I had some questions on the Predictive Dialer product,.. Can TDM circuits such as FXS/FXO & Digital T1 Trunks be used? If so what hardware (T1 Card-wise) is supported for this? Are there any other packetized carriers for call termination that this
product can use (Aside from Skype)?

Voicent Predictive Dialer (AgentDialer) does not require any hardware card (T1 Card) or physical phone lines to work. It is a pure software solution that directly operates Skype, which makes calls from the internet to regular landline or cell phones. To have good call quality, it does require you have a decent computer and enough internet bandwidth. For details, please see Skype FAQ: 8. How many lines can I have on one PC using SKYPE?

For now, Voicent only supports Skype.

What resources are required on the agent/client side of this application?

Normally, agent’s computer is on the same local area network (LAN) as the dialing computer, so the connection bandwidth should be fine. Unlike the server computer, a Pentium IV computer with half G memory should be OK.

If you do not use a centralized dialing computer, then depends on how many line you want for each agent’s computer, you will need more CPU and memory. A decentralized solution does offer better scalability since it is not limited by one server computer.

Are there any special configurations that need to be taken into account on the firewall, or in any Wan routing perspectives?

If agents’ computers and the gateway (dialing) computer are on the same LAN, there is no need to configure the firewall or router. However, if an agent is work from home, for example, then you need to open up the firewall for remote access. Details are available in the Predictive dialer setup guide.

(a) I’d like to trial the AgentDialer for multiple computers, but when I install the Client Program on a remote computer, it fails. I notice that the installation program says that Client Programs can only be installed when using Enterprise Edition. Is the free download with the nag message the Enterprise Edition that will allow me to trial with multiple computers/users, or do I have to pay first to try multiple computers?

The RemoteAgent program (the client program) is actually installed by default with the gateway. It is automatically started when the gateway is running. The only difference when it is run as part of the gateway is that it does not require a manual user login.

You can turn off the running of the RemoteAgent program from the gateway computer. To do so, please select the gateway main menu > Setup > Options > Call Transfer, and select the box labeled: Do not show pop up window on this computer.

It is true that you cannot run the RemoteAgent program without the Enterprise edition installed. However, to test it, you can just use the program on the computer where Voicent Gateway is installed. The difference is that the screen popup is shown on the gateway computer instead of on a remote computer.

(b)I’d like to understand how effective this product would work for an office that has 20-25 outbound-primarily reps calling out using autodialer. Also, would this program support inbound calling to those same 20-25 reps and allow them to take incoming calls to the same phone number we’re using (skype-out) for outbound dialing? How would this be managed? Would I use IVR Studio? Do you have a sample IVR layout file that would allow simple inbound call-handling to allow me to trial inbound call handling (dial 1 for sales, dial 2 for support, 3 for corporate directory, 0 for voicemail).

The outbound and inbound calls are managed by different programs. For outbound call, you might use BroadcastByPhone autodialer or AgentDialer. For inbound, you use IVR Studio.

We do have sample applications included with IVR Studio. For details, please select Library from the program main menu. The help files for the sample applications are available online.

For outbound call, the key question is that whether you want a centralized computer to handle all the calls, or use separate computers to distribute the call load. The ideal settings for you must be based on your available computers, bandwidth, agents, and your outbound campaigns.

By default, Voicent Agent Dialer dials as fast as possible during predictive dialing mode. The software is smart enough that if all agents are busy, dialing new numbers will be suspended. As soon as any agent is available, Agent Dailer resumes dialing. This feaure significantly reduces the drop rate, but not totally eliminate it.

The reason is that if an agent is available, and there are 2 lines ready, the system will make calls on both lines. If both of them reach a live answer, then one of them is connected to the available agent, and the other is dropped.

If you see a high drop rate, you should slow down the dialing. To set the dialing speed, select Agent Dialer main menu > Predictive > Options.