The Cisco ICM custom server enables a Blueworx Voice Response system to communicate with an ICM over a TCP/IP link. The ICM gathers information about the state of the trunks on the Blueworx Voice Response system and about the calls that are processed.
The ICM coordinates the delivery of voice and data to a targeted answering resource across the organization, where the resource might be an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) or a call center agent.
Using network-provided data, caller-entered digits, and information obtained from a customer-profile database, the ICM determines who is calling and why. Real-time information is also gathered by the ICM from the call center systems to track the resources available to meet the customer's needs. This combination of data is processed through user-defined routing scripts that show a company’s business rules. This process enables the ICM to direct each call and related data to the optimal resource anywhere in the organization. This data can also be used to create historical reports of inbound calls, outbound calls, abandoned calls, and the services that have been used.
Figure 1 Shows how ICM could route calls to the correct agents in an organization.
The ICM provides five application interfaces that can be used to interface with voice response systems. Table 1 shows what these interfaces are, the services that they provide, and their compatibility with Blueworx Voice Response.
| Application interface name |
Description of function |
Compatible with Blueworx Voice Response? |
Compatible with state table applications? |
Compatible with Java applications? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Event data feed interface (EDFI) |
Provides a means for the voice response system to send status information to the ICM for call routing and monitoring purposes. |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
| Poll data feed |
Provides the same information to the ICM as the event data feed interface does, but the real-time monitoring information is limited. This is offered as an interface for voice response platforms that cannot implement the event data feed interface. |
No, because the event data feed interface is used. |
No |
No |
| Call routing interface (CRI) |
The voice response system uses this interface to request routing instructions for calls that must be transferred. |
Yes |
Yes |
No |
| Time synchronization interface |
This interface can be used to synchronize the voice response system clock with the ICM clock to ensure that times are reported consistently. |
No |
No |
No |
| Service control interface (SCI) |
This interface is used to allow the ICM to provide call-handling instructions to a voice response system. |
Yes |
Yes |
Yes |
The Cisco ICM custom server can be used in a standard PSTN telephony network environment or in a Voice over IP environment and is compatible with the Cisco IPCC architecture.