A-Z of call recording features

Active IP recording

The active IP recording operates like an IP softphone. To record a call, a
conference is initiated to the recorder, or the audio streams are routed to
the recorder. It supports the industry standard SIP protocol and preserves call-index information, such as incoming and outgoing phone numbers, time of call, etc., to facilitate search-and-replay.

Airwave integration

Integration with Control Room radio recording deployed throughout the UK Airwave public safety TETRA network. This typically involves integration to the Motorola Archiving Interface Server (AIS) interface.

Application data integration (ADI)

Application data integration (ADI) captures data and attaches it to the
call database. This application may also control when the recorder starts and
stops so you record only pertinent details, and it provides free-seating capability without CTI.

Audit trails

Audit trails allow individual call and user access to be monitored, as well as more detailed reporting.

Audio encryption

Many recorders encrypt the audio to prevent unauthorised playback. For example – 256 bit Rijndael AES audio encryption.

Call search criteria

The ability to search for calls based on a combination of search criteria:

• Call duration
• Date and time
• CLI/dialled number
• Channel
• Call direction (incoming/outgoing)
• Marked calls
• Name
• Notes fields
• User fields (max. 20)

Call muting

Standard integration with most IP and digital handsets allows either start/stop or the muting of parts of a call on handset function key depression.

Centralised database, storage and archive

A solution for branch or satellite locations seeking to centralise administration and playback of voice and data recordings.

CTI integration

Additional call data or active VoIP recording is available with flexible CTI integration for all major PBX types.

CTI control of call recordings allows customers to target their recordings very precisely according to the call flow or the teams they need to record. Most conventional systems often do blanket recording of all calls and try to retrieve the calls they want afterwards – this requires lots of extra capacity on the voice recording application, so it becomes more expensive. They also store a lot of silence, which pushes up the storage costs.

CTI control of call recordings uses one call ID for the entire caller journey throughout the system. Subsequent retrieval is then not a matter of detective work on the agent’s name, cross-referencing the agent ID and listening to a week’s worth of calls to find the one you are looking for – it’s one click in the call recording portal.

In the public safety sector, additional call data is also available with Integrated Command and Control Systems (ICCS).

Contact Visualiser

A graphical user interface that depicts volumes of captured interactions graphically, helping you quickly identify patterns and trends within your recorded contacts.

A colour-coding classification based on nature and outcome can enable you to search, retrieve, and view interesting or unusual contacts easily — and focus on areas of interest.

Customer feedback (customer surveys)

Customer satisfaction surveys have become an important component within the quality management of contact centres.

Customers may be questioned automatically by the customer feedback application immediately after the conversation with the agent has occurred. To answer the questions they press specific phone keys (optional speech recognition).

Since the surveys are directly linked to the recorded calls, the customer feedback function allows searching systematically for those calls in which the customer found fault with the service.

Data compression

The ability to use post-compression to reduce bandwidth requirements and
increase channel hour capacity while providing significant savings in power
and storage costs by avoiding operation at peak hours.

D-channel decoding

Typically used in ISDN environments, recorded calls can be tagged with additional information without requiring CTI integration. The interfaces automatically tag recorded conversations, appropriately designating or assigning them by call type, dialled number and/or calling party number.

Encryption Management

To help you comply with Payment Card Industry (PCI) standards, AES-256
encryption can protect data when recorded, in transit, and archived.

This functionality includes a separate key management system from RSA, enabling you to move, archive, and store customer data while protecting it from unauthorised access.

Evaluation

With an evaluation application, users can create their own assessment forms to reflect specific monitoring requirements, use a predefined evaluation form or create multiple forms to manage the performance of all projects and business functions.

Free-seating support

The ability to record an agent who might log on to any terminal, rather than a physical telephone extension.

As call recorders typically save agent information, assignment of information to a specific agent becomes indispensable. Therefore, in ‘free seating’ environments the transmission of the agent’s ID for each recorded call must be supported.

Instant web replay

Instant web replay allows for the immediate retrieval of the most recent call.
Customers typically use a browser-based application or client/ server technology to replay over a local network.

IP recording

Accommodates the recording of voice over IP provided on many modern PBX systems.

Last call replay

The ability to quickly replay a call, typically from the agent or supervisor handset.

Online monitoring

The ability to listen remotely to calls over a web interface.

Mobile phone recording

The facility for Recording Mobile Phones. This is not as straightforward as for recording fixed-line extensions.

Multimedia recording

The ability to capturing voice, data, screen and radio communications simultaneously.

Multi-site recording

Multi-site recording allows for the central administration, configuration and operation of call recorders so that an easy comparison situated on the agent or agent group levels of different sites becomes workable.

Sites with different telecommunications or IT infrastructures can be combined to form one virtual system. A server platform is only required at the central site, saving investments for server hardware and software at each individual site. Managers of several different contact centre locations are able to create consolidated reports for all sites in real time.

Open API

An open API allows call recordings to be integrated into other third-party applications.

Password protection

Access to the voice recorder browser application can be protected by enhanced security features such as unique user IDs, alphanumeric passwords, domain authentication, an account lockout mechanism.

Replay browser application passwords are all stored in an encrypted format.

Playback features

Typical playback features include:

• Replay over the LAN/internet via web browser
• Real-time monitor
• Last-call replay
• Variable-speed replay
• Loop playback replay of call sections
• Add remarks to call playback
• Replay directly from archiving media

PBX integration

Integration with major PBX systems including Alcatel, Avaya, BT, Cisco, Ericsson, IPC, Mitel, NEC/Philips, Nortel, Orange Business Systems and Siemens.

Record on demand

With record on demand agents or supervisors have the ability to control the recording process of phone calls. If they activate a button on their desktop they will be able to start, stop, save or delete the recording. Besides this, agents may typically add a comment to each recorded file in order to enable agents or supervisors to search for it.

Remote administration capabilities

Web-based configuration and administration tools deliver significant time and operational efficiencies ensuring increased service and reduced maintenance costs

Remote replay capabilities

Calls can be replayed to remote workers, over the phone, or using mobile phones or Airwave radios.

Rule-based recording

The ability to selectively record based on a number of different parameters.

For example – Start recording if…

• the hold time the agent needs for further inquiries during the conversation exceeds x seconds.
• the time the customer has been in queue exceeds x seconds.
• the customer has been transferred within the contact centre more than x times.
• a conference call is established.

Selective and rule-based recording

Selective connection of the communication recording system to the phone infrastructure is very frequently used in environments where voice recording happens in combination with a quality monitoring solution.

The term ‘selective recording’ describes the ability to calculate the number of recording channels according to the number of telephones that should be recorded simultaneously. Since this usually results in a figure much smaller than the actual number of extensions, selective recording types can be realised with considerably reduced investment. Most of the leading manufacturers of PBXs and ACD systems offer so-called ‘monitor ports’ as additional equipment for their systems where the recorder can be connected. The call recorder triggers the PBX or the ACD system to establish a silent third-party conference between the agent, the customer and the recording system. This type of selective recording requires a CT-Integration with the PBX or the ACD system.

This allows you to record a smaller number of calls. This may typically be based on:
– Channel no.
– Date and time
– Line key
– User or extension no.
– Function key
– Calling Line ID
– On/off hook
– Include/exclude telephone number lists

Selective deleting

• Calls and related information can be deleted by age
• Delete schedule for marked calls
• Call information can be kept even if audio part is deleted

Screen recording

Recorded phone conversations in combination with recorded screen activities (screen capturing) provide a complete insight into the quality of customer contacts. In many cases the mere phone conversation is not enough but it is also necessary to see how agents are using required software components, like CRM applications or knowledge databases.

This offers reviewers a complete picture of every call to identify where and how performance can be improved.

Tamper-proof recordings

The use of audio encryption which, when coupled with MD5 fingerprinting, secures the audio files against unauthorised replay, alteration or editing.

Such recordings can be used as admissible evidence in a court of law.

Threat call recording

Threat call recording helps organisations protect their company and employees by maintaining call privacy.

User administration

• All user administration web based
• Remote maintenance
• Extensive rights can be defined for different users
• Users can be assigned to groups
• Assign rights to users to access, e.g. only own calls, or calls of specific groups
• Templates to easily set up and apply rights to users

Voice and Screen Recording

Synchronised voice/data recording and real-time monitoring across traditional TDM, IP, and mixed telephony environments.

It not only records conversations between your customers and agents, but can also capture the corresponding activities taking place at agents’ desktops, such as keystrokes, data entry, screen navigation, and after-call wrap-up.

Contributors

• James King of Nice
• Mike Murley of ASC Telecom
• Debbie Hage of Verint

Author: Jonty Pearce