Glossary

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

ACD

Automatic Call Distributor.  Also called a switch, an ACD is a specialized phone system designed for handling incoming and outgoing calls.  
 

agent

An individual who receives and handles customer calls and web-based requests within a call center.
 

Agent PG

A Peripheral Gateway (PG) that may or may not have an attached voice switch (ACD).  The Agent PG acts as a logical peripheral that has configured skill groups and agent members.  Applications, such as Cisco Collaboration Server and Cisco E-Mail Manager, report agent state and activity through the Agent PG's extended CTI interface.
 

blended collaboration

A blended collaboration session is one that is blended with IPCC or an ACD.  In the suite it occurs when the agent is assigned by ICM software (when using IPCC) or by the ACD (when using a legacy ACD). When ICM software selects an agent for the task, the Web collaboration interface appears on the agent desktop (if the agent is logged in to the desktop).  At the same time, the agent's telephone places an outbound call to the customer.  

 

Blended collaboration is also an ICM media class that ensures Web-initiated requests are routed to Collaboration agents using ICM software, IPCC, Media Blender, and Collaboration Server.
 

caller

An individual submitting a phone call or using a Web browser to send a request to communicate with a contact center agent.  The Web request sometimes results in a phone conversation between the caller and agent, but not always.  For example, communication using text chat or an e-mail message does not involve a phone call.

 

communication channel

A communication channel uses a particular technology to exchange information.  Examples of communication mediums are e-mail, fax, Web collaboration, text chat, and voice.  
 

CTI

Computer Telephony Integration.  A term for connecting a computer to a telephone switch.  The computer issues telephone switch commands to move the calls around.
 

delayed callback

Delayed callback is similar to Web callback, but when the Collaboration Server receives the request, it puts the request in its Delayed Callback table.  Collaboration Server then sends an HTML page to the caller indicating that the caller will receive a callback within a time specified.  When the specified time comes, Collaboration Server moves the request to its ICM queue for routing to ICM software.  When ICM software selects an agent to handle the callback request, the agent's telephone set places an outbound telephone call to the customer.

 

firewall gateway service

The Media Blender firewall gateway service allows Collaboration Server, which resides outside a firewall, to communicate with an ICM peripheral gateway that resides inside the firewall.

 

IPCC

Internet Protocol Contact Center.  A virtual ACD which provides intelligent call routing, network-to-desktop CTI, IVR integration, call queuing, and consolidated reporting.  

legacy ACD

Any of the ACDs supported in the suite that use the Media Blender Cisco CTI driver:
 

Media Routing Domain (MRD)

A collection of skill groups and services associated with a common communication medium.  ICM software uses a MRD to route a task to an agent who is associated with a skill group and a particular medium.  MRDs are defined in ICM configuration and have unique IDs across the enterprise.  The relationship between MRDs and skill groups is defined in ICM configuration, as well as Collaboration Server and E-Mail Manager configuration.
 

Media Routing Peripheral Gateway (MR-PG)

An ICM PG that is capable of routing media requests of different kinds; for example, e-mail and Web callback.  An MR-PG supports multiple media routing clients by placing multiple, independent Peripheral Interface Managers (PIMs) on a PG platform.   
 

multi-channel

Having more than one transport mechanism for a task.  For example, a customer can use one of several contact center channels, such as e-mail, text chat, or voice, when requesting service from a contact center agent.

 

multi-session chat

A type of session and a media class routed by ICM software.  The multi-session chat media class ensures that Web-initiated request are routed to Collaboration agents who handle multiple, one-to-one Collaboration sessions at one time.  Multi-session chat agents provide chat and Web collaboration in response to requests.

 

Peripheral Gateway (PG)

The computer and process within the ICM system that communicates directly with the ACD, PBX, or IVR at the call center. The Peripheral Gateway reads status information from the peripheral and sends it to the Central Controller. In a private network configuration, the Peripheral Gateway sends routing requests to the Central Controller and receives routing information in return.
 

Peripheral Interface Manager (PIM)

The Cisco proprietary interface between a peripheral and the Peripheral Gateway (PG).
 

phantom line

Phone lines set aside for providing callback to customers. Used with phantom line CTI strategies, phantom lines wait in queue on behalf of the caller, ensuring the caller receives callback only when an agent is available.  Phantom lines are used with legacy ACDs.
 

phantom strategy

A CTI strategy that places a call in the ACD queue and waits for call assignment (agent selection). Once the agent is selected, the outbound call is placed to the customer.
 

queue node

Area where incoming tasks are queued until they can be delivered to an available agent.
 

RMI

Remote Method Invocation.  A Sun Microsystems remote procedure mechanism for communicating between two Java programs within (potentially) separate Java Virtual Machines.

 

single-session chat

A type of session and a media class routed by ICM software.  The single-session chat media class ensures that Web-initiated requests are routed to Collaboration agents who handle one Collaboration session at a time.  Single-session chat agents provide chat and Web collaboration in response to requests.

 

skill group

A collection of agents, at a single contact center, who share a common set of competencies.

 

switch

An Automatic Call Distributor (ACD) or Public Branch Exchange (PBX).

 

task

The work performed by an agent.  The task is always associated with only one communication medium, such as voice or e-mail.
 

universal queue

Universal queue allows customers to interact with a contact center through the telephone, Web callback, Web collaboration, Voice-over-IP (VoIP), text chat, or e-mail.  ICM software creates a universal queue by treating different types of contact center requests as if they are part of a single queue.  No matter what type of medium is used for the request, ICM software assigns tasks to the appropriately skilled agents based on a set of scripted business rules; that is, based on routing scripts.

 

Voice-over-IP (VoIP) gateway

Each IPCC solution includes a Cisco VoIP gateway or voice gateway.  The VoIP gateway provides a connection path between the PSTN and the Cisco AVVID IP telephony network.  Its role is to convert analog and digital voice into IP packets.

 

Web callback

A feature of the Cisco Collaboration Server (CCS) that allows a customer to use a "call me" button on a company's Web site.  The resulting callback request is handled by ICM software.  When ICM software selects an agent to handle the callback request, the agent's telephone set places an outbound telephone call to the customer.  Web callback, sometimes referred to as "callback only," is for simple callbacks that do not involve blended Web collaboration or blended text chat.