On the one hand, technology has advanced to the point of allowing highly complex services to run on very inexpensive equipment from almost anywhere on the globe. On the other hand, the Federal Trade Commission and some telecom carriers have set severe barriers on the industry which are forcing many to change the way they do business or exit the industry all together.
Call centers lead IP migration. Almost all new call center PBXs, auto dialers and predictive dialers are IP-enabled these days, which gives centers an interesting telephony choice — they can continue to use traditional TDM or they can choose to switch to IP or VoIP connections, such as SIP. While most traditional businesses in the United States remain firmly rooted in the TDM world (the reasons for which would be the subject of an entirely different article), IP has clearly become the new standard for call centers. IP enables a world of opportunity, from screen pops and SIP trunking to remote agents and easy configuration. For call centers, the decision to migrate from TDM to an IP environment was quick and nearly universal. The exception seems to be small centers that may be locked into their TDM equipment due to cost constraints; though, even then, gateway devices (often supplied by the carrier) that convert IP to TDM can enable these centers to take advantage of some of SIP’s best features.
The shift from TDM to IP is in stark contrast to traditional, non call-center business customers. Few traditional businesses currently are using VoIP, though almost every large call center either currently is utilizing IP-based dialer equipment, or is currently in the process of converting. Call centers are once again at the forefront of the technology curve — some might even say they are driving the technology forward.
The reasons are rather obvious. Modern call centers, especially outbound centers, are high-volume enterprises. Their phone and data expenses can be tremendous. Even incremental cost advantages quickly can add up to big savings. As a result, they constantly are looking for ways to cut costs and increase efficiency.
Luckily, for savvy and technology-forward companies, equipment costs have been dropping for the past several years. Equipment built upon open-source software such as Asterisk and FreeSwitch can be “self configured” and significantly less expensive than other options. IP can be a cost saver for call centers as well. While the promise of “free” VoIP calls never really materialized for business-grade communications, the cost can be very reasonable for those who shop for lowest rates or employ least-cost routing measures. Many SIP trunking providers offer extremely aggressive rates as well. When shopping around, we encourage customers to look not just for the lowest rate, but also how many digits the rate is billed in and rounded to — those hundredths of a penny can add up to big savings for high-volume customers.
