Dave Pearson, manager of new technology at The Boston Globe, has been following announcements of such products carefully. He's looking at IP telephony to reduce costs and improve customer service in the Globe's two call centers for subscriptions and classified ads. He also envisions using it to support voice traffic among the Globe's 40 sites in Eastern Massachusetts. When a customer logs on to the Globe's Web site to place a classified ad, Pearson wants the customer to be able to click on an icon and forge a voice connection to a human sales representative, without needing to place a separate phone call. I want one single network,'' he says.
Money is also a motivation, of course.
We use Centrex. Reports from early implementers indicate the cost savings, at least, will be there. Lucent, for example, reports one user of its Internet telephony gateway is a German company that was having trouble hiring people to handle customer service outside of normal office hours. The company is now hiring people living in Florida and is using Lucent IP telephony systems to provide voice and computer connections between Florida and Germany, significantly reducing the costs of long-distance communication, according to a Lucent spokesman. Other Lucent customers getting ready to use IP telephony include a Japanese company linking its local offices with offices in New York and elsewhere and a regional ISP that is looking to become a voice value-added reseller.