Case Study:

Network Intelligence Leverages TelcoBridges’ ProSBC to Improve the Efficiency of “2-1-1” Services

Background

Network Intelligence, a California-based consulting and managed services provider, helps customers implement and deliver customized operating solutions to clients around the globe. Specializing in Communications Platform as a Service (CPaaS) development and delivery via their Sentient Cloud Services offering, the company has a unique edge in developing multi-modal communications applications that integrate voice, video and SMS.

The company is working with one of the largest non-profits in North America to support “2-1-1” call centers in California. As part of their work, Network Intelligence is providing connectivity, network security, monitoring, call detail records and a host of other capabilities through a CPaaS model.

Business Challenge

Within the US, a nation-wide 2-1-1 call network connects people-in-need with assistance programs such as food & clothing banks, homeless shelters, health insurance for children, educational services, job training and other services in non-English languages. When people call 2-1-1, their calls are routed through a local switch to a call center and they’re converted to a 10-digit toll-free number or a local call.

2-1-1 call centers face numerous unique challenges. Storms, fires and natural disasters cause a spike in call volumes. For non-profits with toll-free numbers, call spikes result in increased usage costs and they also bring about longer wait times for callers.

The non-profit agency in California needed a way to organize phone traffic in a manner that reduces wait times for callers and makes operators more efficient. The agency sought to automate call handling and better manage the call traffic volumes during high-volume situations with a multi-modal mix of live operators, IVR and SMS messaging. This allowed callers to initiate contact via a voice call and deliver services going forward via SMS (when practical).

“ProSBC is an Integral part of our solution.  It’s managing our traffic at the physical layer as well as the applications layer, and it’s giving us control over the entire process.” – Jamie Hash, Network Intelligence CTO.

Solution

To support the agency’s needs, Network Intelligence developed an application based on their Sentient Cloud Services platform, utilizing TelcoBridges’ ProSBC session border controller, mated with Telestax Restcomm CPaaS service platform, all hosted on Amazon Web Services cloud-computing infrastructure.

In this configuration, ProSBC provides connectivity to incoming SIP trunks, manages traffic and routes incoming calls based on the origin and geography of the caller. This configuration protects against Telephone Denial of Service (TDOS) attacks and incoming call over-load conditions via ProSBC’s intelligent traffic management and load balancing services, distributing traffic across multiple Restcomm CPaaS servers. ProSBC also protects the call center’s network from Denial of Service (DoS) & Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks, while delivering carrier-grade session handling performance.

As part of the solution, Telestax Restcomm servers provide a programmable environment that Network Intelligence uses to manage call handling, create IVR scripts and establish conference calls and SMS dialogs.

“If we didn’t have ProSBC in the architecture, we wouldn’t be able to access the incoming calls, or analyze what’s being manipulated by the CPaaS component”  Jamie Hash, Network Intelligence CTO.  

Results

Network Intelligence started working with the non-profit in one county (of 50 in the state.) The initial pilot program was able to successfully redirect 6% of the incoming voice calls to an SMS self-service application, which saved agent time and reduced Toll Free usage. Since the pilot program, Network Intelligence has expanded services beyond the SMS application, and they’re now offering expanded services in 49 additional counties.

According to Network Intelligence’s CTO, Jaime Hash, the benefits and the cost savings are increasing exponentially as they scale up in multiple counties – and ProSBC is the glue that ties everything together. “If we didn’t have ProSBC in the architecture, we wouldn’t be able to access the incoming calls, or analyze what’s being manipulated by the CPaaS component. “ProSBC is an Integral part of our solution. It’s managing our traffic at the physical layer as well as the applications layer, and it’s giving us control over the entire process.”

For more information on Network Intelligence and Sentient Cloud Services, please visit: http://www.netg2.com/index.html
For more information on TelcoBridges’ ProSBC, visit: https://telcobridges.com/
More on Telestax Restcomm at: https://www.telestax.com