CTI: KBC: The IVR behind the Show

If you have ever tried to dial the Kaun Banega Crorepati (KBC) numbers, you

have probably experienced the frustration of not getting through. But before

cursing the guys behind the show, have you ever pondered how, apart from your

call, they handle the 1.5 lakh calls daily? Have you ever wondered about the

technology, which goes into managing all this?

Having heard the meticulous details with which KBC has been

executed by officials of ECM Asia–the company which bought the Asian rights of

the program, Who Wants to be a Millionaire–one would have assumed that the

back-end technology was also handled by its own engineers. However, integrating

the call enabling system, interacting with callers, selecting the right

candidates and finally choosing the selected few is the task of a small

Delhi-based interactive voice response (IVR) company, DialNet Systems.

With indigenous computer-telephony integration (CTI)

technology developed by Gurgaon-based Parsec Technologies, DialNet initially

undertook the pilot project in the two metros of Delhi and Mumbai for six weeks.

Thereafter, the project was expanded to Chennai and Bangalore and now with a

contract for 52 weeks, the installation of the system will also expand to

smaller towns, the first of which is Nagpur. "The biggest challenge before

KBC was whether to have a Web-based system call center or to have a

telephone-based call center system." Initially, Star Plus debated on the

virtues of a Web-based system but it was eventually ruled out considering the

low level of Internet penetration. Today, the huge success of the program is

attributed to the fact that the telephone is accessible to a large percentage of

the Indian population.

How the system works?

Currently, there are 12 servers in Delhi, Mumbai, Calcutta

and Bangalore. Each location has three servers each: the network server, the

database server and the Parsec server, loaded with the CTI software. The system

operates on Windows NT server platform.

DialNet

handles the entire execution of the selection process–from setting up the call

centers to maintenance of the software and the database of questions. As soon as

the caller gets through, he is greeted by an IVR guiding him to do the needful.

After he answers the preliminary questions, the answers are recorded

automatically in the database. Meanwhile, at the back end all the three servers

are activated the moment the call comes through. The first to intercept the

calls is the CTI server, setting the circuit between the PSTN line and the

network server. The network server provides the necessary prompts and guides the

caller to the database server. The database server, storing the question bank,

gives the caller the questions and stores the response. Every detail of the

calls that get through the KBC lines is recorded.

Callers with wrong answers are automatically disqualified and

persons with right answers are selected randomly. The selected candidates who

make it through this stage are contacted by a call center. This is only an

outbound call center manned by eight operators. These operators ask the

candidates a second set of questions. Here again, the conversation is recorded

by DialNet to ensure the fairness of the selection process. "The call

center at Kalkaji has restricted entry and stringent security rules to ensure

fair play," said JP Dutta, COO, Parsec Technologies. The fairness is also

attested by consultancy firm Arthur Andersen, which monitors the selection

process. All those who give correct answers at this stage are again selected

randomly through the same software taking care that there is an even

distribution of candidates from all four regions and later on, from across the

country.

The KBC project is a small project, in the words of Dutta,

worth a "couple of lakh". But considering the volumes involved, the

project has required a lot of scaling in terms of access capacity. Dhiraj

Chhabra, GM, operations, DialNet, said, "Technically we did not have to do

much customization for the IVR. In fact, it was at the lowest end of the IVR.

But we had to drastically scale the capacity due to the volumes that were coming

in." Initially, the program started with 16 lines in Delhi, which had to be

scaled to 180 lines within no time.

DialNet has hired a lot of E1 lines to accommodate the

traffic. Each E1 line has the capacity to accommodate around 30 telephone lines

simultaneously. In Delhi, six E1 lines are dedicated to the show. Mumbai has

eight lines, Calcutta three and Bangalore four.

DialNet usually processes 8—13 episodes concurrently per

session once the request from KBC comes. Typically DialNet takes about one and a

half days to process the calls of each episode. Usually, the selected callers

are also given the option to choose the day of the episode.

Responding to the query that callers have to pay much more

than the normal PSTN rates when calling up the KBC lines, Chhabra, says,

"There has been a lot of wrong reports printed in the media. We have also

sent rejoinders for these reports but it is a sad reality that rejoinders never

have the same impact as the wrong report that has once been published." The

reality is that callers pay the same amount as in a normal PSTN call. However,

KBC also has an ISD line, which callers can use as a premium number to get

instant connectivity, but then they have to pay ISD rates.

In fact, KBC has to pay for every call that is made into the

DialNet center. Chhabra says, "It is a service that DialNet provides to KBC

and is therefore charged for the use of telephone lines, the software, its

maintenance and support."

So the next time you dial for the show, remember it’s the

technology of a small Delhi-based integrator which has enabled India to have its

own Who Wants to be a Millionaire.

Balaka Baruah Aggarwal



in New Delhi