A possible implementation of CCF Agent Desktop |
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| Developer(s) | Microsoft |
|---|---|
| Stable release | 2009 SP 1 / March 31, 2009 |
| Development status | Transferred to Microsoft Dynamics CRM and Rebranded as Customer Care Accelerator |
| Operating system | Microsoft Windows |
| Platform | x86 and x86-64 |
| Available in | multi language |
| Type | Integration, Automation and Process Enhancement |
| License | MS-EULA |
| Website | www.microsoft.com/CCF |
Microsoft Customer Care Framework (CCF) was a Microsoft .NET desktop-based framework which was used to address issues faced by service providers caused by multiple line of business (LOB) systems while interacting with their customers. It was discontinued though many of its core functions were moved to an add-in for the Microsoft Dynamics CRM product.[1]
The Customer Care Framework provided a core set of functions for customer support avenues including voice call via call center agents and Internet portals. The framework leveraged other Microsoft server products including the BizTalk Server, and SharePoint. CCF required the use of Microsoft SQL Server and Microsoft IIS for the server side, which it uses to provide a base core set of web services.
CCF is targeted at medium to large enterprises. CCF was originally developed for the large call center requirements of the telecommunication industry.
CCF is different from most products from Microsoft in that it is not an 'out of the box' solution but requires development and configuration to build a working customer solution. The framework allows for a SOA methodology[2][3][4] on development on the server and agent desktop side, but this is not mandatory and non-SOA development can be done and is normally the case.
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The primary user interface for CCF is the agent desktop. This is a desktop-based user interface (UI) that presents data aggregated from various Line of business (LOB) & OSS/BSS application front ends and presents them in a unified view. CCF does not include an Agent Desktop application, rather samples including source code are provided as part of the framework.
The AIF manages the loading of the applications, integration and event brokering. Through the use of adapters (see HAT below) applications can have custom integrations to account for both the technology of the hosted application as well as business processing.
HAT allows for the separation of the business rules and the method used to integrate with the application. HAT uses Microsoft Windows Workflow Foundation (WF) to manage the business rules, Data Driven Adapters (DDAs) to manage the application directly, and Bindings written in XML to connect the two. CCF 2009 SP1 ships with 3 DDAs: Win32, Web, and Java (JDK 1.6). DDAs can be customized or extended for additional application types as needed.
Any version of Customer Care Framework before CCF 2009 SP1 QFE will break when upgrading to .NET Framework 3.5 SP1.[6]
There are a number of other products that are similar to CCF.
One is Jacada WorkSpace, which is a Java EE-based solution which is used to wrap applications and present a web UI to clients.
OpenSpan produces a product using .Net that can integrate with CCF or operate standalone to integrate applications. OpenSpan also provides an IDE tool to create the integrations.[7]
Cicero Software likewise produces an application integration product with an IDE.
Corizon provides a platform for Enterprise Mashups that allows Composite applications to be created easily.
Microsoft has a free product called Composite UI Application Block (CAB) which can be used to build composite applications. CAB is used within CCF. CAB does not provide telephone or call center specific integrations, but has tight integration with Visual Studio and many samples including one for call centers. CAB on its own doesn't offer session management and multi-channel capability although the sample code does have some session features.
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