User guide

Automatic Call Distribution
23
Introduction
This section provides an overview of Automatic Call Distribution (ACD) and how it works. For
more information, refer to the following topics:
•Overview
• How ACD Works: The ACD Routing Engine
• ACD Support
• Features and Benefits
Overview
ACD is used to help businesses optimize their resources. It enables businesses to handle large
numbers of incoming customer calls and answer these calls with as few trained agents as
possible. An ACD system routes incoming calls to the longest idle agent within a specific group.
If no agents are available, calls are queued and forwarded to an agent when one becomes
available.
Typically, ACD systems have more incoming calls than there are agents available to answer
them. This results in callers having to wait for agents to become available. To prevent waiting
callers from hanging up and calling competitors, ACD systems play recorded announcements
interspersed with music on hold. Recorded announcements set the expectations of waiting
callers and reassure them their calls are important to the business. When an agent becomes
available, the first caller in the queue is routed to the agent.
Networked ACD extends ACD functions over multiple telephone systems with a Mitel Switched
Digital Network (MSDN). Agent groups on various telephone systems (3300 ICP, SX-200, 5000,
Axxess) can answer calls on the network regardless of where the call first entered the network.
D-channel signaling is used to queue the calls remotely.
A virtual contact center can evenly distribute calls among agents in a specific agent group,
regardless of the agent’s geographic proximity to other agents in their group, or the agent
controller to which they are registered. See "Virtual Contact Centers" in this document.
ACD Resiliency provides seamless reporting in the event of a network or controller outage.
See "Resiliency and ACD Resiliency" in this document.
For more information regarding ACD, see the Contact Center Solutions Deployment Guide.