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Enterprise/Corporate
Benefits/Service Information
Callers dial a number and are asked to enter their personal identification codes. They are presented with a menu asking them to select from among a variety of benefits-related topics such as stock options, retirement plans, or health information. Submenus can narrow these topics further. Callers listen to recorded information or they are prompted to leave their address or fax number and have information mailed or faxed to them.
Automated Attendants
Automated attendants answer incoming calls and route them automatically to the proper extension or department. They can replace human operators or act as a backup during busy calling periods. They can also be used at night or on the weekends to route callers to a voice messaging system to leave messages.
Direct Marketing
Broadcast fax announcements can augment or take the place of mailed press releases, newsletters and promotions. Fax lists can be screened the same way as mail lists for highly targeted campaigns. Outdialing IVR applications can verify customers'/prospects' addresses or fax numbers to update mail lists.
Market Research
Survey takers can instruct the system to dial out from campaign databases to reach targeted interview subjects. Survey interviews can be unobtrusively monitored by managers or clients, and free-form answers can be recorded for long-term storage. Host-to-switch links allow appropriate survey script and entry screens to be sent to available agents alongside the answered call. In an entirely automated system, all survey questions can be prerecorded and prompt the interview subject for Touch-Tone (or speech recognition) response. Given some promotional incentive to do so (free fries, contest entry), subjects may be motivated to call in to participate in the survey.
Voice Messaging
Voice messaging systems provide call coverage and messaging services. Each employee is assigned a "voice mailbox" where callers from inside and outside the company can leave recorded messages. Most systems allow remote access for employees who need to retrieve their messages when they are out of the office. Other features include call screening, message forwarding, broadcasting messages to more than one recipient at the same time, and the ability to page someone. Some systems will place a phone call to a preprogrammed number and play a recording when a new message arrives in a user's mailbox.
Fax On Demand
Callers dial in and listen to a menu telling them the various documents they can receive by fax. When they make a selection by speaking, or by pressing a Touch Tone digit, they are prompted to enter the telephone number of their fax machine. The selected fax is transmitted automatically. Companies can use fax on demand systems to disseminate information about their products.
Fax Server
A fax server is a computer with one or more fax boards in it that is connected to a LAN. A user on the LAN can send computer files directly to the fax server for immediate or delayed transmission. A fax server can also be used to receive incoming faxes over phone lines and store them as computer files for later retrieval. The intended recipient can be notified by a phone call or by turning on a message waiting light on his or her telephone.
Follow-Me Service
Follow-me services give callers the opportunity to track down users who are away from their desks. It does this by consulting a database of users' other possible phone numbers and paging numbers, and dialing out to these at the caller's request. These databases can reside on-premises, at a computer telephony server, or on computers on the telco network . Follow-me systems may dial out to all possible sites simultaneously, or in a programmed sequence. They also allow callers to choose to leave voice mail instead.
Unified Messaging
Many businesses have email, voice messaging, and fax, but these capabilities are offered by separate systems. Employees must check their computers for email messages, their telephones for voice messages, and the fax machine or mail room for fax messages. A unified messaging system can link these local services together, providing a common graphical user interface (GUI). Unified messaging also provides remote services for users by allowing messages in one medium to be forwarded or answered in another. For example, a text-to-speech board can convert email messages into voice messages that can then be accessed via telephone. For employees who wish to receive messages when they are on the road, incoming email can be converted to fax and forwarded to their location automatically.
Order Entry/Order Status
A computer telephony system automates the process of ordering a product or checking the status of an order that has already been placed. Users are prompted to enter part or item numbers. Each order is assigned a number that is entered when a status report is needed. The system interfaces with a computer database where files containing order status can be read to callers via text-to-speech technology.
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