1. Empirix is putting a good deal of emphasis in quality assurance for Unified Communications within the enterprise. Please explain some of the quality assurance issues that a company may encounter when implementing UC solutions.
Every time you ask the network to carry a new service, it can affect bandwidth and the delivery of real-time communications, be it voice or video. Believe me, people will complain if voice quality becomes choppy or garbled. Additionally, most UC solutions feature products from multiple vendors which must smoothly interoperate. This requires careful testing before implementation. Of course, security is important and an organization’s vulnerability to attack must constantly be assessed.
Empirix strongly recommends a get it right, keep it right policy. Comprehensive testing, in a methodical way, enables organizations to confidently launch UC services. Then it is important to keep it right with continuous monitoring to ensure that no issues arise. This will also enable organizations to better understand customer behavior and changing needs. It is important to remember that each time an upgrade or other change is made to the system; it must again be tested to ensure a positive customer experience.
2. In addition to the emphasis on Unified Communications, what new areas of focus and /or services/products can we expect from Empirix in the upcoming months?
Empirix offers some interesting new products for service assurance in the mobile market. Our new solutions for 4G and LTE networks are the first to provide a unified view of both the customer experience and data transmissions in a single product.
3. What are the most common problem areas that you encounter in the contact center?
Compromised voice quality is one of the most common problems and the first a customer will complain about. There are a variety of factors that can lead to these results, such as increased traffic or improper QoS settings. From there, we tend to see issues with other components such as endpoints, presence engines, IVRs, and CTI servers, especially when it comes to back-end connections to data sources.
4. Are you addressing social media channels? If so, what are you monitoring and testing?
Social media is becoming an important element of many UC and customer service strategies. Therefore, it is an important element of the Empirix roadmap. Today we offer support for a wide range of services including Text messaging, instant messaging, e-mail, Skype, Twitter, conferencing and mobility solutions. As customer demands evolve, so will the Empirix offerings.
5. Testing and monitoring have been somewhat below the radar for many contact centers in the past years. How you seen an increased interest in your solutions? If so, are there any specific catalysts that are driving this interest?
Yes, we are seeing an increased interest in Empirix’s solutions, whether they be products or services. I think today’s rapid rate of technical innovation has spurned companies to continuously find new ways to increase efficiency, contain costs and improve the bottom line. Blame it on competition or demanding customers, but today’s contact centers are implementing new technologies – and tweaking existing solutions – at a much faster rate. Additionally, today’s solutions rarely come from a single vendor. They tend to be a combination of best-of-breed solutions where interoperability is the key to success.
A strong commitment to testing and monitoring is the only way to manage this process, on time and on budget.
6. How are you handling the monitoring and testing of self service applications?
The testing and monitoring of self-service applications has long been a part of the Empirix solution set.
We recommend a methodical, phased approach to testing, first validating foundational elements (carrier to IP network) and each technology layer (IVR, CTI, CRM, presence, chat, etc…) successively. And, end-to-end testing and monitoring, which evaluates both the customer and agent experience, it the only way to assure the contact center as a whole.
7. Realistically, what functions cannot be tested in the contact center environment?
Until recently, it has been difficult to accurately test and monitor remote agents, especially when you consider the range of headset quality. Our breakthrough mobile solutions will soon eliminate this issue.
8. Is there any way of identifying operational software deficiencies with your solutions?
Empirix solutions can quickly detect a failure of a certain piece of software or a disconnect between two applications, such as a data transfer issue in a screen pop application. Empirix is not in the software validation business so it can’t help determine whether or not a certain software program will function as envisioned.