IVRs or Interactive Voice Response applications or plug-ins are based on a technology that allows a computer or a computer-based telephone system to detect a voice and/or a dual-tone multi-frequency signal (DTMF) keypad input and intelligently respond to that input.  The IVR technology is used extensively in telecommunications and other industries.  When you call a credit card company or a financial institution and the welcome menu asks you to input your account number you are responding to an IVR prompt.  The IVR, with the help of a voice recognition application will parse the account number you entered or spoke, search its database and pass the selected information to the person that answers your call so that they can more intelligently assist you.  IVRs are also used to give you information.  If you call a phone number to get the weather, the prompt will ask you for your five-digit zip code and will respond with the weather forecast for your area.  IVRs are also being introduced into automobile systems for hands-free operation.

Most automated telephone welcome menus are simple IVR applications with pre-recorded voice files that can be easily modified.  You respond with a menu selection on your phone, keyboard, or with your voice without even thinking about it.  IVR applications can be created to control almost any function where the interface can be broken down into a series of simple menu choices or procedural steps.  The order or direction of these steps can even change based on the caller’s answer to a prompt for information.    As an example, a prompt may ask if the caller is an existing client.  If the answer is Yes then an account number or social security number will be requested.  If the answer is No then the client may be directed to a human being to initiate your new account setup or even to an application that will walk the caller through that account creation.  IVR applications / plug-ins are created to assist callers, to better and more quickly direct callers to the correct department or employee, or to provide information to the caller without having to wait for someone to physically answer the call.  IVRs can be very simple as the above examples indicate or they can be very sophisticated and complex.   If you’ve ever had to activate a new or replacement credit card, or wanted to get your current credit card balance you have been the responder to a pretty sophisticated IVR application.  IVRs are not only used to answer inbound calls, they can also be used to call clients or prospective clients.  Many physicians’ offices use IVRs to remind patients of an upcoming appointment or to give the patient lab results.  There are few of us who have not been the recipient of a automated call from the library to remind us of an overdue book, or from our child’s school to inform us of an upcoming event.

In general, IVRs are powerful because they can do some of the mundane jobs that allow your employees the time to do other tasks without interruption, they can respond to some client needs more quickly, they rarely get sick or need to go on vacation, and they generally scale well when handling large volumes of inbound or outbound calls.  If used correctly IVRs can save time and money without harming the client/user experience. At Rising Wave Technologies we have been designing and writing IVR applications for over ten years.  We would be glad to discuss your potential IVR needs and how those needs can brought to reality in a short amount of time with a quick return on your investment.  Give us a call or drop us an email and one of our designers will be glad to talk with you.