BT bolsters business continuity offerings

Contact centre downtime can be disastrous for customer relations

BT has launched a range of business continuity products aimed at helping companies ensure that vital customer service operations are not affected by unplanned downtime.

The telco said that downtime can be caused by local disruptions, such as hardware failures, or more general events, such as extreme weather conditions, industrial strikes and virus outbreaks preventing employees getting to the office.

"Businesses today face the dual challenge of ensuring excellent customer service, while keeping capital expenditure costs under control," said Neil Sutton, vice president of BT Global Services' global portfolio.

"But, as recent examples have shown, unexpected events, such as extreme weather conditions, travel problems or virus outbreaks, can quickly bring a contact centre to its knees."

BT has developed on-demand contact centre technology and self-service customer relationship management (CRM) tools to help keep contact centres operational.

Among the offers is BT Next Generation Contact Centre Protect, which helps businesses prepare for any business continuity risks in their contact centres by auditing requirements and configuring systems so that agents can work from home or other remote locations.

Contact Centre Protect will work on its own or can be integrated into existing contact centre technology, according to BT. Licences are held in reserve at a reduced cost, and then made live as and when required.

The service is hosted over BT's 21CN platform and includes unified communications features and CRM tools.

BT is also offering business customers a free trial of its self-service CRM systems, allowing customers to handle routine requests like identity and verification, balance enquiries, account payments and booking lines without having to wait for an available representative.