I’ve been wondering about the proliferation of VoIP phones and their lack of interoperability. It reminds me of phone service in the US in the early 1900s. At that time, if you wanted to call someone, that person needed to have the same kind of phone as yours. Oftentimes both of you needed to be using the same poles and wires.
These days, it’s really slick to use Skype, for example, to call someone. But if you do, one of two things will happen: (1) you’ll either reach a Skype endpoint in which case you can have an enhanced call, or (2) the call with drop down to PSTN (Public Switched Telephone Network) as a voice-only call. In most cases, you’ll be stuck with PSTN as the lowest common denominator.
Likewise, if you call a business or organization, one of two things will happen: (1) you’ll either reach an automated voice system such as an IVR or phonebot, or (2) you’ll reach a live person. Automated voice systems obviously can’t handle calls other than PSTN and a live person can’t either unless they’re equipped with a matching phone app. Then they’d need a special app for every type of call they’d receive. The result again is that you’re stuck with a voice-only PSTN call.
For all the hype, VoIP calls don’t really improve the types of calls we make every day. Think of the calls you make to businesses or organizations to get information or support, resolve a billing issue, ask a question, or get medical assistance.
Enter Radish Systems. At Radish, we take interoperability seriously. You should be able to make a phone call and connect with anyone in the world as a first step. Then engage in an enhanced transaction without using a special app. It’s a new mode of phone call that’s better than voice-only PSTN, without the interoperability limitations of a VoIP call. This approach is called ChoiceView®.
- ChoiceView starts with the familiarity of a phone call. It is, in fact, a phone call, not a pre-arranged conference.
- It doesn’t need a mobile app, so it works with first-time callers.
- It works with smartphones as well as any phone and separate computer or tablet.
- It preserves voice quality without needing a broadband connection.
- It’s inherently compatible with phones, automated voice systems, contact center positions, and business phone systems.
- It encourages businesses to go beyond voice-only calls with the confidence that their customers can engage without needing a special app.
- It presents a significant opportunity for developers to build ChoiceView apps on all the voice-only platforms.
Checkout what we’re doing at Radish and see how ChoiceView is dramatically and easily enhancing customer engagement. “Now I see what you’re talking about!”™.
