CosmoCom announced today that the 1,200-seat customer contact center of Smart Communications, Inc. (SMART), the largest mobile telephone service provider in the Philippines, has fully upgraded to a next-generation contact center solution by adopting the Unified Contact Center Plus (UCCP) system.

A CosmoCom-powered hosted service, UCCP is a product of SMART sister company and information and communications technology firm ePLDT, Inc. It is built on the high-capacity, high availability CosmoCom platform.

Using the flexible CosmoDesigner tool, ePLDT was able to design for SMART a self-service Interactive Voice Response (IVR) for callers. Prepaid subscribers, which comprise the bulk of SMART’s over 40 million subscribers, are now able to inquire about their balance details and receive information via SMS, thus reducing the number of calls for agents.

With UCCP, SMART may now also launch outbound marketing campaigns faster, and deploy agents anywhere more quickly and more effectively. With the many innovations built around the self-service capabilities of CosmoCall Universe™, SMART’s service level metrics are likewise improving dramatically, according to Adrien Tan, Technical Operations Manager at SMART.

"Adopting a new infrastructure to support 1,200 distributed agents was not a decision to be taken lightly. We saw the compelling value in adding CTI screen-pop and IVR to our operations. Furthermore, with agents in six different locations, being able to consolidate on a single virtual contact center solution is a must to ensure consistent levels of customer service and efficient, cost-effective enterprise-wide operations. We conducted a long, exhaustive trial and evaluation process, before deciding to adopt CosmoCom’s all IP contact center platform," said Tan. SMART operates one of the largest multi-site contact centers that has implemented the UCCP system in Southeast Asia, reflecting the strong and growing global trend toward hosted virtual contact center and Software as a Service (SaaS).

"The CosmoCom and ePLDT teams quickly proved that they could implement an all-IP, all-SIP contact center that worked with our Nokia Media Gateways," Tan said. "CosmoCom provided SMART an end-to-end solution that is more flexible and easier to operate," he added.

"We are delighted to welcome SMART to the growing community of telephone companies whose customer contact centers are built on our system," said Ari Sonesh, CosmoCom’s CEO. "Some of the largest fixed and mobile carriers in the world are now enjoying the benefits of Consolidation 2.0."

"With its unified recording and quality monitoring capabilities, the CosmoCom technology replaced our existing infrastructure. CosmoCom’s built-in IVR and Computer Telephone Integration (CTI) capabilities meant that we did not have to invest in more gear and implement expensive, time-consuming integrations to build the self-service applications and get CRM screen pops. CosmoCom and ePLDT gave us the most cost-effective solution for our needs," Tan said.

ePLDT launched UCCP in 2007 as the first all-IP, multi-tenant, hosted contact center solution in the Philippines. With CosmoCall Universe as its foundation, the UCCP solution offers an improved customer service experience with its multi-channel contact design and its support of the value proposition CosmoCom calls Consolidation 2.0.

ePLDT’s partnership with CosmoCom has enabled the company to offer reliable and cost-effective contact center solutions to its clients. Customers include local and international private companies, government agencies, SME businesses, and now SMART.Posted by Veronica Silva Cusi, Asia Pacific correspondent

Source: http://www.newswiretoday.com/