Spoken Expands Global Reach with First Asia-Based Datacenter; PLDT partners with Spoken to offer cloud-based contact center solution
Bellevue, WA – November 5, 2013 – Spoken Communications, provider of the first Avaya-based cloud platform for contact centers, today announced that the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT) has selected Spoken’s cloud-based call center technology to power its Call-Center-as-a-Service (CCaaS) solution. Based on a platform developed by Spoken, PLDT’s CCaaS provides a full-featured and robust suite of telecommunications applications designed to benefit outsourcing operations and increase the virtualization of communication operations in the region. PLDT’s solution marks the country’s first completely cloud-based suite of call center applications and expands Spoken’s global reach to comprise seven total datacenters across the U.S., EMEA and Asia markets. In the new era of cloud-based efficiency, Spoken’s cloud-hosted infrastructure enables PLDT to offer scalable and flexible call center solutions to enterprises and outsourcers looking to avoid the long, arduous steps of infrastructure purchasing and installation. The fully redundant and robust platform provides all the functionality necessary to support today's active contact centers, including an Automated Call Distribution (ACD) system, which can easily integrate with a wide variety of call center platforms. PLDT’s CCaaS solution also provides add-on modules for call routing, Interactive Voice Response (IVR), end-to-end call recording, screen capture, disaster recovery and performance management, including live call monitoring, call data visualization and agent evaluations. Also available are professional services for a seamless integration of back-office applications from multiple platforms. Together, with the suite of call center applications, Spoken’s platform also introduced a revolutionary payment scheme. PLDT’s CCaaS solution operates on a “pay-per-minute, per-app basis” – meaning that organizations are charged only for the amount of time they use, and only for the applications or features they use. This model enables virtualized call centers to readily scale applications and software based on the demands of their business due to seasonal rise and fall in call volume and usage. As a result, enterprises pay no fixed monthly operating expenses, and no expensive capital investments are required. According to a study by leading market research firm Frost & Sullivan, contact centers in the US have identified cost reduction as the top challenge in contact center initiatives prompting companies to rely on low upfront investment hosted contact centers. For larger operations with expansive call center needs, PLDT’s CCaaS offering produces considerable cost efficiencies. “Industries that rely heavily on their contact center operations depend on the security and reliability of PLDT’s fortified network,” said PLDT EVP and EICB Head Ernesto R. Alberto. “Our Cloud CCaaS offering is a highly flexible solution that easily evolves to match the changing contact center needs of enterprises, and seamlessly integrates into existing infrastructures. This launch exemplifies the kind of cutting-edge ICT solutions that PLDT is rolling out and demonstrates our ability to consistently think ahead and exceed the expectations of our clients – not just merely meeting their requests. With their long history with BPOs and call centers, Spoken got to the heart of the things that matter most to call center operations. We look forward to this new cloud-based technology.” The Spoken-Avaya Contact Center Cloud Platform supports call center operations for a roster of global Fortune 500 companies in the U.S. and Europe. The partnership with PLDT expands the company’s international reach into Asia and makes Spoken the first cloud contact center provider to partner with a Filipino telecommunications company. The milestone also gives way to Spoken’s first data center in Asia, bringing the total to seven fully redundant, geographically diverse datacenters offering 99.999% uptime. “Virtualized contact centers have seen a boom in the US, prompting enterprises, particularly small seat deployment companies to rely on the Cloud in their operations,” said Howard Lee, CEO of Spoken. “At Spoken, our main focus is developing innovative and robust solutions that address the key challenges associated with deploying, operating, managing and scaling today’s contact centers across the globe. As one of the largest Philippine-listed companies in terms of market capitalization, PLDT has a strong foothold in the Asian market, and our partnership will open the door for our continued growth and global expansion. The launch of PLDT's CCaaS solution serves as a proof point for the need of efficient, flexible and scalable contact center solutions.” More at www.spoken.com