PRESS RELEASE: Radish Systems, a leader in voice and data mobility solutions for visual customer service, announces that it has been awarded a second key patent from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office for its integrated voice/data technology known in the market as ChoiceView®. This patent, which dates from 2009, significantly extends the reach of Radish’s intellectual property from an environment of mobile apps and Windows software to an environment of web apps and websites.
ChoiceView marries telephone and Internet technology for rich ‘voice with visuals’ calls. U.S. patent # 9,521,259 covers most any conceivable way for users to engage in voice-and-visual calls with businesses, even though they may not use a smartphone, have a pre-installed app, or expect anything other than a voice-only call.
It also covers new system configurations for businesses resulting in even faster deployment and easier integration of next generation, multi-modal business communications through many channels which solve real problems — irritated customers tired of voice-only Interactive Voice Response (IVR) systems, repeating information, long hold and processing times, and lack of self-service. ChoiceView is available now to license direct for business use and for other communications firms to easily embed ‘voice with visuals’ capabilities in their systems.
ChoiceView Architecture
ChoiceView, as described in an earlier Radish patent, provides a cloud-based switching mechanism for establishing data sessions in conjunction with phone calls or chat sessions. The new patent covers a subset of ChoiceView, where the switching mechanism in certain cases reduces to a website. As a result, ChoiceView allows a website to become a visual Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system or a voice-only IVR to be upgraded to a visual IVR. Also ChoiceView allows a seamless transfer to live agents for visual sharing.
The ChoiceView cloud solution allows businesses to talk and share visual and other data with customers. ChoiceView increases comprehension on calls by as much as 600%, helps callers resolve inquiries faster with more clarity, improves the overall user experience, and increases business profits. For businesses seeking to go beyond voice only capabilities to multi-channel communications, ChoiceView is an obvious choice.
Inventors of the technology are Richard A. Davis, Radish Chief Technical Officer, and Anthony J. Brittain, Radish Chief Architect. “ChoiceView provides a new communications channel and enables new feature capabilities for the millions and millions of voice-only ports and contact center positions in the business installed base, and it does so without displacing or breaking existing hardware or software,” said Davis. Brittain noted, “A unique aspect of ChoiceView is its cloud-based switching platform that establishes secure data sessions between users and businesses while following the routing of phone calls and chat sessions.”
ChoiceView Benefits
ChoiceView allows an easy upgrade of the large installed base of existing IVRs, contact centers, and other systems from voice only to voice-and-data communications. It preserves compatibility with existing dialing plans, call routing, queuing and the business phone infrastructure while providing a new dimension in visual communications. ChoiceView provides rich communication services on today’s phone network. ChoiceView also works with Skype, WebRTC and other in-band voice services, allowing callers to start a session with a browser instead of a phone call. In addition, ChoiceView easily adds a visual dimension to chat bots, phone bots, and other artificial intelligence systems.
ChoiceView for Users and Businesses
ChoiceView ‘voice and visual’ sessions involve communications between end users and businesses, which may have live persons, automated agents or virtual agents. End users utilize any phone and see visuals in the browser of a smartphone, computer, or tablet.
The ChoiceView web app is perfect for first-time callers who dial a business however they wish from a phone or the web. It is much more than a browsing experience since ChoiceView provides both visual content and separate session controls. A pre-installed app is not required. The ChoiceView web app also allows easy integration of ChoiceView functionality in existing mobile apps. The app simply points to a ChoiceView URL in a WebKit environment. Of course, Radish still offers free iOS and Android ChoiceView mobile apps that provide additional functionality.
Live agents in a contact center or throughout the business use ChoiceView Live Agent software providing a broad range of capabilities for visual and data sharing. It includes a standard ANI screen pop mechanism for calls, together with enhanced caller ID. Live agents already have a wealth of visual information on their desktops, but without ChoiceView, they have to speak it back.
IVRs plug into the ChoiceView cloud via an open REST API with a script change only. Instead of long voice phone trees which can consume minutes, ChoiceView callers see a visual menu and hear “Please tap your menu selection.” Alphanumeric entry by callers is easy and ChoiceView-equipped IVRs can seamlessly transfer visual calls to live agents.