Voice biometrics platforms have evolved far beyond the “point solution” status where focus had been on accuracy, and its impact on “false accept” or “false reject” rates. Today, enterprise attention is rightfully on the impact that the technology has on achieving targeted business objectives. In the contact center, that means how it improves customer engagements that lead to a better experience, more sales and, ultimately, increased profitability and customer satisfaction.

In this context, voice biometric resources are ready to be integrated into self-service and assisted service settings to provide strong, yet convenient, caller verification, authentication and ID proofing.

As a case in point, in 2010 Datapoint developed, installed and launched a secure voice biometric-based, automated caller authentication solution for a global stock broker. It is an end-to-end system that integrates several foundational components. A speech-enabled IVR (interactive voice response system) can assess the purpose of a call and perform “call steering” as required. A cloud-based voice biometric subsystem based on technology from UK-based VoiceVault works in tandem with the IVR system which prompts callers to recite an account number or other selected ID according to pre-defined business rules. The engine compares the captured utterances with stored voice prints collected from enrolled customers.

The IVR system can also ask “knowledge-based” questions if required to provide “two-factor” authentication.

The solution that Datapoint provided for its client is a complete software suite for the customer care contact center. It includes five components:

• A speech-enabled IVR running a call steering and ID&V application – designed, implemented and integrated by Datapoint

• A cloud-based Caller ID&V resource – an instantiation of VoiceVault Enterprise with APIs to support both enrollment and verification

• CTI-enabled agent desktop applications – displays “pass/fail” results from authentication engine as part of “screen pop” with other caller information

• Customized audit, analytics and reporting tools – a customized version on Datapoint’s library of management, administration and reporting tools and resources.

• A caller voiceprint enrollment application, which runs on the agent desktop – a very important factor in promoting user acceptance.

Early Results are Promising
Enrollments started several months ago, with the agents taking responsibility for prompting callers through the process. Datapoint designed a system that can “throttle” the enrollment process based on the nature of the agents workload for other tasks. The brokerage is not revealing statistics but, if the experience of the telcos and government agencies we’ve been tracking, over 80% of callers take up the offer and almost all of them complete the enrollment.

According to David Marshall, head of business development for Datapoint’s Voice Self Service Business Unit, the brokerage company is finding that voice biometrics-based ID&V can typically save fifteen seconds from each call and, in cases where multiple “challenge questions” are required, this type of capability can typically reach up to 30 seconds. Contact center managers and corporate executives well know that those time savings translate into real cost savings.

Recognizing that decisions to implement new ID&V procedures is increasingly made by teams of individuals that include the security department along with operations, finance and marketing it is important to note that these types of systems do not need to replace exisiting ID&V resources. If PINs, Passwords and challenge questions are part of the routine call-flow, they can remain so. Nonetheless, once a client has enrolled his or her voiceprint, it can quickly be used for much more rapid caller verification or it may be invoked to do ID verification as required in the course of a phone-initiated transaction.

Datapoint has integrated a hosted voice biometric resource from VoiceVault into a complete phone-based customer care platform supporting agents in several locations. The system is front-ended by a speech-enabled IVR (interactive voice response) from Avaya running a “call steering” and ID&V application. It prompts callers to state the purpose of their call, recognizes their response and routes the calls according to pre-established business rules or procedures. The IVR also executes the ID&V process by prompting callers to say their account number to be validated and their voiceprint verified.

The Datapoint voice-based authentication system uses a hosted instantiation of voice biometric technology from VoiceVault. The broker’s customers enroll by reciting and repeating their account numbers (other systems could use other identifiers). The system requires between 15 and 30 seconds of speech to distill into a unique voice model, which is then used to authenticate the user in subsequent calls.

With decades of experience and over 120 experts in contact center solutions, Datapoint brings a level of expertise that is a welcome addition to the solution provider community. For instance, Datapoint professionals have developed and installed an application to govern when and whether agents should enroll customers based on their workload.

Over the years, the firm’s professionals have grown accustomed to making sales that link technologies to well-understood management objectives, including cost control, security and profitability in ways that are consistent with customers’ objectives like speedy resolution of problems, convenience and, ultimately, successful task completion.

Categories: Articles

Tags: Voice biometrics, Contact Center, Financial Services, Customer Experieince