Jargon Demystified 

A feature of telephone systems which allows incoming calls to be diverted automatically to a different number, for example a mobile phone or a home office. 

 

Call Management is a software client/server application that links to your telephone system and collects real-time call data such as, number of calls waiting, number of available agents, number of abandoned calls, time of oldest call waiting, speed of answer and average talk time. Typically used within call centre environments, Call Management provides a means for managing call traffic and producing monthly reports, it is a graphical, PC-based call reporting and administration application that makes it easy to collect, display and analyse real-time and historical data that can help call you run operations more efficiently. 

 

Call recording allows you to record telephone conversations for later playback and analysis. Conversations are recorded to a storage medium, often a hard disc on a PC or network device. Typically, the voice recorded files are saved in Windows .wav file formats making them easy to use. There are many uses that voice recording can be put to, Solicitors, Call Centre Supervisors, Doctors, Insurance Brokers and Accountants can all benefit from this facility. 

 

One of the key ISDN features, CLI displays the phone number of the caller on the answering phone’s display. CLI alpha tagging also shows the caller’s name and company. CLI is the enabling feature of many computer telephony integration applications. 

 

A software programme that is used to contact and obtain data from a server software programme on another computer. Each client programme is designed to work with one or more specific kinds of server programme, and each server requires a specific kind of client. A web browser is a specific kind of client. 

 

Computer telephony integration (CTI) covers a wide range of applications that connect your computers to your phone system. The classic CTI application is “screen popping”, which uses CLI to identify the caller and display his/her database records on the screen before the call is answered. CTI also enables calls to be made directly from a contact management package by simply clicking the call button. 

 

Generic term for applications designed to streamline interactions with customers. CRM software allows call centre agents to access a customer’s service history from the back-office customer account packages. Small businesses are waking up to the advantages of CRM solutions that integrate with their PCs. The Internet, Email, IVR, voice and interactive TV have sparked a seismic shift towards web-enabled call centres, opening up a new dimension in offering good service.