Empirix Launches Call Quality Assurance Service for Voice Over IP

WALTHAM, Mass. - Empirix launched version 5.0 of Voice Watch, featuring a new component - voice watch call quality - that measures end-to-end call clarity from a caller's perspective. With this new component, Voice Watch 5.0 provides organizations with a understanding of the caller experience - including call connection, prompt accuracy, host response times, CTI call variable delivery, screen pops and voice quality. It was designed to help ensure the quality of service delivered by distributed and outsourced contact centers using Voice over IP networks as well as traditional TDM networks and combined infrastructures. The Empirix voice watch call quality service dials directly into a system such as an ACD, IVR or voice mail system - just as real callers do, using traditional TDM lines over integrated TDM and VoIP carrier networks - to retrieve a voice clip. Utilizing proven voice quality assessment algorithms (industry standard PESQ scoring), the retrieved voice clip is compared to a reference clip. Scores are documented and contact center managers can be alerted if performance degrades beyond specified service levels. Thus, potential problems can be addressed quickly before QoS is impacted. As more companies implement VoIP networks in an effort to reduce costs and provide better, more widely distributed services to customers and employees, analysts at Gartner Inc. advise paying close attention to VoIP's impact on QoS. "Ensuring quality of service is a top concern for contact center managers implementing voice over IP, and that concern is compounded for firms moving all or part of their contact center operation offshore," said Bern Elliot, research director at Gartner. "Gartner recommends that companies seek out quality management tools designed specifically for voice environments, because traditional network management tools aren't able to capture the idiosyncrasies of voice - issues such as latency that can impact clarity." Elliot noted that contact center managers ultimately need to ensure that their VoIP networks and applications offer a QoS that equals or exceeds their existing TDM service.