IVR Deconstructed

Interactive Voice response, or IVR, is a technology that allows a computer to detect voice and keypad inputs, and is typically used to automate dialogue during a phone call.  IVR technology has been around for a significant amount of time, first utilized by Bell Systems when they unveiled a phone that could dial area codes using DTMF technology.  Plum Voice has truly defined and revolutionized the market with their IVR systems, IVR hosting and their VoiceXML technologies.  Formerly restricted to “auto attendant” types of applications, IVR is now appearing in all forums and in several different mediums, from car navigation systems to mobile applications.  Plum understands that more refined speech recognition applications have the ability to reach other technology, and can be utilized in a completely different way.  Plum offers several options for consumers trying to automate and streamline their currently existing business applications.

The Plum IVR hosting Suite is a hosted and managed service for applications built on the award-winning Plum VoiceXML Platform.  Utilizing hosted IVR allows businesses a cost-effective and reliable way to deploy IVR solutions both locally and internationally.  There are multiple advantages to employing a hosted IVR solution.  Plum Voice’s hosted IVR offers users a versatile infrastructure that can scale seamlessly to meet the needs of any business.  Clients simply supply Plum with the particulars of their desired IVR system, detailing every aspect of their preferred application including their choice of text-to-speech and grammar engines, their language of choice, whether they need inbound or outbound calling, and the geographic location they would like their system to target, and Plum goes to work.  The technological expertise engineers have honed over ten years of operations ensures that users need only choose the configuration they desire, and Plum’s seasoned engineers build the perfect application.  With world-class data centers in the United States and Europe, Plum guarantees redundancy that even the most business critical applications can rely on.  Hosting with Plum is a hassle-free way to deploy IVR applications that seamlessly integrate with on-site databases that are already in place.  As an additional benefit of hosting, clients can feel free to leave everything up to Plum, the coding, the data integration, and the hardware set-up is all included in the hosting package.

For those who prefer to manage their own equipment, Plum Voice also offers IVR systems as an integrated hardware and software package.  The on-site systems maintain the same guarantee as the hosted systems, in that they are reliable and include a five-nines uptime guarantee, meaning that Plum certifies that all systems will be up and operating 99.999% of the time.  In addition, on-site systems arrive pre-configured, and include the infinite scalability options featured in the hosted system.   The IVR system can expand in tandem with business growth, and is infinitely scalable; from four ports to thousands.  Plum IVR systems are built on reliable carrier-grade servers, and based on user preference can be configured with spare drives, spare fans, and spare power supplies.  Plum IVR servers are built on a VoiceXML 2.0 certified and 2.1-compliant platform.  In addition, Plum offers a myriad of speech-recognition and speech-synthesis options in several different languages, allowing clients to customize the sound and feel of their IVR application on a global level.  For business critical applications, Plum offers responsive engineering support 24-hours a day, meaning businesses will always be able to get in touch with a support engineer and get information on their IVR system.

Continuing our exploration of Plum Voice’s new cloud telephony program, QuickFuse, we wanted to elaborate on why QuickFuse is so usable, and how it makes building IVR applications so easy. QuickFuse offers developers a powerful, intuitive editor where they can create completely customizable IVR applications. QuickFuse was designed to be a three-step process in which users drag modules to the canvas, wire the selected nodes to the receptors of other nodes, and then run the application to try it out. Plum’s developers wanted to make sure that there were not burdensome steps necessary for subscribers to edit their applications, so the application is built in a way that users can easily view the application they have created, quickly run through it, and modify any node by simply connecting it to an alternate receptor. As users build their applications, QuickFuse keeps track of all voice prompts that have been written throughout the construction process. The recordings will initially be computer-synthesized, but the application also includes the option to recording voice prompts over the phone, or uploading recordings for each phrase.

QuickFuse allows customers to share applications with other users, and search the applications library of pre-uploaded templates. Users don’t have to start off from a completely blank slate, but rather can customize the templates Plum has included in the QuickFuse library, making the application even more usable. Users are also able to deploy applications to phone numbers from a complete management interface. Typically, most voice applications are data-oriented. The simple database panel built in to QuickFuse allows users to upload and download tables of data that user’s applications can access and modify. An application programming interface (API) gives customer’s in-house business systems the same access to the database panel as well. Developers worked to make the API’s in QuickFuse extremely accessible to every type of application, so that users may seamlessly integrate with their internal systems!

Plum Voice just yesterday announced the release of QuickFuse, a new program explicitly designed for creating interactive voice applications.  Aptly named because of the appearance of the program, developers can select modules that execute everything from digits input questions to multi-part prompts.  After the module has been selected, placed into the application, and formulated, users can easily fuse the applications together quickly and easily.  QuickFuse essentially offers users a visual mock up of their call flow, and a way to swiftly and simply modify it.  If any prompt becomes irrelevant, instead of having to peruse and tediously edit an application, a developer can simply log in, delete or move a prompt, and reconnect the call path accordingly.  Essentially, the program eliminates the need to write pages of code, and allows users to simply drag and drop nodes to create a fully featured IVR application.  The visual representations offered in QuickFuse greatly improve it’s usability, and it is quite easy to spot a lone node that is disconnected or improperly placed.  Within minutes, developers can have a working prototype of their desired IVR voice application.

The creation of an application that allows developers to visualize call flow is unparalleled and lends itself to a high-level of usability by anyone.  Need to run a voice application by the marketing department?  With QuickFuse, various members of your team can log into the program and personally view the application exactly as it is set up.  Plum Voice developers explicitly eliminated heavy front-end code from the application, as they wanted to create a call flow log that could be used and edited by everyone, not only those who can write and read comprehensive code.  After the application has been set up and constructed, users can very comfortably test it by selecting the run feature.  QuickFuse will call users up on the appropriated telephone number, and follow them through the application.  In the testing phase, users will be able to view ever prompt, input, branch, and block highlighted, so that they understand exactly how the application has been constructed.  Users can see the paths taken and errors encountered in realtime, so that they may tailor their application exactly to their specifications.  The interactive development offered by QuickFuse allows users to create hundreds of voice applications seamlessly, rapidly and effectively delivers the perfect customer experience.

As a part of my ongoing exploration of the many uses for Plum Voice’s IVR platform, I came across a case study for PNY Technologies.  PNY Technologies utilized Plum Voice to automate their FAQ applications, so they could easily and efficiently provide their customers with the highest level of service.  PNY Technologies is a billion-dollar enterprise distributing thousands of computer-related products, including memory chips and graphics cards.  Their tech support call centre has to support literally thousands of product SKUS, and profitability depends on handling support as efficiently as possible.  Because of this, the PNY call center turned to Plum turnkey applications for their IVR solutions, as they have some unique specifications for how their system must function:  they must be able to modify prompts live, have rapid prompt implementation capabilities, have easy maintenance of their system, and have 24X7X365 system reliability.

Plum offered a compelling alternative to PNY’s problem.  The IVR call flow was constructed with flexible VoiceXML administration and maintenance.  Call script “nodes” are added, deleted, or modified in real-time, without any need to shutdown the system.  Thousands of nodes of answers to FAQs were added, and each node could employ pre-recorded prompts or text-to-speech voicing.  The changing of pre-recorded prompts was streamlined, and Plum’s application made it so that new wav files could be recorded and uploaded to the IVR applications by anyone on the call center team.

Additionally, the Plum platform integrates with the circuit-based PBX hardware that was already in place to receive ANI and DNIS information, while enabling both blind and bridge transfers.  Once installed, real-time system monitoring was enabled, ensuring rapid service and support, and the best possible uptime.

In the previous installment, the various design features of Plum Voice’s IVR Survey Tool were expounded upon.  In this post, we will dissect the assorted delivery methods and options available.  After the initial design phase is complete, developers are able to push the survey into testing mode.  They can utilize either a local Boston or an 800 number that is provided with each survey account to test their creation.  Developers are able to move seamlessly between editing and testing mode, so they can fully grasp the look, feel, and sound of their survey before it is rolled out to consumers.  The tool allows for limitless editing before initial deployment, so any number of individuals can input their thoughts into the developmental process

Plum Voice realizes that not everyone is comfortable using the Internet to answer survey questions.  Conversely, not everyone wants to answer the phone either.  The Plum Survey builder allows developers to deploy the survey with IVR, via email, or at a fixed URL.  Plum Voice provides the only do-it-yourself survey tool to reach the entirety of any respondent population short of sending someone to knock on doors.

The web version of a survey can be embedded into an email or a website, or you can send contributors a link that goes to a standalone webpage.  The phone version of survey is just a phone call away for participants.  Developers can design the tool so that respondents may call in, or have the Plum Survey make outbound calls to them.  Designers can upload a contact list and check off call targets easily and accessibly with this tool.  Plum Voice has endeavored to create a survey tool that is easy to work with on the developer end, and easily accessible on the respondent end.  The tool allows for maximum usability, so that businesses may reach their consumers simply and effortlessly.