Interactive Intelligence Adds SMS to Contact Center Suite

Interactive Intelligence (ININ) announced it is adding short message service as an additional media type to its multichannel contact center software suite, Customer Interaction Center (CIC).

The new SMS features are designed to help contact centers increase customer retention and satisfaction by enabling mobile customers to use SMS to communicate with the contact center; having those SMS messages routed, recorded and reported in the same way as other media types; enabling contact center agents to reply using SMS; and enabling notifications to customers to be sent via SMS.

CIC, which already includes the ability to manage calls, faxes, e-mail and Web chats, will now include proactive “push” features that, for instance, enable a bank to send an SMS alert when checking account funds reach a customer-selected threshold.

CIC also will include routing features that will enable customers to send SMS messages, such as a request for a hotel confirmation number and address while traveling, which would then be routed, recorded and reported on the same way as any other interaction type.

In addition, Interactive Intelligence and its partners will provide additional consulting services, such as Webinars and white papers, to help contact centers effectively use and deploy multichannel options.

Interactive Intelligence plans to release its new SMS features by the end of Q4 2008. They will be offered through the company’s global channel of more than 300 resellers.