New Advanced IP-Based Services Unveiled by Verizon Business

Verizon Business introduced two new Internet protocol-based capabilities for its Contact Center Services and VoIP portfolio to help businesses enhance customer-service operations and leverage the benefits of VoIP.
The new offerings are: IP Tollfree Service; IP IVR, an interactive voice-response system for contact center services; and new IP Trunking options, all featuring interoperability with Avaya enterprise communications software. "We continue to advance and extend our VoIP offerings to meet customer needs where it matters most - at the heart of their business operations," said Tom Roche, vice president for network voice and data services for Verizon Business.
"IP Tollfree and IP IVR will help redefine how companies implement contact centers in the future. As businesses increasingly make the move to IP, Verizon Business continues to outpace the industry, delivering one of the most complete suites of VoIP services available today."
Verizon IP Tollfree routes incoming toll-free calls over IP to enable greater efficiency and support multiple-contact media, such as phone calls, e-mail, or IM from around the globe. The service enables contact center agents to transfer calls using capabilities inherent to SIP, which enables real-time communication on the Internet. Since IP Tollfree is a network- based service, companies benefit from lower total cost of ownership because they do not have to own and operate costly gateway equipment.
Verizon IP IVR provides call processing in a pure IP environment over a carrier-grade, global network infrastructure, enabling customers to benefit from network efficiencies such as voice compression and dynamic bandwidth allocation. The service offers administrators an extensive selection of call-routing and processing features and terminates incoming calls to both TDM and IP endpoints, allowing customers to adopt IP technology at their own pace. Verizon Business has designed and certified IP Tollfree and IP IVR to be compatible with Avaya Communication Manager with SIP enablement services (SES) 3.1 software and other leading SIP-enabled endpoints.
"Our research shows that there is a huge pent up demand for SIP-based call delivery, and Verizon Business is meeting that demand," said Robin Goad, lead analyst, contact centers, Datamonitor. "Businesses can improve customer service by working with suppliers that offer robust but simple-to-use-service offerings and whose portfolios reflect a clear IP strategy."