategies and links to billing and accounting systems;
Change management; and
Technical and user training. (CCIP)
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Factors influencing VoIP growth in CRM
Joseph McFaddens The Impact of VoIP on the Customer Service Experience
explains the following reasons as very compelling to adopt VoIP based systems
to the companies who offer customer care services.
1. Simplified CRM integration: With an IP customer service center on
single-network architecture, CTI is built in, reducing deployment time from
weeks or months to hours. This includes the integrations of CRM
applications like Microsoft, Oracle, People Soft, SAP, Siebel, etc.
2. VoIP will save money: It can reduce labor and telephony costs, and
eliminate costly CTI deployments. Also the Carriers drive to reduce costs
while providing more features to satisfy the customers desire to access
different modes through single network without capital Investments
3. Phone, email, and Web contacts on a single platform: A single
platform can reduce the cost of acquisition and integration, but more
importunately, it improves the customer experience. Self-service Web
applications, deferred services like email, and immediate services over the
phone are now seamless to the customer.
4. Route contacts to the best agent anywhere on the corporate
network: The latest IP customer service center systems identify specific
customer needs and match them to agent skill sets.
5. Continue to leverage legacy investments: Ultimately every contact
center will go to a single-network, IP-based system. The right migration
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plan will maximize the investment in legacy automatic call distribution
(ACD) systems while providing a quick transition to IP.
Along with the above, another growing factor is the Improved quality and
reliability of broadband networks that enable the VoIP calls to transfer on
standard broadband lines and increased bandwidth capacity at low cost.
Risks of VoIP
Voice quality and availabili ty
Quality loss in Voice Quality: The problems of the enterprise IP network and
Wide area network (WAN) connections are results in impairments that can
threaten the continuity in the voice quality. The daily business operations of CRM
applications can face customer calls at any moment of the day and a break in
voice service is entirely unacceptable.
Application contention
Interaction of voice and data applications: The increased traffic due to the
interaction different application may result in breaks or delays in voice,
jeopardizing voice quality. By the same token, those same applications may be
adversely affected by the growing presence of prioritized VoIP traffic on the
network. CRM organizations have to protect voice and data applications from
each other as they contend for the same limited infrastructure resources.
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MAC-related risks
Moves, adds and changes (MACs) on the network: As organizations add
locations, shift users, and make other modifications to the structure of the
network and its traffic patterns, end-to-end voice service levels may be affected
due to the poor configuration of new net work system. For example, may not be
capable of supporting the additional VoIP traffic that will result when staffing
levels at that office grow. CRM organizations must take these factors into
consideration as the number and distribution of end-users changes over time.
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Challenges involved in the VoIP implementation of CRM
Reliability:
VoIP depends on wall power. Traditional phone lines do not require power. Even
if the power goes out, the phone lines still work. But with VoIP, no power means
no phone. Creating a stable power source is an essential for a VoIP system.
Securing the Line
The potential familiar threats in the VoIP implementation include eavesdropping
and malicious replay, toll fraud, service theft, voice Spam (SPIT), and identity
theft. These are the technological and implementation issues. Where as the
usage of certain software and hardware does also pose some problems like
security problems with Soft phone usage. Some new technologies come with
encryption and authentication deficiencies allowing the hackers to intrude into the
system. The wireless technology networks are much more accessible to remote
attackers.
Securi ty issues Impact on Quality of Service
Voice communications over the Net are not as seamless as they are over
traditional phone lines. The security issues outlined above raises need for quality
service with voice and video communication on the same network. These will add
Quality of Service (QoS) requirements. In order to send voice, the information
has to be separated into packets just like data. Packets are chunks of information
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broken up into the most efficient size for routing. From there, the packets need
to be sent and put back together. The data transmission issues like packet loss,
jitter, and echo results in QoS impairments. The implementation of security
measures can, itself, cause a marked deterioration in QoS.
Network security needs the implementation of vulnerability detecting systems
such as firewalls, Intrusion Detection Systems (IDS), Intrusion Prevention
Systems (IPS), Virtual Private Networks (VPN), authentication services, anti-virus
software, and gateways. Since VoIP is highly sensitive to delay, packet loss, and
jitter; many of these data security measures are inadequate and must be
specialized for VoIP. For example, current firewall/NAT devices can delay or
block call setups, encryption engines can introduce additional jitter, and inline
IDS/IPS devices can add delay to inspected packets.
Interoperability Concerns
Another issue that requires careful review is interoperability among the
components and devices used by different systems and departments of the large
organization. Interoperability considerations not only involve the ability to
interoperate with equipment on the commercial side, but on the compliance of
security protocols of the adopted network as well.
The interoperability depends on factors like the type of solution the contact
center is deploying and the level of interoperability promised by the vendor. This
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again depends on the technical expertise of the people involved in the
deployment and maintenance of the VoIP system. If the system admin resources
are well acquainted with the complete knowledge, there will be more
interoperability.
Providing 911 Emergency Services (E911)
Emergency 911 calls also pose a challenge with VoIP. As stated before, VoIP
uses IP-addressed phone numbers, not NANP phone numbers. There is no way
to associate a geographic location with an IP address. So if the caller can't tell
the 911 operator where he or she is located, then there is no way to know which
call center to route the emergency call to and which EMS should respond. To fix
this, perhaps geographical information could somehow be integrated into the
packets.
Processor Drain:
Another problem associated with VoIP is having a phone system that is
dependent on individual personal computer systems of varying specifications and
power. A call can be affected by processor drain. If a caller is chatting away on a
soft-phone, and decides to open a program that saps the processor, quality loss
will become immediately evident. In a worst-case scenario, the system could
crash in the middle of an important call. In VoIP, all phone calls are subject to the
limitations of normal computer issues.
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Productivity impact of CRM with VoIP
The advantages of integrating CRM applications with IP contact centers are:
Elimination of third-party ACD requirement.
Vendor certifications and multi-vendor implementations are not
required.
Low Cost of acquisition and low cost of ownership
Elimination of CTI requirement
Elimination of CTI middleware testing and certification aspects
Streamlined implementation to the customer which offers quick
deployment
Lowers the cost of acquisition and ownership to the customer
Facility to add media channels (telephony, email, web, fax)
Ability to sell and turn-on multi-media.
Ease in workflow integration to CRM databases
The call centers that intend a shift to VoIP recognize several benefits in terms of
cost, flexibility, efficiency, and scalability.
Flexibility:
Networks can be built in a variety of configurations to suit the number of
users, client/server application requirements, and desired bandwidth availability.
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Efficiency:
Bandwidth and network connectivity are consumed only when needed.
Service providers are able to converge their traditionally separate voice
and data networks, and carry voice, video, fax, and data traffic over the
same network.
Many terminals can share a network connection and, as a result,
significantly reduce equipment costs to deploy VoIP compared to a
circuit-switched telephony network.
Scalability:
Users can be easily added to the network anywhere there is a connection
as growth demands with minimal network costs to carriers
These advantages create cost savings that are passed on to consumers in th