Business S
olutions
Cisco ICM Software
Enterprise Reporting
Converting Contact Center Data into Business Intelligence.
Improving customer service and increasing productivity are critical challenges for a suc-cessful contact center. Making such strategic decisions as staffing levels, contact-handling procedures, and technology investments requires that managers be armed with accurate and timely reports on contact center activity.
Cisco Intelligent Contact Management (ICM) software enables the enterprise-wide, nor-malized collection of real-time and historical data necessary for mission-critical contact center reporting. The product’s open software architecture allows for the consolidation of timely and accurate information across the enterprise from the Internet, carrier networks, automatic call distributors (ACDs), interactive voice response (IVR) systems, Web servers, databases, desktop applications, local and remote agents, and other resources. This single reporting solution virtually eliminates the need for manual data consolidation or custom programming historically associated with enterprise reporting (Figure 1).
Cisco ICM software collects extensive contact, customer, peripheral, and agent data,
which are used to optimize the decisions made by the product’s Pre-Routing®and
Post-Routing®functions. This information is stored in a Microsoft SQL Server (Structured
Public Network Internet Contact Data ICM Admin Workstation Complete Monitoring and Reporting Flexibility
Enterprise-wide, Normalized Collection of Real-Time and
Historical Data Business Applications ACDs Web Servers IVRs Agent Applications Databases Local and Remote Agents Figure 1:
Query Language) database for use in real-time and histor-ical reporting. ICM software’s reporting package enables users to generate reports utilizing templates that are pro-vided; add specific, monitored thresholds to particular data elements; drill-down to more granular reports; and schedule reports to run and print at specified intervals. Users can also build customized reports using the report writer provided with ICM software, use any number of third-party database-access tools to manipulate and display information, or export data to industry-standard file for-mats for use in other applications. The software’s reporting capabilities benefit Cisco ICM users by leveraging contact center data to support overall business objectives.
Enterprise reporting is a standard feature of the ICM platform for both single-site and multisite deployments.
Product Capabilities and Benefits
Enterprise-wide, “Cradle-to-Grave” Reporting
Cisco ICM software provides a single, consistent view of contact center resources across the enterprise. The system collects contact and customer data throughout the life of each interaction—from the Internet or carrier network; through IVRs, ACDs, and other applications; and from agent-to-agent or site-to-site—until the contact terminates. The result is an accurate compilation of enterprise-wide activity that can be monitored in real-time, giving contact center managers the ability to more effectively deploy resources and minimize costs.
Consolidated and Normalized Data
Cisco ICM software continuously collects data from con-tact center resources on an event-by-event basis; converts them to a single, standardized format; and stores this “normalized” information on ICM software’s central Microsoft SQL Server database. Because an individual database record is created for each contact, Cisco ICM software eliminates double-counting/non-counting of contacts. The result is exact data, from which precise and comprehensive reports can be generated.
Report data can be expressed in a number of ways within any template, including pie charts, bar and line graphs, tables, and grids. Report components and parameters are customizable, and as many as 10 different templates can be incorporated into each report.
Cisco ICM software can provide data from individual skill or service groups, or combine data to report on an enter-prise group. Reports can be customized to include preset thresholds and can reflect both real-time and historical information.
Real-time and Historical Data
Cisco ICM software collects and reports on events as they happen (real time) and over various periods of time (historical), enabling customers to manage their contact centers using knowledge, rather than speculation. Real-time data provides current information about specific skill groups, services, trunk groups, peripherals, agents, routes, and scripts and is constantly overwritten by new data. Historical data is stored in 5- and 30-minute intervals.
Reporting Functionality
An open software architecture and the extensive amount of data captured by the ICM system provide users with numerous reporting options. Using a standard Windows platform, Cisco ICM users can schedule reports to be automatically generated and printed at specific times. In addition, real-time reporting thresholds can be estab-lished to immediately alert contact center managers when events and contact flows fall outside of preset parameters, enabling them to proactively and effectively allocate their resources.
Reporting Flexibility
Cisco ICM software includes more than 100 predefined report templates. Using the software’s custom screen builder (a client database-access tool based on Powersoft Infomaker), custom reports can also be created to meet your unique business objectives. All reports can be “drilled-down” to their most granular component to provide expanded detail. In addition, contact center report data can be exported to a number of industry-standard third-party file formats, enabling managers to further leverage existing desktop applications.
Improved Forecasting
Cisco ICM software can further improve contact center efficiency by using schedule data from an external work-force management system both in contact routing and in real-time and historical reporting. The inclusion of forecast and actual data in a single enterprise-wide report makes it easy to compare actual versus anticipated contact volumes and staffing levels, providing a valuable management tool for improving the accuracy of forecasts. These comparisons also improve contact center performance by making more efficient use of agents through better scheduling.
Each template within a report can be “drilled-down” to show a finer level of detail. These drilled-down versions can then be saved as separate reports. For example, when viewing a report on an enterprise service, you can drill-down to view data (such as Queue Delay Status) for the individual peripheral services that make up that enterprise service.
This sample of a drilled-down report reflects the activity of individual agents in the enterprise.
Agent Reporting
ICM software provides extensive, automated collection of real-time and historical data relative to individual agents in the contact center enterprise, eliminating the need to gather this information from individual switches. This function-ality, along with agent-specific reporting templates, offers users increased reporting flexibility and a comprehensive picture of agent activity. Combined with its standard reporting capabilities, the ICM system’s ability to collect agent data provides users with normalized, consolidated information from each and every resource and application, creating a complete enterprise view of the contact center.
Web-based Monitoring
Cisco ICM software can provide monitoring access to reports and routing scripts using Microsoft Internet Explorer or Netscape Navigator. By incorporating stan-dard browser features, this functionality delivers a familiar, easy-to-use interface. Real-time and historical reports can be monitored continuously or on demand. Users can also select and monitor active routing scripts and evaluate their effectiveness based on actual contact flow. Web accessibility enables system supervisors, contact center managers, and other authorized personnel to easily moni-tor activity within a single site or across the enterprise.
Reports can be created to simultaneously incorporate data from multiple peripherals, including ACDs and IVRs. These reports can be specific to one contact center, or they can dis-play information from all peripherals across the enterprise.
Any computer on the Internet or company intranet can be given access to the ICM system’s performance reports and routing scripts.
Data Categories Available for Reporting
Following is an overview of data collected by ICM software. This is not a comprehensive list, but is represen-tative of the information available for reporting. By using an ICM admin workstation within the network, you can mix and match data in virtually any combination.
Call Service Queues and Call Handling and
Counts Level Delays Agent Time Allocation
• Calls in progress • Abandoned calls • Calls queued • Handle time • Calls routed ignored • Calls abandoned in queue • Average handle time • Calls incoming • Abandoned calls • Average delay in queue • Short calls time • Calls offered negatively impact • Average delay in queue • Talk time • Calls handled service level for abandoned calls • Average talk time • Calls in queue • Abandoned calls • Answer wait time • Agents talking • Calls abandoned positively impact • Average speed of answer • Longest available agent
in queue service level • Service level calls • Longest delay queue • Calls out queue held time
• Longest delay for an abandoned call • Total delay queue time
• Calls routed • Version • Master script • Default routing • Network default routing • Return busy • Return ring
• Status • Online • Calls in progress • Agents logged in • Calls offered • Service level
• Routing client responses • Mean routing client responses • Receive in error • Timeout calls • Late calls • Late threshold • Maximum delay • Discarded calls
• Trunks in service • All trunks busy • Trunks idle • Calls abandoned • Calls in • Calls out
• In service time • In use outbound time • In use inbound time
Agent States Agent Time Allocations Call Counts
• Logged on/out • Available time • Calls handled • Ready/not ready • Reserved time • Agent out calls • Available • Busy other time • Internal calls • Talking in/out • Talk time • Incoming calls • Talking other • Talking in/out time • Transfer in/out calls • Work ready/not ready • Talking other time • Calls answered • Busy other • Hold time • Abandoned ring calls • Reserved • Work ready/not ready time • Abandoned hold calls • Hold • Not ready time • Callback messages • Extension • Handle time • Consultative calls • DateTime last state change • Logged on time • Conference in/out • DateTime login • Answer wait time • Redirect/no answer calls • Requested supervisor assist • DateTime log in/out/reason • Supervisor-assisted calls • Call destination
• Call direction
Service Data
Contains information about a particular type of contact processing that a customer requires (customer service, sales, support, and so on). This type of data is available from peripheral services (services tied to a specific peripheral in the contact center enterprise), enterprise services (a collection of peripheral services), and service arrays (a collection of services which might be associated with different periph-erals but are all associated with the same ICM peripheral gateway).
Call Type Data
Contains information about the category of incoming contacts based on dialed number (DN), customer-entered digits (CED), and calling line ID (CLID)
Peripheral Data
Contains information about the status of ACDs, private branch exchanges (PBXs), IVRs, and so on
Routing Client Data
Contains information about entities (that is, a subsystem within the carrier network or a peripheral that is performing Post-Routing) sending route requests to ICM software
Trunk Group Data
Contains information related to a trunk (a collection of telephone lines associated with a single peripheral and usually used for a common purpose)
Agent and Skill Group Data
Contains information about individual agents and their skill groups (groups of agents who share a common set of skills and who can, therefore, handle similar types of calls). Skill group data is available from peripheral skill groups (groups associated with a specific peripheral in the contact center enterprise) and from enterprise skill groups (a collection of peripheral skill groups).
Argentina • Australia • Austria • Belgium • Brazil • Canada • Chile • China • Colombia • Costa Rica • Croatia • Czech Republic • Denmark • Dubai, UAE Finland • France • Germany • Greece • Hong Kong • Hungary • India • Indonesia • Ireland • Israel • Italy • Japan • Korea • Luxembourg • Malaysia Mexico • The Netherlands • New Zealand • Norway • Peru • Philippines • Poland • Portugal • Puerto Rico • Romania • Russia • Saudi Arabia • Singapore Slovakia • Slovenia • South Africa • Spain • Sweden • Switzerland • Taiwan • Thailand • Turkey • Ukraine • United Kingdom • United States • Venezuela
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Corporate Headquarters
Cisco Systems, Inc. 170 West Tasman Drive San Jose, CA 95134-1706 USA http://www.cisco.com Tel: 408 526-4000 800 553-NETS (6387) Fax: 408 526-4100 European Headquarters
Cisco Systems Europe 11, Rue Camille Desmoulins 92782 Issy Les Moulineaux Cedex 9 France http://www-europe.cisco.com Tel: 33 1 58 04 60 00 Fax: 33 1 58 04 61 00 Americas Headquarters
Cisco Systems, Inc. 170 West Tasman Drive San Jose, CA 95134-1706 USA
http://www.cisco.com Tel: 408 526-7660 Fax: 408 527-0883
Asia Pacific Headquarters
Cisco Systems Australia Pty., Ltd. Level 17, 99 Walker Street North Sydney
NSW 2059 Australia Tel: +61-2-8448 7100 Fax: +61 2 9957 4350
Cisco Systems has more than 200 offices in the following countries. Addresses, phone numbers, and fax numbers are listed on the
C i s c o C o n n e c t i o n O n l i n e W e b s i t e a t h t t p : / / w w w . c i s c o . c o m / g o / o f f i c e s . Summary
Cisco ICM software provides customers with enterprise-wide, real-time and historical data to generate accurate and timely reports. Because of the software’s flexible reporting capabilities and the comprehensive nature of the information collected, managers are able to utilize contact center data in a manner that best supports overall business objectives.
Cisco Intelligent Contact Management Solutions
Cisco ICM software, based on open industry standards, creates an enterprise-wide customer-contact platform by integrating multivendor networks, automatic call distrib-utors, voice response systems, Web servers, databases, desktop applications, agents, and other resources. ICM software combines Pre-Routing and Post-Routing capabil-ities with an extensive management-reporting system and supports distributed fault tolerance to ensure the mission-critical reliability needed for customer interaction. Solutions are provided for single-site and multisite deployments.
