Virtual Secretary / Auto Attendant

[Guest David]

What would be the best way to go about using VoiceGuide to duplicate the functionalities of what others market as "Virtual Offices".....such as these? What would the strengths of the VoiceGuide solution be over these "hosted solutions"...what would the weaknesses of the VoiceGuide solution be?

 

 

the first one is...

VirtualPBX

 

 

and the second one is...

Tollfreelive

 

 

Now here is the really embarrasing question....I apologize in advance. We would be setting up a separate Virtual Office or Auto Attendant for each of our 300 small business owner clients. Each would need completely separate "systems" so that they can access/report/modify only their particular settings. Where do I actually go to acquire the different phone numbers (local phone company...is there a cheaper alternative?....they do not need to be toll free...local in Colorado will be fine)? And...lastly....which version and license option of VoiceGuide would I need to service these 300 unique "systems"?

 

Man, oh man....thank you in advance. A ton.

 

 

CHEERS!

 

D

[SupportTeam]

VoiceGuide can be used to setup a service like the one offered by www.tollfreelive.com in a matter of minutes. Tollfreelive basically just provides an auto attendand and voicemail with call/message forwarding.

all these features are built into VoiceGuide and are ready-to-use.

 

www.virtualpbx.com has more features then www.tollfreelive.com, the main one of which is "ACD Queue" and Fax support.

 

VoiceGuide can do ACD Queues as well - but it requires a bit more scripting work.

 

Where do I actually go to acquire the different phone numbers

From the local phone companies...

which version and license option of VoiceGuide

Enterprise+Dialer.

You will also need to use Dialogic cards and preferable use T1 ISDN lines.

[Guest lovehealthsuccess]

Thank you very much for the quick response....on a Saturday no less!

 

How many LICENSE LINES for your software will we need to purchase from you (I understand that we will need one DNIS per business owner...but as it relates to the VoiceGuide license...how many "licenses" and "lines") if we are setting up a solution that requires the following for each of our 300 individual small business owners:

• Each business owner can access, modify, and report exclusively on their DNIS phone number, but cannot access, modify, or report on anyone else's
• When an inbound call comes through....the initial IVR greeting, the menu of options, the prerecorded "store hours and directions" information option they would access by pressing a specified number on their keypad, and the fax routing that would take place if they select "press ___ to fax"......would all be different....for each DNIS...i.e....for each business owner

Three additional VoiceGuide functionality questions...

• Can the software facilitate the "voicemail (or fax) to email" functionality? Is that available "right out of the box"....or is some additional work needed?

• Although I want each business owner to only report off of their individual DNIS....I want to be able to generate consolidated reports across the entire "network" of DNIS's at our home office so we can learn more about our business owners' inbound call volume patterns. Can this be done?

• What options are supported by VoiceGuide as it relates to updating THROUGH A REMOTE WEB BROWSER......call routing, ACD queueing, voicemail greetings, IVR prompts, etc.? To be clear, I'm asking how our business owners (who are spread out geographically) can access and modify their individual DNIS "settings" and report on their call information. Is there some way to do this via a remote web browser? Can it be done through an automated voice menu over the phone (without live support from our home office staff)?

Thank you again for your help as we evaluate VoiceGuide. I can't say these are my final questions...but I can tell you that I greatly appreciate your help as we work through this process. We need a very advanced software solution...and so far it looks like VoiceGuide is matching up nicely to our needs.

[SupportTeam]

How many LICENSE LINES for your software will we need

Depends on how many calls each business would be receiving. Usually for about 300 small businesses you should look at using about 120 lines.

 

Can the software facilitate the "voicemail (or fax) to email" functionality? Is that available "right out of the box

Voicemail to email is available out of the box - see: http://www.voiceguide.com/vgFeatures.htm

I want to be able to generate consolidated reports across the entire "network" of DNIS's at our home office so we can learn more about our business owners' inbound call volume patterns. Can this be done?

Details of all calls are stored in a database and other log files, so that you can generate whatever reports your require using standard database reporting tools. We can assist in this area if needed - once your scripts are in place we can advise on how these reports can be created.

What options are supported by VoiceGuide as it relates to updating THROUGH A REMOTE WEB BROWSER......call routing, ACD queueing, voicemail greetings, IVR prompts, etc.?

Web based management does not come out-of-the-box. You would need to get a web programmer to setup the web interfaces you require. The simplest way would be to allow each client to just upload their own VoiceGuide scripts and sound files via FTP into their own directory.

[Guest lovehealthsuccess]

I spoke to some telcom companies today. I have a few questions that relate to VoiceGuide.

 

Do you recommend T1 lines (or PRI T1's) for both the inbound (to our VoiceGuide software) leg of the call.....and for the outbound leg (as the call gets routed from VoiceGuide to the outbound phone numbers that have been setup by me)? If not...what do you recommend?

 

For calls that come in through an inbound leg....and then are directed by VoiceGuide settings using the "follow me" feature...and if that feature has multiple phone numbers that VoiceGuide has been instructed to "roll through" until it finds me (i.e....forward the call to my home phone....then if I don't answer forward to my cell phone....then if I don't answer forward to voicemail)....the telcom rep I spoke with was concerned about how the T1 line is supposed to "hang on to that call" while it goes through the "roll down" of the different "find me" outbound phone calls. Is that functionality something that occurs exclusively within the VoiceGuide software...or is some additional "call or phone line" feature needed from the telcom company?

 

 

Is it true that VoiceGuide handles all of the "call forwarding" and "voicemail box" functionalities through the software.....so that these call features are not required from the telcom company? To be clear....I only need the DID's, right? Not call forwarding or voicemail from the telcom, right?

 

Is $475 per month (5 year contract) a good price for a PRI T1 line?

 

 

We're getting there!!! More progress each day. I hope you can see that I'm doing as much leg work as I can to find out answers. I still need a bit more support from you, however. Thank you again.

[SupportTeam]

We'd recommend using PRI T1'a (ie: ISDN T1 lines) for both legs of the call.

 

The "Follow Me" functionality of trying successive numbers until one answers would be done fully by VoiceGuide software. There are no special features that need to be supported by the telco.

 

Is it true that VoiceGuide handles all of the "call forwarding" and "voicemail box" functionalities through the software.....so that these call features are not required from the telcom company?

Yes.

To be clear....I only need the DID's, right?

Yes.

Not call forwarding or voicemail from the telcom, right?

Correct. No need to subscribe to this feature from the telco.

Is $475 per month (5 year contract) a good price for a PRI T1 line?

ISDN T1 pricing will depend on your location. It's best for you to call all telco companies in your area first and compare the prices and deals they offer.

[Guest lovehealthsuccess]

In a follow up call today with the local telcom dude (he doesn't sell hardware, equipment, or even software...just phone lines)....

 

....he said repeatedly that "regardless of what your software can do, you are going to need 'IVR hardware'...and a room to house it in that is sufficiently air-conditioned so it doesn't overheat".

 

I know you have said in your posts throughout this thread that I don't need anything "except the DID's"....and I am embarrassed and even a little scared to ask again...

 

....but is there ANY "telcom hardware" other than the Dialogic cards that you mentioned that I need to buy/install? Do the Dialogic cards plug into my computer...and do the PRI T1 lines plug into the cards? Nothing else besides that?

 

I'm 90% of the way "there" on this solution....please don't give up on me now. Just paint me a mental picture (or lay it out for me because I'm stupid) of how the actual setup from the phone lines to the software is accomplished.

 

 

CHEERS!

 

D

[SupportTeam]

is there ANY "telcom hardware" other than the Dialogic cards that you mentioned that I need to buy/install?

No. The T1 lines plug direct into the Dialogic card. Nothing else is needed.

 

The "IVR Hardware" is a computer with the Dialogic card in it.

 

As for "a room to house it in that is sufficiently air-conditioned so it doesn't overheat": If you're going to have 20+ computers in a small room then that room will heat up, and in these cases you do need air-conditioning or good ventilation to keep the temperature in that room down at a level where computers can operate (anywhere below about 45 degrees Celsius - 110 Fahrenheit) is fine. If you have 2 or 3 computers then it's just like a few PCs sitting around on a desk - so no special air conditioning or ventilation would be necessary.

[Guest lovehealthsuccess]

OK...here's what will probably be an easy one for you GURU's!

 

If we have an incoming call from...let's name the caller, Susan....on one of our PRI T1 lines...and the call reaches our IVR software for rerouting....and the call is instructed to be rerouted outbound to one of our customers on either a PRI line or on a local POTS line (shouldn't matter as it relates to this question)....

 

.....but all of the outbound lines are "occupied" with other calls...

 

....what is the "user experience" for Susan? What happens? What does she hear? Busy tone? Termination of call without notice? What options do we have for "controlling" that user experience such as:

• music on hold?
• an IVR prompt asking if Susan wants to go straight to voicemail instead of holding?
• an IVR prompt asking Susan if she wants to use a "call me back" functionality of some sort?

What are your thoughts on this as it relates to maximizing the user experience in a not so happy situation?

 

 

CHEERS!

 

David

[SupportTeam]

.....but all of the outbound lines are "occupied" with other calls...

....what is the "user experience" for Susan?

Caller will hear/experience whatever you set the script to do in this situation.

music on hold?

an IVR prompt asking if Susan wants to go straight to voicemail instead of holding?

an IVR prompt asking Susan if she wants to use a "call me back" functionality of some sort?

You can set the script to do any of the above...

 

Sounds like you have not even had a good look a the script designer and how the scripts are created using it. I'd suggest you download the software and look at some demo scripts and read the Help file entries on how scripts are designed.