Functions and Components

The figure below shows the overall functionality of eServices with any media type. This figure shows functions only, not components.
 

General Functioning of eServices

The three major functions shown in the figure are:

• The media interface, which brings interactions into the system. It may interface with e-mail, chat, or other media.
  [+]Media Interfaces

  The media interfaces available with eServices 8.5 are E-mail Server, Chat Server, Social Messaging Server, and SMS Server.
  

  Important

  eServices 8.5 also supports the processing of 3rd Party Media interactions with the help of Genesys's 3rd Party Media SDK and Interaction SDK products. See the documentation for those products for more information.

  • E-mail Server interfaces with the enterprise mail server and the Genesys Web API Server, bringing in new e-mail interactions and sending out replies or other outbound messages.
    
  • Chat Server works with Web API Server to open, conduct, and close chat interactions between agents and customers.
    
  • SMS Server receives and handles SMS and MMS messages sent from a mobile client. SMS Server uses SMPP v3.4 protocol for SMS support, and MM1, MM7 protocols for MMS support; further details are available.
  • Web API Server works with Interaction Server to create, schedule and close callback requests via the web.
    
  • Social Messaging Server provides Social Media functionality, such as support for Facebook, Twitter, and RSS. More information is provided in the Social Media Solution Guide.
    

  To the workflow control components, these interfaces transmit operational data about each interaction, consisting of an identifying code plus some data about the interaction (date received, originating party, and so on).
  

  To the data storage components, they transmit the body of the interaction—that is, a transcript of the e-mail or chat session.

• A database, which stores the history of the interaction and associates it with related interactions to form a thread. It also stores contact information and other types of data used at different points in the processing of interactions.
  [+]Data Storage: Universal Contact Server

  Universal Contact Server (UCS) interfaces with a database that stores the following:
  

  • Contact information, such as names, addresses, phone numbers
    
  • Contact history: previous interactions with this contact
    
  • Other data used in processing interactions, such as standard responses and screening rules.
    

  Your eServices installation (as part of the Universal Contact Server installation package) includes scripts for setting up the database (Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle, and DB2 are supported. Universal Contact Server Manager provides a user interface for setting data-archiving and pruning functions.
  

• Workflow control, which determines where the interaction goes and what happens to it.
  [+]Workflow Control

  The components illustrated in the figure below handle workflow control.
   

  

  Workflow Control Components

  Not shown in the figure are other required Genesys Management Framework components, such as Configuration Server and the Management Layer.

  The workflow control components fall into three groups, described in the following sections.
  

  Interaction Server

  Interaction Server is the central interchange for interaction flow.
  

  • It receives interaction operational data from the media interface.
    
  • It stores the operational data in a cache (a database) while receiving and transmitting information about the interaction. This cache also contains queues through which the interaction passes as part of its processing.
    
  • It works in concert with the Routing components to route interactions according to interaction workflows and routing strategies (following section).
    
  • It provides the means for agents to log in and indicate readiness.
    

  Important

  For Interaction Server 9.0 documentation, see the Interaction Server product page.

  Routing

  Routing components include the following:
  

  • Interaction Routing Designer (IRD) and Universal Routing Server (URS) design and execute routing strategies, which trigger functions such as automatic responses and screening; apply logic (segmentation and conditional branching) to the flow; and ultimately deliver the interaction to an agent or other target. Routing strategies are one of the two main types of objects used in interaction workflows (previous section).
    
  • Interaction Design, a subcomponent of IRD, creates and displays Business Processes, which plot an overall path for interactions. Interaction workflows map a route for the interaction between contact center objects, principally queues and routing strategies (following section). Interaction workflows are executed by Interaction Server.
    
  • Stat Server accumulates data about places, agents, and place/agent groups; converts the data into statistically useful information; and passes these calculations to other software applications. In particular, Stat Server provides information to URS about agents’ capacities in terms of the number of interactions, the media type of an interaction, and so on.
    

  Knowledge Management

  Genesys Knowledge Management is made up of the following:
  

  • Classification Server, which applies screening rules when triggered to do so by a routing strategy. Screening rules are basic pattern-matching queries performed on interaction contents. The results of these queries can then be referred to by further routing strategy logic. In the Genesys Content Analyzer option (see below), Classification Server also applies models to categorize incoming interactions. Both screening rules and models are stored in the Universal Contact Server database.
    
  • Training Server, which trains the system to recognize categories. It is active only in the Content Analyzer option (see below).
    
  • Knowledge Manager, which is the user interface component for Knowledge Management. You use Knowledge Manager to:
    
  • Manage the Standard Response Library, which is a collection of ready-made responses to common inquiries and topics.
    
  • Manage screening rules.
    
  • Manage categories, which are used to organize standard responses.
    

  Genesys Content Analyzer is an optional enhancement to Knowledge Management, requiring a separate license. It uses natural language processing technology to analyze incoming interactions for assignment to the categories of the standard response category system. The statistical tools that enable this analysis, called models, are built up and refined by Training Server as it processes collections of preclassified interactions. Setting up and scheduling these training sessions is another function of Knowledge Manager.

  FAQ works with Genesys Content Analyzer to convert your category structure and standard responses into an Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) list. You can either post the resulting list as text on your web site or use it as the source for an automatic question-answering facility.
  

  Summary

  To summarize interaction flow:

  • At the highest level the flow is controlled by interaction workflows that Interaction Server executes.
  • Each interaction workflow contains queues and routing strategies.
  • Routing strategies may bring in other applications/components to apply processing to the interaction—for example, sending a transcription of the chat session to the customer:
    • Send an acknowledgment or an automatic reply.
    • Apply a screening rule.
    • Apply content analysis (with Content Analyzer option only).
    • Forward or redirect the interaction.

For some media types (such as chat), the media interface also communicates directly with the agent desktop.