A Cisco IPCC Express based Contact Center platform with 100 seats has been deployed for six separated business divisions of MOL exploiting its existing Cisco IP network infrastructure and deployment of other business units is under consideration.  To increase the flexibility of the services, the solution integrates the Contact Centers into the current and future business processes and workflows by the means of specifically developed connectors to SAP CRM and Peregrine Service Center.  The quality monitoring requirements for the Contact Centers have been met by a unified call recording application. The overall system provides remote and multi site capabilities for Contact Center agents and scalability for growing with business demands.

Deploying innovative technology

In the project several innovative technological solutions have been applied that are outlined in brief as follows. The successful introduction of these innovative technologies and applications were enabled by Cisco CallManager and IPCC Express unmatched integration capabilities, the open and standard interfaces like XML, ODBC, HTTP, JTAPI or JAVA. These well-known software technologies opened a wide space for seamless business process integration and automization with existing applications.

Specific connector for IPCC Express and SAP CRM integration (CISconn). This middleware software enables data and call control integration between Cisco IPCC Express Contact Center and SAP CRM module at server side.

Specific connector for IPCC Express and Peregrine Service Center integration. The connector provides automatic ticket opening and updating (with several information) for the Peregrine Service Center troubleshooting system at server side.

Centralized and desktop side call recording Cisco's AVVID Partner, TC&C has customized its Cisco Compatible call recording solution to provide call recording and voice mail functionality on our unusual and very heterogeneous IP infrastructure. Standalone and remote agent calls are recorded at desktop level in an absolutely centralized manner. CARIN Desktop application clients record calls at IP phone level, automatically compress sound files and send them up to the Central Controller via secure communication channels.

Key business drivers behind the customers' decision to implement this technology

MOL has decided to deploy a converged IP based contact center solution in order to provide new and effective services for the following divisions:

• Refining and Marketing Division
• Retail Services Division
• Exploration and Production Division
• Human Resources Division
• Information Services Division

Primary goals of MOL were the followings:

• Deploy one integrated Contact Center for all divisions
• Leverage its Cisco IP network infrastructure (15,000 active endpoints)
• Provide remote and multi site capabilities for Contact Center agents
• Provide scalability for growing with business demands
• Integrate the Contact Center into existing and future business processes and workflows (SAP CRM, Peregrine Service Center, etc.)
• Provide quality monitoring and analyzing applications like call recording for the Contact Center
• Provide multi channel contact management system

Implementation impacts

On the overall success of the business

As stated in MOL's annual report, as an integrated oil company our ambition is to become the most respected multinational oil company from Central Europe, with a market capitalization of at least US$ 10 billion and operations extending over an area bordered by the Baltic, the Mediterranean and the Black sea. Deploying the converged, common and seamlessly integrated Cisco IP Contact Center platform for customer services of MOL group enables us to leverage the advances of the newest communication technologies. Reduced operational costs, highly increased productivity and customer satisfaction are key factors of being successful on the oil and gas market in the region.

On Productivity

Increasing productivity was a key driving issue of choosing Cisco IPCC platform. The offered communication interfaces for connecting existing business software systems have proved that transferring information between the Contact Center and the business applications (ERP, Ticketing) mostly effects our employees productivity. No more multiple data input, no more unnecessary information handling, all customer data is automatically gathered, etc. Overall productivity gain is estimated at 150% after deploying the new communication platform for customer services.

On Revenue and Cost

The IP Contact Center effect on revenue cannot be calculated at the moment, but we are sure that the effect will be positive. Operational costs are dramatically reduced, because all operational tasks are handled within MOL (legacy call centers were maintained by contracted companies). The user friendly and centralized management capabilities offers effective system maintenance and change management.

On the end-user

The end-users of the virtually five Contact Centers are the agents, the supervisors and - in a wider sense all those resorting to the services. The agents can get and process the calls in 25-30% less time due to the automated workflows and the integration of the business applications. Based on the feedback from the supervisors, many of their tasks can be fulfilled easier and more reliable. Workload balancing, performance measuring and quality monitoring are the examples mentioned most often in this regard. And the real winner of the new Contact Centers are the 9000 employees of MOL who can manage their HR related cases or get remedy for their IT problems in a quick and user-friendly manner. Great majority of the customers of the Retail Services Division have also reported about their positive experiences using the new Contact Center.