Contact Center Solutions Featured Article

Google and Avaya Join Forces on WebRTC-based Enterprise Contact Center Solution

December 12, 2014

It has been no real surprise that contact centers have in many ways become the low, some might say lowest, hanging fruit for WebRTC-based capabilities. The reason is that leveraging WebRTC’s ability to do multiple media and multimedia interactions in real-time straight from a browser is the epitome of the simplification needed for contact centers to efficiently and effectively manage and monetize omni-channel customer engagement.


While surprisingly there remain skeptics that WebRTC is not ready for the enterprise, don’t count Avaya and Google in that camp. The two companies have announced that they are working together on a WebRTC-enabled solution for contact centers that carries the name Avaya Agent for Chrome.  As the name suggests, this initial solution from the collaborators combines Avaya's expertise in customer engagement technologies with Google's expertise in Web applications and Chromebooks to help contact center agents use their Chromebooks to perform work anywhere, anytime, having the full suite of Avaya’c contact center solutions available of use in a secure and easy-to-use manner.

Simplicity, flexibility and cost effectiveness

Avaya is touting the not insubstantial benefits offered by WebRTC-enablement which include greater simplicity, flexibility and cost efficiency in contact center operations, and just the explanation of how Avaya Agent for Chrome works illustrates the point.

The solution via a WebRTC-enabled interface means regardless of location contact center agents with Chromebooks will no longer need to download thick clients on individual agent endpoints, and they are literally and figuratively good to go in a matter of minutes.

Avaya Agent for Chrome is currently available in three major configurations:

  • For customer service agents working in a contact center, with an Avaya phone
  • For customer service agents working remotely, using their own landline phone
  • For customer service agents working remotely who want to take calls directly through their Chromebook

In addition, all three configurations are effortlessly interchangeable.

Joe Manuele, vice president, SI/SP, Alliances, and Cloud GTM, Avaya, in comments about the new solution explained that: “Contact centers are highly dynamic, business critical, functional areas. The flexibility to quickly and cost effectively equip customer service representatives during peak periods such as the holiday seasons, new product launches and marketing campaigns can make a significant difference in capturing revenue and improving customer satisfaction. Our work with Google will allow companies to gain that flexibility and cost efficiency using our leading contact center capabilities delivered via our channel and service provider partners and accessible through Chromebooks."
The Avaya blog by Val Matula, Senior Director and Head of Emerging Products and Technology at Avaya, explains the benefits of the solution in more detail which include such things as:

  • Access to the Avaya Engagement Development Platform—a programming kit that allows delivering of new solutions without compromising on such important tools as call recording and analysis, performance metric and automated alerts so important contact center administrators.
  • Elimination of the need for IT to remotely troubleshoot VPN or home computer problems on the fly since there are no native applications software to download, no VPN exposure.
  •  Good news for enterprise IT since through Google Chrome Management console can remotely set rules on which applications remote agents can download onto their computers.

The attraction here also includes the use cases that range from handling peak or seasonal demands such as the current holidays and use as in business continuity situations when having access to contact center agents can be extremely critical.

A use case to illustrate the benefits

In making the announcement of the solution, MeadWestvaco (MWV), a packaging orders and logistics company serving customers in 100 countries from 153 locations was cited as a use case. The company will simplify its customer care operations using the Avaya Agent for Chrome.

Barry Toole, Voice and Convergence Manager, MeadWestvaco commented that: "As a B-to-B packaging orders and logistics company, all of our customers are high value and we need to be there for them or risk loss of revenue and brand perception. With the Avaya Agent for Chrome in our business centers, our contact center operations will be staffed and highly efficient -- even when we might otherwise face business continuity issues. It's remarkably simple and equally as powerful -- just what we look for in technology to enable better customer engagement."

The collaboration is a natural. Google uses Avaya technology internally both to power its global telephony infrastructure as well as to drive its contact center operations. It is also a natural that for competitive reasons leveraging WebRTC-enablement to empower remote agents with simple, secure and powerful capabilities to enhance customer experiences is not just about going after low fruit, but it demonstrates why WebRTC is going to be very much applicable for the creation and delivery of a host of enterprise value-added applications.

Finally, if you would like to start the New Year right you can be part of the industry buzz on WebRTC, Contact Center Solutions and a broad range of other industry topics in person.  Your opportunity to hear, see the latest industry capabilities and interact with leading subject matter experts is at ITEXPO East being held January 27-30, 2014 in Miami Beach.




Edited by Peter Bernstein



Home