Agents Anywhere: Avaya and Google Collaboration Brings New Flexibility to the Contact Center

A contact center usually involves investment in people, as well as in software and hardware. And when it comes to these investments, it does not easily come in returns which it would take time to be able to invest again in the industry. From the agents to the expensive devices used for the calls and other communication systems, all these investments are not flexible.

In America alone, there are a total of 66,000 contact centers, where agents go to for work. Since the agents would need to work with the expensive routers and devices, they are required to be in the center to do their work. Avaya and Google are proud to say, “Not anymore!”

Avaya Agent for Chrome, the result of the collaboration of Avaya and Google, is an application created specifically to give the contact centers a chance for flexibility. Visit our store and check out our favorite Avaya business phones. 

There is no software needed and it would only take minutes for it to be set up. The Avaya Agent for Chrome enables customer service agents to access the desktop of one of Avaya’s contact center with the use of Chrome devices through a WebRTC-enabled interface. This works through Avaya systems. Given the option of connection on the premises or in the cloud, agents wouldn’t need to be physically present in the contact centers to work. They don’t even need to install any application on their computers to do their work. The agent can simply have the Chromebook preconfigured and he can already work wherever he may be around the world.

There are three major configurations for the Avaya Agent for Chrome. They can be interchanged depending on what the agent needs and what his work situation is. These options are for:

• Customer service agents who are working in the premises of a contact center and using an Avaya phone
• Customer service agents, who are working remotely and also use their personal landline phones
• Customer service agents who are working remotely and would prefer to directly take calls through their Chromebook

With these three options, contact centers now are all about flexibility.

In addition to all the configurations, Chromebooks can be used both when working in the premises of the contact center or at home depending on what the agent is comfortable with and what both, the contact center and agent agreed, on. In case there is an issue with the agent’s internet connection’s speed, there is always an option to shift to using landline home phone to take calls.

Agents would also have to make sure that their Chromebooks have installed the necessary enterprise software to be able to work from home. The enterprise will provide the specific VPN combination and software to be used by the agents and in case troubleshooting is necessary, it is also the enterprise that will be capable of running it.

With all these changes, what does this mean for the contact centers all over the world?

With the options of not needing restriction when it comes to the location of the agents, the industry can expand in a way it has never done before. External factors, like natural disasters, will not affect the operation of the centers. The same way that the physical size of the center will not anymore, in any way, define how many agents can work in the center since home agents are now possible.

The need for the Chromebook comes from the fact that the integration of the software to the device is fuller and more solid, through it. Using Chromebook can bring about three benefits for the enterprise. It is cost-effective, more manageable and is secured. With the help of Google Chrome Management Console, IT departments of enterprises can dictate which apps employees are allowed to download for better control and security. And with the Avaya Agent for Chrome, there is no risk the VPN will be exposed and there will also be no need to download any native application software.

With this collaboration, Avaya was able to produce its very first contact center virtual solution that could expand the operations of the different enterprises. Who knows what more innovative solutions lies ahead that could come out from this collaboration?