Aspect, a provider of customer contact and Microsoft platform offerings, has announced that its customer Newport City Homes (NCH) has extended its Microsoft-based unified communications deployment with Aspect(r) Unified IP(r), a next generation contact centre platform.
NCH is a UK not-for-profit Registered Social Landlord created in 2009 after a stock transfer of approximately 9,500 properties from Newport City Council. It serves over 10,000 residents, leaseholders and shared owners in the city.
Aspect Unified IP gives NCH a centralised platform for inbound routing, outbound dialling, email, Web, social media and voice portal, said the company.
The offering will deliver a range of advanced customer contact features that NCH previously lacked including wallboards, on-hold music, skills-based routing, full-time compliance recording and a detailed management information (MI) system, Aspect said.
NCH’s unified communications deployment is based on Microsoft offerings in both the front and back office. These include Microsoft Lync 2010, Microsoft Office, Service Manager, SharePoint 2010, Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011 and Windows 7.0 on the desktop.
NCH Information Services Developer Nigel Ward said, "We looked at many different customer contact solutions but Aspect was the only one that gave us confidence to integrate with our existing Microsoft infrastructure and had the roadmap that would enable us to fully execute our unified communications strategy."
"We anticipate the platform will play an important role in improving our contact centre efficiency and effectiveness."
Through tight integration between Aspect Unified IP, Microsoft Lync and a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system based on Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011, NCH is expected to be able to: add new contact centre agents in just a couple of clicks; rapidly add new customer options and adjust between live and automated services; empower agents to better engage with customers by sending screens of relevant CRM information; and embed presence into each case history.
"The value of having a Presence system cannot be underestimated," states Nigel Ward.
"Previously, if an agent needed to contact an external knowledge expert, he would have to dial telephone numbers not knowing where that person was or whether they were free to talk. This often increased the length of the call and the engagement time of the agent, and added to caller frustration. With Presence, we can now reduce contact handling times, improve first call resolution and enhance customer satisfaction."
Aspect Europe & Africa senior vice-president Mark King said, "Through its innovative use of Aspect Unified IP, Microsoft Lync 2010 and Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2011, NCH has created a highly effective customer contact solution that will deliver benefits for its customers, management and employees."
