Sometimes the most fun, as well as the most challenging, part of your IT job is to consider adding new features and applications to your existing network. Part of the selection process for these additions is to first outline your own company’s business goals for the addition, and then ask vendors, in an RFP format, to give you information about their products and how they might best solve your new network addition.

For this lab, you will be an IT manager that is selecting the best company that satisfies the business requirements outlined by your company in setting up a new call center. Remember this is subjective, so there is no one right answer. The way you decide to set up your evaluation matrix will be different from another’s matrix and that is OK.

You will fill out the attached spreadsheet and write a short summary of how you made your decision; again since these are subjective it is important to point out how you decided to evaluate many of the important features.

In order to work with this RFP problem, use the PBX-ACD side-by-side analysis document included in your iLab page. You will consider this information to be the compiled responses to your RFP from several of the top vendors.

Have fun!

Remember, you are an IT manager and your company is transforming its Customer Service Department into a Call Center facility. You have not had a call center facility as part of your internal network before, so this is all new to you.

An Automatic Call Distributor (ACD) is a telephone facility that manages incoming calls and handles them based on the number called and an associated database of handling instructions. Many companies offering sales and service support use ACDs to validate callers make outgoing responses or calls, forward calls to the correct party, allow callers to record messages, gather usage statistics, balance the use of phone