Automatic call distributor (ACD)

An automatic call distributor (ACD) is a switching system typically used in an organizational context within private branch telephone exchanges (PBX) as a means of distributing telephone calls among a group of agents of the organization. Automatic call distributors (ACDs) are becoming increasingly utilized by businesses to automatically route incoming telephone calls to available agents. Some ACDs route incoming telephone calls based on the skills of the agents and the needs of the external callers. ACD systems provide for acquiring, processing and reporting data concerning different aspects of activity within the system. A display terminal connected directly, or through a designated LAN network, to the automatic call distributor generates visual representations of the data. An automatic call distributor typically consists of a multiport switch which routes calls to one or more available agents under the control of a central processing unit. Each of the agents has access to an agent console connected to the central processing unit of the ACD. The agent console generally includes a numeric keypad and a few special function pushbuttons. An ACD system detects and answers incoming calls. It looks in its memory for instructions on what to do with the calls. A host computer communicates with the ACD via a data link. The host computer stores data relating to relevant information about customers. For instance, the data may include customer name, customer account number, customer social security number or the like. ACD systems generally include a multiport switch controlled by a central processing unit to interconnect external telephonic units of an external telephonic network with internal telephonic units.