inContact Releases New Version of Cloud Contact Center Software

inContact, a provider of cloud contact center software and contact center agent optimization tools, today released a new version of its cloud contact center platform.

Version 13.1 of the cloud software creates a single integrated flow of multichannel interactions, enabling customers to communicate via their channel of preference, optimizing agent workflow and contact handling, and giving contact center managers a complete view of their entire operations.

New features in Version 13.1 include the following:

• The inContact Universal Queue for work item routing and contact interlacing:  The Universal Queue automatically pushes tasks throughout the day to agents based on their skills, availability, and customer priority.  The Universal Queue orchestrates native inContact channels, such as voice, email, and chat, as well as external contact center work items, such as social media, trouble tickets, and CRM cases. This intelligent routing system determines when active channels, like voice, should take precedence over passive channels, such as email. When a high-priority active communication is received, the system automatically interrupts the email work, parks it in the agent's personal cloud, and then returns it to the agent when she is available. 
• Power Agent user interface: Power Agent allows agents to answer calls, transfer work items, send email, and respond to chat, all within one unified interface.  This lightweight interface can be resized and customized directly on the desktop to meet the preferences of contact center managers and agents.
• True Dialer Blending, allowing agents to switch between inbound and outbound communication. Based on prioritization, call centers can scale agents to address specific needs, and make available other groups of agents with dual skills to handle both the inbound and outbound communications as they arise. The blended queue can analyze pending items and determine the order in which agents should handle them. Further, the system will reference agent skill sets to route high-priority items to the most qualified available agent.
• The inCloud Ecosystem, which provides a single place for all customer-facing business solutions. inCloud allows partners to develop on the inContact platform. Through the release of three API frameworks; Real-Time Data API, Admin API, and Chat API, independent developers and customers can transform internal and external dashboards and mobile apps to best fit their needs. 

Kristyn Emenecker, vice president of product marketing at InContact, says this version of the software is unique because it instinctively "knows the agent's skills and the agent's workflow and is able to route work to them" based on that.

Another feature of the application, she says, is channel interlacing, allowing agents to pause lower-priority tasks, like email response, to take higher-priority live calls, and then return where they left off when the call is over.

Email, Emenecker says, is the first channel that InContact is creating this for, but It could also be applied to text messages and social media, for example.

"We are very focused on agility and flexibility," she says. "With this, you can adjust to the agent's lifestyle and work style."

"We believe that our latest innovative cloud release addresses a significant gap in the marketplace and will help our customers deliver a more seamless multichannel experience while enhancing the productivity of their entire contact center operations," said Paul Jarman, CEO of inContact, in a statement.

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