CALL CENTER CONSOLIDATION 2.0 VS. CALL CENTER CONSOLIDATION

By Ari Sonesh, CEO - An article I recently read regarding Call Center Consolidation prompted me to draw a comparison between some of the highlighted benefits of "Consolidation" versus the enhanced benefits of Call Center "Unification", or, as we have come to call it, "Consolidation 2.0".

Consolidation is the minimizing of the number of locations within an organization's call center, and Consolidation has become one of today's hottest trends in improving overall call center operations. Some of the benefits of traditional Call Center Consolidation are:

Improved Agent Efficiency: Consolidation translates into the need for fewer agents because of scales of economies when handling consolidated traffic.

Reduced Management Staff: Fewer, larger centers need fewer expensive personnel such as managers, supervisors, reporting analysts and workforce management analysts.

Reduced Equipment Costs: Consolidation translates into fewer telephone systems and fewer computing and networking devices. An additional benefit is the reduction in cost of system integration. Fewer large platforms are easier and cheaper to integrate into applications such as customer relationship management (CRM) applications, workforce management (WFM) and other technologies.

Simplified Application introduction and Maintenance: Fewer sites are easier to test and maintain than multiple sites. Technologies that were unaffordable for deployment in multiple centers may become affordable in fewer centers.

Better Control over Service Quality: The systems used for larger centers provide much better command and control capabilities than small systems. Real-time and historical reporting are consolidated and easier to read and use. Also, having fewer centers reduces the need to network calls among sites.

After outlining all these benefits of traditional Call Center Consolidation, I want to emphasize that Call Center Unification/Consolidation 2.0 boasts similar benefits while, at the same time, eliminates the drawbacks of traditional Call Center Consolidation such as:

No Increased Transmission Costs: Unification enables utilization of cheaper local service as opposed to having to carry traffic with expensive toll-free or international service.

No need for to Displace or Relocate Personnel: Employees remain at the same locations, eliminating the need for finding other positions, relocation and severance for displaced employees; hiring and training of new ones.

No Loss of Local Presence: Local Presence and local telephone numbers are preserved

No Reduced Disaster Recovery: With Consolidation fewer sites are available for alternative routing. This is not a case with Unification, as having central sites for technology will reduce the probability of failures. Further, a single backup site will ensure business continuity in case of disaster at the infrastructure location

No Loss of Time Zone Advantage: Consolidation may need to start shifts earlier and run later to provide the same hours of operation. This is not the case with Unification.

No Limited Labor Pools: Unification promotes employing call center personnel wherever they are...including right in their homes... which eliminates difficulties in finding multi-lingual or specialized staff skills. These difficulties would be more prevalent if fewer consolidated locations were the only source for manpower.

In conclusion:
Unification/Consolidation 2.0 provides all the benefits of Consolidation without any of the drawbacks. The savings associated with unifying operations are significant, and unification results in efficient, standardized, high-quality customer contact across the system. Customers receive a consistent experience, regardless of when or how they reach you, or where or with what resource they are handled.

The ability of CosmoCom's technology to create multiple virtual call centers on centralized platforms positions us as the best technology choice for an Enterprise to efficiently and cost effectively consolidate its call centers.

COSMOCOM COMPLETES INTEROPERABILITY TESTING WITH SYLANTRO

Partnership Strengthens Unified Customer Communications Capabilities

CosmoCom recently announced the successful completion of interoperability testing between its CosmoCall Universe all-IP contact center software platform and the Sylantro Synergy Application Feature Server. This will enable hosted service providers to offer a comprehensive set of managed telephony services to their business customers.

"Many businesses do not have the means or budget to introduce advanced contact center capabilities," said Frank Salm, vice president of marketing, Sylantro Systems. "The power of hosted voice services is that businesses have full control of the services, but do not need to maintain their own equipment. The CosmoCom/Sylantro relationship allows service providers to extend the richness of the hosted offer while continuing to minimize capital investments."

Read what this means to service providers and the enterprises they serve

COSMOCOMMUNITY 2007 UPDATE

Focus on Consolidation 2.0: Unifying Customer Communication

CosmoCommunity 2007 is taking place at the end of May in New York and program is shaping up nicely with an influx of sponsors and attendees. This year's focus will be: Consolidation 2.0: Unified Customer Communication - Register Now. Still undecided? Read on...

Ari's feature article in this month's CosmoChronicle explains what we mean by "Consolidation 2.0." But here's a hint: it's not operational consolidation, it's technological consolidation.

CosmoCom customers know that you don't need to have your agents under one roof to get the benefits of consolidation and unified customer communication. In fact, your operation can be globally distributed and can combine in-house and outsourced agents, and still reside on one unified CosmoCall Universe platform. And that platform can be hosted within your enterprise, or by a service provider. Consolidation 2.0 means consolidating the technology, not the physical operation. This gives your organization the flexibility to rapidly deploy agents and applications wherever and whenever you need them, to unify the many channels of customer communication, and to unify your entire workforce, not just your formal call center agents, around the common goal of customer satisfaction.

At this event, we'll explore the many ways to apply the strategy of Consolidation 2.0 to maintaining multiple sites, employing at-home agents, deploying agents offshore, and collaborating with outsourcers. We'll outline the bottom-line business benefits of Call Center Consolidation 2.0, including reduced total cost of ownership and greater customer satisfaction. Plus, we'll share examples of how it's working in real-world companies.

Building around this unifying theme, in our sessions we will still cover all the bases you expect from this event:

• Updates on the evolution of our service providers and their world of Contact Center On-Demand
• Fascinating case studies of CosmoCom technology in enterprises, both hosted and premise-based
• A look ahead at CosmoCall Universe product evolution
• In depth explorations of our technology

And of course, a world of unique opportunities to connect with CosmoCom's own people, representatives of CosmoCom technology partners, and other CosmoCom users who share the issues and concerns you face daily.

So, don't put it off any longer. Register Now while there is still availability. There are even a couple of days left to take advantage of the $200 early-bird discount (through the end of March).

We look forward to seeing you in May!

JOIN ICMI AND COSMOCOM FOR CALL CENTER CONSOLIDATION WEB CAST

Call Center Consolidation 2.0: What the Next Wave in Customer Care Means For You

You've read Ari Sonesh's article about Consolidation 2.0 in his View from the Corner Office above, and you know that this industry megatrend is the central theme of the upcoming CosmoCommunity 2007. If you can't make it to that event, or if you just can't wait until the end of May to learn more, join this interactive online session on Thursday, April 12, 2007 at 12 PM Eastern time. ICMI's Keith Dawson and CosmoCom's Steve Kowarsky will present a one hour webcast that is sure to start you thinking in a new way about your call center(s).

This Webcast will provide an overview of the many facets of Call Center Consolidation 2.0 and its business benefits: reduced total cost of ownership and greater customer satisfaction. It will include real-world examples of how Call Center Consolidation 2.0 is working now. We think this is one of the most important subjects facing our industry, and we welcome you to join this webcast.

COSMOCOM SPONSORS ISRAEL CALL CENTER EVENT

On March 14 CosmoCom Israel was proud to sponsor a very special Contact Center and CRM event in the region. The Lior Lurye Contact center & CRM Event took place at Kfar Maccabia in Ramat Gan, Israel with a large crowd of IT and contact center professionals from leading companies across Israel who gathered for an intense day of educational sessions mixed with time to speak with sponsors and exhibitors on the exhibition floor. Lior Lurye is one of the leading contact center advisors in the Israel market. Each year she holds this event and invites over 500 attendees.

While CosmoCom technology was represented in a couple of our partner booths, like EDS who was next to us, our own booth was buzzing with activity as interested parties congregated to find out more about CosmoCom technology and such important concepts as: center consolidation through virtual contact center, contact center on-demand and "The company IS the call center".

The event gave CosmoCom even greater exposure in the Israel market and a chance to meet with new prospects and potential partners as well as with some of our existing ones as well.

SEE COSMOCOM AT CALL CENTER DEMO IN DALLAS

At the Call Center Demo show in Miami, Florida last month, CosmoCom had a lot of activity at our booth and a lot of interest in our call center solutions. If you didn't have the opportunity to go to the show, you have a second chance. On May 22 and 23, 2007 you'll have the opportunity to meet with CosmoCom staff  at booth F14 of ICMI's Call Center Demo and Conference. We'd love to answer your questions about Contact Center On-Demand and Unified Customer Communications and discuss how our leading IP contact center platform can benefit your business.

The event takes place at the Intercontinental Hotel in Dallas Texas and we look forward to seeing you there.
 

 BITS & PIECES: SOME VOIP FACTOIDS

The CRM Market Outlook
DestinationCRM ran an article in March called "The CRM Market is Still Strong" referencing to Gartner's recent CRM software report, "Fueled by continued business confidence and a renewed focus on improving customer relationships, the market is expected to grow moderately in 2007 and remain healthy through 2011, with a compound annual growth rate of 11.7 percent." In addition the article points out the increasing importance of on-demand technologies, "SaaS will become an increasingly critical element of buyer sourcing strategies and will drive market growth as it continues to further penetrate the enterprise."

Unified communications to fuel PBX growth
According to a recent research report by the Dell'Oro Group, Unified communications will help push the PBX market to $7.5 billion over the next four years.

WHO'S TALKING? RECENT INK

Weathering the Call Center Storm
On March 19, CRM Buyer and TechWorldNews featured an article written by ISC's Nancy Miller called Weathering the Call Center Storm that takes a good look at how hosted contact center can help you be prepared unexpected natural events like hurricanes and ice storms. The article begins with,  "By using a hosted or on-demand contact center system, you can quickly set up your own overflow call center -- either at your current premises or offsite. This scenario offers many benefits, including the ability to provide a disaster recovery plan should the special occurrence be a disaster that affects your call center."  The piece goes on to explore some great points about how  IVR and WFM fit into the equation and culminates with "by using a hosted or on-demand contact center system, such as CosmoCom's CosmoCall Universe, you can quickly set up your own overflow call center -- either at your current premises or offsite."

NEW MEMBERS OF THE COSMOCOM FAMILY

CosmoCom Americas

Tom Gleason joined CosmoCom in February as Systems Architect at Headquarters. With extensive and diverse experience in R&D and development, Tom worked formerly with QNetic, Openwave and Ericsson Managing Systems, among others. Tom holds a B.S.E.E. degree from SUNY Stony Brook.

Joseph Bacigalupo is the new Regional Sales Director, South Central Region, Americas, working from the Dallas regional Sales office. Formerly with Impress Software, AlphaThink, i2 Technologies and Ericsson Messaging Systems, Joe holds an MBA from the University of Phoenix, and a BS in Electronics Engineering from Simon Bolivar University in Caracas, Venezuela. Joe is fluent in English, Spanish, Portuguese and Italian.

CosmoCom UK

Stephen Carter is a new Systems Engineer in the UK office, joining CosmoCom in late February. Stephen was educated at the University Lincolnshire and Humberside in the UK, and most recently worked for Intelleca and Monotix in South Africa.

CosmoCom Germany

Charlotte Peters, joined CosmoCom early February as Sales Manager, DACH. Formerly with Cygos AG, ,Aspect Communications, Deutsche Telekom and Siemens AG, Charlotte is a graduate of the University of Cologne (M.A., Master of Arts) and speaks English, Dutch, German and French.

CosmoCom Israel

Avi Golan, joins CosmoCom with over 10 years of experience in mission critical platforms. He began his career in the Israel defense forces after graduating from the prestigious MAMRAM computer school. Following that Avi joined Precise (which was ultimately acquired by Symantec) as a Senior Developer and ultimately the R&D manager in charge of the development of two products in the I3 product line: the data warehouse solution and the reporting engine, utilizing both Microsoft SQL 2005/2000 and Oracle 10g.

TRADESHOW NEWS: COMING ATTRACTIONS

	CosmoCommunity 2007 May 30 - June 1, 2007 Hyatt Wind Watch Hotel and Resort Hauppauge, NY, USA   FIND OUT MORE AND REGISTER NOW!
	2007 ACUTA Summit on IP Communications in Higher Education April 1-4, 2007 Marriott Waterfront Baltimore, MD, USA http://www.acuta.org/events/seminars/sse07.cfm CosmoCom is proud to sponsor the Tue lunch.
	Call Center Demo & Conference May 22-23, 2007 Hotel Intercontinental Dallas, TX, USA http://www.ccdemo.com See CosmoCom at Pedestal F14
	RECORDED WEBINARS
	View recordings of our Webinar events including "Hosted Contact Center for Outsourcers", "Contact Center On-Demand" and "Telecom Customer Care"

	SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION
	Please pass this issue of CosmoChronicle on to others who might be interested. If you are not already receiving the monthly CosmoChronicle you can sign up now. This and past issue are also available in the CosmoChronicle Archives.

	TECH SUPPORT UPDATES
	CosmoCom has replaced SupportNet with a new improved support site, for customers and partners, called CosmoCom Online Technical Support. You can find the latest documentation, Hot Fix bundles, Microsoft updates that have passed QA for CosmoCall Universe deployment, discussion groups and more. In addition, you can now access your support tickets online. If you have not yet obtained your secure login information, please contact your CosmoCom representative or send support an email.

	LIAISON PROGRAM FOR CONSULTANTS
	If you are a call center industry consultant, join the CosmoCom Consultant Liaison Program for access to our consultant extranet, a dedicated newsletter for the consultant community and more...