Genesys Releases Genesys 7.2 Contact Center Suite and Workforce Management Application

SAN FRANCISCO - Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories, Inc., an Alcatel company (NYSE: ALA, Paris: CGEP.PA), released Genesys 7.2, a new version of its contact center software suite. By leveraging Open IP and SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) technology, Genesys 7.2 can support up to 30,000 agents and provide contact centers with new forms of customer interactions, routing and call controls, and software-based ACD capabilities. 

"With the 7.2 release of its Customer Interaction Management platform, Genesys delivers two capabilities key to supporting evolving contact centers requirements. First, enhancements to SIP Server strengthen the commitment to offer Genesys customers a standards-based choice when migrating to IP. Second, Business Routing Capability supports a growing enterprise trend to integrate contact center and enterprise transactions with a single routing, queuing and reporting engine," said industry analyst Sheila McGee-Smith, president of McGee-Smith Analytics.

Genesys 7.2 IP contact center solution uses an open architecture to support virtually any hardware or software platform, regardless of vendor. Genesys 7.2 also supports a mix of IP and TDM environments as well as hybrid environments that require multi-vendor platforms.

Genesys 7.2 integrates IP into key elements of the suite, such as the Genesys Voice Platform (GVP-IP) to support voice self-service, video and voice-enabled applications. The Open Media module lets businesses apply routing capabilities and business process-based routing to virtually any customer application, including Web, fax, SMS, e-mail, chat, video or workflow management.

The Genesys SIP Server acts as a call distributor (ACD) for 7.2 using software to direct calls instead of a hardware-based ACD.

Genesys Open Media is a software component that integrates customer interactions across any media channel (including non-Genesys interactions and back-office work items). Interactions and work items are received, sorted and routed to agents via the Genesys Customer Interaction Management (CIM) platform.

Genesys 7.2 enhances Open Media functions with business process routing (BPR) capabilities.  The software processes interactions by applying routing, tracking, reporting and management capabilities to work items and interactions over any channel inside the contact center and across the enterprise. All processes and systems within an organization, including fax, workflow, e-mail management, Web chat, document scanning and short message service (SMS) channels, can be funneled into the Genesys Open Media queue.

As part of the Genesys 7.2 contact center suite release, Genesys released a new version of its workforce management (WFM) application.

Genesys WFM assists enterprises by assessing anticipated staffing levels and then helping coordinate agent schedules.

Intra-day schedule re-optimization: allows managers to re-align agent schedules throughout the day to ensure workloads are covered. Contact center managers can notify agents of changes to their schedules through an instant message or the new Genesys WFM notification feature can deliver an e-mail to the agents who can log-in to Genesys WFM through their Web browser to view the updated schedule.

Multi-site forecasting: builds a forecast of staffing requirements based on multi-site activity levels. Work loads are shared across all contact center agent sites, including the enterprise or branch offices, back offices, virtual offices or remote offices.

Genesys WFM Integration Application Programming Interface (API): partners and customers use these Web services to link workforce management data to third-party applications such as human resources and payroll systems. When integrated with agent analytics systems, contact center managers can review reports on agent effectiveness. 

"True call center optimization requires the seamless integration of multiple complementary technologies," stated Jim Davies, principal research analyst, Gartner, Inc. "The ability to integrate an organization's WFM system with emerging technologies such as performance management or mature systems such as Quality Management, eLearning, and even back office systems such as payroll and human resources provides benefits in terms of time, cost and effort."