Outsourced, Web based Unified Messaging & Virtual Contact Center

1. Outsourced, Web based Unified Messaging & Virtual Contact Center

2. Messaging (traditional)No single client, no unified storage at all • Email • Desktop (Outlook, Eudora, Netscape Mail, ...) or Web based client • Voice • Phone or desktop client (Various VM vendors, Generic Answering Machine, ...) • Fax • Fax machine or desktop client (Various fax software vendors, ...) • SMS, MMS • Mobile phone • Instant Messaging • Desktop client (ICQ, AIM, ...)

3. Unified Messaging (legacy systems)Single desktop based client, no server based unified storage • Step forward compared with traditional messaging • Users may have the most of their communication within single client • Common characteristics • Desktop client as primary access method • Server side non-unified storage or client side non-unified or unified storage • Non LDAP based user directory • Main disadvantages • User is still locked to the particular desktop or the group of desktops • As soon as one leaves office ... • Organizations are still locked to the particular operating system

4. Unified Messaging (modern concept)Single web based client, true server based unified storage • Web client as primary access method • Full functionality is no longer tied to the particular desktop with the client application installed on it • No more operating system dependencies. Full functionality may be achieved from Windows, Mac, Linux boxes, ... • Phone and WAP (over GPRS) as helper interfaces for special purposes when there is no Internet enabled computer available • True server based unified storage • All message types are treated equally • Messages are parsed, decomposed and decoded before being stored • Necessary headers and other information are stored directly into database • LDAP based user directory

5. Call handling (traditional)Inefficient, expensive ... too much unnecessary work involved • No queuing • Number of lines = Number of agents => Busy signals • Number of lines > Number of agents => No answers • No history • It is real pleasure for your customer to explain to fourth person this morning that he / she is calling sixth time because of the very same thing he / she complained ... • No conversation recording • It is also real pleasure for your customer when your angry new agent explain to him / her that ... :) • ...

6. Call center (legacy systems)Poor handling of other communication channels, no unified messaging integration • No unified queue • Is there are chance that your agent just now wasting 30 minutes in call with account that makes you 10 per month while the email / fax from customer that makes you 10000 per month waits six hours in the email or fax queue ... if there are such queues at all, of course :) • No single, web based client • Is there are chance that another just hired agent sits almost jobless because there is almost no other phone calls, and one was not trained to use email / fax clients yet :)? • In average, it takes a bit more than 180 days until outbound call center agent quits. Are you sure that you wish to waste time / money to train one to use 4 completely different clients :)? • Is there are chance that your best agent is on sick child vacancy and while being perfectly able to work, she is not able to come to office ... and there is no web based client available:) ...

7. Contact center (modern concept)Single web based client, unified queue, unified messaging integration • Single, web based client • Imagine being able to have your agents work from both home, or any of your office locations • Imagine training your agents to use only one communication application, there is more than enough headache to train them to use all your business apps needed • Unified queue • Imagine you and your agents being able to see all communication channels (phone, email, fax, ...) in one unified queue sorted in accordance with your business rules, or even better have multiple unified queues with skill set of each particular agent included in sorting rules too • Unified messaging integration • Is there better place to put all Call Attempt Records, Callback Requests and Conversation Recordings then into appropriate folder or folders within your Unified Mailbox :)?

8. ASPs - Application Service Providers What that means? • Basic idea • Application no longer resides on Customer’s servers or desktops but on Application Service Provider’s servers • In the most number of cases Customers access application through the web based client • Numerous benefits for the Customer • No application purchase & installation needed • No purchase of periodic upgrades needed • No server & storage purchases needed • No financing of above mentioned purchases needed • No expensive VPNs between customer’s offices, Internet connection is all you need • Decreased pressure on / lower costs of internal IT department • Weekly or monthly fee payment based on real usage • Virtual office and work from home suddenly may become reality

9. ASPs - Application Service Providers 1st generation ASPs - the rise and the fall • The rise • April 1998, USi was founded. The term ASP was coined • Analysts’ projections were that the ASP market would be worth more than $6B by the end of 2001 • More than 500 ASP companies were funded with $10B in venture capital. $2.5B was invested in 4Q 1999 alone • The fall • The stock market crashed in March 2000 • After burning through about $500M, USi filed for bankruptcy • In 2001, ASP market was worth $600M, ... the analysts, as it turns out, were wildly wrong :) • May 2002, restructured USi emerged from bankruptcy, and still burning money

10. ASPs - Application Service Providers 1st generation ASPs - what went wrong? • Hosting of the non web native apps • Where is the benefit for the customer to have server side hosted, if one still has to install and periodically update clients on let say 10, 100, or 1000 of desktops? • Where is the money for ASP if it needs separate installations, or new server sets for each new customer? • Hosting of the 3rd party apps • Such ASPs were not able to differentiate itself easily and were forced to compete on the price basis • Hosting of the wrong type of apps • Apps whose nature require high level of customization that cannot be achieved through COSs (Classes of Service) are simply not suitable for hosting

11. ASPs - Application Service Providers 2nd generation ASPs • Who they are? • White Pajama, NetLedger, Salesforce.com, and many others • What they got in common? • Own, one to many, native web applications • And the result is? • Ability to easily differentiate themselves • Excellent economics of scale • Very high gross margins • High growth rates

12. The Future ... as we try to make it happen • Imagine • Having all of your communication within your Unified Mailbox accessible from browser on any Internet enabled desktop, notebook or PDA in the world. Let say, WiFi enabled notebook on the beach, per instance :) • Having your agents or colleagues in both their homes and your corporate offices in 3 different cities that act from both yours and your customers’ aspect as they are in the very same room. We mean with supervised and blind transfers, conferencing, coaching, monitoring, call recording, histories, etc. • Having all that delivered as the service for monthly fee without the need for capital investment, installation, upgrades, ... • Well it is the dream, but the nice portion of it we already made possible to happen :)

13. Thank You In order to receive copy of this presentation or to attend actual product or service demonstration please email your requests to:info@alterbox.net Lukrecio Mioč, Alterbox.hr d.o.o. +385 1 3099 162, +385 91 385 6977 lukrecio.mioc@alterbox.hr