How Mission Empowers Netfor's Next-Generation AI-Powered IVR Solution

Netfor, a people-first Business Process Outsourcing (BPO) company, worked together with Mission to develop their most ambitious project: a next-generation AI-powered Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system. Through Mission's expertise in AWS technologies and AI integration, Netfor is creating an innovative solution that leverages its extensive knowledge base to enhance customer service capabilities while maintaining a human touch.

Netfor is a leading BPO provider offering tailored managed services including field services, first-level tech support, and call center support. Their customer-centric approach focuses on delivering efficient, personalized solutions across government contracts and retail sectors, serving approximately 30-40 diverse clients.

Netfor recognized the need to innovate its customer service capabilities through AI integration. With over 10,000 active knowledge articles developed over two decades, they sought to leverage this valuable resource to create a more efficient, cost-effective service delivery model.

Netfor chose Mission as its AWS partner for their deep technical expertise and collaborative approach to solution development. Rather than a traditional vendor-customer relationship, Mission offered a true partnership model, working alongside Netfor to address unforeseen challenges and provide innovative solutions. As David Cady, Director of Data Operations at Netfor, emphasized, "Mission has been extremely wonderful to work with. Their depth of knowledge is incredible. Their talent is incredible. Their ability to work with you, understand your problems, and help you develop a solution that is very specific to what you are trying to do. It's been a great partnership that we've had with them.”

AWS's comprehensive suite of services, particularly in AI and machine learning, provided the robust foundation needed for Netfor's innovative IVR solution. The platform's Amazon Connect capabilities enable unlimited concurrent call handling, while its AI services support the sophisticated natural language processing required for the RAG-based system.

Mission worked closely with Netfor to design and implement a RAG-based IVR system that intelligently leverages their extensive knowledge base, which contains 16,000 articles. The solution includes real-time transcription of caller conversations and sophisticated AI processing to provide relevant responses based on the context of each interaction.

The system was designed to complement rather than replace human agents, handling straightforward queries while routing more complex issues to live representatives. Mission helped develop solutions for technical challenges, such as implementing conversation flow control and determining appropriate response timing. As Cady noted, "Mission's role in this project has been instrumental. Not only do they help us design a basic architecture, but they have really worked with us as a partner…it very much feels like we are all on the same side. We're all working towards the same goal."

The solution is customizable for each customer's needs, allowing Netfor to tailor knowledge articles and responses based on individual campaign requirements, whether for retail stores or government contracts.

The partnership with Mission has positioned Netfor at the forefront of customer service innovation. The new IVR system promises significant benefits for Netfor's clients, including substantial cost savings through efficient call handling and improved first-call resolution rates. Even when calls require human intervention, the system reduces handling times by gathering and passing along relevant information to agents.

The solution's ability to handle unlimited concurrent calls through Amazon Connect ensures scalability during peak periods, addressing a critical operational challenge. As Cady notes, "Using Amazon Connect, we can handle as many phone calls at once as required. When we suddenly get a thousand calls in an hour, we'll have zero problems handling those – something that would be much more challenging with live agents."

Most importantly, the partnership with Mission has enabled Netfor to pursue cutting-edge innovation while maintaining its commitment to quality service. In Cady's words, "If we weren't using Mission to help us develop this product, it would be extremely challenging. We don't have the level of expertise that we would need, so it would be very difficult to make sure that we didn't have technical issues." 

With this cutting-edge product, Netfor is positioned to become a leader in their industry. As they continue to develop and refine their AI-powered solution, they're excited about the possibilities for revolutionizing customer service delivery while maintaining their commitment to innovation and solving industry problems.