Download Apropos Interaction Management Suite

DPRO-108509
Richard A. Costello
Product Report
21 October 2003
Apropos Interaction Management Suite
Summary
The version 6 architecture is significant for Apropos because it improves the level of interoperability with
existing communications infrastructures and best-of-breed business applications, while adding Java 2
support.
Note
This report features information on version 6.0 of Apropos Interaction Management Suite (IMS) (general
availability was June 2003).
Table of Contents
Overview
Analysis
Version 6 Enhancements
Apropos System Overview
Pricing
Competitors
Strengths
Limitations
Insight
List Of Tables
Table 1: Apropos IMS
Table 2: Apropos Interaction Flows
Table 3: Apropos Server Features
Table 4: Apropos Agent Features
List Of Figures
Figure 1: Apropos Version 6 Distributed Message Routing Architecture
Figure 2: Apropos Server With Connections to Premise PBX
Figure 3: Analog Extensions to CO Using Centrex
Figure 4: Connection to Premise PBX With Switch Link
Figure 5: Remote Agent Connectivity
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Apropos Interaction Management Suite
Corporate Headquarters
Apropos Technology, Inc.
One Tower Lane, 12th Floor
Oakbrook Terrace, IL 60181, U.S.A.
Tel: +1 630 472 9600
Internet: www.apropos.com
Overview
Table 1: Apropos IMS
Feature/Function
Description
System
PBX-integrated software solution based on Microsoft Windows 2000 or Sun
Configuration
Microsystems Solaris servers
Vendors Systems
All industry PBX/automatic call distributor (ACD) platforms, including 3Com, Avaya,
Supported
Alcatel, Cisco, Ericsson, Fujitsu (Altura), Inter-Tel, Mitel, NEC, Nortel, Siemens,
Toshiba and Centrex
Operating System(s)
Microsoft Windows 2000, Sun Solaris
Max. No. of
Unlimited (no hard-coded limit)
Configurable Agents
Max. No. of Active
10,000+ multimedia agents per single system, unlimited with multisite and virtual
Agents
center configurations
Max. No. of
2,000+ per single system, unlimited with multisite and virtual center configurations
Supervisors
Max. No. of Agent
Unlimited (no hard-coded limit)
Groups
Busy Hour Call
100,000 fully blended, busy-hour multichannel interactions per single system;
Completions (peak—
unlimited with multisite and virtual center configurations
one hour)
Fault
Various levels of fault tolerance and recovery from disk mirroring and system
Tolerance/Redundan
failover to redundant computing (N+1 configuration, Marathon Servers)
cy
Universal Queuing
Standard
Network-Level
Standard
Queuing
Networking Protocol
TCP/IP
Network Signaling
T1/E1/Digital Private Network Signaling System (DPNSS)/Analog/Digital Set
Supported
Emulation
Max. No. of Voice
Unlimited (supporting queued voice mail)
Mailboxes
Max. No. of Voice
Unlimited (depends on voice mail server hard drive capacity)
Storage Hours
Interactive Voice
Standard (dual-tone multifrequency [DTMF]); optional (speech-enabled)
Response (IVR)
Interface
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Table 1: Apropos IMS
Feature/Function
Description
Skills-Based Routing
Standard
Max. No. of Skills
No hard-coded limit
Groups
Web-Based Contact
Optional (via Apropos Web module or a third-party Web module)
Center
Text Chat
Optional
Web Callback
Optional
E-Mail
Optional (via either Apropos E-Mail or CRM E-Mail applications)
Max. No. of E-Mail
10,000+ (active simultaneously) per single system, unlimited with multisite and
Agents
virtual center configurations
Fax Support
Optional (via hardware/software upgrade of Apropos Server and Agent applications)
Customer
Standard (integrates with Remedy, Siebel, Kana, JD Edwards, SAP, PeopleSoft,
Relationship
Peregrine, Oracle, others)
Management (CRM)
Interface
Unified Messaging
IP Support
Optional (integrates with third-party solutions)
Standard (native support for Avaya, Cisco, Mitel, Nortel, Siemens and 3Com
systems)
Predictive Dialing
Standard (Apropos Predictive Dialing application)
Support
Screen-Pop Transfer
Standard (via Apropos Interaction Vault; optional via third-party applications)
Capability
Simple Network
Standard
Management
Protocol (SNMP)
Support
Mobile/Wireless
Available via services using standard application programming interfaces (APIs)
Agent
Voice
Optional (through Apropos, Witness, other third-party systems)
Recording/Logging
Analysis
The Apropos IMS of software uses a comprehensive set of tools to route, queue, control, track and report
both inbound and outbound multimedia interactions—voice calls, e-mail, Web chats, Web requests, faxes,
tasks, voice mail and blended calls (agents conduct outbound calls while handling inbound calls). The
management of the contact center includes interaction distribution, escalation, priority, intelligent routing,
real-time performance monitoring and historical reporting.
With version 6.0, the Apropos IMS architecture evolves to a standards-based platform built on a Java 2
Platform, Enterprise Edition (J2EE)-compliant foundation supporting both the Microsoft Windows 2000
and Sun Microsystems Solaris operating systems, and databases from Microsoft (Structured Query
Language [SQL] Server) and Oracle (relational database management system [RDBMS]). These
enhancements are the foundation for IMS version 6.
The architecture is significant for Apropos because it improves the level of interoperability with existing
communication infrastructures and best-of-breed business applications via a suite of APIs. It enables the
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extension of interaction management capabilities throughout the enterprise. It offers options for faulttolerance, failure detection and recovery.
Version 6 Enhancements
Version 6 improvements in two major areas—J2EE Application Server and Message Routing—are
described below.
J2EE Application Server
Version 6 uses a J2EE Application Server to open Apropos core functionality to external applications,
which may be Apropos supplied (for example , thin clients), or custom developed for a particular business
requirement. The architecture supports two kinds of APIs:
•
Synchronous (request-response) interfaces, allowing requests to be made to the system (for example
, take/place a call, queue an interaction, add an agent)
•
Asynchronous (event driven) interfaces, allowing an application to subscribe to events happening in
the system (for example, call arrival, agent login)
The version 6 architecture supports five categories of Java APIs: Interaction Handling, Interaction
Monitoring, Interaction History, Interaction Management and Configuration Management.
Apropos currently supports IBM Websphere and BEA WebLogic J2EE Application Server environments,
others could be pending in the future.
Message Routing
Version 6 includes enhancements to underlying messaging layers to increase levels of performance,
scalability and fault tolerance. Previous Apropos versions utilized a single Primary Router to distribute
messages to and from all Apropos server and client processes. This was viewed as a limitation of the
Apropos architecture, as it provided a single point of failure.
Version 6 distributes message routing across a network of Router components, illustrated in the figure,
“Apropos Version 6 Distributed Message Routing Architecture.”
Figure 1: Apropos Version 6 Distributed Message Routing Architecture
This architecture allows messages to be distributed to servers and clients in multiple sites using Slave Routers in
each site.
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Source: Apropos Technology
By distributing message routing over a network of Router components, the following major advantages
are realized:
•
Reduced Load on the Primary Router—enables greater levels of performance and increases
system scalability.
•
Reduced Network Traffic—when events occur, rather than broadcasting messages to every server
and client process from the Primary Router, a single message can be sent across the WAN. Each
Slave Router then notifies clients and servers in its location.
•
Options to Increase Fault Tolerance—in the event of a WAN failure, remote site Slave Routers can
be scripted to point to alternative local routers, allowing local clients and servers to continue
operating.
•
Reduced Infrastructure Costs—since only a single component (Slave Router) in each remote
location requires a WAN connection, LAN subnets may be used to minimize costs.
In addition to distributing message traffic, version 6 includes several other architectural improvements to
system message handling:
•
The use of binary messages to improve performance
•
A new enterprise transport layer that supports network resiliency
•
Improved message logging, with diagnostic tools
Version 6 New Feature Content
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Version 6 product enhancements fall into the following four major categories: Enterprise Capabilities,
Interaction Management, User Interface and Open Architecture. The four tables in this section briefly
summarize those product enhancements.
Version 6 New Feature Content
Enhancement
Description
Enterprise Capabilities:
—Unlimited Scalability
Supports two configurations: an unlimited scalable
multisystem with interaction overflow and rolled-up
reporting; a virtual single-system with scalability to
thousands of seats and very high interaction volumes
—Improved Network Usage
Reduced network bandwidth requirements and reduced
costs of operation
—Support for Unix
—Support for Oracle
Operation in a Sun Solaris Unix environment
Support for Oracle as the Interaction Database and
Interaction Vault Database
—Network Resiliency
Seamless operation through brief WAN outages with no
loss of interaction handling capability at the server and
client levels
—Scriptable Router Failover
Enables Slave Routers to be scripted to point to
alternate routers during WAN or router failures
—SNMP-Based Alerts
Allows process failures, connection failures and other
system conditions to be exposed via SNMP to various
system management tools.
—Improved System Management
Includes a new System Manager tool to manage system
processes, handle system alerting and alarming,
manage multiple systems from a single user interface
and others
—Improved Database Access Features
Includes faster reporting and Interaction Vault queries
Version 6 New Feature Content
Enhancement
Interaction Management Enhancements:
Description
—Force Mode by Queue
—Force Preview
—Richer ACD Routing Algorithms
—Interaction Model
—Interaction Reporting
—Server-based Agent Configuration
—User Interface Enhancements
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Version 6 New Feature Content
Enhancement
Voice Interaction Enhancements:
Description
—Speech recognition from Nuance enables multiple
levels of VR in Apropos IVR: Simple DTMF replacement
(digits), alphanumeric capability, handling of dates and
natural numbers, directed dialogue (recognition of words
from grammar and others)
—Tracking of Hold and Conference States
E-Mail Interaction Enhancements:
—Intelligent E-Mail Classification
—Multi-Lingual E-Mail Handling
Web Interaction Enhancements:
—Secure Web Collaboration supports Web chat and
collaboration from a secure Web site, encrypting data
via Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS).
—Web Chat Monitoring allows supervisors to monitor
agent chats with customers in real time (from the
Resource Manager).
—E-Mail of Chat Transcript can provide an HTML copy
of the chat transcript.
Version 6 New Feature Content
Enhancement
User Interface Features/Enhancements:
Description
—Real-Time Service Levels
—Interaction Time to Violation
—”Take Next” Functionality
—Viewable Custom Interaction Properties
—New Agent Media Handlers
—New Real-Time Data in Resource Manager
—iVault Enhancements
—Configuration Manager
—System Manager
The architecture of Apropos version 6 is open, exposing Apropos core functionality through a set of Java
APIs, which are packaged in the form of a Software Developer Kit (SDK) and includes documentation and
sample code. The following table, Open Architecture, lists the core Apropos functionality exposed in these
APIs.
Version 6 New Feature Content
Enhancement
Open Architecture:
Description
—Interaction Handling (Agent Functionality), including
the ability to take and initiate interactions, and the ability
to control agent availability, softphone functionality, and
other agent features.
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Version 6 New Feature Content
Enhancement
Description
—Interaction Monitoring (Resource Manager
Functionality), including the ability to subscribe to realtime events and to manage agent-queue assignments.
—Interaction Management, including the ability to
queue interactions, change the queue or priority of
interactions, de-queue interactions
—Configuration Management, including the ability to
make system configuration changes, such as
adding/deleting users, adding/deleting queues,
controlling system values
—Interaction History (iVault Functionality), including
the ability to perform an Interaction Vault query and
receive historical interaction data and corresponding
transcripts.
In addition to Java APIs, the Apropos system continues to expose core functionality via mechanisms,
such as the following:
•
Event Publisher, an Extensible Markup Language (XML) interface, exposing major events
happening within the system, such as agent, queue and interaction-based events
•
Interaction Queuing Interfaces, including Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) for e-mail, HTTP
for Web, blending of interactions from a database, blending of interactions from TCL and Java scripts
Apropos System Overview
•
Switch independence—Apropos IMS interfaces to any combination of switches (PBX, ACD, IP-PBX
or central office); analog, digital and Switch Link (computer telephony interface) connections can be
utilized. PBXs supported include Aspect, Avaya Definity, Avaya S8700/S8300/S8100, Centrex, Cisco
CallManager, Fujitsu, Inter-Tel, iSDX, Mitel MN3300, Mitel SX-2000, NEC 2400, Nortel Meridian
1/Symposium/SL-100, Philips, SDX, Shoreline, Siemens Hicom 300/300E V3, SRX, 3Com NBX 100
and Ericsson MD110 (BC9 and BC10).
•
Interoperability with external systems—Business data can be exchanged with any database or
application through industry-standard protocols and access methods, including Open Database
Connectivity (ODBC), Object Linking and Embedding (OLE), Dynamic Data Exchange (DDE) and
High-Level Language Application Programming Interface (HLLAPI).
•
Packaged integration—Interactions can be fully managed within the boundaries of Apropos IMS
through supported IVR routing, queue handling, voice messaging and voice-recording functions.
•
Fault tolerance—Apropos supports a number of configurations, allowing various levels of fault
tolerance and recovery, from disk mirroring and system failover to redundant computing. For
example, Apropos can implement IMS in an N+1 Voice Server configuration to protect against single
server failure. In addition, a Marathon Technologies’ Endurance Server can be used in the N+1 Voice
Server configuration to provide redundant fault tolerance for applications and voice connectivity.
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•
Transactional data collection—Administrative-, operational- and management-level contact center
data is collected for use; report scheduling, Web publishing and a fully supported interface to
Seagate Crystal Reports allow complete customization of content.
•
Customizable interaction prioritization—Business rules are used to determine the prioritization of
interaction handling. Interaction prioritization includes not only synchronous communications (voice,
e-mail, Web), but also asynchronous (tasks, offline work) associated with the customer-management
process. These asynchronous tasks are fully integrated within the universal queue’s prioritization and
escalation models.
The major components of the Apropos IMS solution include the following:
•
Apropos Server (system software for Microsoft Windows 2000- or Sun Solaris-based platforms)
•
Customer-Provided Server (Compaq ML 370 with Intel Pentium III, 600MHz processor is certified
and recommended by Apropos)
•
Apropos Agent (includes Standard, Enhanced and Link versions of software)
•
Apropos Resource Manager (real-time monitor and control software)
•
Apropos Decision Manager (historical reporting software)
•
Apropos Administrator (system configuration tool software)
•
Apropos Application Designer (graphical user interface [GUI]-based interaction flow design
software)
•
Apropos Interaction Vault (dynamic data storage tool software)
•
Apropos Queued Interaction Manager (interaction management criteria software)
•
Apropos Recording Studio (optional Syntrillium Cool Edit digital sound editor software for creating,
editing and reproducing voice prompts)
•
Various third-party applications (depending on the system configuration)
Apropos Server is system software that supports voice over IP, analog (loop start) or digital voice
connectivity to a premise-based PBX, or analog connectivity to a central office (CO) via Centrex service.
Optionally, the Apropos Server can utilize a Switch Link connection, also known as computer-telephony
integration (CTI) Link, which uses Dialogic CT-Connect to control the switch in conjunction with analog or
digital voice lines. Switch Link capabilities include Caller ID, Automatic Number ID (ANI) and Dialed
Number ID Service (DNIS), or direct inward dialing (DID) through a Switch Link connection, rather than
through digital handset emulation or inband signaling.
Apropos Server also supports the out-of-band E1/DPNSS signaling protocol to extend system facilities to
all extensions on PBXs that are connected together in an all-digital private network. The range of features
supported depends on the capability of the PBXs in the private network configuration.
A LAN or WAN data connection is Ethernet or Token Ring, with TCP/IP the required networking protocol.
Support for TCP/IP makes it possible to deploy agents in both intranet and public switched telephone
network (PSTN) environments, where agents can take calls—and perform any interaction defined by the
Apropos Server (for example, e-mail, Web requests)—from virtually anywhere in the world. A company
with a centralized contact center staff can have additional agents working at remote sites and connected
to the Apropos Server via the PSTN.
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An Apropos system can be comprised of a single server or, depending on the site conditions and
requirements, can be distributed among several servers to create a virtual contact center architecture.
A distributed Apropos system can contain the following five types of servers:
•
Primary Server—one Primary Server per system contains messaging middleware for integrating
central processes; it may also contain optional third-party applications. To communicate within the
Apropos system, processes register with the middleware on startup. All interprocess messages are
sent as American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII) text.
•
Database Server—one Database Server per system contains the Apropos database and Decision
Management system. The DB Server facilitates distributed processing, system database inquiry and
report generation.
•
Voice Servers—several are recommended per system. They contain system call-processing
software: Phone Interface Language (PIL), Tool Command Language (Tcl) and Visual Basic for
Applications (VBA) scripts.
•
Interaction Server—at least one is recommended per system. They contain e-mail, Web chats and
Web requests and also provide load balancing. They are intended for sites with heavy noncall
interactions. E-mail and Web interactions can be on separate Interaction Servers.
•
Interaction Vault—at least one is recommended per system. It is a dynamic data storage tool that
archives contact center interactions of all media types in a single storage and retrieval source. The
iVault database contains a complete history of interaction data regardless of interaction type.
The Apropos IMS system supports four switch-connection configurations:
•
Connection to premise PBX, supporting circuit-switched or packet-switched (IP) telephony
•
Analog extensions to the CO through Centrex
•
Connection to premise PBX with Switch Link
•
Remote agent connectivity
The figure “Apropos Server With Connections to Premise PBX” shows Apropos Server connectivity with
the enterprise telephone system (a PBX), from the Apropos Server to the agent workstations. The
customer communicates with the contact center through the PSTN, which passes the communication on
to the PBX. The connection between the PBX and the Apropos Server can either be analog or digital;
however, analog connections do not support the transfer of ANI or DNIS information.
Figure 2: Apropos Server With Connections to Premise PBX
The figure shows Apropos Server connectivity with the enterprise telephone system (a PBX), from the Apropos
Server to the agent workstations. The Enhanced Agent workstation requires an NMS QX2000 or Pika Technologies
sound card for analog connectivity.
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Source: Apropos Technology.
The figure “Analog Extensions to CO Using Centrex” shows Apropos Server connectivity with leased, offpremise Centrex service at a CO. The customer communicates with the contact center through the CObased Centrex service, which passes the communication on to the Apropos Server. The connection
between the CO and the Apropos Server is analog only, which supports the transfer of Caller ID
information only.
Figure 3: Analog Extensions to CO Using Centrex
The figure shows Apropos Server connectivity with leased, off-premise Centrex service at a central office (CO), from
the Apropos Server to the agent workstations. The Enhanced Agent workstation requires an NMS QX2000 or Pika
Technologies sound card for analog connectivity.
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Source: Apropos Technology.
The figure “Connection to Premise PBX With Switch Link” shows Switch Link connectivity between an
enterprise PBX system and the Apropos Server. The Switch Link enables agents to perform soft-phone
functions, such as transfer and re-queue without having a voice card installed on the agent workstation.
Switch Link co-exists with analog or digital voice connections to the Apropos Server.
Figure 4: Connection to Premise PBX With Switch Link
The figure shows Switch Link connectivity between an enterprise PBX system and the Apropos Server, from the
Apropos Server to the agent workstations. The Enhanced Agent workstation requires an NMS QX2000 or Pika
Technologies sound card for analog connectivity.
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Source: Apropos Technology.
The figure “Remote Agent Connectivity” shows Apropos system connectivity between an enterprise PBX
or Centrex service and the Apropos Server, from the Server to the remote agent workstation. The
customer communicates with the contact center through the PSTN or the CO environment, with the PBX
or Centrex service passing the communication on to the Apropos Server.
A call, including customer information, accepted by a remote agent is sent back through the PSTN to an
agent’s voice workstation. Remote agents typically have an analog phone line or IP-telephony connection,
and a separate data connection to the corporate network. The data connection accesses the network
through a second phone line or through an Internet Service Provider (ISP). Remote agents can also use
Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) Basic Rate Interface (BRI) to provide voice and data
connectivity. The connection between the PBX or Centrex and the Apropos Server can be analog, digital
or voice over IP (VoIP)-based. Two PBX or Centrex voice circuits are used during the agent portion of the
call.
Figure 5: Remote Agent Connectivity
The figure shows Apropos system connectivity between an enterprise PBX or Centrex service and the Apropos
Server, from the Server to the remote agent workstation.
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Source: Apropos Technology.
Fault Tolerance and Scalability
The Apropos system can be implemented in a necessary plus one (N+1) configuration to protect against
the failure of any single server. For example, a 48-port system can be divided into two separate 24-port
NT servers, with a third 24-port server in standby mode. In the event of either one of the two active
servers failing, calls are automatically routed to the third server. Single port or board failures can also be
handled this way.
Scalability is handled similarly by Apropos, where large systems are split over multiple servers that are
connected transparently through Apropos’ message-oriented middleware.
Apropos also supports Marathon Technologies Endurance Servers, which can be configured as faulttolerant servers and provide constant computing. The Marathon primary server can be combined with an
Apropos N+1 Voice Server configuration to provide redundant fault tolerance for applications and voice
connectivity.
Features and Functionality: Apropos
Table 2: Apropos Interaction Flows
Function
Inbound Calls
Description
Apropos Server handles Direct Inbound Calls, Queued Inbound Calls (most
common) and Single Agent Calls.
Outbound Calls
Apropos Server handles Abandoned Callbacks, Direct Outbound Calls, Queued
Outbound Calls, Reply Calls and Web Requests.
Apropos E-Mail
Integrated Apropos e-mail management is a feature of the Agent application. The
corporate e-mail server must support SMTP for the exchange of messages with the
Apropos Server.
CRM E-Mail
Optionally allows the contact center CRM application to handle the front end (preagent routing steps) of the interaction flow, if such capabilities are preferred.
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Table 2: Apropos Interaction Flows
Function
Web Request
Description
Enables customers to make requests for information or to speak with an agent via
submission of a queued Web Request form.
Web
Provides customers with the means to immediately communicate or “chat” with the
Chat/Collaboration
contact center agent using a Web browser. Chat supports supervisor monitoring,
whisper to agent and barge. The Web Chat feature also supports Web
collaboration, supporting page push, co-browsing, form collaboration.
Faxes
Fax support is a hardware/software upgrade (GammaLink hardware and FACSys
software) to the Apropos Server, a software upgrade (FACSys software) to each
Apropos Agent and one or more dedicated analog ports on the Apropos Server.
Voice Mail
Queued contact center voice mail application that stores inbound voice mail
messages on the Apropos Server until agents accept them.
Task Management
Queued asynchronous communications and work associated with the customer
management process (for example, follow-up phone calls, document fulfillment and
third-party-developed work requests).
Table 3: Apropos Server Features
Feature
Description
Queue and
The primary function of the Apropos Server is to manage queues and interactions.
Interaction
Queues can be logically combined into queue groups for monitoring and reporting
Management
purposes. Interactions can be selected simply by Type (that is, e-mail or voice mail)
or Date (single or range) or selected by more advanced criteria, such as Queue
Name, Subject, From or To, or any configurable business data.
IVR
Customer identification through IVR is a central process of the Apropos system. The
process is comprised of the following features: scripts, speech recognition, text-tospeech, caller identification, message of the day and fault-tolerant call handling and
treatment.
Call Interactions
Include voice mail and an optional server feature called Blended Calls. Voice mail
allows the customer to leave a voice mail message, rather than wait in a queue for
an agent. Blended Calls allow agents to conduct outbound calls while handling
inbound calls.
Web Interactions
Allows agents to handle Web Requests and Web Chats through a uniform resource
locator (URL) interface to a corporate Web site that uses a form to gather customer
information and passes it on to the Web Server. Apropos supports both Apropos
Web and third-party (for example, CRM) Web Interaction solutions.
E-Mail Interactions
Apropos uses two approaches for handling contact center e-mail interactions:
Apropos E-Mail Management and third-party CRM E-Mail solutions. The one
chosen is based on the business requirements of the contact center.
Task Management
Queued asynchronous communications and work associated with the customer
management process (for example, follow-up phone calls, document fulfillment,
third-party developed work requests).
Directory Shares
During installation, two shared directories called server_data and client_data are
created on each Apropos Server. These are the primary locations for storing the
information shared between Apropos processes.
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Table 4: Apropos Agent Features
Feature
Description
Agent Login and
Various features are related to authorized Agent Application use, including user ID,
Roaming
user extension and user location. Standard, Enhanced and Link Agents require a
network connection to the Apropos Server, which allows Agent to send and receive
messages to other processes in the system. Agent telephone numbers, defined on
the Apropos Server, identify each agent workstation for the proper transferring of all
calls.
Agent User Interface
The Apropos Agent Application can display a significant amount of information in a
minimal screen space. The agent user interface provides agents with the ability to
work with multiple applications, monitor queues, monitor peer status information and
customize the appearance of the interface. The Agent user interface (UI) includes a
visual queue showing all interactions for the particular agent’s assigned skills,
ordered by priority.
Interaction Handling
The Agent Application uses interactions and queues to handle contact center
activity. An interaction is a customer request and a contact center response. A
queue is a list of interactions waiting to be handled. Queues are used to route
interactions to the appropriate agents within the contact center and are also used to
logically group interactions together by required skill (that is, sales calls, support email).
Call Handling
For a typical call in queue, Apropos supports the following functionality: preview the
call (optional), select a call, answer or take the call, transfer or re-queue the call
(optional), perform softphone functions (hold, conference), end the call, indicate a
wrap-up code and perform post-interaction tasks.
Apropos E-Mail
Apropos has its own e-mail management application to receive e-mail, send reply e-
Handling
mail or create new originating outbound e-mail messages. Once an e-mail is
classified and routed to the appropriate queue, an agent assigned to that queue can
take it and perform the appropriate action. The E-Mail Manager is an agent tool for
creating and editing e-mail and includes a number of productivity tools, such as
Response Libraries, Suggested Responses, spell checking and font control.
CRM E-Mail
In CRM E-Mail, the e-mail is routed from a corporate mail server to the Apropos
Handling
Interaction Manager. When a customer service representative (CSR) is ready, the
e-mail is delivered to the CRM server, where CRM-driven business rules may take
appropriate actions based on information in the e-mail.
Web Request
A Web Request is a customer request that is made through the company Web site.
Handling
Information, such as name, phone number, e-mail address and other relevant data,
is collected on an HTML form on the Web site. Customers can also enter text
messages with their requests. A Web Request often results in a “callback”
interaction that is automated and tracked by the system.
Web Chat Handling
Web Chat allows agents and customers to send instant text messages back and
forth through a Web Chat dialogue, which the customers access through the
company Web site. A Web Chat session operates similar to an Internet chat room,
except that it is a private session between agent and customer.
Apropos IMS also extends features and functionality to the following areas:
•
Resource Manager
© 2003 Gartner, Inc. and/or its Affiliates. All Rights Reserved.
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Apropos Interaction Management Suite
•
Decision Manager
•
Configuration Manager
•
System Manager
•
Application Designer
•
Interaction Vault
•
Recording Studio
•
Queued Interaction Manager
Third-Party Support
Third-party software included with the Apropos solution includes the following functionality:
•
CT Connect—Intel/Dialogic switch-link software for integrating the Apropos solution with external
phone systems.
•
PC Anywhere—a popular off-the-shelf communications package for remote troubleshooting.
•
FACSys—an off-the-shelf software package from Optus Software for fax applications.
•
Nuance—speech recognition software for the Apropos IVR
•
ScanSoft RealSpeak—text-to-speech software for the Apropos IVR
Pricing
Apropos IMS can range from $1,000 to $5,000 per agent, depending on the interaction types enabled.
GSA Pricing
Yes.
Competitors
•
Avaya Definity/MultiVantage Call Centers
•
Aspect Enterprise Contact Server
•
Rockwell FirstPoint Enterprise
•
Interactive Intelligence Customer Interaction Center (CIC)
•
Cisco Intelligent Contact Management (ICM)/Cisco IPCC
•
Genesys G6 Suite
Strengths
•
Among other enhancements, version 6 adds support for Sun Microsystems’ Solaris operating system
environments, Java-based APIs and Oracle RDBMS.
•
Apropos version 6 introduces a J2EE-based open architecture with Java APIs specifically targeted for
embedded solutions and support for IBM’s WebSphere and BEA’s WebLogic application servers.
This positions the solution well for business application partnerships and enterprise-level
customizations.
© 2003 Gartner, Inc. and/or its Affiliates. All Rights Reserved.
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Apropos Interaction Management Suite
•
A major strength of Apropos IMS is in the deployment of multisite virtual contact centers. The solution
lowers total cost of ownership (TCO) by centralizing the administration of interaction routing rules via
Apropos-driven business rules. This eliminates traditional ACD queuing restrictions, and allows
Apropos to control interaction routing and escalations at any desired level.
•
Apropos utilizes a consulting, design and delivery methodology called Apropos Methods, which
provides an estimation tool for customers who are deciding what resources are required to implement
their contact center solution. Several tools for rapid implementation and integration with customer
business applications are included in Apropos Methods.
•
The company’s application partners consist of enterprise software providers, such as PeopleSoft/J.D.
Edwards, Computer Associates, Onyx Software, Peregrine Systems, Remedy/BMC, SAP, Siebel
Systems and XP Systems.
Limitations
•
Prior to version 6.0, the Apropos system utilizes a centralized router design to distribute messages to
and from all Apropos Server and client processes, which can be a single point of failure. However,
the version 6.0 architecture enhances that design by distributing system message routing across a
network of router components.
•
Apropos IMS hasn’t been known as a “customizable” solution. Version 6 support for Java-based APIs
looks to change that perception.
•
Apropos provides a fully virtual contact center architecture, whereby it can create a single queue
visible across an organization to support load balancing and staffing skills/availability. However,
Apropos IMS doesn’t presently support pre-call routing and Signaling System #7 (SS7) integration.
Apropos will work with third-party vendors to provide this functionality, if required by a client.
Insight
Apropos IMS is a pre-configured, Java-based contact center suite that operates in multiple and disparate
environments. Although currently not considered a player in large contact center applications, with the
release of version 6.0 the vendor addresses some system scalability, flexibility and reliability issues that it
hopes positions the solution to scale up competitively.
Apropos’ success so far has been in enterprises looking for a bundled solution for small-to-midsize
contact center environments (40-400 agents) and departmental solutions for Fortune 500 and Global
2000 organizations. The company currently has about 320 contact center customers in 17 countries. Its
sales channel is primarily direct in North America and indirect globally. Apropos provides consulting,
project management, integration services, installation services and training as part of its professional
services portfolio.
© 2003 Gartner, Inc. and/or its Affiliates. All Rights Reserved.
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