Database Systems Corp. is a leader in providing computer telephony solutions to the call center industry. DSC offers Telephony Software and phone systems as well as outsourcing call center services that employ computer telephony components and software.

Phone calls are processed by DSC phone systems and services using ACD Software and an IVR (Interactive Voice Response) system that answers calls without an operator.

DSC phone systems can automatically display information regarding the caller to an agent's workstation such as caller identification or Caller ID information. DSC software likewise can utilize several criteria when routing inbound and outbound phone calls.

One of the criteria is the caller's phone number. This number (or service) is referred to as ANI.

What Is ANI?

ANI (Automatic Number Identification) is a telecommunications feature that provides the phone call recipient with the caller's phone number. The technology and method used to provide this information is determined by the service provider. The service is often provided by sending the DTMF (digital tone multi frequency) tones along with the call.

In call center applications, ANI displays the number of the caller to the phone representative in real time. Among other things, the call center can use the information to process the call based upon prior history or can forward the call to a different department or organization."

DSC software utilizes automatic number identification in several of our computer telephony applications.

1. Display Caller Information (Caller ID)

One of the most basic functions that ANI is the ability to use the caller's phone number to identify the individual placing the call. This is also known as Caller ID. This requires a prior knowledge or database consisting of the phone number and caller information.

A common computer telephony function utilizing the caller's phone number is Screen Pop. The phone number is used to search a database and extract information such as the caller's name, location, prior business relationships, etc. This information is displayed on the call center agent's workstation as the call is being simultaneously transferred to this agent.

ANI is not always a reliable means of identifying the caller, but is used in many phone applications to expedite the processing of the call and to relieve the caller of the necessity to repeat this information.

2. Special Processing Based Upon ANI

IVR Software utilizes ANI (automatic number identification) when processing an inbound phone call. As mentioned above, the IVR program can use the ANI to perform a lookup in a customer database. If the caller identified by ANI requires special handling or should be assigned to a specific phone representative, the call can be immediately transferred to this agent.

3. Location Based Routing

Once the IVR program has been invoked but prior to assigning a call to an agent, the IVR can query the phone system to determine the caller's number and use this information to route the call to the appropriate agent group or individual agent.

Since the ANI contains an area code and prefix, the call can also be transfered to a special location-based group of agents or to an outside phone number of an agency that handles a specific geographic area.

For further information, please visit our IVR Software Manual

Inbound Call Reports

An important feature included with our CTI systems and outsourcing services is our extensive call report system. These reports provide the administrator with a complete view of the performance of calling campaigns and include graphical presentation of data as well.

This online reporting and feedback system helps you observe and control the performance of your automatic phone call campaigns.

Graphs and charts of operational statistics let you measure the effectiveness of each phone campaign as it is running.

The statistical information contained in each of these reports can be downloaded into a spreadsheet format for individually customized reporting.

Contact DSC for a FREE analysis and quote and to learn more about our computer telephony products and services.