subject: Call Accounting - Improving Service [print this page] A well positioned reseller can make great profits from call accounting. Why is it then, that most resellers find themselves unable to profit from these opportunities? - because they lack the ability to deliver a credible service.Resellers are not at fault, but the fact is, the average customer cannot rely on their call accounting package because of inherent service issues. The inherent maintainability of a stand alone package limits the resellers ability to perform.Here we discuss the problems and a strategy to vitalize the industry.ProblemsThe two most pertinent issues are serviceability/ reliability and easy access to reports and information. We recently conducted a survey of resellers posing the questions:What is the total number of packages you have installed over the last 3 years?With any confidence, do you know how many are operating today?And, of those you know are operational, how many have up to date call tariffs?You may be surprised by the results. Of resellers who install stand alone software packages, none could tell us with any confidence how many were operational, but as a generally thumb suck estimated 70% (I think, erring on the optimistic side), and of these, only half had upgraded to the latest tariff tables. Conclusion, only 35% of all standalone call accounting software packages installed where properly working.Then we asked:When a customer reports a fault, what is the average response time?To paraphrase and use a little poetic license, the overwhelming response was; When we have a maintenance technician in the area with some slack time he will attend to it, call accounting is not mission critical.Where to from here?A reseller serious about making a profit from call accounting needs to do better than this.The architecture of a stand alone solution is the limiting factor, a stand alone software package with no way for the reseller to remotely communicate with it is just not going to play a part in the future of call accounting.With a stand alone system, the reseller waits for the customer to report a problem, the customer only knows something is wrong when a report doesn't work. It could have been faulty for a week or longer. Add to this the "non critical" nature of the fault and potentially we have a two week response time. Not good.SummaryA new architecture is necessary, one that automatically detects potential problems, informs the reseller immediately they are detected by the system and provides the information to locate the root cause of the problem before the reseller leaves the office. This is Software as a Service. A new breed of call accounting service offered as an Internet application. Monitored 24/7 with up-times around 99.9% and offering the reseller enough information via the Internet to locate the cause of a problem.Stand alone software is dead, a new opportunity arises to re-vitalize the business and offer resellers the chance to make a healthy profit. The future of call accounting lies in Web based services.
