Tentacle, the 360 degree solution for a call centre in an App

Tentacle end-to-end workflow solution enables SMEs...

It is a known fact that India is at the center of the global call center industry (voice business process outsourcing sector). Not only it has emerged as one of the most powerful sectors but also contributes to the economy big time. However, running a call center is definitely not easy and on a day-to-day basis, the call center industry is posed with a number of challenges such as dealing with crazy work timings and schedules, sustaining on shoestring budgets and ensuring highest levels of customer satisfaction. On top of all this, managing the entire Customer Relationship Management (CRM) cycle is neither easy nor affordable.

Now, here is a fairly young startup called Tentacle that has come to the rescue of SMEs, and Enterprises whose primary focus is on call center operations. Founded in October 2014, Tentacle is owned and marketed by Mumbai-headquartered Sunoray Solutions. The company was formed by fin-tech enthusiasts Rahul Arora and Sumontro Roy.

The beginning… rolling into a business

Rahul Arora and Sumontro Roy both worked in large enterprises during their time in the US-based Sycamore Networks and Dupont Inc respectively. On returning home, they saw that India with its burgeoning SME market and their increasing need for cloud-based solutions was primed for products and services with enterprise-level efficiency but at SME-affordable prices.

Tentacle can be best explained as a company that enables complete end-to-end workflow solution. It enables SMEs to acquire, service and retain customers from the beginning to the end. Clients can receive leads from external sources directly into Tentacle (e.g., from website signups, from lead generators like Just Dial and Google), or upload internal databases via which clients can be prospected or called. In short, the company services any firm in the B2B sector that makes an outbound call with a business purpose.

A user will ideally set-up Tentacle to cover the entire workflow with a potential client through his lifetime: from the first point of contact to the end (e.g., from when the client is won, written off, put off for contact at a future date or up for renewal); this also includes being able to track the client’s field force, thus —Rahul Arora keeping them within one loop; tracking client history from start to finish (comments, follow-ups, call recording, information requested and sent, training given etc.).

“Tentacle does all this via a Cloud-Software and Mobile App that is fully operable via a cellphone i.e., the client only needs a cell phone to operate the entire process mentioned above. In doing so, Tentacle has innovated such that all the existing problems including hardware, software, service issues, wiring, and upfront costs have been eliminated,” informs Rahul Arora, co-Founder of Tentacle.

Continuing further, Arora adds, “Another important aspect is that since the agent only needs a cellphone, he/she can be located anywhere and this opens up new business models for India i.e., the work-from-home model. This allows the client to use women workers, part-time workers, differently-abled workers that may not have found suitable employment (from