Customers have higher expectations of companies today than ever before. They demand instant, personalised interactions, driven by context and enriched with the correct information. Most importantly, customers want their service interactions to be as convenient and streamlined as possible.
A crucial part of delivering the best experience to any customer is ensuring their call or conversation is directed to the right person at the correct time. “Routing” technologies allow business leaders to determine how conversations are distributed to agents and employees, reduce the risk of countless call transfers, and enhance first-time resolution numbers.
As the contact centre has grown more complex and customer demands have evolved, the way companies leverage routing strategies is beginning to develop. “Session Routing Engines” are state-of-the-art, programmable solutions built for the new age of customer experience. Here’s what you need to know about the power and potential of SRE technology.
What Are Session Routing Engines (SRE)?
Routing in the contact centre comes in a multitude of different styles, from context-based routing designed to connect customers to an agent based on the keywords they use in a call, to efficiency-focused routing focused on reducing the time clients spend on hold. However, every type of routing relies on an underlying network of communication connections.
In the past, legacy routers were designed to work on individual packets of information. This static approach has grown increasingly outdated in the age of cloud-based VoIP and UCaaS networks.
Session Routing Engines are the next generation of routing technology. These centralised and programmable routing engines have the power to extend routing capabilities drastically, reducing the time to market for new and advanced services.
Session Routing Engines support multiple protocols, including voice, video, and images, while allowing companies access to a wide range of deployment options, from cloud-native “Session Routing Engines as a Service” to hybrid and data centre-based solutions.
With a programmable interface, companies gain more control over their Session Border Controllers (SBCs) and other essential networking elements, as well as a range of critical applications. SRE solutions can even allow companies to extend their contact centre into systems like Microsoft Teams.
At a time when many companies are using various endpoints and SBCs to manage calls throughout the enterprise, SREs reduce the complexity associated with managing connectivity.
What are the Benefits of SRE Technology?
A Session Routing Engine makes it easier to deploy comprehensive communication strategies for both the UCaaS and CCaaS environment. With a cloud-native ecosystem, and easy-to-use online portals, business leaders can manage their network elements without vendor-specific insights.
Fuse 2, for instance, added an SRE functionality to the Fuse 2 network, which enhances the current environment with a programmable layer on top of the Ribbon Core SBCs. The SRE technology gives organisations the building blocks they need to manage new requests from the Unified Communications and contact centre landscape. What’s more, it acts as a valuable bridge to a range of IT systems, thanks to a customisable HTTP interface.
With SRE solutions, companies can benefit from:
Greater control: Call admission controls delivered by the SRE allow users of the Fuse 2 network to automatically place limits on customers across various multi-tenant systems. For instance, if you have ten Microsoft Teams channels, you can ensure your SRE limits the communication strands in both directions. The programmable layer gives users complete control over how they navigate and use communication technology.
Simplicity: SRE technology makes it easy to deploy new communications strategies and technologies in the contact centre and the UC environment. With intuitive portals in the cloud, companies can easily find ways to reduce Capex spending, and enhance the performance of their network, without technical expertise.
Extensibility: Built for the new age of communication, SRE solutions support a range of protocols outside of the standard voice network. This means it’s easier to manage all kinds of communication avenues in the omnichannel world. Simple provisioning solutions also allow companies to roll new technology out to customers with ease.
Acceleration: The flexible nature of SRE solutions mean it’s easy to build new services and reduce time to market in the communication landscape. Extensible API systems and rapid deployment measures give companies more freedom to grow at their own pace. They provide a powerful bridge to other tools too, like LDAP integration.
Evolution: With multi-vendor support for programmable routing and SBCs, companies can rapidly develop new integrations and simplify processes. Business leaders can design new data structures, routing logic, and reporting capabilities with both external and internal database support.
Session Routing Engines allow all routing to be governed from a central environment, which allows for greater compliance and cost management too. What’s more, as vendors emerge to offer more options for SRE technology, like SRE as a service, companies will have more opportunities for how they leverage their routing strategy.
Unlocking New Opportunities with SRE Technology
Session Routing Engines provide business leaders with new ways to enhance their communication strategy both internally and externally. With the right technology, business leaders can quickly and easily provision new services and solutions to user anywhere in the globe, and access advanced features like number portability and automation triggers.
“Over the years the Fuse 2 network has expanded to serve our global customers, we now operate session routing engines and SBC technology in North America, Poland and Singapore using the Azure network which is on-net to the UK site. Our customers who use these geographical sites can be assured that audio/media is anchored in these countries ensuring latency is kept to the absolute minimum,” said Wayne-Mills Kidals, Chief Technical Officer at Fuse 2.
SRE solutions reduce the limitations placed on companies by previous routing technologies, while giving business leaders more freedom to implement their own crucial controls. As endpoints and tools in the communication landscape continue to evolve, an SRE system can provide business leaders with more of the functionality they need for enhanced conversations.
Session Routing Engines provide enhanced protection for customers with granular call management strategies, while allowing business leaders to access greater opportunities for revenue growth.
