What is the right mix of TDM and VoIP connections Ease into VoIP What is the right mix of TDM and VoIP connections This session will address the option of going hybrid, that is to say deploying a system capable of handling a mixed environment, with some locations on IP phone equipment, others on TDM phone equipment. Often it makes sense to ease into VoIP one location at a time so that companies can discover quality problems, etc. at a slower pace than slamming the whole company with VoIP and discovering company wide quality problems. The speaker will cover the ability to provide a common set of contact handling features, functions, and unified reporting tools across all locations, no matter what voice transport technology the location is on, as well as the challenges of managing a distributed workforce — monitoring, recording, barging, and more. Thursday Jan 25 2007 1:30 – 2:15 Call Center 2.0 session CC1-03

Connectivity vs Applications… Connectivity is the link between two or more parties for an interaction (voice, etc.). Applications enhance the interactions. For example, IVR applications, ACD applications, PBX applications, etc. for voice interactions. It is the application that businesses really want. The connectivity is just the necessary means to bringing people together for the interaction with the application.

Some applications require certain types of connectivity… For example: Your old PBX requires a certain type of connectivity (ISDN, Trunk groups, POTS lines, etc) in order to leverage the applications such as voice mail, hunt groups, etc. available in the PBX. Modern communications applications are now being built that are ‘connectivity independent’ Allows for greater flexibility in deployment to utilize both TDM and VoIP connectivity methods Allows for easier disaster recovery and business continuity

Modern Communications Application Platforms Provide robust IVR, ACD, CTI, and more to all stations over any connectivity method. Centralized management of applications so that it is transparent to both the caller and the agent regardless of connectivity to both parties. Optimize costs based on best use of the connectivity and costs of the connectivity. A modern communications application platform is going to allow you to optimize the costs of the application by allowing you to choose the appropriate connectivity between everyone who is interacting on the platform based on the most appropriate connectivity determined by characteristics of the connectivity and the cost influences of the connectivity. For example: you will want to fix the costs of a high usage agent by leveraging VoIP rather than sending all calls to a POTS line such as a home telephone. This will reduce costs. You will want to deploy to a home telephone for agents that don’t have reliable broadband access and would portray a poor experience to your customers. You will want to deploy a dedicated T to a centralized office call center where the cost of the T and associated equipment is less per channel than buying VoIP equipment and trunking data and voice over the same connectivity.

World of Connectivity Circuit switched based TDM POTS Found in nearly every home and business Circuit based TDM POTS over radio (wireless) Second line and sometimes primary line for millions of individuals and business people Circuit based TDM Dedicated Medium to Large businesses utilize dedicated T’s Packet based over IP networks Available to homes and businesses with broadband or Dedicated Internet Access

Usage Cost Influences TDM POTS – Per minute usage TDM Wireless – Blocks of minutes for usage with overage charges per minute TDM Dedicated – Monthly Charge for dedicated bandwidth in blocks of usually 23 lines. VoIP – Monthly Charge per line for Service with no per minute usage charges

Equipment Cost Influences TDM POTS – Inexpensive, easy to acquire, easy to setup hardware TDM Wireless – Moderately expensive, easy to acquire, easy to setup hardware TDM Dedicated – Very expensive, moderately difficult to acquire, difficult to setup and maintain hardware VoIP – Moderately expensive, not easy to acquire, very difficult to setup and maintain hardware VoIP is more difficult to maintain because of the IP networking element that usually involves a different skill not usually found in telecommunications staff.

Personnel Influences TDM POTS – Almost anybody can support this… TDM Wireless – Almost anybody can support this… TDM Dedicated – Requires trained telecommunications specialists to support this… VoIP – Requires specialist with skills in telecommunications and IP to support this…

Putting it all together… In an effort to put it all together I have created a workbook to help… compare different scenarios and end up with a solid dollar $ figure Understand and document some of the costs associated with different types of connectivity Actually see which type of connectivity may be the most economical for the application I would be happy to provide it to anyone here…contact details later.

First part is determining scenarios

Second is to gather information

Third is to evaluate results

Scenarios Are you comparing two different connectivity options for the same group? Are you comparing the same connectivity options for different groups?

Gathering Information – TDM POTS/Wireless How many agents/stations? In order to compare to usage based costs we will need to know The number of minutes per agent/station per month. The average cost per minute of that usage Any special equipment necessary for TDM based agents The monthly cost of agent TDM phone lines The monthly cost of internet access (broadband or DIA) for each agent/station.

Gathering information – TDM Dedicated In order to compare the TDM Dedicated connectivity we will need The monthly cost of a voice T-1 The number of channels per T-1 The cost of any special equipment necessary to get up and running with a T-1 across all locations The monthly cost of internet access used by all agents/stations utilizing a voice T-1 The number of agents that can utilize the internet access quoted above before more bandwidth needs to be ordered and added

Gathering Information - VoIP In order to compare the VoIP connectivity option we will need The monthly cost of a local loop for DIA The monthly cost of the DIA port The total bandwidth in Kbps available in the DIA quoted above The amount of bandwidth consumed by each agent/station when in conversation The monthly cost of any special QOS services purchased with the DIA port The cost of all equipment necessary to get up and running with VoIP The monthly cost of the VoIP service per agent/station.

Evaluating the Results For each scenario and for each type of connectivity there are two costs to evaluate 1. The one time costs associated with purchasing the equipment necessary – this is called NRC (non-recurring costs) 2. The monthly costs associated with the service and usage for that connectivity to interact with the application platform. This is called MRC (monthly recurring costs) Both NRC’s and MRC’s are important in the evaluation The cost of staff is not necessarily accounted for…so be sure and think about who you have in your organization to actually manage your premise based infrastructure.

Some patterns to look for… When NRC’s are high, the payback period compared to other options may be further out than it appears. In areas where the cost of Voice T-1’s are low, it is harder to economically justify a move to VoIP. There will need to be other reasons to justify the move. When agents/stations don’t handle too much volume, paying for what you use in a POTS scenario is usually the right way to go.

Remember, it doesn’t have to be all or nothing… A good modern communications application platform will be able to allow you to utilize the right mix of TDM and VoIP connectivity seamlessly. A smart call center will also plan for disaster and build in seamless adaptation across different connectivity methods to ensure they are always able to answer the next call.

Scenario Builder Workbook Provide your business card or send me an email…and I would be happy to send you a copy of the Scenario Builder Workbook discussed today. greg.smart@ucn.net

Questions?