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New Features in Avaya Contact Center Express 4.0

The 4.0 release of CCE sees some major changes:

The reporting engine has moved to Microsoft SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS).
The backend CCE databases have been restructured to:
o Allow additional information to be stored for greater reporting capability.
o Reduce duplication of data by IDS and Mediastore databases.
o Deliver a mechanism for archiving of data while maintaining reporting across the archives.
A new component called Voice Mediastore to capture voice interaction data for both reporting purposes and to deliver call related information to the agent in CCE Desktop.
A new component called Virtual Agent which when combined with a web service worker will allow Voice Portal to communicate with, and add information to voice interactions.
An Outbound worker for Virtual Agent that will enable emails and SMS text messages to be automatically sent out.
Additional CCE Desktop CTI functionality by including a DMCC connection through AES.
The beginnings of centralised alarm gathering and notification of these alarms.

There are two changes to CCE installation prerequisites:

1. The CCE Reporting application requires the installation and configuration of Microsoft's SQL Server Reporting Services (SSRS). Microsoft's SSRS is now the reporting platform for CCE. This lays the foundation for a more standards orientated mechanism for custom report design and delivery.

2. Where AES Client installation is required, for IDS, CRS and XML services or CCE Supervisor application, the minimum AES Client version is 4.2.1 as delivered on the CCE 4.0 installation DVD. Attempting to install CCE 4.0 against an older version of AES Client will result in an error during installation of the listed CCE components and will require AES Client to be upgraded before installation of these CCE components can continue.

Reporting

CCE Reporting allows call center supervisors to monitor and analyze the activity of the contact center. Microsoft's SQL Server Reporting Services is now the reporting platform for CCE. This lays the foundation for a more standards orientated mechanism for custom report design and delivery. CCE Reporting is an easy-to-use and helpful application that produces comprehensive reports on all major facets of a multimedia contact center environment. It renders a wide range of both historical and realtime reports that are essential for optimization of the contact center.

Reporting generates the following Historical Reports -

Agent: Agent Attendance, Agent Graphical Time Spent Daily, Agent Group Attendance, Agent Login-Logout (Skill), Agent Split Skill, Agent Summary
Interactions: Conversations And Interactions, Customer Statistics, Customer Statistics - Order By Agent
Outcomes: Queue Service Level, Work Code
Programs And Schedules: Program Interactions, Program Interactions - Date Details, Program Interactions - Date Details (Order By Agent), Program Schedules, Program Schedules - Daily And Weekly Schedules, Program Schedules - Monthly And Yearly Schedules, Program Statistics, Program Status
Split Skill: Split Skill, Call Profile (Graphical), Split Skill Service Level (Graphical), Split Skill Summary, System Report
VDN: Call Profile, Call Profile (Graphical)

Reporting generates the following Realtime Reports -

Agent Reports: Realtime Agent Status – State, Realtime Agent Status - State (Order by agent), Realtime Agent Status – Statistics, Realtime Agent Status - Statistics (Order by agent)
Device Reports: Realtime Device Status
Queue Reports: Realtime Queue Status - Count Statistics, Realtime Queue Status – State, Realtime Queue Status - Time Statistics
VDN Reports: Realtime VDN Status

Introducing the new CCE 4.0 ASMSControl and ASMSDataX Databases

The ActiveInteractionData and ASMediastore databases are combined into a new database system fronted by ASMSControl database. ASMSControl database in turn spawns a series ASMSDataX databases where X=1,2,3…,n. This mechanism provides CCE with an on-the-fly archival system that writes data once only instead of having to manually archive data periodically.

The ASMSControl database contains all the information regarding Programs and Schedules, Autotext, Templates and other configuration items as well as currently active interactions.
The ASMSDataX database contains all the event information associated with current and historical interactions that have taken place.

An initial ASMSData database is created at installation and any new additional ASMSData databases may be created on demand. Creating these additional databases may be done immediately post installation, creating databases that would be automatically used in the future, such as quarterly. Alternatively the new databases can be created at any time, such as when approaching the database size limit on SQL Express. CCE Reporting and other data retrieval functions all reference the ASMSControl database which determines which group of one or more ASMSDataX databases to examine, meaning reporting will work across these multiple databases while keeping these databases a manageable size.

Voice Media Store

The Voice Media Store delivers voice work items to contact center agents via CCE Desktop. Voice work items are 'answered' by agents who verbally respond to a customer's inquiry while processing (and closing) the work item on their screen. Voice work items are stored like other multimedia work items (eg. email or simple message work items) in the ASMS Control and ASMS Data Databases.

Agents can use any number of the features available to them via the desktop application such as:

Assigning a work code to their voice work item
Recording notes for their voice work item (or displaying previously made notes for a work item that has history)
Printing all the information relating to their voice work item
Inserting autotext into their work item notes (or any text field on a customized vertical tab)
Viewing the conversation history of a customer, or retrieving a work item that was previously closed.

Voice Media Store allows the client desktop to offer the complete set of features available with non-Voice including Work Codes, Auto Text, Notes and History. It offers the follow functionality out of the box: Station Missed Call Alerting, Abandoned Call Assistant, Customer Requested Callback, Customer Identification Assistant.

Virtual Agent

Virtual Agent is a CCE service that allows you to process work items using 'virtual' agents instead of real agents. It gives you the ability to send out email or text messages to customers via a group of virtual agents - essentially creating an automated messaging service. What's more, Virtual Agent gives customers who call a phone number answered by an Avaya Voice Portal, access to data that is stored in CCE's customer database. Once again, Virtual Agent’s process the multimedia work items that are generated when these incoming phone calls are received. There is no manual effort (other than some initial set-up by an administrator) required.

Virtual Agent’s process work items the way 'real' agents do - they log into CCE's XML Server, consume a station DN and (optionally) an agent ID, and then wait to receive and deliver CCE work items. The Virtual Agent service supports up to 300 concurrent virtual agents, each capable of receiving one work item per second. The service starts automatically with the server's operating system, and is fully configured via CCE Control Panel.

It is envisaged that in time, Virtual Agent working in tandem with the Web Service Worker Plugin will render much of the same control and functionality (if not more) provided by IVR Server in CCE 3.x (which has since been discontinued in CCE 4.0).

Virtual Agent Web Service

Much of the functionality associated with this work item is made available via a web service that will be available to consuming applications (like Dialog Designer) and will allow complete control of the work item such as accept, close, suspend, and other Work Item specific functions. The web service also gives access to work item data, notes and chat functionality.

Support for Dialog Designer (Avaya IR/Voice Portal)

Previously, CCE 3.03 integrated with IR using TAS code and a custom DIP. This functionality has been replaced by the Virtual Agent Web Service. This allows direct access from the Dialog Designer VXML into CCE and will give IR/VP script access to all Work Item data for all work item types. Each IVR Port will be configured as a Virtual Agent end-point and will consume a CCE IVR license.

Outbound Worker

This is the second Virtual Agent worker currently available in CCE 4.0. The Outbound worker is intended as a mechanism to automatically send simple outbound messages to a list of contacts that have been loaded in to a Preview Contact program. The Outbound Worker can be used to send SMS (Short Message Service) text messages to mobile phones as well as simple email messages as well. The outbound worker receives Preview Contact workitems the same as an agent sitting at a desk would, therefore requires the same Voice and Multimedia licenses, and automatically processes these workitems.

DMCC Plug-in

The main change in CCE Desktop is the inclusion of the Avaya DMCC interface. This closes the gap on end-point functionality that is not accessible via the TSAPI interface. This allows CCE Desktop to communicate with the station it is connected to as though the buttons were being pressed on the phone itself. On connecting to the station, the buttons configured in the Communication Manager for that station will be displayed within CCE Desktop. DMCC buttons may be placed on either a left or right toolbar in addition to the standard top and bottom toolbars.

CCE Desktop supported DMCC features: Malicious call trace activation, Malicious call trace controller, Stroke count, Send all calls, Work codes, Call forward, Auto dial, Account, Vu-Stats, Headset, EC 500, Hunt group night service, User-to-User information, Bridged Appearance, VDN of origin repeat, Oldest queued time, Supervisor assist, Abbreviated dial, Busy indicator, Mute Far-end, Queued calls.

Alerting and Alarming

Significant strides have been made with CCE to bring together a common management interface. Today we have the Application Management Director and the Control Panel which work in concert to allow CCE service applications to be managed from a central point. Currently all major CCE applications can now be managed via the CCE Control Panel and these applications can register themselves with the Application Management Director.

Until now however, CCE Control Panel has not given any indication of the status of an application or the different sections within it. CCE 4.0 introduces a mechanism that allows alerting and alarming to be incorporated into the entire product suite. The addition of alarming and notification will be an ongoing exercise and existing applications will have this functionality fitted over the next few releases of these products. Currently only License Director, Media Director and some aspects of XML Server has support for this new alerting and alarm feature.

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New Features in Avaya Contact Center Express 4.0

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