Extending its penetration of the customer interactive solutions and healthcare markets, Dimension Data has implemented an innovative virtual call centre to improve customer service and save costs for Discovery Health, SA`s leading medical aid scheme.
In a deal worth R3.2 million, Dimension Data designed and implemented the first local Avaya virtual call centre for Discovery Health, part of JSE-listed health and life insurance group, Discovery. The implementation is expected to save the medical scheme millions of rand per annum in call charges alone.
Although spread across two sites, Sandton and Cape Town, the call centre is seamlessly integrated, enabling it to be centrally managed and administered. It makes use of highly intelligent call routing with look-ahead interflow to ensure optimal performance.
Discovery Health, which recently celebrated its tenth anniversary, has always been in the forefront of technology, continually exploring better ways to exploit new and innovative technologies to deliver business benefit and better customer service. The call centre, which handles approximately 15 000 member calls daily, is a key element to its business. This call rate rises at certain times of the year, for example in January when members are given the option to change and update their membership plans.
Dimension Data had previously implemented an Avaya call centre and PABX in Discovery Health`s Sandton offices to handle all client calls. Dimension Data is a Gold certified business partner for Avaya, a leading provider of communications systems and software for enterprises.
After Johannesburg, the Western Cape has the scheme`s second largest membership base.
"We needed to open a second call centre site in Cape Town to get closer to this important segment of our membership base, and to have a personal presence there," says James Bates, voice technology manager, IT Networks, Discovery Health.
"It was also costing the company to service the entire country from Johannesburg and we wanted to reduce the cost of providing the 0860/0800 service to clients."
The medical scheme company did not want a separate call centre, however. It required an additional call centre site that would be seamlessly integrated with the existing Sandton site.
"We wanted to create a virtual environment," says Bates.
Discovery Health investigated a number of Cape Town-based suppliers in addition to Dimension Data. The latter was chosen as a strong relationship already existed, the group has a strong Cape Town presence, the Avaya solution previously implemented by the company had been highly successful and it made economic sense to employ exactly the same technology.
Discovery Health`s requirements coincided with a new release of Avaya`s call centre solution, which included voice over IP (VOIP) technology.
"The new virtual call centre is totally seamless to customers," says Haydn Skolmen, business analyst for Call Centre Solutions, Discovery Health. "All use the same number, and calls are directed to the nearest site. Full overflow control ensures calls are seamlessly transferred and controlled.
"Business benefits are many, and include reduced costs, less requirement to hire people in a specific centre, and full redundancy in the case of disaster," he says. "The new system enables central monitoring of, and reporting on, both sites, and is fully dynamic. We can record telephone messages and announcements from a central point. What is more, we can replicate this solution over and over throughout the country if necessary."
Almost a third of the cost of the medical scheme company`s calls originated from Cape Town, even though members there represent only 10% of the total membership. Skolmen expects this to reduce significantly, and the company estimates savings of more than R3.5million per annum in call costs alone as a result of the new solution.
The entire solution was designed, set up and tested in Johannesburg before being shipped to Cape Town and simply `plugged in` to Discovery`s newly constructed building.
Dimension Data services and maintains the virtual call centre, providing first line support via a maintenance agreement.
Future plans for the call centre include setting up a redundancy site in Johannesburg, and extending the service to other companies within the Discovery Group.
The Cape Town solution comprised an Avaya Definity ACD/PABX for the Cape Town branch, connected to Gauteng via Avaya`s (VOIP). Avaya call centres are used extensively locally in the financial services sector. Implementation took eight weeks and the new call centre came into operation on 1 March 2002.
Avaya is the world leader in unified messaging, messaging systems, call centres and structured cabling systems; it is also the US leader in voice communications systems and services. Within SA, Dimension Data`s Avaya clients are predominantly in the financial sector.
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