Mathias Pasquay, CEO of Pascom Netzwerktechnik, speaks about the future of contact-center industry

Mathias Pasquay is the co-founder and CEO of pascom Netzwerktechnik, Germany, with over 10 years experience in the delivery of integrated systems based on open source software. A software developer at heart, in 2008 Mathias was instrumental in the creation of pascom's Asterisk based mobydick VoIP software PBX, which delivers a user friendly and feature rich unified business communications platform.

In addition to his role as CEO, Mathias is responsible for overseeing all aspects of mobydick's future development and growth. Playing an active role in all departments including software development, sales, marketing and channel growth. Thus, providing him a unique insight into upcoming market trends based on both customer requirements as well as advancements in technology.

Q: Could you please summarize for our readers your company profile, your target customer and reference market?
Founded in 1997, pascom Netzwerktechnik saw the Pasquay brothers turn their passion for IT into a highly successful career path. Originally formed as a traditional IT systems integrator, the company reacted to the advancements in IP technologies and the strengthening trend moving companies away from traditional systems by developing mobydick, an Asterisk based software IP PBX. Since then, pascom has grown into leading solutions provider within the IP telecommunications field, servicing a wide base of customers from the SMB and Call Centre markets across the EMEA and the DACH region in particular.

Q: What kind of benefits do you experience using and selling QueueMetrics and WombatDialer?
While mobydick delivers advanced call reporting, the beauty of QueueMetrics lies within its ability to generate high value metrics in graphical form. Thus providing the Call Centre with clarity upon which they can measure and further enhance efficiencies, productivity and customer service. Another bonus when using QueueMetrics software is the simplicity of deployment and integration.
The WombatDialer provides an additional element to a Call Centres armoury which, when combined with QueueMetrics and mobydick, delivers advanced functionality and a complete tool set from which to run, manage and analyse the core of their business, which are of course the campaigns, whether they be sales, marketing or research based.

Q: Could you give me an example of how you have dealt with a customer's critical issue using QueueMetrics or WombatDialer?
3 Years ago, pascom deployed an 80 seat mobydick solution with integrated QueueMetrics. The complete solution provided our customer with a previously unavailable overview of their system and core processes. In doing so, the inner workings where highlighted and deficiencies exposed, thus enabling the customer to streamline their telephony operations, deliver training where required, increase core efficiencies and greatly improve customer service and satisfaction.

Q: What are the key factors, which make a successful Asterisk, based Call Centre?
Customer Service and performance is key. It's well established that bad customer service has a significant impact on business success, particularly in today's world. Therefore, businesses that rely on Call Centre activities in any shape or form require top class solutions. That means having high availability server clusters, detailed in depth call reporting, call flow analysis, optimised queuing allowing and so on that enable the business to highlight strengths and weaknesses on a continual basis meaning performance can be constantly assessed.
At pascom, we work together with our Call Centre customers to deliver highly optimised and customer specific solutions that focus on customer service, high performance and delivering every agent the tools to perform to the best of their abilities.

Q: Mr. Pasquay, what's your view on the Asterisk call-centre industry future in the next two years?
Looking forward to the near term future, we expect to see continued growth in the Asterisk Call Centre market industry, stemming from the industry's increased awareness regarding the need for improved customer service, flexibility and scalability which is where proprietary systems often fall down. Asterisk based solutions, combined with 3rd party tools such as QueueMetrics and the WombatDialer, provide Call Centres with the ability to implement flexible, dependable, full featured cost effective solutions. What's more as Asterisk is OpenSource, solutions built around the project deliver Call Centres with increased flexibility when it comes to vendor lock in, enabling them to benefit not only from lower acquisition costs, but also reducing hardware expenditure, as well as innovation orientated around the customer or user from directly within the Asterisk community.