Future-Proof Software Development?

April, 2010

In the software development business, 'change is inevitable, change is constant'. So how do you manage sustainable software development in a constantly changing environment?

If there is one thing you can count on in the software development business, it is that ‘change is inevitable, change is constant’, in both technology and market needs. Evidence of this can be seen in the number of legacy call center systems that are being sent to the scrapyard having reached end-of-life. The world has moved on; out with the old, in with the new!

So what is the best approach to managing sustainable software development and steering effectively in a constantly changing environment?

In a word: separation. Separate and isolate and modularise as much as possible, both between functional processing units as well as between processing and user interface (UI) modules.

The major reason for separating processing modules into discrete but interlinking functional units is that they can then easily and quickly be modified, or even removed and replaced. This could be for a number of reasons, e.g.

  • Upgrade – as functionality is extended and efficiency increased, the user can take advantage of the latest version
  • New technology – as technology changes, it can be quickly incorporated into new modules, completely replacing the old

This approach safeguards investment and avoids a visit to the scrapyard.

It is worth noting that in order for separate units to function properly, it is essential for all APIs to be clear, consistent, well defined and well documented.

An additional benefit of this is that the functionality for any set of modules could be provided either by a single or multiple vendors. Given the individuality and complexity of contact center topologies, this ability to integrate with other applications is essential.

Also worth noting is that the technology providing the functionality is irrelevant. Components could be built using C++, C#, Java, whatever.

With regard to user interface and application control, with the evolution of the web over recent years, the focus on standards has moved away from the installed application toward delivery via HTTP. This effectively means a combination of HTML and Javascript

Being able to deliver UI over the web brings a number of benefits. Firstly, it enables the back-end processing to be run from literally anywhere with an internet connection. Secondly, it means that the UI

  • can be run on a thin client
  • can be embedded within a 3rd party UI/ web page in an almost limitless number of ways
  • look and feel can be changed (skinning)
  • can be 3rd party branded
  • is instantly replaceable
  • is easy to manipulate and customise, because it uses standard technology

Just as society at large has moved beyond ‘just throw it away’ to ‘reduce, reuse, recycle’, so software development has moved toward sustainability that will change with the times and adapt to market requirements. Beats a visit to the scrapyard, doesn’t it?

Note:

On reading the title of this blog, you may have thought ‘But there is no such thing as future-proof software development!’ You are probably right, but without heading in the general direction outlined here you may never even get close.

What We Offer

Sytel Limited develops and supplies Softdial Contact Center® (SCC) – multimedia, multichannel, fully blended cloud contact center solutions.

Available by subscription as CCaaS, fully managed and supported by Sytel, or for quick and easy deployment by partners and enterprise users.

All Sytel cloud components are secure, resilient and scale seamlessly from 10 agents to 10,000+, whether local, mobile or remote.

Flexible Contact Center Software

Softdial Contact Center™ – rich functionality, all-in-one, designed to deliver at scale

  • Contact Center as a Service (CCaaS)

    CCaaS for subscribers – global service​, with no upfront costs

  • Contact Center Platform – CCaaS Partners

    Build your own CCaaS business using the power and flexibility of Sytel software

  • Contact Center Platform – Enterprise

    High performance platform to drive contact center productivity – cloud, on-premise or hybrid

Blended Media Desktop

Fully customisable, multi-channel, multi-session workspace

Work Anywhere

Browser-based tools, no software installation required

Customise, Localise, White Label

Design all user interfaces to individual requirements

Integration via APIs

‘Swap out’ components and integrate with 3rd party apps

World Class Development

Continuous evolution pushing technical boundaries

Capabilities

Softdial Contact Center™ (SCC) is designed to be flexible, extensible and scalable, integrating with any legacy equipment, and meeting the most complex of requirements.

All Media Channels

Voice, chat, email, social, etc – fully integrated and blended

Agent Multi-Tasking

Work with multiple live contact sessions of any media channel

Dynamic Workforce Management

Optimise agent usage and balance workloads in real-time without human intervention, across all media channels

Predictive Dialing

Best-of-breed performance under compliance

Optimised Inbound Routing

Smart rules and ‘best-available’ decisions to drive great customer service

Agent Scripts

Help agents achieve and maintain excellence

Voice and Screen Recording

See and hear exactly how agents are interacting

Analytics and Data Feeds

Measure and evaluate performance at every level

IVR, Bots & Conversational AI

Design effective automated flows or integrate with 3rd party providers

Customer Journey Tracking

Stored customer contact history, to aid routing and add context to conversations

Modules

Drive operational efficiency, increase customer satisfaction & improve agent performance

Softdial One™

Highly flexible unified web UI for agents, supervisors and administrators

Softdial Scripter™

Create complex process flow scripts for agents, IVR, chatbots and other applications

Sytel AI Dialer™

Maximum predictive dialing performance, under any compliance rules

Softdial Pathfinder™

Precise routing rules for ‘best available’ connection

Softdial Media Server™

Core telephony functions to manage all inbound/outbound SIP calls

Softdial Reporter™ 5

Fully customisable performance stats, charts and reports, across all channels

Softdial Publisher™

Comprehensive data output to build your own reports

Softdial Recording Monitor™

Audio and screen recording of agent activity to ensure the highest standards

Softdial Campaign Manager™

Automation to optimise any outreach strategy

Softdial Repository™

Central storage and configuration of common resources

Sytel Global Compliance™

Flexible ‘no contact’ rules to protect contact center and consumer

Solutions

Performance and efficiency for a wide range of business applications

By Business Type

Enterprise

A full featured contact center software solution, designed for optimum performance at scale

Small/ Medium Business

Options for SMBs to subscribe to our full-featured cloud service managed and hosted by either one of our partners or by Sytel themselves

By Industry

Customer Service

Connect quickly to well equipped agents

Market Research

Best-of-breed predictive dialing with CATI integration

Debt Collection

Automated inbound/ outbound blending integrated with any debt management app

Sales & Telemarketing

Maximise agent productivity with best-of-breed predictive dialing

Healthcare

Secure, highly-configurable multichannel communications for excellence in patient care