Lucent Technologies Selected by IRS to Network Call Centers

Lucent Technologies has been selected by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to network the call centers used to answer general tax information questions for the 60 million taxpayers who call the agency each year. The estimated value of the project is $20 million. Lucent NetCare Professional Services will serve as integrator for the project, bringing together a team of vendors that includes GeoTel Communications Corporation. The goal is to noticeably improve the service these callers receive, while increasing the efficiency of the operation.

Key Takeaways:

• The IRS handles over 25 million calls for general tax information between January 1 and April 15 alone.
• Lucent NetCare Professional Services will manage the program and partner with GeoTel to design the new call center architecture.
• The GeoTel software selected for the project routes calls across multi-vendor networks and provides real-time data to reduce hold times, balance agent workloads, and lower 800-number service costs.
• Other key members of Lucent's implementation team are AT&T, Aspect, Computer Marketplace Inc., and Microlog Corporation.
• Lucent's NetCare Services expertise will be used to design and integrate call centers for the IRS's business problem.
• The IRS aims to provide a call center platform that delivers quantifiable, measurable, and results-oriented performance.

Statistics:

• $20 million: estimated value of the project.
• 60 million: number of taxpayers who call the IRS for general tax information each year.
• 25 million: number of calls handled by the IRS between January 1 and April 15 alone.

Sources:

• Lucent Technologies press release, July 27, 1998.
• GeoTel Communications Corporation press release, July 27, 1998.
• Internal Revenue Service.