Introduction

The DialedIn Call Center as a Service (formerly ChaseData CCaaS) provides Call Center campaign management with complete Outbound and Inbound call capabilities.

The purpose of the DialedIn CCaaS solution is to allow call centers and telemarketers to be able to handle leads and customers in a cost-effective, flexible, customized, efficient, and optimized manner.

The DialedIn CCaaS solution is cloud-based, allowing call centers and telemarketers to quickly get started by just running corresponding clients from a Windows workstation. The Management Console and Agent Client connect via the Internet to the DialedIn system hosted in resilient, well-managed data centers; no need for call centers to preoccupy with hardware, system, or software management. Calls are VoIP based (IP calls), with DialedIn providing and managing the VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) communication, hence no need for call centers to procure them on their own; all is needed by the call center is appropriate Internet service and workstations. Furthermore, agents do not need to be co-located, allowing for remote or home-based agents.

The Management Console application allows owners and managers to set up rules and campaigns, load leads, and create and assign agent accounts (e.g. link it to a campaign). It also provides monitoring and reporting capabilities.

The Agent client application provides each agent permission-based access to assigned campaigns and leads, and to handle inbound and outbound calls as appropriate to his or her role. Of course, communication is not limited to voice calls, as there’s support for Chat, SMS, e-mail, and other social interaction methods.

The DialedIn CCaaS solution supports Inbound and Outbound Call Management in a blended manner through the configuration and assignments of Campaigns. It gives agents the ability to handle both inbound and outbound calls and make the best use of agent time by routing incoming calls to any open agent. Other agents can continue their outbound calling using their blended call management setup.

Some general capabilities include live chat, call recording, screen scripting, external integrations via webhooks and HTML POST/GET, and time zone awareness. A more comprehensive set of capabilities is addressed in the following sections.

Campaigns

DialedIn CCaaS (formerly ChaseData) allow blending together separate configurable pieces to form a cohesive set of rules, which allow quick incorporation of agents with little training, and with as little or as much decision-making capabilities as the business calls for.

Most items can be defined outside of a Campaign, which means that DialedIn CCaaS allows for reusability, efficiency, and maintainability. Owners and managers can adapt quickly and easily to variations of business characteristics.

Following is a list of some of the key capabilities.

  • Inbound, Outbound, Blended Campaigns
  • Virtual (unattended) Campaigns
  • Group Settings and Campaign-Specific Settings
  • Sub-campaigns
  • Do-Not-Call States and Area Codes
  • Dialing Rules
  • Dialing Schedule
  • Configurable Agent Screens
  • Customizable Wrap-up Codes
  • Lead Loading and Reloading.

Outbound Calling

DialedIn CCaaS (formerly ChaseData) includes outbound dialer capabilities that adapt to the business, with each campaign or sub-campaign potentially operating in different dialing modes.

Predictive dialing algorithms minimize the time that agents spend waiting between conversations, while minimizing the occurrence of a called lead answering when no agent is available. Preview dialing allows agents to review lead information before the system dials out; the agent can decide to carry out the call or move on to the next lead, potentially lowering rates of call abandonment. Progressive dialing also allows for lead reviewing, but automatically dials out after a configurable time has elapsed.

Agentless Dialing sends pre-recorded messages to increase dialing efficiency. Agents get connected to live pickups after the message is played and the called party accepts the call.

Application-specific dispositions by campaign restrict agents to choose from a list of status / wrap-up codes configured specifically for that campaign. You can create and configure your own wrap-up codes, as well as call rules applicable to each wrap-up code.

Following is a list of some of the key capabilities.

  • Dialing Mode — Predictive, Preview, Progressive, Available, Power
  • Dial Priority
  • Manual Dialing
  • Agentless Dialing
  • Multichannel / Multi-line Dialing
  • Answering Machine Detection
  • Single-click Wrap-up Code Setting
  • Information Capture.

Inbound Contact Center

DialedIn CCaaS (formerly ChaseData) inbound call management gets the call and customer information to the right agent, reducing the caller’s time waiting in queue.

Automatic call distribution allows you to define how to route inbound calls based on configurable parameters. These segmentation capabilities allow routing incoming calls based on set criteria such as response to a campaign, language, group, and other custom settings.

Customizable routing rules allow sending the call to the agent most capable of satisfying the caller’s need; and calls can be routed and even escalated to the next appropriate level.

In addition, DialedIn CCaaS IVR capabilities allow callers to navigate the IVR tree to reach the right function, freeing agents from certain tasks. DialedIn CCaaS identifies the caller with instant caller ID. The system will route to the appropriate agent who will see caller information and history.

Following is a list of some of the key capabilities.

  • Automatic Call Distribution
  • Skill-Based Call Routing
  • Source-Based Call Routing
  • Call Flows
  • Call Queues
  • Greetings and Announcements — Recorded, TTS (text-to-speech)
  • Instant Access to Relevant Customer Information
  • Cold Transfer
  • Conferencing.

Administration & Management

The DialedIn CCaaS Management Console application (formerly ChaseData) is a one-stop for all provisioning, configuration, management, monitoring, and reporting tasks. As there can be many different levels of administrators, whether it’s the owner/CEO, a manager, or supervisor, each user can be assigned different levels of access and permissions, allowing greater focus and control over the business and operations.

Administrators navigate the DialedIn CCaaS Management Console application through a comprehensive Graphical User Interface (GUI) in order to provision users (administrators and agents) and their skills, campaigns and sub-campaigns, outbound dialing lists and rules, inbound call rules and flow, greetings and announcements, lead and call information presentation, call Wrap-up Code types and rules, integrations, etc. Skills help define what a user is allowed to do and allowed to access. Scripts allow extending information display and gathering with custom forms and fields, as well as integrations with external systems.

Data loading and management is also facilitated by the DialedIn CCaaS Management Console application. This includes leads/contacts, Do-Not-Call (DNC) information, and audio media (e.g. prompts, announcements).

The DialedIn CCaaS Management Console application also includes a tool to search and view all relevant data with a structured visualization approach, using customized views and advanced filter capabilities.

Real-time analytics and historical data give managers and supervisors vital information needed to manage staffing levels. They can also monitor calls and interact with agents, therefore able to make critical decisions with full information.

Supervisors and management have access to key performance indicators (KPI) that help them to run a smooth and efficient call center. Supervisors can monitor individual agents, and coach them in real time even while they are on calls. They can give agents their daily stats and let them see their own performance in real time.

Management can get the big picture; robust administrative tools and analytics let management see the big picture or get down to the details.

Following is a list of some of the key capabilities.

  • Live Dashboard — Monitoring, Active Calls, Statistics
  • Account Creation and Management
  • Skills Definition and Assignment
  • Lead Import
  • Lead Recycling
  • DNC Management
  • Campaign Management
  • Agent Dial List Management
  • Caller‐Id Management
  • Duplicate Checking
  • Logs and Reports
  • Database Visualization
  • Role‐based Access and Permissions.

Putting It All Together

The following diagram provides a snapshot of the key entities involved in the DialedIn CCaaS solution (formerly ChaseData), with the purpose of summarizing their relationships and dependencies, and to set the proper context as we review each domain in detail. Refer back to this diagram as often as needed.

Client Workstation Requirements

Here we present client workstation requirements. Please understand that DialedIn can only provide aggregated requirements for the processes corresponding to the DialedIn application, therefore, it is for you to determine and account for anything else that you may have consuming resources in your workstation.

Nevertheless, in order to help you get started, here we provide (1) required OS/software environment, (2) required Internet environment, and (3) three sets of hardware environment specifications, Minimal, Standard, and Power, each under a general set of assumptions.

Your OS installation and setup options, your drivers, the services and applications that you install and run, among other things, have an impact on your workstation’s resource consumption and therefore performance. You must account for them on top of any requirements we list here.

The following requirements are per client workstation.

OS⁄Software Environment Requirements

  • MS Windows OS that supports .NET Framework 4.8; refer to Microsoft’s official announcement (https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/dotnet/framework/get-started/system-requirements)
  • .NET Framework 4.8 or higher
  • DirectX 9 or higher.

Communication Requirements

  • Wired Internet connection for all agents, i.e. via Ethernet
  • Guaranteed Internet speed of 512 kbps per agent connected via Ethernet
  • Operate under the ″Minimum Network Requirements for VoIP″ specified further ahead.
  • DialedIn network traffic should NOT be tunneled through a Virtual Private Network (VPN).

Hardware Environment — Minimal Workstation

These are the very minimal requirements for a workstation that is to be used exclusively for the DialedIn Client app (no other applications running) for basic usage (e.g. 1 or 2 call scripts).

  • 2.5 GHz x86 or x64 (Dual Core CPU with Hyper Threading/Multithreading)
  • 4GB of RAM minimum
  • Monitor: Minimum resolution of 1024x768
  • USB Headset with built-in microphone
  • DirectX 9 or higher capable graphics adapter.

Hardware Environment — Standard Workstation

These are reasonable resources for a workstation that is used for both the DialedIn Client app and typical Office application usage, or if the DialedIn Client app usage is more involved (e.g. larger amount of call scripts).

  • Intel Core i5 x64 CPU or similar (with Hyper Threading/Multithreading)
  • 6GB of RAM
  • Monitor: Minimum resolution of 1024x768
  • USB Headset with built-in microphone
  • DirectX 9 or higher capable graphics adapter.

Hardware Environment — Power Workstation

These are necessary resources for a workstation that is used for both the DialedIn Client app and Office applications under heavy usage, or if the DialedIn Client app usage is heavy (e.g. large amount of call scripts).

  • Intel Core i7 x64 CPU or similar (with Hyper Threading/Multithreading)
  • 8GB of RAM
  • Monitor: Minimum resolution of 1024x768
  • USB Headset with built-in microphone
  • DirectX 9 or higher capable graphics adapter.

NOTE: You can use the following commands from the MS Window Command Prompt to verify the .NET Framework versions:
reg query "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\NET Framework Setup\NDP"
reg query "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\NET Framework Setup\NDP\v4\full" /v version

Refer to the following picture.

If you need help accessing the Command Prompt, check the following link:
https://www.wikihow.com/Open-the-Command-Prompt-in-Windows

The System information in the Control Panel provides basic system information; refer to the following picture.

This link from Microsoft explains how to access the Control Panel:
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/13764/windows-where-is-control-panel

You can check your Windows version running the winver command from the Run window; refer to the following picture.

If you need help getting to the Run window, check the following link:
https://www.wikihow.tech/Open-Run-in-Windows

You can check your DirectX version running the 'dxdiag' command from the Run window; refer to the following picture.

You can right-click the speaker icon on the Windows taskbar to get to the Sound window and configure Playback and Recording devices; refer to the following picture.

Minimum Network Requirements for VoIP

  • Voice traffic should be marked to DSCP EF per the QoS Baseline and RFC 3246.
  • Loss should be no more than 1 percent.
  • One-way latency (mouth to ear) should be no more than 150ms.
  • Average one-way jitter should be targeted at less than 30ms.
  • A range of 21 to 320 kbps of guaranteed priority bandwidth (upload, unless download is less than upload) is required per call (depending on the sampling rate, the VoIP codec, and Layer 2 media overhead). If we factor in bandwidth fluctuations and other typical internet data traffic (mostly download), the following is a safe rule of thumb for upload bandwidth vs. number of simultaneous calls: → 1 call; 1Mbp → 3 calls; 5Mbps → 16 calls; 10Mbps → 33 calls; 30Mbps → 100’s of calls.

Router Ports and Settings

Ports relevant to the Agent and Management Console applications:

943

TCP

4530

TCP

4531

TCP

Ports relevant to VoIP:

5060⁎

TCP ⁄ UDP

8000-8005

TCP ⁄ UDP

10000-50000

UDP

Ports relevant to the Agent and Management Console applications:

943

TCP

4530

TCP

4531

TCP

when doing port triggering in the firewall, trigger 5060 first; if everything works, do not have to trigger the other ones

Feature compatibility:

Disable SIP ALG, usually via the router/modem firewall configuration interface or any other method allowed by your specific router.

SIP ALG (Application Layer Gateway) modifies SIP packets, often corrupting them (from server-side solution perspective) and making them unreadable, which can result in unexpected behavior, such as phones not registering and incoming calls failing.