One of the often-mentioned advantages of IVR Toolkit like VBVoice, Velocity etc. are its quick implementation of IVR system. To be more precise, implement the IVR call flow quickly with minimum requirement of coding!
While this is quite true that IVR Toolkit removes the requirement of coding the mundane subroutines interfacing the CTI boards, but question arises, is this advantage exclusively belong to IVR Tool-kits only ? I think otherwise! This advantage is equally shared by hard core C or C++ coding from old-school of IVR development!
IVR Tool-kits in a way can be considered modern day compact point and shoot digital cameras where anyone capable of pressing the shutter button can take beautiful pictures! And the learning curve to take picture consists of just three steps :
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One of the major advantages of CTI Applications is availability of huge computation power of computer along with telecom functions. Many telephone systems like PBX or answering machines can also have some computational power using which some call routing or other smart features can be implemented. But they can not perform highly complicated logical decision which is easily possible by a CTI applications.
One such small but widely used in some specific areas function of any telephone system is Call Screening! Call screening can be defined as filtering of incoming or outgoing call based on the caller ID or dialed number.
In incoming scenario, CLI ( Caller Line Identification) can be used to either allow incoming call or block it. Apart from CLI, DNI ( Dialed Number Identification) can also be used to allow of block calls. This is very useful in PRI connectivity in India where one PRI is normally provided with 100 different numbers along with one vanity number, known as “pilot number”. This kind of DNI based call screening could be used for many purposes!
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Recently I have traveled North and Eastern part India and met many people who are either using IVR systems or are dealing with call centres. While interacting with them, one thing I realised that, people are now warming up to the concept of hosted IVR in India. Most interesting part is, even bigger companies are now a days receptive to the idea of hosted IVR, which few years ago was a complete no, no.
I think, there are two major factors which have helped people warming up to the hosted IVR services :-
1. Reliable Internet connectivity
2. Cost Benefit : Pay as per usage model
1. Reliable Internet Connectivity
In the last few years, quality of internet connectivity has gone up manifold and downtime is no longer frequent unlike few years ago in India. Reliable and dedicated internet connectivity was also costly and not available easily, specially outskirts of cities, where industries tend to exist!
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Recently, I have come across many IVRs which asks multiple choice questions and press a key to answer the correct options. For every correct answer, the caller gets a point and these points are accumulated. If I remember correctly, this kind of quiz on IVR has been popular in voice portal services in India where some contest was organised and top 10 scorers were given prizes.
Normally, this kind of quiz contest on IVR used to work following way :-
1. Voice Portal had hundreds of questions ( some easy, some difficult).
2. The questions were asked randomly.
3. A caller can call many times till the end of the contest period.
4. The caller never gets a question twice whose correct answer has been already given by him. But wrongly answered questions may be asked again.
5. With every correct answer, his/her points keep increasing.
This kind of quiz contest were popular some 5/6 years ago when there was not IPhone or other smart phones! Now a days, I hardly come across such contests. May be VAS ( Value Added Service) providers have run out questions or people are no longer interested in playing such contest on phone.
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Siri, the new IPhone 4S feature has created quite a buzz around the globe among smart phone users! Actually, this new feature can be thought as a natural progress in mobile phone industry, from keyboard input, touch input, audio or video file stored from a host, and now a voice input to get things done by the phone! For example, using Siri, one can get few things done like :-
How Siri in IPhone will Help IVR
1. Call 911 ( or 100 in India) for police emergency!
2. Send text message by speaking.
and many more including searching restaurant nearby for you when you are hungry!
So, how does it affect IVR industry ?
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With increasing usage of internet in almost every sphere of life, IVR development activity has also become online where one can just visit a website, login, drag and drop few “voice module” or “voice controls” in a “form” or just use few APIs in any website programing languages and an IVR would be ready for commissioning!
Online Voice Apps Development Tools
This kind of online tool for designing and deploying voice applications on internet has opened up possibilities of more innovative IVR usage. Hosted IVR service has also got a powerful and beneficial tool where subscribers to hosted IVR service can design their own IVR easiest way possible!
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There are many interesting hosted IVR ( Interactive Voice Response) applications which are used daily for completing various tasks. Once such interesting hosted IVR application is “Guarding the Security Guards” which are employed at ATM ( Automatic Teller Machine), gates at Bungalows, building, banks night and day.
Guarding Security Guards with an IVR
While during day, these guards perform their their duties well, but at night they also tend to sleep when there is no crowd, noise or anyone to supervise them! It is a human nature to fall asleep when lying idle! But with a simple outbound IVR alert system (either hosted or on premise), these guards can be kept alert as well as keep monitoring them automatically!
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The completely free, windows based IVR Toolkit VBVoice by Pronexus has released 7.1 with support for 64 bit operating systems which will allow IVR developers to take advantage of features in 64bit OS like Windows 7.
Pronexus Lunches VBVoice with enhanced capability
Another significant and important feature addition in this, playing audio without connecting the incoming call! Previously, in traditional IVR, in order to play any audio file, the incoming call must be connectedv thereby starting the billing charge to the caller/or the company if tollfree, with new VBVoice 7.1, not anymore with an enhanced VBVoice feature called SIP Early Media!
In a country like, where “missed call” has become mass mobilization tool, information exchange tool, this new feature where caller can hear voice in a “missed call”, one can expect few more great innovations!
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