Is Genesys 8 the Eighth Wonder?

At its annual G-Force user conference in Chicago last week, Genesys Telecommunications Laboratories unveiled Genesys 8, a major update of its customer service software suite.

According to company executives, Genesys 8 is an open suite of customer interaction solutions that develops a single, coordinated customer conversation across channels and touch points -- regardless of whether those interactions take place in person, through contact centers, or via the Web. An integrated conversation and context manager identifies and synchronizes any communication a customer might have with or about a company, including those through the following means:

• social media,
• an interactive voice response (IVR) system,
• live agent,
• fax,
• text message,
• email, or
• the Web.

This integrated conversation is then combined with CRM data, a frustration index, agent interaction, dynamic scripting, and more.

"It provides a unified view of all customer interactions across multiple channels over time," explains Liz Osborn, director of product marketing at Genesys. "It incorporates new touch points, new data, and new ways to touch customers."

At the heart of Genesys 8 -- which is due for full release in July -- is a new integrated platform, interface, and development environment that offers simplified administration and streamlined implementation. Role-based interfaces enable a company to design the customer experience, configure the software, engage with customers, and optimize the customer service operation.

Genesys officials also claim that Genesys 8 ties together all customer service applications, thanks to the suite's reliance on industry standards, such as Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), and an open approach to technology and infrastructure that includes telephony, CRM applications, unified communications, customer databases, and other software.

The modules contained within the suite include:

• Genesys Contact Center — combines the Genesys platform, tailored role-based interfaces, and tools for traditional contact center agents.
• Genesys iCFD (intelligent Customer Front Door) — leverages the Conversation Manager with its embedded Context Services to collect customers' intent and needs, determine how to treat those customers, and direct them to the best resource.  
• Genesys eServices — unites knowledge and Web self-service information from any Genesys voice, Web, or mobile channels to support the agent organizations across the contact center, marketing department, social media efforts, online sales team, and Web and back-office units.
• Genesys Workforce Optimization — enables enterprises to maximize efficiency through recording, speech analytics, quality management, workforce management, and training.
• Genesys Performance Management — includes complete reporting and analytics, leveraging the Advisor and Interactive Insights applications for insight across all channels.
• Genesys iWD (intelligent Workload Distribution) — uses rules and business processes to route tasks and work items to the most-appropriate resource.

Osborn says the key benefit of the suite is "the intelligence, the ability to unify communications across channels and conversations, and make intelligent decisions about them. It takes [customer service] to the next level." Version 8, she adds, has "really resonated" with customers involved in preliminary testing. "It's flexible enough and adaptable enough to allow them to build applications so they can tap into [everything a customer might do]," she says.

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