Fonality has announced its latest enterprise-grade release, PBXtra Call Center Edition. TNC.net also has an interview with Fonality’s CEO.

Fonality today released their latest version of PBXtra Call Center Edition v3.5, an Asterisk-based IP-PBX, and added some interesting new call center features. For instance, PBXtra Call Center Edition has a new feature that lets remote call center agent’s receive phone calls using any type of phone - VoIP phone, analog phone, cell phone. etc. PBXtra will call the agent when it’s his/her turn to answer a call in the ACD queue. This is similar to DISA (Direct Inward System Access) that call centers have used over the years to allow remote agents to remotely partipate in ACD queues. The problem with using DISA is that it required the agent to place a potentially long-distance call to the corporate PBX, logon with DTMF access codes, and remain connected to the switch/PBX. This not only racked up PSTN per-minute charge, it also uses valuable port resources on the PBX.

This edition of PBXtra includes special features meant for the call center market. For one, as mentioned in the quote, PBXtra call center edition lets call center agents receive calls through any terminal, be it analog, VoIP, or mobile-based. However, while the traditional Direct Inward System Access (DISA) may require potentially expensive long-distance calls, PBXtra’s solution uses VoIP, and therefore can get remote agents connected at a lower cost. PBXtra also only connects to a remote agent if a call is routed to his terminal. For instance, if an agent doesn’t answer a call, it is then routed to the next available agent. After 8 unsuccessful calls, that agent is then automatically logged off the system.

This edition also includes an optional HUD (heads-up display) Agent, which allows text messages to be exchanged across agents and with a supervisor. This is particularly useful when supervisors need to communicate with agents, especially when the latter needs help. Supervisors can also barge-in on calls.

PBXtra also allows routing to off-site offices during overflow situations. This means if all agents on a given site are currently busy or unable to take calls, the system will route a call to other branch offices.

In summary, what’s new in PBXtra Call Center is the ability to manage call queues across multiple branch offices, and support for home-based workers and agents on cell phones. Also new is the web-based reporting capabilities which deliver real-time reports of the call queues. PBXtra Call Center is optionally available with HUD Agent, a universal contact management application that provides company-wide visibility and interaction, and includes secure chat and employee presence management for an additional $1000.

The PBXtra Call Center edition costs US$ 2,995. The optional advanced HUD costs an additional $1,000.

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