Improve operations and customer service with the BCM50 and Computer Telephony Integration (CTI).

Organisations must ask themselves how much they spend in the routine administration of their telephone systems, in terms of staff time and payments to external services. By integrating your BCM 50 telephone system and your computer systems, you could save operating costs and improve your company's efficiency and even potentially open up new business opportunities.

Nortel Networks offers CTI solutions that can enable a business to improve customer service, employee effectiveness, and generally reduce expenses. CTI enables a number of efficient functions in a business, such as:

• intelligent call routing
• screen-based telephony
• intelligent dialing
• automated display of information

This is all based on caller-provided information from an IVR or other interface and the coordinated transfer of data information along with a telephone transfer.

There are three distinct CTI applications:

1. Administration of a private telephone network via a separate computer.
2. Unified Messaging and Customer Relationship Management applications.
3. The use of computer networks to transport voice and fax comms.

Administering your telephone system using CTI:

Computer telephony provides a simple screen-based alternative to the standard facilities of the latest telephones. Using a graphical user interface (GUI), rather than a proprietary system controlled by alphanumeric codes or handset LCD menus, routine functions such as re-locating or adding extensions can be achieved in-house. More complex functions, such as setting up a conference call, are carried out by following a straightforward sequence of commands.

Using a PC screen, a mouse and a standard GUI you can:

• make/answer calls
• hold and transfer calls
• set up conference calls
• pick up calls from another extension
• initiate calls by name from a personal directory
• bar calls from pre-selected sources
• identify the caller on-screen

Unified Messaging

In addition to integrating your voice telephone and computer systems, with CTI you can also bring together your other office communication tools, such as fax, e-mail and voicemail, and manage them from a single point. With unified messaging you can set up an electronic messaging system for your company, creating a single interface with one directory and one storage location for all message types.

Your company's contacts and all communications with them, whether by telephone, fax, direct e-mail, website response or personal visit, are integrated into one record which is immediately available, and can even be presented to you automatically when an approach is made from a known source (recognised telephone number/email address/IP address etc.).

Click here to find out more about the BCM 50 and Unified Messaging.

Customer Relationship Management

As your telephone system is integrated with your computer system, calls can be made directly from any office application. For example, you can make a call by simply clicking on a telephone number in your customer and supplier database, saving time and increasing productivity. The number of an incoming call is recognised using Calling Line Identification (CLI), and any information from your database about the caller is presented to the member of staff receiving the call.

Please contact us for more information about CTI and the Business Communication Manager 50.