My internet has just gone down at home and I’m already frustrated. Since this isn’t the first time I’ve had this experience I know to unplug the modem, shut down my computer, start up the wireless modem again and wait for all the green lights to show up where they are supposed to. I think, YES! But the minute I turn on the computer, I still have no Internet access.

So I’m ready to place that dreaded call to tech support and the first thing I get is a traditional call center IVR system asking me to do the same exact steps that I’ve already done. But I can’t bypass that pre-programmed voice going down its decision tree so I get frustrated and say “Agent!”

We’ve all done it. But what if we don’t have to? Have you seen IBM's Watson™ on Jeopardy responding to questions using amazing artificial intelligence? Or do you like to ask Siri® for the iPhone® what the meaning of life is just so you can hear the answer?

That kind of capability is now available for the contact center! With live agent costs continuing to go up, and many IVR self-service bound callers asking to speak to agent anyway, the industry needed an answer. Conversational virtual agents using artificial intelligence can eliminate the frustration customers have just come to expect from the automated call center IVR software systems in use today that box callers into a decision tree.

Unlike a typical speech IVR system, virtual agents do not use decision trees. They acquire their knowledge and skills by training much like human agents -- the more call scenarios they listen to and handle, the smarter they get. Not having to use decision trees makes for happier, less-frustrated customers and eliminates the burden on IT staff who no longer need to set up and maintain tedious decision trees.

VPI recently announced the general availability of VPI VirtualSource – a groundbreaking, highly affordable, hosted call center self-service solution. Whether you need just a few virtual agents or 700, this pay-as-you-go model can benefit any contact center in almost any industry. VPI's on-demand virtual call agents are perfect for supplementing or replacing your traditional contact center IVR.

You can read the press release or listen to recorded conversations to better understand the power of this revolutionary technology.

Join VPI and Straumann for an exciting webinar showcasing the powerful reporting solutions for Cisco UCC Contact Centers. You'll learn how Cisco and VPI helped Straumann develop and award-winning real-time contact center performance reporting solution.

Date: Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Time: 1:00 PM ET, 10:00 AM PT
Register here.

Now you can get even more value from your Cisco UCC Express (UCCX) or UCC Enterprise (UCCE) investment. VPI, a Cisco Solution Developer, VIP and SIP Partner, has integrated its award-winning VPI Performance contact center reporting and performance management software application with Cisco. This functionality complements and enhances the UCCX and UCCE platforms greatly by consolidating data and presenting actionable, real-time information in the form of Web dashboards, interactive reports, scorecards and desktop tickers to empower contact center managers, supervisors and agents to make better, quicker decisions.

Learn how Cisco and VPI customer Straumann, a global leader in dental implant solutions and restorative dentistry, enhanced the capabilities of its Cisco Unified Contact Center system and operations with VPI’s award-winning real-time Cisco reporting software solution.

Register to attend the complimentary Webinar, hosted by subject matter experts from Straumann and VPI, to learn how you can:

• Create and report on metrics based on Cisco UCCX, UCCE and other contact center data (CRM, ERP, QA, WFM) to meet business objectives.
• Report across multiple teams and queues, locations and Cisco UCCX/UCCE systems to get a holistic view of contact center operations.
• Perform true historical reporting with unlimited data collection – get insights into trending over time and a historically accurate representation of your agents’ group assignments.
• Create flexible grouping structures to report on groups and teams in any manner that makes most sense to your business.
• Drill through layers of data for root cause analysis and trigger targeted alerts, notifications and Coaching assignments based on performance thresholds to promptly correct performance gaps.

Scheduling Conflict? Register for the Webinar and we'll send you the recorded version.

Presenters:

Carlo Wise - IT Specialist, Straumann

Carlo Wise serves as a senior IT Specialist at Straumann, a global leader in dental implant solutions and restorative dentistry, leveraging his strong background in all facets of telephony and network systems integration. He is an experienced IT and Contact Center professional with over 16 years of experience in supporting and implementing Contact Center technologies in small to large Contact Center environments. Mr. Wise holds a variety of industry certifications, including Cisco, CompTIA and Redhat.

Delee Shields - Channel Sales Director, VPI
 
Delee has been instrumental in working closely with Cisco in developing VPI's Cisco Developer Network (CDN) Solution Developer, Value Incentive (VIP) and Solutions Incentive (SIP) partnership programs. She is responsible for working hand-in-hand with Cisco customers and channel partners through the entire sales process. She has extensive knowledge of Cisco Unified Communications product platforms and is highly experienced in Cisco reporting software, Cisco call recording software, workforce optimization, VoIP, LAN, WAN, MAN and wireless solution design. Prior to joining VPI as a sales engineer in 2007, she worked in sales and sales engineering capacities promoting Cisco solutions as well as earning her Cisco CCNA and CCNP certifications.