But before we delve into Genesys, let me share about OpenMethods. After all, G-Force is about more than customers, but also Genesys partners.

OpenMethods had a booth at the Partner Pavilion (you can see some photos by following @OpenMethods Twitter stream). We looped some OpenVXML presentations and tutorials as well as a screen of our famous RightNow-Genesys Adapter. Both received considerable interest from Genesys customers, especially those who’re overseas (this G-Force had many in attendees from Japan and Latin America). The RightNow Technologies booth was nearby, so sometimes we were able to jointly promote our products.

People were impressed with the Adapter’s support of not only the Genesys SIP Server, but also a roadmap of supporting other SIP endpoints and a framework of easily hooking into other CRM systems. As the economy continues on a downturn trend, many companies are realizing the importance of an efficient contact center, and that includes using CTI to the fullest by integrating the CRM desktop with the telephony platform. The OpenMethods adapter provides this “glue” in a consistent way, unlike some other solutions which are more like “duct tape” (we had someone come by the booth describing their CRM/CTI integration using antiquated DDE calls).

Now about Genesys 8. The star of the show was SIP. Genesys is investing heavily into its SIP capabilities, starting with the SIP Server. SIP is also a technology which has gained much popularity due to the downward economy. Deploying SIP saves money, saves time, and easier to scale.

Other noteworthy products include Genesys Composer, an OpenVXML-like IDE used to develop VoiceXML apps for the GVP and evolved to be the IRD replacement too. In other words, developers eventually will use Composer to create GVP and Routing apps. Genesys is also adopting SCXML as the Routing strategy format. It seems Genesys is finally opening up its technologies and embracing more open standards probably because of customer demands.

Proprietary technology can only go so far. Just look at Microsoft’s battles with Firefox, MySQL, OpenOffice, Linux, Android, etc.

Genesys will also release Mobile Advisor for the iPhone. It’s a very slick business application for contact center managers and supervisors to get a graphical view of the business. It will be one of the first iPhone apps for the contact center professional and further cements Apple’s significance in area of mobile enterprise applications.

Overall it was a good conference. I’m excited to see how the Genesys products evolve in the near future, but moreover I’m interested to see what exciting products and apps come from customers and partners!

Eugene

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There is no doubt that PHP code is easier on the eyes, but the reality is that most VXML apps are developed using some sort of GUI-based, drag-and-drop IDE. I can see VoicePHP being popular among developers who just wants a quick and dirty telephony feature built into their apps, but for an enterprise scale IVR app, VoicePHP may not be a suitable choice.

IVR apps are often visualized as call flow diagrams. Menus, prompts, database access, transfer points, etc. Development tools like OpenVXML presents the application as a call flow on an Eclipse canvass, where the developer can easier spot where the menus are, where the transfer happens, and so forth. The tool then generates VXML code from the call flow. It is much easier to administer and maintain.

Best of all, OpenVXML and many other similar tools offer the ability to incorporate customized code blocks by using familiar programming languages like JavaScript. This greatly expands the features that a developer can tap into.

It’s wonderful to see companies come up with more ways to develop telephony apps, especially those that draw on the popularity of Web-friendly scripting languages. However, VXML adoption has reached critical mass, and it is the modern standard for voice applications. It would take a lot to convince a sizable enterprise today to move away from VXML and into something like VoicePHP.

Eugene

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We are inching closer to the “write once, run anywhere” voice app. Imagine developing an IVR app customers can interact using not just a telephone, but also from a Web browser, SMS, instant message, or maybe even email? A lot of effort has gone into creating the multichannel contact center, but that usually applies to agents being able to receive and handle queued multimedia interactions, i.e. calls, emails, fax, IM, etc. The user experience is different with each of these channels.

Is it possible to create an application that accepts an email “Please send my account balance for number 12345678″ and replies “Mr. Smith, the balance on your account ending in 5678 is $500″ (obviously there has to be some sort of identify verification and authentication mechanism too)? Such an interaction could apply to other means as well.

Or sending an IM to the application:

User: What are my choices?
App: Office hours, directions, account information, agent
User: Directions please.
App: Here’s the link to our office http://… Anything else?
User: Agent
App: Please reply with your question.
User: Hi, just wondering if you have other office locations near Springfield
App: Thank you. Would you like an agent to call you or IM you?
User: Call me back please. 816-555-1010
App: Of course. Your request is queued and an agent will get back to you after approximately 5 minutes. Goodbye!

How cool would that be?

Eugene

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So if you are also going to be there, please come say Hello! You can also leave a comment here or follow us on Twitter @OpenMethods.

Eugene

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This was a technology made popular in the 1970s. Before email spam there was fax spam where unwanted ads were sent to the fax machine, wasting paper and ink and tying up the phone line. In the age of the Web and emails, it’s hard to believe that fax still plays a crucial role in business communications. Just look at today’s copiers, dedicated fax servers, and Internet fax…

If the worlds ends in a nuclear armageddon, I think the surviving cockroaches will evolved to learn how to use fax, the only surviving communications technology.

Eugene

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NuGram has also joined the Twitter community as @nugram. Follow OpenMethods @OpenMethods.

Eugene

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