For the Record: Call Recording Adds Value to IP Telephony

When end users have deployed their IP telephony systems and found them stable, they want to get the most value possible from the investment. A prime way to help them do this is to install IP call-recording systems -- available from several developers -- that store conversations and even video for playback as often as needed. Call recording can be used to monitor call center agent performance, log threats or verify transactions -- among many possible uses.

“The voice recording market, as a whole, grows at double-digit rates per year,” says Sid Rao, chief technologist of CTI Group Inc., which recently introduced its hosted call-recording service, SmartRecord IP. “This is just another application [channel partners] can sell on top of basic voice.”

In fact, with IP's flexibility, ease of use and service-delivery options, call recording's addressable market is broad, ranging from financial, health care and education institutions to government agencies, real estate firms and call centers.

Several industries are clamoring for IP call-recording services, and one fast-growing field is call centers or other companies needing ad hoc recording capabilities, says Gabor Krivachy, president and CEO of IP applications developer TC&C U.S.A. Inc. “Anyone can be threatened and they want a trace,” he says. At any time during the call, “you just press three buttons on the IP phone and share that conversation.” Even if the caller hangs up, the user on the other end can restore the conversation, thanks to IP features and functionality.

Late last year, TC&C signed LiteScape Technologies Inc. as a reseller. LiteScape has incorporated TC&C’s CARIN IP call-recording software into its CRM, collaboration and identity-management applications for IP telephony. “Our global channel partners see uses for call recording beyond the contact centers and have found immediate, high demand in the financial and professional services industries,” says Andy Barbour, LiteScape’s senior director of channel sales.

LiteScape is using CARIN as a value-add in its applications. In extending capabilities across phones and PCs, bringing together voice and video, recording becomes “an important part of the complete historic record,” says Barbour, citing the example of reusing and repurposing recorded materials for training. “In terms of communicating with the rest of the organization, with the phone as an application conduit, the ability to be able to replay-record is an important element.”

There are several ways to access recordings on the CARIN platform. They can be played back from a company’s intranet or from an IP phone. They also can be accessed via e-mail, but there are security protections in place for that method. For example, one user would send a URL to another, who must be authorized to access the system. Finally, users also can download .wav files for their own post-processing, but security cannot track this method, so it is not recommended for highly sensitive industries. Banks do not allow it, for example. TC&C further has tightened security within CARIN by creating special tools that certify the recording has not been edited or tampered with.

Indeed, the push for IP call recording is coming largely in response to federal regulations that require recordings to be carefully managed and archived.

“Financial institutions must record conversations for regulatory purposes and protection from liability,” says Franz Hock, director of product management for ASC telecom AG, developer of call- recording software that includes EVOip and EVOip. “Public-safety organizations must do so to manage their risks. Threat-call recording safeguards all businesses from malicious individuals."

Being able to find and play back calls quickly with these platforms is essential, he adds. ASC designed its systems so users can retrieve recordings over the Web, LAN or on a telephone by searching call-index information such as the date, caller or agent ID, Hock says. Recorded calls also can be obtained by a DTMF standard service, for remote playback after dialing a special number and entering a password; there also is an XML service with recording and replay buttons on the user’s phone.

ASC’s software uses a secure network and SSL Web connection. It also contains mechanisms to protect recordings from unauthorized access. Hock adds that the EVOip systems also let users delete private communications by pressing a button on the IP phone or desktop.

EVOip is vendor-agnostic software, while EVOip active works in the IP switch as part of the call flow. The platforms allow administrators to add new devices or configurations, such as phones or LAN segments, without having to change recording settings. The systems also work in VoIP, hybrid and traditional environments, Hock says.

While CTI Group also offers premise-based recording on an annual license model, the company says its new hosted option saves companies thousands of dollars. “It doesn’t make sense for a call-recording feature to also require capex,” Rao says.

CTI Group’s software sits in the company’s colocation facility or a provider’s NOC where it is integrated with softswitches like Broadsoft's. So far CTI Group’s SmartRecord IP has gone live with GlobalPhone Corp., a service provider with about 100,000 BroadSoft end-user licenses; CTI Group also is working with large call centers in New York that use BroadSoft switches.

SmartRecord IP conversations are accessed through the Web. Via an agent or service provider’s branded portal, users retrieve their conversations in MP3 format. They then download the files to a local machine or device. The files are encrypted so one customer cannot play back audio files from another customer. Users also must save the recordings to their machines; they can’t just e-mail links to the conversations, Rao says, adding they have to provide login information. Customers such as call centers also can view calls made or received, and access all recordings.

CTI Group charges a per-user fee and also offers an annual payment option.

ASC telecom AG www.asctelecom.com  

CTI Group Inc. www.ctigroup.com  

LiteScape Technologies Inc. www.litescape.com  

TC&C U.S.A. Inc. www.tcandc.com

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