Let’s Have a Chat

‘How can I talk to my bank when I can’t call my bank?’

I don’t always want to pick up the phone & call my bank. I might want to still have a conversation but what if I can’t due to my circumstances? I’m in the quiet carriage of the train being a saint! I just know the call queue is going to be massive. I might get cut-off while I’m roaming. That’s where the good old SMS channel still has some life. It’s been the easiest way of keeping in touch on the move for a couple of decades now. Everyone texts or ‘messages’ even my grandmother.

This is what we call using “opti-channel”, using the channel that best suits my current customer journey.

Customer service has gone digital in today’s world; be it a business, channel or consumer – everyone is moving to digitization. Digital Businesses have to be ready to serve their digital consumers with digital channels.

This provides a great business case to companies by providing seamless, consistent experiences across the channels aka Omni-channel including Chat, Social Media, Web, Email, Voice, and SMS/ Text.

SMS/ Texting is the most widely adopted, preferred means of communication that allows multitasking from anywhere, anytime – globally.

Interactive Messaging Response (IMR) Gateway
Cisco Interactive Messaging Response (IMR) Gateway provides a means for digital businesses to integrate Omni-channel into Cisco Unified Contact Center. IMR Gateway enables businesses to provide self-service & contact center interaction with consistent experience just like a voice call.

The IMR Gateway empowers businesses to provide next generation self-service platforms by enabling integration between Tropo (SMS cloud) and Cisco UCCE. Contact Centers will gain operational efficiencies, increased customer satisfaction and intimacy with self-service using Text.

IMR Gateways can:

Provide text based self-service; virtually any voice self-service can be transformed to text self-service.

Escalate text interaction with Voice call to an agent with customer CTI data.

Outbound applications – notifications, post call survey, etc.

Integrate with existing/ new Cisco UCCE solution to allow easy transformation.

Authenticate customers (PIN based), and reside behind firewall, Load Balancers to provide secured integration.

Part of the Cisco Cloud and Managed Services Collaboration story uses the SMS channel as easily as having a conversation with an agent in the contact center. We’ve worked with Cisco Advanced Services & Tropo to create a service that interacts with the existing Cisco Contact Center Solution with little changes required to existing IVR call flow logic.

Cisco Cloud and Managed Services for Collaboration helps drive adoption of the products and solutions you have invested in. This is accomplished through ensuring that your environment is ready when your users need it most. By proactively monitoring and managing your Voice, Video and Contact Center environments, the CMS Collaboration team ensures maximum uptime and by providing Concierge level services to ensure your staff can get their questions answered, we remove the barriers sometimes associated with adoption and use.

Ask your Cisco Sales representative for more information about CMS Managed Services or visit us on Cisco.com.

Post authored by Alan Quinn, CMS Collaboration Offer Manager.