I am glad that so many of us feel the same way.
Important thing is to use our know-how to enhance what Genesys has to offer. And in case Genesys cannot offer what we need, I do not think that it would be a big deal to develop something on our own. As I have mentioned before, I don't owe a stock in Alcatel, so Genesys revenues are not directly affecting me. My main priority is getting sure that our call centers get what they need and run the way we intend to do it.
From what I have seen so far, I think Genesys is one of the best solution so far. It offers the robust and yet flexible adaptation to a multitude of different PBXs as well as VoIP-based architecture, allowing for pretty much all the flexibility that you need. Unfortunately, Genesys is just a framework and for every call center out there, there is never a out-of-box solution, and I do not think that there should be. Genesys tried Genesys Express, and it seemed like it slowly fizzled as it should have, because Genesys to call centers is what Cisco is to network. Perhaps, one day people would be able to get Cisco routers and just place them all over the building and have their 5000+ staff network up and running in no time, but I still think it is going to take some time. So, I would expect Genesys to continue to be a highly customized solution (at least for large scale call centers), meaning that the edges will always be neglected. Unfortunately, when we are talking about the edges, we mean the very top layers which contain the applications used by very people who shell out millions of dollars to use it. They don't care if Genesys is running on Solaris or whether or not it is able to handle 50 CPS without significant CPU load. they see the numbers shown in CCP and when they hear about Genesys, usually it has to do with how something went wrong. After all, Genesys is part of call center infrastructure and since you never talk about your gas pipes being very efficient and NOT leaking, neither would call center operators talk about Genesys CTI other than when something goes wrong.
This is why there is a huge market out there for all the little tiny applications that can be included with Genesys T-Server. We are talking about improved OCM, an SV -friendly CCP, and even wallboard server.
the areas that can be focused on without overburdening ourselves would be:
1. Reporting
2. Outbound Control
3. URS-centric CRM
For reporting, I think we can start with wallboard server so that we all get accustomed with Genesys ActiveX as well as slowly build the name recognition. The great thing about wallboard server is that since it is not mission-critical, its failure would not freeze call center, thus making it an easy candidate for implementation in a call center.
For outbound contol, I am sure that I speak for many of us when I say that OCM is probably as bad as WFM: whoever has designed it has never worked in an outbound call center. It is not intuitive and it is not fun. Also, there is no simple way to integrate it with agent desktops to tell them how many more calls they are expected to make this day for example. We know how many records were dialed, but when you have 200 agents and 400 lists, it is sure nice to know how many calls each agent still has left.
For URS-centric CRM, I think it is time the whole Genesys community came together and came up with default template to be used for call centers. We are talking about something that is much better than GCN and does not cost an arm and a leg. I think that combining URS with a basic web-based CRM screen with fields tied to DB is great. What puzzles me is why in the world would someone want to have 300 operators connect directly to DB?! Genesys is a messaging system, so why not use that to store and retrieve data from DB? I think this would make roll-outs a snap.
So, I am working on wallboard system right now that I expect to post during the next two weeks. Let's get the system out there.
As for talk about Genesys being upset what we are doing, I don't think that it is the case. Genesys needs to grow up and understand that developers and integrators are the main reason why they are in business. The love-n-hate relationship that I have experienced with the company during the last six years has to stop. The more we are supported, the better are the chances of Genesys making it out alive in the new IP-based call centers.
Ever since voice went IP, every network and communication equipment maker closed the niche between PBX and CRM, making many Genesys products obsolete.
T-Server, Genesys flagship, can only survive if the upper layer products using it do not lose their relevance. And the fact that Genesys was purchased by Alcatel does not really help it either. We have many a client who decided to use Cisco Call Manager instead of Genesys IPMX and SIP T-Server solely because their network backbone is , yes, you guessed it, Cisco.
Genesys is a very technolgically advanced company, that unfortunately has a very poor record with supporting its middle-tier users. I do not know about US, but in Japan, they still do not have Genesys Interacts, and when I asked about it, I was admonished and told to wait and wait and wait. Of course, this is the same Japanese Genesys whose VP told me that they want me to stop our http://www.starsystem.co.jp/GenesysForum Genesys forum because we create a bad rap for them since so many users discuss bugs on it. But then again, it was more than three years ago, so, hopefully, they got better since then
( I was even warned by a local Genesys VP that our Genesys Forum creates bad publicity for Genesys because we discuss Genesys bugs on it and they don't want
