Jargon buster

Technology words, in plain English.

Technology people love short names. Here is what they mean.

Routing: Deciding which person or team a call or chat goes to, for example the person with the right skills who has waited longest.
Phone menu (IVR): The 'press 1 for…' menu, or a voice assistant, that greets callers before they reach a person. IVR stands for interactive voice response.
Customer record system (CRM): The system that keeps each customer's details and history, so you can see who you are talking to. CRM stands for customer relationship management.
Screen pop-up (CTI): When a call arrives, the customer's details appear on your screen automatically. CTI stands for computer telephony integration.
SIP trunk: A way to carry phone calls over the internet instead of old phone lines.
Session border controller: A security guard for internet phone calls. It sits between your phone system and the outside world and checks what comes in and out.
Transcription: Turning what people say into written words automatically.
Agent assist: A tool that listens to a call and suggests answers or next steps to the person on the phone.
Workforce planning: Working out how many people are needed at each time of day to answer customers without long waits.
Erlang: A maths formula used to work out how many people are needed to handle a certain number of calls.
PCI-DSS: The security rules for taking card payments. It stands for Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard.
GDPR: The law that says how organisations must look after people's personal information. It stands for General Data Protection Regulation.
Unified Communications: Phone calls, video, chat and messages working together in one system, instead of separate tools that do not talk to each other. Often shortened to UC.