Various IVRs – various functions

The IVRs most commonly used in an ACE solution are

ACE IVR VCC. A service used in Telia Company’s network.
ACE IVR Gateway. An IP based service in Telia Company’s network.
The locally placed ACE IVR Enterprise.

The IVR to be used and how the IVRs are configured result in different access features to the functions in ACE. Some examples:

Associate calls: The Associate function only works in an Envox IVR. See Associating calls.
Routing calls to mobile agent: Mobile agent login functions very much the same with both ACE VCC IVR and ACE IVR Enterprise. The routing of a call to a mobile agent, however, is somewhat different depending on the IVRs. The presentation of a calling number to a mobile agent also depends on the IVR type, as seen below. Also see Various telephony connections and Nine examples of intelligent number handling.

What are Tromboning and ECT?

This is a brief description of the ACE IVR Enterprise related tromboning and ECT terms:

When a customer calls a Contact Center the call first ends up in the IVR.
We name this call_1. When the time has come for the IVR to connect the customer to an agent the IVR makes a new call from IVR to agent. We name this call_2.

ECT, Explicit Call Transfer: means that the IVR asks the nearest switch to connect call_1 and call_2 to enable the customer and the agent to talk to each other. At the same time the IVR releases these calls and no longer has any control of what happens with them.
Tromboning: means that the IVR connects call_1 and call_2 to enable the customer and agent to talk to each other. Both calls now remain in the IVR with control over what happens with the calls, e.g. if the calling party hangs up. Tromboning requires more IVR lines.

Mobile agent and ACE IVR Enterprise

Normally, ACE IVR Enterprise uses the ECT (Explicit Call Transfer) function to free IVR lines when calls are answered by an agent. ECT means that the IVR gives up the control of the call, which is OK when the agent’s status can be checked by ACE Agent. For a mobile agent, however, status is what the IVR reports for a call in progress. The IVR then needs to stay in control to be able to report back to ACE when the call is ended. This is achieved by tromboning. When ACE informs the IVR that a call is to be routed out, information that it is to a mobile agent is included. ACE IVR Enterprise can, using this information, understand that the tromboning function is to be used.

Mobile agent – presenting calling number

How a calling telephone number is presented to a mobile agent depends on the type of IVR used- ACE IVR Enterprise and the pan Nordic version of ACE IVR VCC can be configured to e.g. display a default call number. By this the agent can see that it is a call routed via ACE, i.e. it is a call made via the customer service entrance and not directly to the telephone. In the table the differences between different IVR solutions are described.

ACE IVR Enterprise	ACE IVR VCC conventional version	ACE IVR VCC pan Nordic version
Having ACE IVR Enterprise as IVR you have the option of choosing whether the number that is presented to a mobile agent should be the number the customer called, i.e. the number normally used at routing to ACE Agent, or a fixed pre-configured number, picked from the number series booked for access to ACE IVR Enterprise.	With the conventional so-called IN based ACE solution the calling customer’s telephone number is always displayed. IN = intelligent tele communication net where service logics are built into the PSTN.	With the pan Nordic ACE solution the presentation of the calling telephone number depends on how ACE VCC IVR calls the agent. In case it is an IP call all the way from the IVR to the agent, the calling customer’s telephone number is displayed. In case the agent is called via PSTN, the public telephone net, a fixed pre-configured telephone number can be displayed, selected from the number series used for calls out on the PSTN.

ACE IVR Enterprise

ACE IVR VCC
conventional version

ACE IVR VCC pan Nordic version

Having ACE IVR Enterprise as IVR you have the option of choosing whether the number that is presented to a mobile agent should be

the number the customer called, i.e. the number normally used at routing to ACE Agent,

a fixed pre-configured number, picked from the number series booked for access to ACE IVR Enterprise.

With the conventional so-called IN based ACE solution the calling customer’s telephone number is always displayed.

IN = intelligent tele communication net where service logics are built into the PSTN.

With the pan Nordic ACE solution the presentation of the calling telephone number depends on how ACE VCC IVR calls the agent.

In case it is an IP call all the way from the IVR to the agent, the calling customer’s telephone number is displayed.

In case the agent is called via PSTN, the public telephone net, a fixed pre-configured telephone number can be displayed, selected from the number series used for calls out on the PSTN.