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Sitel

SITEL calls on Red Hat to increase performance and stability

Fast Facts

Industry: Global Call Center/Customer Support Services
Platform: Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS
Hardware: Dell PowerEdge 2650
Applications: Oracle 9i Database, TantaComm Digital Voice Capture
Challenge: Cost effectively increase performance of centrally managed data and applications.
Solution: Use Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS and Oracle 9i running on Dell to build out databases and call center applications in each of the company's geographically remote call centers. Remotely manage systems with Red Hat Network Satellite.
Benefits: Stability and reliability necessary for remote sites; increased system uptime; and increased customer service agent productivity all achieved at a significantly lower price point than the comparable UNIX alternative.

By designing, building and operating contact centers that interface with customers through many points, SITEL Corporation turns data into insight for its clients, allowing them to enhance the value of their customer contacts, relationships and interaction. As a global provider of outsourced customer contact center services for customers such as American Express, Cox Communications, GM and Mitsubishi Motors, SITEL relies on technology to keep its data centers running, its call center applications fast and its customer service agents productive.

The challenge of managing customer touchpoints and data became clear as the number of SITEL's call centers grew and their reach extended across the globe. With more than 70 call centers in 20 countries around the world, SITEL's remote locations were dependent on customer records and data that were stored centrally. To reduce bandwidth requirements and increase service levels and the performance of call center applications, SITEL needed a reliable, affordable, scalable IT infrastructure capable of supporting distributed databases and applications. To create that infrastructure at a price point more attractive than the Unix alternative, SITEL turned to Red Hat.

While SITEL uses IBM RS/6000 servers running AIX in its central data center, the company realized that placing those servers in all of its call centers would be cost prohibitive. Instead, SITEL chose to deploy Dell PowerEdge 2650 servers Running Red Hat Enterprise Linux AS and Oracle Enterprise Server database in each of its more than 70 call centers, allowing the company to achieve cost savings without sacrificing performance. After a seamless integration with the help of Red Hat Professional Services, SITEL realized CRM application enhancements, increased customer service agent productivity and reduced system downtime.

The stability Red Hat Enterprise Linux provides is particularly important to SITEL and its call center operations since many sites are in remote locations without access to onsite technical support. Red Hat provides the reliability necessary to run SITEL's enterprise. And Scott Clark, SITEL's Director of IT Systems agrees: "The (Linux) servers are rock solid, and you don't have to mess with them" once they're deployed.

Because Red Hat Enterprise Linux provides interoperability with existing systems, support, and stability, SITEL was able to meet business requirements at a fraction of the cost traditionally involved with closed-architecture environments.