Nortel Networks Corp. and Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories Inc. last week separately released software for call centres aimed at strengthening communication lines between call agents and customers.
Nortel released version 4.0 of its Symposium Call Center Web Client, which is a browser-based interface to a Nortel Symposium server.
Nortel says the new client could help businesses roll out call centres faster by eliminating the need to install and manage the standard Symposium client software on individual call agents’ PCs. The Web client offers most of the same functions, such as access to customer history and case information, customer record displays, and desktop displays for performance statistics for individual agents.
The Web clients are able to tie into a central application server running on the Symposium server, which can gather statistics from Web and PC-based clients for processing reports on call centre activity, calling trends and individual agent efficiency.
Genesys, a subsidiary of Alcatel, announced version 6.4 of CallPath, a former IBM Corp. product which Genesys acquired last May. The new version integrates CallPath call agent management servers with the Genesys Suite 6 call centre product, so that users can manage customer e-mail responses and agent/customer Web collaboration.
Genesys says CallPath 6.4 could be used either by call centre managers looking to migrate to a Genesys system, or just to adopt Genesys features into their CallPath platform. According to the company, integrating the Genesys Suite with CallPath involves upgrading CallPath servers with version 6.4 and then replacing a teh company’s Switch Connection Server or SwitchServer/2 (servers that connect CallPath servers to a PBX or phone switch) with the Genesys’ T-Server product.
Both the Nortel Symposium Web Client and Genesys CallPath server software are available now. The Nortel software costs US$100 per user, not including back-end server software. Pricing for the CallPath software was not available.
Nortel Networks in Brampton, Ont., is at http://www.nortel.com
Genesys, with offices in Saint John, N.B., is at http://www.genesyslab.com