Todays contact handling needs are becoming increasingly complex. Adding the functionality of a database to your scripts allows you to create very powerful applications.
Examples might include:
- Using customer phone numbers or account numbers to look up customer data and customize call routing.
- Using caller data to perform routing based upon where the caller came from
- Creating dynamic systems that can modify script behavior based upon complex combinations of data
- Using web pages and other applications to modify data that can then drive script actions.
The list and numbers of possible ways to use a database are virtually limitless. The ‘Why use a database in my script?’ is easy – it provides function that cannot be had otherwise, and it can improve performance in high use applications.
The other two questions are, ‘When should I use a database vs using say text files or script specific coding’ and ‘How do I implement a database into my script?’
As with most of the things I talk about, the ‘When’ question has a lot of answers, but lets provide some general guidelines.
- When the data you need is in a database or needs to be kept in a database.
- When the quantity of transactions is very high databases are the better solution. Note – some customers will try to use a text file to store contact information… this can be done if the transaction volume is not too high. The nature of .txt files is that you cannot have two different processes updating a .txt file at the same time. Therefore, if you have high volume requirements, a .text file, .txt, is just not going to do the job very well. Please use a database.
- When you need dynamic control over your script, a database can be a good solution
How… well you have a couple of choices. NICE CXone provides a DBProvider/DBConnector that can be installed on a server at your premise. That DB Connector will connect to your database and to ACD and become the integration point that your scripts use to communicate to your database.
Databases are fantastic tools and can provide a way to create dynamic and powerful scripts and call flows.