Calling for Change

By Melissa Hoyos, CityU Alumni Relations

Clunky, dated computer hardware won’t exist in Derek Whitaker’s enhanced vision for his Renton, Washington-based technology business.

Whitaker, chief technical officer for Convergent Resources, Inc., soon hopes to save millions when intricate software replaces the company’s traditional phone systems used in its nationwide call centers that cater to clients such as Bank of America and Verizon.

Hardware-based telephony systems such as phone switches, dialers, voicemail, and call recording will be replaced by integrating Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP)-based software. The system uses Internet bandwidth instead of traditional phone lines to place automated calls and also pull and route customer calls on a single computer server.

All traditional lines to the carriers will be completely replaced using VoIP, which will significantly reduce reoccurring facility costs such as hardware, says 40-year-old Whitaker.

“Agents no longer need phones, just a USB headset,” he adds.

The 2005 City University of Seattle alumnus says the trailblazing idea he plans to launch in June could give them an advantage over market competition for call center operations. Convergent Resources primarily assists businesses, such as banks, telephone carriers, and medical insurance companies, with call center solutions to handle collections. Other clients include Qwest, AT&T, Dell Computers, and Toshiba.

Integrating all telephony into a single software-based solution also allows operators to focus on inbound calls while computers perform the outbound calling. Labor costs also are significantly reduced. The program alerts supervisors of a disgruntled or dissatisfied customer using sophisticated speech analytics.

“There are not many people (who are) truly thinking this way yet,” Whitaker explained recently while demonstrating how a virtual phone keypad can integrate with their telephony software.

His interest in the technology arena intensified after returning to college as an adult. He’d spent a lifetime preparing himself with his tech-savvy hobbies (writing computer games and building personal computers) and more than a decade of professional experience as a programmer, network engineer, and software designer.

Whitaker enrolled in CityU of Seattle’s School of Management and studied computer systems to learn the business side behind the industry.

His schedule also allowed him to continue his side job as a musician and play in the band Baby Blonde with his wife Brenda. The money they earned from gigs helped pay for Whitaker’s Bachelor of Science in Computer Systems degree.

“That was the nice thing about CityU. It offered flexibility when I needed to do things. If I had to go on a business trip, and I had to miss a test, the school would usually accommodate that,” he says.

Whitaker also admired the self-discovery teaching principles of his former CityU Professor John Conlon who taught software project management courses.

“I do remember he did very well in a difficult class,” Conlon says.

The School of Management professor says he challenges students with arduous assignments, including a four-part, 100-page project using MS project software.

“In addition, they have a five-hour final exam covering not only this course, but all of the major CS courses they have taken in pursuit of their degree,” he says.

Today, Whitaker says his biggest challenge is similar to the one he faced as a student: making time for his family while developing breakthrough resources in his field.

How do others become entrepreneurs? Whitaker offered this advice:

“Try to take what you do today and figure out ways to do it more effectively, but also take it (the process) to the next level to get that competitive edge.”

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