Global Financial Services Firm Outsources Call Accounting Function To Symphony SMS

Business Challenge
The Investment Banking Division of a large global financial services firm had been collecting call records for approximately 25,000 employees using an in-house application. The data, reflecting more than 15-million call records across 75 sites worldwide, was difficult to collect and cumbersome to manage. The Division's staff was also responsible for supporting compliance or litigation requests, and running reports to ensure calls were being handled correctly by the firm’s telecommunications infrastructure. This work was resource-intensive and pulled the team away from its core competencies. In addition, call records produced by the PBX were traditionally transmitted via serial port to a buffer box until polled by the call accounting software. The Division had buffer boxes around the world which created multiple points offailure that had to be re-set, sometimes manually, creating significant log jams.

Solution
The Division took advantage of Symphony Spend Management Solutions through an
ASP-hosted engagement model in which Symphony SMS maintains and supports the client’s telecom environment through an ISO-certified, secure data center. Symphony SMS developed a customized Global Call Accounting Website that would allow users, who are generally C-level executives and site administrators, to have near real-time access to call records to help them better manage their complex telephony environment.
Working with the Executive Director, Symphony SMS also implemented a cost-cutting IP recording solution where call records are collected in real-time from PBX locations around the world. “We were impressed by Symphony SMS’ significant financial services experience and the fact that its team was very practical about the time and effort it would take to manage an account of this size and complexity,” said the Executive Director. “Symphony SMS has clearly proven its commitment by assigning appropriate resources, coming up with a secure network and delivering on its promise of innovation.”

Results
With the Global Call Accounting Website, users can now drill down into data to get detailed information to support compliance requirements and potential litigation issues as well as produce detailed reports or run ad hoc queries on call characteristics. This information also helps telecom site managers determine if calls are being routed correctly and if users are circumventing dialing plans enabled to save the company money. Symphony SMS’ CDR over IP solution provides a more reliable collection mechanism and significantly reduces collection and management costs. With a team of experienced Symphony SMS professionals dedicated full-time to the Division’s call accounting needs, the work is done more efficiently and allows the firm to save money, including being able to avoid costs associated with stretching highlypaid staff resources and training new hires.

About Symphony SMS
Symphony SMS offers an End-to-End TEM Outsourcing Solution – a holistic approach that drives productivity, controls costs and enables clients to utilize telecom to create profitable technical, operational and accounting business solutions.