Contact centres could well be the killer application for corporate IP telephony, allowing extended interaction with customers.
In the ongoing debate about the future of converged data and voice networks, several vendors have concluded that contact centres will be the killer application for Internet Protocol (IP) telephony for corporates. But some say that despite the hype, the technology for IP telephony is still not ready for mainstream use.
Convergence could let firms extend interaction with customers through multimedia contact centres, with features such as unified messaging, voice streaming, and Web-based conversation and collaboration.
Speaking at the recent TMA 2001 telecoms conference in Brighton, Simon Boyle, marketing manager at networks integration group Dimension Data, said, "The technology is up to a standard that enterprises can benefit from," he said. "We will see the multimedia contact centre as an enterprise-wide application gaining great interest over the next 12 months."
Jim McQuaid, director of networking at network management specialist NetIQ, agreed. "The contact centre will be the killer application of voice over IP (VoIP). Firms will have more options on how to interact with their customers, gain information and streamline resources," McQuaid said.
But some analysts still have doubts about the readiness of IP telephony. "The jury's still out," said Kevin Lucas of analyst firm AMR Research. "Early adopters are reporting bumpy starts to projects."
