Technologies developed at Nortel’s international research and development (R&D) centre in Galway have been chosen by the Vantis Credit Union of Canada for a new system that enables customers to deal directly with the bank via video kiosks at ATMs.
The use of Nortel’s contact centre solution in such an innovative manner by Vantis, and in a sector which requires total confidence and security, is being regarded as a further major endorsement of the expertise emanating from the Galway based R&D centre, where more than 300 are employed.
The Galway operation’s primary area of expertise is in the area of contact centres that handle communications not just over the phone but via the web, e-mail, and by video and text messaging. The work it has done in this area was recognised last year when the Galway centre won one of Nortel’s Technology Awards of Excellence for work in simplifying systems management in call centres.
The laboratories at Galway are responsible for about 30 new technology patents each year.
The lab’s ‘Expert Anywhere’ technologies use the internet to offer voice, video, instant messaging and web collaboration to more than 22,000 Vantis Credit Union customers across six branches in the city of Winnipeg and two rural branches in Manitoba Province.
The Nortel systems developed in Ireland allow businesses to operate virtual customer contact centres across large geographic distances, connecting users with relevant company staff no matter where they are based. For Vantis Credit Union customers, transactions which previously required a branch visit can now be completed at an ATM.
The system also allows specialists, such as loan and investment advisors, to be available through the contact centre, minimising waiting times that might otherwise result in abandoned calls.
Customer service agents dealing with calls have immediate access to a customer’s account details which appear immediately on screen once a call is initiated. Appropriate security measures are carried out to confirm a customer’s identity.
Nortel uses a data transfer technology called Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) which packets data, images and audio stream into chunks of information and transmits them seamlessly across the internet from user to user.
By John Kennedy
