Reasons Why Your Contact Center Needs Web 2.0

Web 2.0 is of course associated with interactive social media sites like iGoogle or My Yahoo, and "the ability to personalize and network with other users," says Tom Goodmanson (News - Alert), president and CEO, of Calabrio. Web 2.0, he says, is "an infinite set of sites and principles that come together in a framework with endless conceptual possibilities."

Goodmanson argues that Web 2.0 is an integral part of any well-done modern contact center, and gives some reasons why:

• Its ability to incorporate widgets or gadgets: Widgets can be installed in any HTML-based Webpage by the user to add a visual component, game, or application. Application Programming Interfaces enable separate software programs to share data, which simplifies integration from one application to another.
• Mobility: Web 2.0 also simplifies application delivery across channels and across devices. Users have an unlimited degree of flexibility for delivering content.
• Ease of use: With Web 2.0, each user’s toolsets can be personalized: whether it’s an executive who wants to correlate contact center performance to business results, a conscientious agent who wants to measure their own performance, or a multi-tasking supervisor who needs convenient access to scheduling and customer interaction tools.
• Multiple software components together create inter-application workflow opportunities: Users can incorporate pieces from one product into another. The concept of workspace truly becomes optimized when the most commonly used and vital applications are also the most accessible, and everything is just a click away.
• The ability to incorporate new software components as their needs evolve: Web 2.0 can not only improve the performance level of the contact center, but can do so in a way that’s easier than thought possible.
• Extending the options of your software suite: Want to add applications tailored especially towards the needs of the user? You can. By keeping the suite simple down to its core, contact centers can incorporate new functions in a flash.
• Reliability: Best of all, Web 2.0 offers more opportunities with less to worry about. The IT staff can focus on the areas that matter most while maintaining the utmost level of reliability for the enterprise.

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David Sims is a contributing editor for TMCnet. To read more of David’s articles, please visit his columnist page. He also blogs for TMCnet here.Edited by Tammy Wolf