Call apps to access SQL database

Posted on October 12, 2011

I’ve purchased a license for BroadcastByPhone Enterprise System 4-line and I’m trying to implement it for our department needs. I have a few questions: I’d like to know if I can use the program to access a SQL Database for a list of selective contacts to call. I know I can import a .csv file manually but what about reading a database to get the phone numbers from?

No. However, you can utilize the program’s command line interface such that you do not need to manually import a .csv file.

Is it possible for IVR Studio to write to a database based on the response of a person being called, for example to have them press a button to confirm that an automated message was received and have it noted in the database?

Yes. When creating your outbound IVR application for BBP, you can configure a database action in one of its element, such as an element to process responses, to update the database.

Is it possible to generate some kind of report file (or write to a database) listing the outcome of calls made – human response/ voicemail/ incorrect number/ busy signal?

The BBP spreadsheet contains real time call status, so it is a report file by itself. In addition, you can sort the list according to the status column or confirmation column; or you can generate report based on the call updates in your database.

Any help with the answers to these questions would be helpful, as would direction or steps to take if these functions are possible with the IVR Studio and AutoReminder programs.

We recommend you use IVR Studio in you case. The tool is fully integrated with BroadcastByPhone and AutoReminder. Both are outbound call applications, and both have command line interface. AutoReminder is used mostly for scheduling appointments and automating reminder calls.

You will have a better understand of IVR Studio’s capabilities once you go over the tutorial, which is available from the program main Help menu, under product walkthrough.

Posted in IVR Developer, IVR Usage, Outbound IVR |

Checking Active Phone Numbers

Posted on October 4, 2011

Want to get software that will periodically auto dial +/- 20,000 numbers and note (Status Field?) whether telephone number is active or inactive as in the following scenarios:

1.) has been disconnected by phone company (disconnect message, i.e., “This number is no longer in service…”),
2.) in use by internal county employee (voice answer requiring us to play a message “We are testing this phone line…”),
3.) valid telephone number but not activated by our telephone section (“You have reached an unassigned telephone number within…),
4.) active number assigned to one of our internal IVR systems (“You have reached the service response number …”),
5.) and other scenarios.

Like to have the status field updated to reflect these and other possible scenarios as well as play a message if appropriate as in example 2.) above.

Which software package(s) would be required to both note in status the call status for te various and added scenarios as well as respond as appropriate with outgoing messages?

The best product to use is Voicent IVR Studio and BroadcastByPhone products. You’ll need to use IVR Studio to design an outgoing call message that utilize speech recognition, and use the message for BroadcastByPhone outbound calls.

Voicent software can detect 1) disconnected phone numbers. It is turned off by default. To turn in on, open Voicent Gateway, select Setup > Options > Advanced tab, and change the appropriate settings.

Item 3 and 4 types of can be tested using speech recognition. To do that, use IVR Studio to design a message; at the top, create a Speech Command element; then add child element using the expected responses as speech commands. For example, use “You have reached an unassigned…” as a command, so when a call is answered by this message, the software should try to recognize it.

Since Voicent software will first detect whether a call is answered by an answering machine or live human, you need to disable the detection first. To do so, open Voicent Gateway, select Setup > Options > Detection Tab, and select “Most Aggressive”.

In general, the speech recognition should work. However, the accuracy of speech recognition over the telephone line is not a guarantee. You may need to test different commands to improve the recognition rate. In addition, you may try to just test one kind the of telephone numbers per broadcast to simplify the task.

Posted in IVR Usage |

Neighborhood Crime Watch Application

Posted on September 12, 2011

Will any version of Broadcast By Phone (maybe the Professional version?) allow me to record a caller’s phone message, and then broadcast that message out to a list of phone numbers? If so, can the callers be restricted via a passcode? Can the callers be prompted to confirm that they are OK with their message before it goes out? And can this all be done out of the box, or do I need a developer? Background: We have a neighborhood crime watch, and we want any neighbor to be able to report suspicious activity to all of the other neighbors

Broadcast By Phone is an outbound call application, so it won’t be able to handle incoming calls. For the application you mentioned, you need Voicent IVR Studio, an inbound call application. Actually, the IVR Studio tutorial is to design an application just like what you described. It accept an incoming call, record and message, and than launch Voicent Broadcast By Phone program to broadcast the audio message to a call list.

With IVR Studio, you should be able to set a passcode, confirm whether a recording is OK, and do much more.

You probably do not need a developer for this application since the tutorial should cover most of it. We recommend you download the software and give it a try. To access the tutorial, select Help > Product Walkthrough… from the program main menu. Click here for more info on IVR Studio.

Posted in IVR Usage, Outbound IVR |