What is IVR?

IVR (interactive voice response) is an automated  telephony technology that is used to interact to  the clients or customer in the form  of  database through phone keypad or voice commands. Mostly it is used 24*365 days  in the  BPO, KPO, and Banking sector as well as in-house and  offices to save money and employee resources where any emergency inquiry or service is not  required.

IVR system is very useful where some limited inquiry is asked like checking bank balances, managing credit cards, checking the timing of  store hours or locations, or ordering the  prescript medicine etc. If any company appoint the employees, for this purpose, it has to recruit at least two or three persons which is very costly for the company as it has to pay the salary, perks, gratuity and funds etc. So this device saves lots of money of the company. IVR system is also used  for  providing dynamic information such as  weather, news, traffic or stock reports etc. 

The IVR system works as in the voice form, when the client asks any inquiry, this system replies it in the simple form like "Yes" or "No" or blah blah in the human recorded voice. It also ask question and gives the instruction about how to answer of this  question by pressing  phone's keypad like press 1 for yes or  press 2 for no or  press 3  for returning in the main menu or  vice versa. Many it gives the direction to reply the question in the human voice as say "Yes" or "No" or  "Return". So  IVR system is  very useful where there non-emergency and limited  information is required and it can reach far more people in the comparison of   actually manning phones.

Usually, IVR systems is  installed in-house, but  it is also used as an  "outsourcing solution providers," or OSPs. The  IVR system  providers maintain their system on their own premises, integrating it through the client's network.

Though it saves  money and resources of the company, but it  has some limitations because it has designed to provide some limited information that can not surpass the limitations of  human query, only  intelligent  human being can solve these problems.