STIB - MIVB
Challenge
STIB, the Brussels public transport operator, was determined to assist travelers by providing real-time bus and subway arrival times. At first, they simply offered web access to timetable and delay data as reported by the global positioning system (GPS) devices installed on each vehicle. While this service was great for people sitting at home or in the office, it didn’t help people who were on the go - i.e. those looking to catch a bus or waiting for one that had been delayed. To meet the needs of mobile travelers, STIB wanted to provide anytime/anywhere access via telephone. The cost of providing phone access first appeared prohibitive, however, because the revenue generated by a ticket sale did not cover the cost of handling a local call. Therefore, if STIB were going to offer this service, they needed to restrict the cost of development and delivery.
Solution
A voice user interface was designed to give callers fast, easy access to the information they need. A rapid development environment was used to create the call flow, develop the application logic and communicate via Web Services with the Web-based locator application that determines the arrival times of the buses. The platform’s native support for Web Services protocols such as SOAP enabled direct integration with STIB’s IT systems. This eliminated duplicate programming work, and enabled a truly cost-efficient solution.
Results
Now, travelers can call STIB (in French or Dutch), say the bus stop name and line number, and hear the exact arrival times for the next two buses in either direction. STIB reached its goal of providing anytime, anywhere access to schedule information within the financial limits established for the service. People on the go in Brussels can easily get around the city and avoid the frustration service delays can cause.
ATOS Wordline SA/NV (formerly Banksys and Bank Card Company)
Challenge
Atos Worldline has a worldwide reputation for its electronic payment solutions, hi-tech terminals and security technologies that are approved and supported by the banks, as well as for its extensive range of services. The Atos Worldline’s call centre receives more than 1,700,000 calls per year, made by a wide range of clients, card owners as well as from retailers and banks. Until 2006, the inbound calls were attended by a legacy traditional IVR system. Banksys recently decided to change this IVR in order to enable much faster management of the evolutions required by its business, while leveraging the capabilities
of new speech technologies to deploy new automated self-service transactions.
Solution
Banksys selected a new platform to respond to the main following requests:
• User interface to be used by non-technical staff from the business group.
• Support of text-to-speech and voice recognition technologies allowing for a selfservice processing of routine tasks.
• Compliancy to VoiceXML standards.
• Integration to Atos Worldline information systems (SQL access to an Oracle database and transaction with a Tandem system through IBM Websphere MQ Series).
• Statistics and reporting tools allowing the continuous control of service quality
• Voice call Back standard services and management of service business hours
Results
After a progressive migration of existing applications, within the requested 4 months time frame, Atos Worldline users can now take advantage of a platform that allows them to secure the evolutions of voice server applications proposed to their customers. A first self-service application was successfully put into production. This application is closing calls related to card blocking by automatically giving specific information to the caller. The first feedback inquiries to the users of this new application show satisfactory results. This encourages Atos Worldline in the pursuit of the use of the new technologies to offer a growing number of selfservice applications to its customers. Atos Worldline is indeed now considering the
progressive deployment of voice recognition to enhance the interaction with the callers.
DEXIA
Challenge
Dexia counts hundreds of high net-worth clients who regularly make a simple phone call with a Dexia Direct Private (DDP) trader to get accurate trading information and give buy/sell instructions. Originally, VIP clients had to authenticate themselves with each call by keying in a lengthy contract number and PIN code. After a while, this process was considered an unacceptable nuisance. DDP was therefore looking for a user-friendlier authentication solution, which at the same time would maintain the highest security standards.
Solution
In merely three months, a consortium of primarily Belgian technology partners designed, developed and installed a speaker verification solution for Dexia Direct Private. The solution integrates speech recognition, speaker verification and CTI technology. Here’s how it works: after a one-time DDP-initiated enrolment phase, VIP callers are asked each call to simply say their name, and answer a secret question. They are then transferred to the DDP professional, who gets a clear on-screen indication of the caller’s authentication status. The authentication process is fast, simple, and efficient, as the VIP client does not need to remember a contract number or PIN code anymore.
Results
After 6 months of operation, hundreds of VIP clients were (and still are) successfully using the speaker verification system. The solution was not only directly adopted by the VIP clients, but also by the DDP traders. Apart from the technical factors, the solution is a success because it appeals to the autonomy and self-sufficiency of the typical VIP client, who is naturally receptive to the concept of a personalised, high-tech, and high-security authentication method.