Computer Solutions is an IT service and cybersecurity firm based in San Antonio, Texas, that serves clients across the state.

The company offers IT services for a variety of solutions, including rapid IT support for businesses, unified communication and collaboration, networking and data center management, business continuity and disaster recovery planning.

 A Long-term Partnership

Computer Solutions began working with the City of San Antonio as a hardware and software provider in 2009. Over the last 15 years, the company has transitioned into a pivotal IT professional services provider and solutions consultant.

As a State of Texas Department of Information Resources (DIR) vendor, Computer Solutions holds multiple DIR contracts for cybersecurity, managed IT services and software and hardware procurement.

Because of the longevity of the relationship, Computer Solutions has deep knowledge of the city’s IT infrastructure’s needs and complexities. A shining example of the team’s success working together is their recent project modernizing the city’s 311 call center system.

Implementing Automation for Efficiency

Interactive Voice Recognition (IVR) is an automated telephony technology that allows incoming callers to access information via a voice response system, all without needing to speak to an agent.

A system of pre-recorded messages and touch-tone keypad or speech selections routes a caller to the specific department or specialist they need. An efficient IVR system improves call center operations, helping callers find answers themselves, cutting down on hold time and maintaining efficacy during times of high call volume.

Using Cisco Systems Webex Cloud Contact Center powered by Google AI natural language Interactive Voice Recognition, Computer Solutions built a custom solution to improve customer experience by leveraging AI-powered workflows that understand context and sentiment and can interact quickly to provide real-time resources and information to callers.

A Collaborative Approach

At the outset, Computer Solutions Principal Solutions Architect Richard Lucas and members of the Collaboration Team engaged in working sessions with the City of San Antonio to analyze existing use cases and gain a comprehensive understanding of the project’s unique requirements.

Computer Solutions delivered a high-level design document, projecting what the solution’s outcome would look like and providing more clarity on what this project and timeline would entail for the client.

Over a five-month period, Computer Solutions deployed a multifaceted team of software-specific project managers and designers using an application development approach.

Deploying Cisco solutions exclusively, Lucas stayed on as Lead Designer with the help of Roberto Hernandez, Senior Collaboration Engineer, Jason Cox, Secondary Collaboration Engineer and David McCall, Project Manager.

Following the installation and setup of the solution in December 2023, Computer Solutions stayed on to provide Tier 3 support and managed IT services to assist with knowledge transfer to the City of San Antonio’s internal team and ongoing support for the next year.

Automation Offers Efficiency

With the new 311 city call center, callers can seamlessly interact with the Virtual Voice Agent, decreasing the number of callers that require a live person by as much as 20 percent. In future phases, additional omnichannel enhancement will be introduced, including virtual agent chat, live chat, social channels, address lookup for service dates, SMS and more.

This implementation is a prominent example of using Cisco in an advanced Webex Contact Center in a United States municipality. With the success of this project, Computer Solutions and the City of San Antonio are expanding into Phase Two, which will include an additional 14 of the city’s contact centers. Both organizations look forward to these future collaborations.