As I earlier named Unified Communications among my projected “Ten Themes and Predictions for 2010,” I thought it would be a good time to examine CEBP (which is sometimes lumped in with UC but often not fully understood). CEBP is defined as a Communication Enabled Business Process. CEBP functions often leverage Unified Communications capabilities but take things a step further by automating process, thereby reducing the need for human intervention.
One of the simplest forms of Unified Communication is the function that allows us to click to dial a phone number from our CRM system or directly from Outlook. As in this example, the functionality is triggered by user interaction. CEBP surpasses this by allowing a series of simple or complex steps and processes to be completed without any human interaction, potentially reducing errors and latency. This is useful as traditional phone interaction often leaves users on hold for frustrating and extended periods of time, or with no choice but to leave pertinent information as a voice mail, suspended in time awaiting a decision maker to act upon it. CEBP applications can bypass these issues and can be used across almost all industries and verticals.
Let’s look at some the simple and more complex ways CEBP is being used today.
• Loan Application – Anyone who has applied for a loan knows that the process can often be tedious. By utilizing CEBP, the customer can be informed of their loan status at regular intervals and easily informed if additional information is required. Should additional information be required or data is found missing, CEBP can assist in collecting by providing an audit trail in the process.
• Staffing – Any number of industries can benefit from notifications and coordinating flexible staffing needs. Think nursing, schools, or any number of service industries where staffing is often in flux due to occupancy or workload requirements. CEBP can analyze scheduling needs, contact employees, confirm scheduling, request additional shifts and notify management if potential issues are developing.
• Package Delivery – Deliveries requiring a signature often frustrate delivery personnel and recipients as well. Using CEBP, an automatic notification can be made announcing the package is within 1 hour of delivery, allowing the recipient to be in position to receive it. This saves both parties time and money.
• Overdraft Prediction – Customers hate overdraft fees and by using CEBP, financial institutions can alert customers of the impending danger before it occurs. By implementing simple analysis, banks can notify customers that they are in risk of overdraft by notifying them via email, cell and sms.
As you can see, CEBP takes UC to an entirely different level and affords organizations opportunities to improve customer interaction to a degree not previously possible. What do you think of CEBP? Is your organization looking at ways to use it today? What is the best application you have seen? I look forward to your comments and what you think about CEBP’s impact in the marketplace.
