By Matt Brogan
In the 1980s, digital switches and direct dialing provided new opportunities in the telephone industry, turning local exchanges into national or even international call centers. It was during this wave of change that Startel was founded; not just to sell telephone switch equipment but to offer the expertise to help independent business owners navigate the ever-changing landscape of communications technology. For over 40 years, Startel has remained loyal to its answering service customers. That kind of longevity only comes from keeping an eye on the future.
Since its beginnings in a world of copper wire and paper messaging, Startel has seen its customers weather revolutionary changes in communications technology and the service demands placed on contact centers by clients. Startel has endured by providing carefully selected best-in-class solutions that grow with you, but that alone wouldn’t be enough. Identifying the most relevant new technologies and providing them with an easy way to set up and maintain has been just as important. With the help of SNUG (Startel National Users Group) – one of the teleservice industry’s most active user groups – Startel has stayed true to the vision of not just selling the suite of tools you need to achieve excellence, but also providing the training and educational resources to ensure you and your staff are prepared for the future.
Virtual Agent with StartelAI
Startel’s newest artificial intelligence product continues this long tradition by providing relevant new technology in a way that works for you. In recent years, artificial intelligence has shown promise for front-ending customer service interactions. However, high costs and steep learning curves kept it out of reach for all but the largest contact centers. StartelAI powers a Virtual Agent that can answer calls, enter data directly into forms on the CMC, and ‘decide’ between reverting to a live agent or initiating automatic scripted dispatch. Perhaps more importantly, StartelAI includes access to industry-specialist artificial intelligence engineers to configure call flows and intents using your existing client instructions, eliminating the learning curve for your staff. Most importantly, Startel offers it as a scalable solution that provides a genuine opportunity for return on investment whether you’re a hometown TAS or a major international contact center.
CMC RestAPI
Startel’s REST API “un-silos” your CMC, providing secure access to form data, OnCall schedules, call records, real-time agent status, and more. Tech-focused contact centers can use the CMC RestAPI to develop their own tools and integrations for managing client, agent, and billing data. It’s not only for people hooked on webhooks, though, the CMC RestAPI includes integration with an industry-leading automation platform. This web-based no-code tool allows you or your client to create drag-and-drop automation with over 7,000 of the popular applications your customers already use every day.
An Agent Interface that Works for You Startel’s Flexible Agent Interface provides unparalleled options for building context-aware client accounts that put the information your agent needs in front of them at just the right time. It incorporates the tools needed to communicate with your clients’ RESTful APIs, moving data directly to and from the agent’s screen without the need to switch to separate applications or websites. When combined with the automatic dispatch scripting capabilities of Startel’s CMC platform, you reduce errors and make new agent training a breeze. Many of these features are also available in StartelNOW, the CMC’s web-based agent interface, with more to come.
Startel Telephony for Hosted Customers
You want to focus on making your organization the best in customer service. Startel’s cloud-based hosting has eliminated the need for you to be a data center expert, too. Startel calls their hosted environment “Freedom,” because it liberates contact centers from maintaining all the servers and network infrastructure required for agents to securely handle caller interactions anywhere. Additionally, hosting can simplify your regulatory compliance and business continuity planning, freeing business resources previously tied up in those areas. Until now, ensuring you have an adequate number of SIP trunks and DIDs to serve your clients was still a challenge, and comparison shopping vendors for the best deal could be overwhelming. For Freedom customers, Startel now offers SIP trunking and associated services directly from a Tier 1 PSTN provider, with guaranteed triple path redundancy for reliability, at a price that reduces overall telephony costs for most clients. It’s just another benefit of Startel‘s hosted solution. Customers should contact their sales associate or account representative for more details.
Conclusion
The diverse array of products and services Startel offers today reflect those early ideals: to partner with answering services and contact centers like yours, providing solutions to improve every area of your business. Reach out today and find out why for over 40 years, contact center success starts with Startel.
Matt Bogan is a Project Manager at Startel