By Anna Malikonyan
December 11, 2024
In our latest interview, we had the pleasure of speaking with Liana Ter-Avetisyan, a skilled program manager with a deep understanding of technology solutions for emerging markets.
Recently, Liana returned from China, where she completed specialized training course in Computer software hardware and network-technologies aimed at accelerating growth in developing countries.
As the driving force behind a widely used ZangeZor call center software that powers operations for major banks, government and service providers in local market, Liana together with her team is driving innovation that helps businesses deliver better customer services.
Q. Let’s start with your recent trip to China. You were there for training on Computer software hardware, and network-technologies designed for developing countries, organized by UATE.
Can you tell us more about that experience?
Liana: Sure! It was an incredible opportunity to immerse myself in the latest advancements in technology. The training covered a wide range of topics, from software development to hardware integration, and focused on creating sustainable, scalable solutions.
One of the key takeaways for me was how technology can be leveraged to bridge gaps in infrastructure and improve service delivery across various sectors, including healthcare, agriculture, education, etc. I was impressed by the topic that robots are now being used to accelerate education. China has made significant strides in using robots and artificial intelligence (AI) to transform education, including applications in healthcare and agriculture.
These technologies are being deployed in a variety of tasks, such as training professionals, crop planting, and overall monitoring.
Q. That sounds fascinating. How do you see those lessons and technologies impacting the work you’re doing with your current project?
Liana: The call center software product- ZangeZor that I’m leading has already made significant progress in improving customer service for a wide range of industries, including government, banking, and service providers. What I learned in China has given me new insights into how we can make our system even more adaptable and efficient for different markets.
In the past, it was possible to deliver services without AI, but moving forward, it's no longer desirable to do so. The core objective of our product is to provide high-quality services in a short amount of time and with limited resources. Everything we design is centered on the concept of speed, ease of use, and minimizing resource requirements—and this is where AI plays a pivotal role.
For instance, we’re integrating AI solutions like voice-to-text technology, which automatically transcribes entire conversations. This allows us to quickly analyze calls and flag key issues, reducing the need for specialists to listen to long recordings. Instead, the system can highlight important keywords and notify the quality team when a call needs attention, making quality checks faster and more efficient.
Additionally, we are experimenting with AI-driven text-to-speech technology, which converts written scripts into spoken messages. This could be useful for different campaigns, robocalls that deliver automated messages, or IVRs (Interactive Voice Response systems) that interact with customers."
Q. That’s really interesting. Can you share some of the challenges you face, or you think you will face in this transformation journey? And how you plan to address them?
Liana: The challenges concern linguistic aspects, particularly while transforming text to voice, as the AI has a strong Armenian accent. However, as AI continues to improve, I’m confident this will become more accurate.
Nevertheless, in Armenian culture people still do not like to communicate with robots and prefer humans instead.
Q. Tell us more about the development of ZangeZor—the product name and the quality behind it.
Liana: When we were brainstorming the name for our product, we knew that it was essential to create something that would stand out for its quality and memorability. We wanted the name to reflect the essence of the product without using typical terms like "solution" or "software," which are often overused and lack distinction.
Since our product was designed around call center technology, we thought about the word "Zang," which means "call" in Armenian. At the time, there was already a product with a similar name, so we decided to call it ZangeZor (զանգն ի հզոր)—a name that emphasizes the importance of calls in Armenian and reflects the immense value we place on communication.
Our primary goal was to create a high-quality, national solution that could compete with international products in terms of both functionality and performance. We wanted ZangeZor to be versatile—able to integrate seamlessly into any system, without being overly dependent on any particular platform or domain. This flexibility was key for us because we aim to offer a product that can meet the diverse needs of local businesses while still being competitive on the global stage.
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