Symbian, the consortium set up by Psion Plc, LM Ericsson Telefon AB, Nokia Oy and Motorola Inc, has linked up with Graham Technology, a UK call center specialist, to combine Graham’s business process server GT-X, with Symbian’s EPOC-32 operating system. The cooperative agreement will enable customers who have the thin client version of the operating system installed on their telephones to contact interactive call centers without a PC.
The thin client is the first in the three-tier architecture. It can be installed by telephone downloading, embedding a memory chip or plugging the phone into a specific location. At the central axis is the database, which contains not only the customer records but also the ‘rules’ governing the middle layer, the business process server. Here is the essence of where the intelligence is, explains Patrick Sansom, a Graham software engineer. This level acts as the interface between the customer calling for home shopping outlets, electronic banking or stock trading, and the database containing all the information. It allows both ends to talk to each other, and regulates the interaction.
Thus, if a customer breaches a pre-arranged credit limit, the business process server, following the logic defined by the database, will reject his demand. Graham is currently in talks with British Interactive Broadcasting, the interactive digital TV provider owned by BSkyB, BT, HSBC and Matsushita, to use its satellite service, Open, which is to be launched in spring 1999.
