Avaya Adds SIP to Call Centers

Avaya , a communications software, systems and services company, unveiled improvements to its Internet Protocol call center applications today.

Upgrades to the Basking Ridge, N.J., company’s Customer Interaction Suite are using Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) in order to improve customer service and reduce costs.

SIP is a signaling protocol best known as the foundation for Voice over Internet Protocol . It also enables Internet conferencing, presence awareness, events notification and instant messaging.

In addition to SIP-enabled presence and secure messaging, Avaya has made other additions. A browser-based interface lets organizations deploy multimedia applications to agents anywhere. Enhanced analysis capabilities; and backup features to provide resource in the event of network failures.

Among Avaya’s customers is CDW Corp., which sells IT equipment to businesses, government agencies and schools. CDW said it used the applications as part of its rollout of five new call centers.

By bringing IP technology — specifically the presence capabilities of SIP — into the contact center, and then marrying it to the functionality available for all enterprise users, business can dramatically increase first-call resolution, said Sheila McGee-Smith, of McGee-Smith Analytics.

In related news, Avaya said today that the International Speedway Corporation (ISC) is now using its contact center software to connect its headquarters and 11 racing facilities across the United States.

The applications help ISC to manage ticket sales, give fan access to expanded race information and enable agents to deliver better customer service from any location.