Call and Contact Center features

Avaya one-X Agent provides features for easier call handling and optimizing contact center operations.

VuStats

Agents can view the contact center information from Communication Manager using the VuStats Monitor. Supervisors and agents use the VuStats feature to monitor critical contact center activity and statistics. Agents can configure the refresh intervals for contents of a particular button and for the entire VuStats monitor cycle.

Agent Greetings

Agents in a contact center have Agent Greeting support on Avaya one-X Agent. Agents can record and configure multiple agent greetings to play, based upon the incoming call parameters, namely, Prompted Digits, Calling Number (ANI), or Dialed Number (DNIS or Vector Directory Number).

Work Item

Work Item is a container that the user groups interact according to their function with respect to the main incoming ACD call. Agents can also form Work Items for independent outbound calls. The organizational grouping of work items assist agents in understanding the media, namely, calls, IMs, that relate to each other. Organizational groupings are independent if multiple media are active at the same time.

Screen Pops

Agents can display Web pages, start applications, or retrieve and display caller information from a database. Agents can create Screen Pops using the Screen Pops menu on the System Settings window. Screen Pop can consist of any process or application that an agent initiates through one of the commands in the Windows executable or through a registered file type activation.

Launch Application

With the Launch Application menu, agents can centralize, organize, and launch the application from the Avaya one-X Agent primary window. The Launch Application menu lists the labels under Launch Applications on the System Settings window.

Follow Up Work

Agents can follow up a work for the associated Work Item after an ACD call is complete. In the Follow-Up mode, the system starts the countdown timer when an agent begins to complete the task for the associated Work Item. When the wrap-up time reaches the threshold limit, the system closes the Work Item and changes the agent status accordingly.

Caller information

Agents can display the following caller data using the caller information feature:

Caller ID
Automatic Number Identification (ANI)
Dialed Number Identification Service (DNIS)
User to User information (UUI)
Prompted Digits

When an agent clicks the phone display, the application displays the information (if it exists) for the corresponding call. The external Computer Telephone Integration (CTI) applications and Interactive Voice Response (IVR) systems place UUI and Prompted digits, in particular to a call record.

Time-To-Service support

Avaya one-X Agent, in conjunction with Communication Manager 4.x or later, provides the Time-To-Service (TTS) support. The TTS feature improves the time for IP endpoints to restore services when a large number of endpoints attempt to register within a short period. This occurs during the agent shift changes for Avaya one-X Agent users. The TTS feature is also used for recovering call signaling when the Duplicated Processor Ethernet (DPE) systems undergo a processor switch, or when an active server fails and standby server takes over the control. The TTS feature for extension registration is controlled and administered in the network region to which the extension belongs.

Note

If Communication Manager is out of service, Enterprise Survivable Server (ESS) attempts to take control of the port network of the agent phone.

Avaya one-X Agent always registers as a non-TTS endpoint in the Desk Phone mode for Communication Manager 5.2 or earlier.

Alternate Server List

Alternate Server List (ASL) contains the list of gatekeepers and Communication Manager data. Avaya one-X Agent uses the ASL data if the primary server is not available. ASL can also have additional gatekeepers and Communication Manager IP addresses (Alternate Gatekeeper List i.e. AGL), which the Avaya one-X Agent client receives from the server during registration. The system also uses the ASL list when the current server breaks down or if there is a network outage.

Duplicated Processor Ethernet support

With Duplicated Processor Ethernet (DPE) support, the IP telephones, supporting TTS, accepts the incoming connection requests from a server on their gatekeeper list. The IP telephones use this new connection to replace an existing connection and continue the operation without registering again. With mechanism, Communication Manager can initiate a new connection to each of these telephones during a server interchange. Therefore, it allows the telephones to switch to the server changing from the standby to the active state. However, DPE has the following limitations:

DPE supports for Processor Ethernet (PE) on duplicated servers only for duplicated main servers and ESS servers.
DPE has new enhancement for TTS IP telephones only. These telephones require a new firmware release.

Note

During a video call and sharing of a video file, if a DPE interchange occurs, then the audio in the video file disappears.

TTY call handling

Callers with hearing or speech impairments use special text devices to initiate a call into a contact center. These devices are called Teletype (TTY) for the hearing impairment. TTY is also called Telephone Device for the Deaf (TDD). Traditionally, a special type of machine was needed at the receiving end to interpret this text and responses. Avaya one-X Agent, in conjunction with the Communication Manager PSTN Gateways, provides an integrated TTY conversation support for an agent. TTY interactions appear as normal in the My Computer telephone calls to the agent, except that Avaya one-X Agent detects the text tones and displays the text tones for agents. Similarly, an agent can type characters and these tones are converted back to descriptor tone packets for Communication Manager gateway to convert to the PSTN tones required.

The TTY interaction appears in a window similar to the IM window. Agents interact with TTY callers with a normal roman alphabet character text and a set of standardized abbreviations available on the TTY interaction window. The agent's messages appear as normal characters during a TTY session. The TTY protocols rely on a significant number of abbreviations. For instance, Go Ahead (GA) is the signal that a person types and waits for a response from a TTY user. Such human protocols are needed because TTY works on half-duplex, where either parties can send one character at a time transmission.

Instant Messaging and presence

Avaya one-X Agent supports the IM and presence features if your organization has deployed IM and Presence Services within your network. If an agent or an administrator configures the IM setting, the agent can add an IM contact to the list, view agent's presence status, and initiate IM messages with the contact list. Agents cannot add an IM contact at the desktop, if the administrator prohibits the agent from initiating an IM session with contact that are not defined in Central Management.

IM provides the ability to communicate with agents in real-time using the Avaya one-X Agent client. The presence feature displays the agent's presence status. Agents can view the agent status, voice channel state, and IM state.

Avaya one-X Agent 2.5 is interoperable with the IM tools, namely, Avaya one-X Communicator and Microsoft Office Communicator.

Video calling and video file sharing

Agents can initiate a video call with customers. Avaya one-X Agent supports video communication between Communication Manager endpoints. Agents can also play a video file containing either a demo, tutorial, or a product promotion for the other party.

Media files sharing

Agents can share media files, namely, video, audio, and image files, with a remote caller's desktop screen. For example, agents can share a video demonstration of a product, or play a video tutorial on how to use a specific product.