Case Study:

Oracle Corporation

Oracle Corporation, the world's leading enterprise software company, provides enterprise software to the world's largest and most successful businesses. Oracle's Information Coordinator Group Call Center serves 7,500 employees at Oracle's 2.2 million square-foot headquarters facility in Redwood Shores, CA. The Call Center has improved its productivity using Amcom's automated speech recognition directory software and PC-attendant console applications.

Cutting Labor Costs, Improving Service With Amcom Speech and
CTI Solutions

The Challenge

The Information Coordinator Group at Oracle Corporation was searching for a way to increase the efficiency of the call center at Oracle's main headquarters in Redwood Shores, CA. The call center had become reliant on costly additional staffing to handle increasing call volumes. In addition, outdated phone consoles required operators to manually key extension numbers to transfer calls—a time consuming process prone to errors due to mistyped or transposed numbers. The aging consoles were no longer manufacturer supported for replacement parts, refurbishing and other critical service issues. The Information Coordinator Group required a scalable, open-standards Computer Telephony Integration (CTI) system that could bring a quick return on investment while raising call center performance. The system was required to run from an Oracle database and to provide both PC-attendant and automated speech recognition capabilities. It needed to integrate seamlessly with the company's Human Resources and employee location databases, and to be provided by a stable vendor with a proven track record for product support and innovation.

The Objective

• Reduce headcount of labor dedicated to call center activities
• Process at least 25-percent of all dial-zero calls through automated speech recognition
• Answer 98-percent of operator-assisted calls within 10 seconds
• Reduce misdirected calls
• Improve operator efficiency via feature-rich PC-Attendant Consoles (CTI)
• Transition operators and callers quickly to using the new system
• Have access to robust statistical analysis to fine-tune call center performance

The Solution

The Oracle Information Coordinator Group chose a two-pronged solution from Amcom Software, Inc. consisting of the Smart Speech™ Automated Directory Application and Smart Console PC-Attendant Workstations.

The Smart Speech Directory provides total automation of directory assistance without operator intervention. This feature is popular among Oracle employees, who dial "0" to reach the automated line. All callers have to do is say the name of the Oracle employee or department they're trying to reach, and the Smart Speech system automatically transfers the call.

The Amcom Smart Console™ PC-Attendant system, in turn, serves as an automation tool for Oracle's operators. Operators and administrators access the system via 11 Smart Console PC workstations, which they use to process calls coming through lines other than the Smart Speech directory line. Automated tools include Operator Saver™, which answers calls with each operator's pre-recorded greetings, Voice Assisted Transfer, which announces extension numbers so that callers may dial directly in the future, and a Directory Services application that enables operators to quickly look up extensions and transfer calls with a few keystrokes.

The Smart Speech application and the PC-Attendant Workstations all communicate over TCP/IP to an Oracle database, which runs on a LINUX-based Compaq server. The database is integrated for daily automated updates from Oracle's Human Resources and employee location databases.

The Result

• The Oracle Information Coordinator Group was able to eliminate three staff positions as a result of implementing the Amcom system
• The Oracle headquarters call center is now answering 98-percent of its calls within 10 seconds
• The Smart Speech directory line has reduced the number of employee dial-zero calls to operators by more than 30-percent, freeing operators for more complex requests
• Operators have quick access to up-to-date information and a complete set of information-rich, time-saving tools
• Operator transfers are seldom misdirected, providing greater satisfaction to callers
• Callers dialing the Smart Speech directory line are connected immediately, without having to wait for an operator
• The call center can adjust staffing and fine-tune performance based on statistical reports from the Amcom system

Oracle Corporation Comments

"We eliminated three positions within two weeks of installing the Amcom system. Amcom has more than met our expectations—both in terms of improvement in our call center's quality and speed, and in the cost avoidance we've achieved by reducing headcount."

"Employees are using the automated smart speech line for routine directory transfers, and operators are handling the remaining calls better than ever using the Smart Console workstations. Sometimes they don't have to utter a single word—operator saver greets the caller, the operator accesses the requested information, and it's done."

"It's practically impossible now for an operator to make a mistake transferring a call. It's a lot faster and easier to press one transfer key than to dial a whole extension."

"We like the statistical reports we get from the Amcom CTI consoles. It gives us a good snapshot of things like call volume, talk time, and idle time so that we can plan staffing needs and maintain high service levels. It's a great data mining capability."

"Using Smart Speech is a breeze. Our employees adapted easily to it, and now they're using it all the time. It's removed a tremendous daily burden from our operators."

"Amcom's installation and cutover process was well thought-out from the very start. We had a planning meeting well in advance, and Amcom nailed down the timelines. Obviously they've done this kind of thing many times before."