Genesys Updates Voice, Workforce Management Software

Genesys has updated its contact center and workforce management software suites. The former adds intelligent contact center routing functionality in a software-only application. The latter update includes the ability to dynamically reschedule agents in the middle of the day in response to call volume.

Genesys 7.2, the company's flagship contact center software suite, leverages open IP and SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) technology to offer software-based ACD (automatic call distributor) capabilities, as well as the ability to support up to 30,000 agents.

Software Only ACD

In previous versions, the Genesys suite provided a software overlay to the ACD platform, Steve Rutledge, vice president of marketing, explained. In this version, "the functionality a company would get from the ACD is now available in the software," he told CRM Buyer.

The centralized SIP Server acts as the ACD instead -- and is able to support 30,000 agents in branch offices.

This new functionality is a significant development for companies that receive calls that must be routed to branch offices, for example.

"The SIP server with an IP link can bring multiple offices into the contact center fold," Rutledge said. "You just need a reliable data connection and a SIP endpoint." For example, a call about an existing mortgage could be routed to the specific branch or jurisdiction that handles that customer's account.

The software-only approach may not be suited for every company, Rutledge noted, but "it can be a compelling solution for a company that doesn't want to be tied to a hardware platform."

If a company should need extensive voice mail capabilities or extensive queuing and supervisory functions, however, additional hardware would be required.

Genesys 7.2's open architecture can support any hardware or software platform, regardless of vendor, as well as a mix of IP and TDM (time division multiplexing) environments and hybrid environments that require multivendor platforms.

Genesys 7.2 also offers tight IP integration into the software layer to support voice self-service, video and voice-enabled applications.

Twice a Day Reoptimization

The workforce management application, which is part of the Genesys 7.2 suite release, has also been upgraded.

One new feature allows contact centers to reshuffle agent deployment in the middle of a shift in response to an increased or decreased number of calls. Prior versions could only "reoptimize" the workforce once a day, Rutledge said.

Contact center managers can notify agents of changes to their schedules through an instant message, through the application's new agent notification feature.

The workforce management module also offers new multisite forecasting, allowing users to predict staffing requirement across many centers or offices to create a single, company-wide forecast.