Tom Gives Us An Insight Into Cirrus And AI Technology
Tom, our Service Desk Manager at Redsquid gives us an in depth look into the omni-channel contact centre Cirrus and AI technology. We will soon be using Cirrus within Redsquid, to continue to optimise our customers experience and provide better support. Tom is managing the implementation of Cirrus, so one of our new apprentices, Max, sat down with him to hear more about the new technology that will change the way we provide support.
Can you tell us a little bit about your role at Redsquid?
I’m Tom, the Service Desk Manager here at Redsquid where I’ve been for 2 years now. Some of my day-to-day work includes supporting our customers and making sure that all support tickets raised, are completed with the best outcome. As Service Desk Manager I manage some or our larger escalations and play a significant role in project management. This includes big installations, where I step in to help with progression and ensuring the quality remains.
My job is different every day and that’s why I enjoy it so much.
Can you give us a brief introduction into AI?
AI (Artificial Intelligence) is a rising technology, which aims to simulate human function. It’s already being used in jobs such as support, where it can automate manual processes, for example chat bots. With AI in chat bots, the technology is able to guide the customer through simple support tasks and can solve small or frequent requests. This allows the support team to be able to focus and spend more time on the more complex cases, resulting in an enhanced customer experience. Using AI within businesses can increase efficiency, as it can resolve simple tasks without human interaction. AI can give a boost to a business’ growth and transformation, as it can improve several aspects and processes.
At Redsquid we are now implementing Cirrus - what is Cirrus?
Cirrus is such a great cloud-based omni channel contact centre, that we soon will be using it ourselves here at Redsquid. Cirrus revolutionises contact centres as we know them. The omni channel feature allows for many types of communication such as WhatsApp and Facebook. It gives a greater flexibility to our customers, and they will get the possibility to contact us from their preferred tool of communication. Cirrus uses AI technology to streamline processes, and use voice recognition to determine a customer’s emotions and attitude. This is ideal for development and training of our support team. When talking to a customer, AI can pick out individual phrases, speech patterns and tones of voice. Using this data, we can create processes to organise support tickets, and make sure the most experienced agent within the area will receive the request. Furthermore, Cirrus can now be integrated into Microsoft Teams. The more technology you can integrate into each other, the better it is and this is just another great feature.
How will AI be used within Cirrus?
Cirrus has the opportunity to add on several AI technologies. Implementing AI in a web chat will help us get all the information from the customer before it even reaches an agent. IT means the agent will be informed and ready to help a customer instantly. At the same time our customers will avoid the frustration of having to repeat themselves.
The best thing is that Cirrus allows you to add on AI features as and when you need it. Whilst businesses go through the digital transformation, it is important to choose future proof technologies, that are suitable not just for now but which also will be sustainable for the future. Cirrus can grow alongside your business and continue to develop as your business do so.
Do you think that Omni Channels like Cirrus are going to be important in the future?
People are now less willing to pick up the phone, and wait in a phone queue. Communication via social media like WhatsApp or Facebook are much more accessible, and something we use in our everyday lives. People want answers at their fingertips, rather than having to call in. That’s why Omni Channel is so crucial. It allows our customers to contact us in their preferred way, making the customers experience so much easier. Within our support team, we’ll be able to receive and handle all tickets from just one centralised desktop, no matter what channel of communication the customer choses to use. We will increase efficiency, as we don’t have to log into multiple communication tools, ultimately allowing us to reduce response times. Finally, by providing my team with this great technology they will be empowered and continue to drive a better customer experience.
Do you think it will change the way you work?
It’s going to be a big change for the team so it’ll take a bit of getting used to, but it will definitely improve the way we support our customers. We will tailor Cirrus, so specific queries go straight to the specialist in that area. This will really improve the way we work in support. We will become much more efficient and manage the customer experience to ensure the customer is always satisfied.
How important do you think it is for businesses to invest in new technologies like Cirrus through the digital transformation?
It’s crucial because businesses that do not invest in digital transformation will get left behind. It’s going to be vital throughout internal processes making sure everything is on the cloud. With workforces being separated while working from home, cloud-based technology like Cirrus will be vital. Businesses that are not going to invest in the digital transformation, will have to increase their staff exponentially to keep up. If you are interested in reading more on digital contact centres, follow this link, to read our blog about the rise in digital contact centres.
What make Cirrus special?
Cirrus is unique because of the number of technologies it brings together in one place, whilst also having the ability to build in AI later down the line. Many omni channels contact centres have the integrations with WhatsApp, Facebook and Twitter together. Cirrus is different because it can grow as your business grows. It means that you always can tailor the solution to your businesses specific needs. There are so many features that can be added on as customers change and the market adapts, allowing you to always stay ahead.
“As an apprentice with little experience, Tom was helpful and willing to explain everything I didn’t understand. Tom offered an insightful look into support and the advancements of omni channel technology. Overall, he gave a great insight into Cirrus and AI technology. I’m very thankful to Tom, he was so helpful making this the ideal first interview.”