IVR - an insight

1. IVR Platforms

   IVR platforms are the "server and operating system" hardware and software platforms on which IVR solutions run.

   IVR platforms at a minimum provide the ability to play and record prompts and gather touch-tone input. IVR platforms may also offer the ability to recognize spoken input from callers (voice recognition), translate text into spoken output for callers (text-to-speech), and transfer IVR calls to any telephone or call center agent.

2. IVR Applications

   IVR applications are programs that control and respond to calls on the IVR platform. IVR applications can either be developed by an enterprise, by an IVR development shop, or by companies that offer canned IVR applications.

   IVR applications direct the IVR platform to prompt callers, gather input, and transfer callers to other phones. IVR applications also call on existing back-end database and application servers to retrieve records and information required during the course of a call.

3. Back-end servers

   Back-end servers are existing enterprise servers on which the required customer or corporate data can be found.

   Back-end servers can include databases, mainframes, Java or other application servers, and third party information services and solutions.

4. Telephony Infrastructure

   Telephony infrastructure includes telephone lines, call switching equipment, and call center Automatic Call Distributors (ACDs).

   Telephone lines for IVR can be standard analog lines, digital T1, or digital ISDN lines. These lines are connected on one side to the IVR platform and, on the other, to call switching equipment including Telco switches, Voice over IP gateways, and corporate PBX's; or in some cases, directly to call centers via an ACD.

5. IVR Experts

   IVR Experts include employees and consultants who know IVR technology and challenges well.

   Ideally, IVR teams should include one or more members who have experience with IVR integration, configuration, reliability and redundancy, application development, and IVR solution deployment management.