Cincom In-depth Analysis and Review

The Unified Desktop Pour your applications into a single view and bringyour customers into focus.

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SIMPLIF ICATION THROUGH INNOVATION ®

Table of Contents

Executive Summary: Expectations for Service ChangeWhen the Customer Runs the Show . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

The Age of Discontinuity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

The New Age of Shared Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Bonus Functionality of the Unified Agent Desktop . . . . 3

Large Cable Company Puts Unified Agent Desktop to Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

How the Unified Agent Desktop Creates Value . . . . . . . .6

How It Works: Non-intrusive Integration . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Synchrony™ Smart Tabs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

The Perfect Customer Experience Begins in theContact Center . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

The Clear Path Forward: Unified, Useable Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

About Cincom Synchrony . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Cincom In-depth Analysis and Review

The Unified DesktopPour your applications into a single view and bring your customers into focus.

WHITE PAPER

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Executive Summary:Expectations for Service Change Whenthe Customer Runs the ShowThere was a time – perhaps as recent as five years ago –when we could tell customers what to expect. But then theinternet kicked in with earnest; it changed the way we dobusiness, and changed customer expectations. Over thepast few years, there has been an evolution; a power shiftto the customer. Today’s savvy customer understands thatthey now control the steering wheel, the gas pedal andthe brakes. And that means every person, process andtechnology within your organization needs to realign toensure that service becomes the differentiator.

Enlightened companies have shifted to a new businessmodel where they focus on delivering outstandingcustomer service. And to do so, one of the critical toolsthese companies are utilizing is a Unified Agent Desktopthat lets customer service agents respond faster and withgreater accuracy and consistency every time a customerpicks up the phone, e-mails or chats.

The Unified Agent Desktop pours your disparately locatedenterprise applications onto the contact center agent’sscreen, fully coordinated with all other contact centerfunctionality. Instantly, the agent sees each individualcustomer as clearly as if they were sitting across the tablefrom one another. Now for the first time, you can finallydeliver a perfect experience for every single customer,every time you interact. This translates into huge cost andquality benefits for your organization.

“A growing area of concern for large contactcenters is the amount of time agents wasteswitching between desktop applications,repeatedly entering the same data intoseparate systems – both during the call andin the post-call wrap-up phase.”– DataMonitor

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The Age of DiscontinuityThere is a lack of cohesion within most contact centerstoday, leading to turbulence, confusion and mistrust. Thisdiscontinuity becomes a barrier to meeting customerneeds and achieving service goals.

Discontinuity in the contact center is especially damagingwhen agents are unable to meet customer expectationsbecause required information is scattered across theorganization – unreachable by most agents or, ifreachable, only by Herculean efforts on the part of theagent. The culprit is the one we all know so well:information needed to address customer needs is lockedup in disparate applications and databases – neverdesigned to be easily accessible by people who need it onthe frontline.

Information Everywhere – Except Where You Need ItResearch verifies that contact center agents spend muchof their on-hook time juggling multiple applications andpoint solutions to get the information required to interactsuccessfully with a customer or prospect. Even routinecustomer-service interactions may require agents tointeract with 10, 15 or even more systems – from greenscreen emulators and Windows client/server applicationsto browser-based screens. This often involves re-loggingonto the system, re-entering their passwords each timethey access another system and re-keying customerinformation. An agent can easily spend more time gettingto the correct information than actually performing thework.

Meanwhile customers are sitting idle or are forced toconfirm their account numbers over and over again as newback-end systems are opened.

This balancing act is a drain on agent productivity, ITresources and, worst of all, customer patience. Customersand agents alike know that their interactions shouldn’tdemand constant repetition and long wait times.

The New Age of Shared InformationNo longer does the contact center need to be the centerof turbulence, confusion and customer discontent.Breakthrough unified agent desktop technologyconsolidates and organizes the information needed tomeet customer needs – no matter where the informationresides.

This is the Unified Agent DesktopIt brings the customer into precise focus on the desktop. Itturns the agent’s screen into a hub that spokes out to allthe enterprise applications and databases that are neededto respond rapidly to customers.

Any technological barriers that once prevented theinstantaneous delivery of crucial documents or supportingresources to the agent desktop have been removed. Theuniversal desktop serves as an “information clearinghouse” that delivers the appropriate information resourcesto agents such as the best insights from intranets,websites, PDFs, documents and spreadsheets as it isneeded.

The unified desktop is atits core a knowledgeenhancing tool, designedto provide agents withonly the most relevantinformation andfunctionality to do theirjobs, and only at the mostrelevant and appropriatetimes.

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The Unified Agent Desktop can pay rapid dividendsthroughout the organization:

1.The Unified Agent Desktop takes the power inherent ineach application that supports your business and placesit all behind a single, coordinated interface. No moretoggling in and out of applications. Every resource theagent might need – back-end applications, documents,directories, websites, intranets, maps – can now beorganized and presented in real time on the desktop.

2.The Unified Agent Desktop makes multi-channelcommunications easier than ever before possible.Whether customers want to interact by phone, e-mail,web chat or fax, all of the incoming and outgoinginteractions happen in this single interface for aconsistent customer experience and accurate,comprehensive tracking and analytics.

3.The Unified Agent Desktop streamlines and guides theagent through inbound or outbound interactions withassociated tools such as workflow, guided scripting andautomated fulfillment. This is all meant to enable faster,more efficient interactions while the agent never leavesthe desktop and never annoys the customer.

The result is an experience the customers want to repeatbecause agents are prepared to assist them. This, in turn,creates a profitable business capable of extending itsunique brand promise to every touch point.

Agent anywhere – The concept of “agent anywhere”becomes a reality with a universal, thin-client, customerservice desktop. Because the knowledge iscoordinated centrally, there is no need to maintain anindividual library of corporate information on eachdesktop. Rather than relying on IT to deploy andupdate numerous custom applications on all kinds oflaptops and remote terminals, companyrepresentatives can virtually access the desktop fromanywhere with an internet connection. This not onlyspeeds the deployment of virtual call centers, butmakes it possible for multi-discipline staff to join acustomer-service effort at any time, whether the need iscreated by a site shutdown due to a natural disaster orsimply a heavy volume of customer inquiries.

Manager anywhere – Bringing the entire contactcenter in sync with the same customer-service desktophas a significant benefit for management reporting andunderstanding as well. As the agents benefit from aunified desktop, so do the managers. By simplifyingmanagers’ desktops with a unified "command center"that provides quick access to all of the configurationtools, monitors and reports through a single sign-on,they are able to quickly obtain an accurate picture oftheir contact center.

For instance, a consistent view into post-call activitymakes understanding the customer life cycle andretention trends much easier. Because all agents havethe same tools and techniques at their fingertips, it is

possible to make meaningful, apples-to-applescomparisons between all of the agents on the serviceforce. Other metrics, such as customer cost-to-serveand cost-per-sale are also free of distorting variables.

Management can also more clearly see the impact ofcall resolution, because call closure procedures areuniform. Compare that to a contact center usingseveral customer-service desktop tools, where post-callprocedures may differ by application and involveinconsistent closure status codes, or not even offer thesame abilities to record the status of the inquiry andthe customer’s post-call disposition.

Beyond the Contact Center – The Unified AgentDesktop view makes it easier for others within theorganization such as Sales, Marketing and Finance tounderstand the customer-service business processesand tailor their own activities accordingly. For instance,marketing and the contact center can coordinatecampaigns to ensure that the support staff is preparedfor an increase in call demand or the new requests thatwill be generated by customer response. In fact, thethin-client accessibility of the Unified Agent Desktopenables employees and executives across the companyto see the exact customer service experience, withoutthe need to deploy additional technologies. Themanagement and tracking capabilities enable post-campaign analysis to determine real results tocontinuously improve future campaigns.

Bonus Functionality of the Unified Agent Desktop

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Large Cable Company Puts Unified AgentDesktop to WorkAn Environment of Confusion and TurbulenceThe situation was not good at one of America’s largest cable companies.Each product line had its own team of customer service agents, dividedfurther into subgroups based on interaction channel. Each group useddifferent systems, processes and channels. All of them lacked access tocustomer information outside their own work group. This structure createdoperational and financial inefficiencies, and produced inconsistent andtime-consuming service that led to customer dissatisfaction.

Cable Company Before Synchrony: Specialized Agents/Disparate Systems

Every second wastedwhile agents flipbetween applicationsor terminal screens is a second not spent buildingcustomer value.

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Enter the Unified Agent Desktop Unified Agent Desktop technology changed this chaoticenvironment into a contact center where every agentprovided improved customer responsiveness. In a space ofjust 45 days, the system was deployed – includingrequirements gathering, solution design, configurationcustomization, knowledge base and scripting setup andintegration of over 50 applications, data loading, testing,training and rollout.

Implementing Synchrony’s Unified Agent Desktopdelivered dramatic results:• Agents were now utilized across all product lines for

greater productivity.

• Average handle time dropped 77 seconds, contributingto a three-month ROI.

• New agent training was reduced by three weeks, saving$5 million annually.

• Eliminated 10 minutes in system log-ons.

Cable Company After Synchrony: Universal Agents/Unified Desktop

An example of the Cincom Synchrony unified agent desktop displaying an e-mail interaction andcustomer history.

Contact Search and Screen Pop Universal Queue History

ResourcePanel

InteractionPanel

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How the Unified Agent Desktop CreatesValueThe Unified Agent Desktop pours your disparately locatedenterprise applications onto the agent’s screen, fullycoordinated with all other contact center functionality.Instantly, the agent sees each individual customer asclearly as if they were sitting across the table from oneanother. The result is increased quality and decreasedoperating costs, leading to one of the most rapid ROIs inthe industry.

Single 360-degree View of the CustomerOne of the primary benefits of a Unified Agent Desktop isthe single 360-degree view of the customer. Armed withthis critical insight, an agent can more quickly understandthe complete picture of the customer’s relationship withthe company:

• The best unified desktops show each customer as asingle contact entry that may be referenced by a varietyof unique identifiers, such as a phone number, accountnumber or contract ID, as examples.

From this identifier, a Unified Agent Desktop acts as acustomer activity hub that displays not only all customer-service tickets, but also a customer’s purchase, billing,and miscellaneous service activity throughout the entireorganization. Billing discrepancies and serviceinterruptions, for instance, can rapidly be correlated byan agent who is provided with these essential facts.

• At any time during a customer interaction, the UnifiedAgent Desktop provides the necessary tools to escalateor transfer the contact for quick resolution withoutrequiring a lengthy hold-and-transfer period.

• Because all activities are tracked, the escalation processappears virtually seamless to the customer.

Efficiently Handle Multi-Channel Interactions The multi-channel customer is a modern business realitythat introduces new complexity into the contact center. Acoordinated, Unified Agent Desktop enables agents tohandle multiple interaction channels with equalproficiency. Instead of dedicating staff to various channels,you’re free to allocate staff as needed because all of theirtools are presented in the same, familiar interfaceregardless of the channel. This enables the agents to focuson developing customer-service skills, rather thantechnical proficiency.

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Organized Content Improves Efficiency and AccuracyAgent environments that call for several customermanagement programs to be open or available at onceincrease the chances that even a well-trained agent willchoose the wrong screen or program to address acustomer inquiry.

• The desktop’s chameleon-like design delivers only whatthe agent needs for a specific interaction or customer.

• With fingertip access to the right information at the righttime, the agent is able to respond more rapidly and withgreater accuracy.

Reduces Error-Prone Data EntryThe Unified Agent Desktop eliminates redundant dataentry while improving data accuracy.

• Annoying customers by asking them to repeat accountinformation and data re-keying become things of thepast in a properly implemented universal desktopenvironment.

• Agents no longer need to recall the correct systems toenter a new customer record or service request.

• Desktops simply display the relevant fields in a logicaland easy-to-understand format, and the back-endintegration automatically populates new data andchanges to all appropriate internal systems anddatabases.

• Post-call work goes down, and accuracy goes up as aresult.

Taking the Time Out of Training When agents no longer have to toggle in and out ofnumerous applications, they no longer have to learn theintricacies of each of the independent applications. Thiscan save days or weeks of new agent training. (In the cablecompany case study presented earlier, three weeks oftraining were eliminated, saving a dramatic $5 millionannually.)

Simplifies Complex EnvironmentsThe desktop view can instantly adapt to the task at hand,whether that is categorized based on the user role oraccess clearance, or the topic of the customer interactionat hand.

• A Unified Agent Desktop can be quickly configured tosupport multiple departments and multiple customercampaigns simply by implementing rules that dictatehow the desktop will appear to each user.

• Users are not required to change applications or evenknow what functionality they will need at any given time.

How It Works: Non-Intrusive IntegrationThe web services-based unified desktop approachrecognizes that even though your current applications andback-end systems aren’t integrated, they are in place for agood reason – they work. Whatever they may lack infront-end integration, at their functional core, they are thetime-tested, battle-hardened programs that are tightlyintegrated into your everyday business. Valuableknowledge transfer can be promoted by building acommon, unified front end to these valuable back-endsystems – a.k.a. the unified agent desktop.

Using clearly defined web services standards, the agentdesktop is built on the same key functionality that alreadypowers your business, but delivered with an easy-to-use,ubiquitous thin-client interface. Functionality is notcompromised, re-invented or even taken offline during thetransition.

• It doesn’t require a “rip and replace” disruptiveapproach; instead it offers a simple, unified front end toyour proven, stable systems.

• The thin-client interface enhances the ability to expandrapidly and respond to changing needs, including newcustomer priorities, new business processes and newcontact channels.

• Eliminates the need to customize multiple softwareinstallations when new initiatives require a change in thedisplay and management of customer data. Thebusiness rules and functionality can be optimizedindependently of the “last mile” to the agent desktop,ensuring that both are tailored to best meet the needsof your enterprise.

• All interface changes are managed in a single,standards-based application and published to the entireagent community at the right time.

“The most advantageous feature ofSynchrony is that it integrates all of acompany’s disparate databases into a singleunified interface. This results in reducedtraining times, as a consistent interface ismuch easier for agents to learn.”– from an independent review of Cincom Synchrony

by TMC Labs

Phone Chat Fax E-mail TasksPhone Chat Fax E-mail Tasks

Activity PanelResource

Panel

Universal Queue

Orders

>

>

> >

InteractionPanel

Billing Orders Inventory Shipments Field Service

Smart Tabs increase productivity and efficiency by giving agents access into the multipleapplications and systems they need to do their jobs – quickly and accurately. Based onthe purpose of the interaction, the tabs change dynamically.

Synchrony™ Smart Tabs

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For the customer, choice is king. For the agenthowever, choice can be dangerous. That’s whyCincom Synchrony’s Smart Tabs are a powerfulcomponent of the unified desktop; they take theguesswork out of the equation.

• Synchrony Smart Tabs present context-sensitiveintegrated functionality based on the currentactivity or query being pursued.

• Smart Tabs can be opened and pre-populatedwith customer information from all supportingsystems presenting a clear path to the most likelyaction necessary to resolve the call.

• The integrated tab system provides instantefficiency gains for the contact center organizationby eliminating multiple application load times,sign-ons and navigation to specific customer data.This spares both agents and customers the tediumof wading through password recall and record-retrieval delays and makes it much easier foragents to select the correct functionality.

• Tabs can be grouped by functionality and likelyneed, blending the capabilities of multipleapplications on a single tab. Smart Tabs alsoreduce the ramp-up costs each agent incurs whensetting up the desktop each day.

Get Smart with Synchrony: Just-In-Time Knowledge and Contextual Functionality

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The Perfect Customer ExperienceBegins in the Contact Center

Customer expectations are increasing every day and themulti-channel customer is a modern business reality.Customers today want and expect to be able tocommunicate with you in whatever manner suits them thatday and through whatever channel they want. They wantyou to recognize and anticipate their needs. But whathasn’t always been reconciled is whether meeting thesecustomer demands is just a cost of doing business – orcan a return on investment and competitive advantage berealized through investments in the contact center wherethese expectations are often created and delivered upon?

Now the secret of many forward-thinking companies isout. They’ve used their contact centers to differentiatethemselves through their “customer experience” and havebuilt exceptional brand loyalty doing so. As thesecompanies happily surprise their customers by exceedingtheir expectations, they’ve made the contact center andthe agents central to the experience. They have createdsignificant competitive advantage by utilizing technologysuch as the unified desktop that enables them to craft andmanage their customer experience strategies.

Additionally, as an organization, they have taken on thecustomer-centric mindset necessary to remain competitivelong-term.

To be productive and meet their performance andsatisfaction targets, agents must understand the tools attheir disposal. Unifying the agent experience into a singledesktop takes the complexities out of the training process.By promoting a single, browser and tab-based approachthat is widely understood by computer-literateprofessionals, enterprises can streamline the agenteducation process, making it easier to bring new agentsonline without weeks of technical training. This in turnfrees up more time for value-add activities, such as cross-selling briefings and product education.

Fundamentally, people enjoy being good at their jobs,and they enjoy being provided with the means to do theirjobs well. The unified desktop empowers agents withready access to appropriate information for each callermaking the challenge of a diverse customer base muchmore manageable and enjoyable for front-line employees.Job satisfaction is closely tied to delivering memorableand satisfying customer experiences.

Desktop Feature Increases Value Improves Efficiency Improves the Experience

Screen pop Know who‘s contacting you Save seconds in lookup. Shows efficiency and professionalism.

360º customer view Understand the customer‘sstatus

Save minutes. The agent knows the customer, his previousexperiences and his current status. Thecustomer appreciates the personalization andspeed of service.

Non-intrusive application

integration

Immediate access to theright information

Save many minutes. Fast, accurate service – what every customerdesires. Even the angriest customer may beappeased because the agent is knowledgeableand responsive.

Shared desktop Escalate issues withoutinterruption; eliminaterepetition by customer

Save many more minutes. The customer is connected with an expert tofully resolve the issue or take it to the next level.Plus the customer isn’t exasperated from acomplete disconnect within the organization.

Analytics and reporting Track, manage and improve Priceless Nurturing happy customers takes continuousevaluation of the contact center. What happensat the desktop is at the root of building thebusiness intelligence required to manage andimprove your business.

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The Clear Path Forward: Unified, UseableInformation Every touch in the contact center, whether inbound oroutbound, represents a unique and immediateopportunity to extend and strengthen a customerrelationship. Each interaction, whether it is a sale or a savesituation, requires that your agents be prepared torespond quickly to the unique demands of the individualcustomer. Today’s contact center agents need the bestdecision support available to make the right decisions forcustomer satisfaction and profit growth.

The contact center is the hub of knowledge flow, both intoand out of the organization. Bringing sensiblepresentation and a unified view of critical business data toevery agent desktop is a meaningful and critical way torationalize the powerful yet uncoordinated applicationsthat drive each and every customer touch, and improveclient value at every opportunity.

About Cincom SynchronyCincom Synchrony simplifies the complexities of today’scontact center to enhance the customer’s experience,while simultaneously optimizing agent and operationalefficiency, and driving better decision-making. By unitingmultiple applications, systems and resources into anintelligent agent desktop, along with multi-channelinteraction management, Synchrony provides inbound andoutbound environments with a high-value, low-costcontact center solution.

For over seven years, Synchrony has been hard at work incontact centers around the world and is backed byCincom’s four decades of experience and deep domainexpertise for rapid and continuous return on investment.For more information, visit www.cincom.com/synchrony.

Cincom, the Quadrant Logo and Synchrony are trademarks or registeredtrademarks of Cincom Systems, Inc. All other trademarks belong to theirrespective companies.

© 2007 Cincom Systems, Inc.FORM SY070212-1 05/07Printed in U.S.A.All Rights Reserved

World Headquarters • Cincinnati, OH USA • US 1-800-2CINCOM Fax 1-513-612-2000 • International 1-513-612-2769E-mail info@cincom.com • http://www.cincom.com