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Most examples of converged IP networks focus on the substantial benefits that can be achieved merely by routing voice calls over non-billable networks.

But a few pioneers have gone beyond this. The Newcastle Building Society (NBS), for example, has used combined IP call routing with its call centre technology to substantially increase its effectiveness in dealing with customers.

NBS is the largest building and loan association in north east England. The company has 49 branches and deals with hundreds of calls per day. Effective handling of its call centres is therefore vital. In early 2002, the NBS call centres were operating on a Mitel ACD, a private branch exchange (PBX) system. The system used an 'overflow' principle, rerouting unanswered calls to other branches or call centres.

As a result, many calls were being put on hold for long periods - or worse - being rerouted to staff who could not address customers' queries correctly. The building society needed a system that could successfully detect peaks in each worker's load, and redirect calls to available operators with suitable skills, irrespective of location.

The solution

NBS collaborated with BT to design a hybrid that used skills-based routing and voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology. By using VoIP, calls and workload could be distributed evenly across employees using the building society's CRM system.

"The NBS came to us with a virtualisation strategy and we put together the infrastructure to support their requirements. We put in a Cisco wide area network (WAN), with a Nortel CRM infrastructure at head office and Nortel IP telephony in the branch network. We then integrated the whole network", said Mike Farnham, BT's client director on the project. In addition, BT integrated the package with Citrix's thin client tools so that calls could be distributed to branches over the NBS intranet.

The results have been dramatic. Since BT first deployed the system in April 2002, over 90% of customer queries are now answered immediately - by the right person with the right skills. Staff efficiency has also improved by "100%", with improvements across a variety of tasks and areas. For example, there has been a 34% reduction in the time it takes to process a new account.

The NBS has experienced other sideline benefits too. "The increased capacity - and the ability to manage that capacity cost effectively - has resulted in the creation of a whole new area of operation based on the insourcing of investment generation and management," according to Colin Greaves, general manager at NBS. "We were hoping to make a 20% return on the £1 million we invested in IP telephony. We are already exceeding that measure by so much that we are no longer using a yardstick."