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			Business Research: Contact Center, Operational Technology Research: Business Intelligence Imperative Research: Performance Improvement Vendor Research: AIM Technology, Aspect, CallTower, Cisco Systems, Enkata, Envision, Five9, Genesys Telecommunications Lab, HardMetrics, IBM, Informiam, Inova Solutions, Jacada, KnoahSoft, Latigent, Merced Systems, Microsoft, NICE Systems, Noetica, Nortel, Par3 Communications, RightNow, Salesforce.com, Saratoga Systems, Symmetrics, Syntellect, Verint, Witness Systems, LogiXML
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Summary
Recent research by Ventana Research shows that less than one-third of companies are able to produce a scorecard displaying all the key metrics needed to assess how well their contact centers are performing. The main reason is that few have deployed systems capable of extracting the base data they require from the variety of systems in their centers. Symmetrics offers software to solve this issue, particularly for companies using Nortel’s CCMS/SCCS products to manage their call handling. Users can use either the standard reports provided by Symmetrics or their own preferred analysis and reporting tools to develop reporting fed by the Symmetrics data mart.

Assessment
The Symmetrics product line includes three main modules: nVision Data Mart v1.5, nVision Reports and Dashboards and nVision InfoManager. The data mart is the foundation of the system. It includes data adaptors that have been developed to extract data from specific data sources, such as historical data, real-time call data and agent login data from the Nortel CCMS/SCCS system. Symmetrics built the adaptors on a Microsoft server and included security, error-handling and management capabilities. They can be configured to extract data at predefined intervals and will retain data and reports for periods that the user defines. The extracted data is cleansed and stored in a predefined data mart integral to the system, which includes predefined online analytical processing (OLAP) data cubes that support historical and real-time data analysis. Although the original adaptors supported only Nortel products, Symmetrics has begun to develop additional adaptors to extract data from other systems, such as the IEX workforce management system. This expansion will enable users to integrate different types of data into the data mart and do more cross-data analysis and reporting.

The nVision Reports and Dashboards includes 101 standard reports for users of Nortel CCMS/SCCS. The reports have been designed to address operational issues that companies encounter and to extend the limited Nortel reporting to broader, business-oriented views of how the center’s performance. The reports can be customized using the reporting toolkit. They contain both historic and real-time information in a range of presentation styles that fit most user needs.

For companies that want to extend the standard reporting capabilities or build their own reports, nVision InfoManager provides a framework in which to build additional analytics and reporting capabilities. Powered by Crystal Reports, it enables companies to integrate data from the data mart with data from other sources, creating a central point for reporting on all aspects of the contact center’s operations. Symmetrics also offers professional services that can support users by extending the data mart, developing customer reports, developing Web-based portals and providing training services. Through these services, companies can expand the basic Nortel-focused capabilities into a wider ranging and functionally richer contact center performance management solution.

Market Impact
Symmetrics joins an increasing number of vendors, including AIM Technology, Hardmetrics, Informiam, Latigent and Merced Systems, focused on business intelligence and analytics for contact centers. Ventana Research believes this approach comes at an opportune time. Managers of contact centers have long struggled to mature their performance management processes and metrics despite a lack of supporting systems. This has been particularly true for centers using Nortel systems to manage their call handling, which have had to rely on standard Nortel reports that are inadequate for today’s demanding business environment. The nVision line enables them to retain the metrics they are used to but in a business-oriented format, and they can combine them with other data sources to get a broader view of how well their center is performing against business targets. As Symmetrics adds new adaptors to extract data from more data sources, its analysis and reporting will become richer. And with the ability to customize both the available data sources and the content and formats of the outputs, managers will be able to mine the data required for an in-depth view of their contact center’s performance.

Recommendation
Insight into contact center performance has eluded companies because of the difficulty of extracting the data on which to base analysis. Our research shows that companies are planning to base rewards for contact center managers and agents more on business metrics. To do this, they need not only common contact center metrics (such as average length of calls, calls put on hold and calls transferred) but business-related metrics that are tied into call handling (for example, the average lengths of calls required to up-sell certain products to customers and which agents are best at doing that). As companies make this transition, Ventana Research recommends that they consider Symmetrics when evaluating technology that will help them do this.