Getting Started
Server-component: The server component is responsible for the configuration of the "Click-to-Dial" option, licensing as well as providing configuration tool to add/remove or edit CTI-buttons inside your CRM-system.
Client-component: Installed on each user pc it acts as the main user interface for handling phone calls. It integrates with the different phone systems providing a unique UI for incoming and outgoing calls, history, lync-chat integration and power dialing.
The screenshot explains the basic concept of our CTI. As can be seen, the client component sits on top of your existing phone system (lync, skype, pbx-systems,..) providing the interface between your phone and your MS CRM system.
Our CTI offers several interfaces to connect your phone system with CRM:
- Direct connnection to your PBX via TAPI (requires a TAPI driver)
- Microsoft Lync - integration
- Skype integration
- RingCentral (supporting dialing out and observing the incoming call)
- SDK API plugin that enables 3
rd party .NET applications to control our TI client
- InteractiveIntelligence (incoming calls are not possible at the moment)
If you need to know if you your phone-system is supported, please send a mail to
support@mscrm-addons.com or use our Live-Chat!
The main user interface - "Balloon"
Each call refers to a "Call-box" that contains information about the call (duration, direction) as well as information about the caller (name, location,... data from within your CRM system)
Calls are seperated into "Answered, Dialed, Missed" and a tab containing the powerful integrated CRM-search (see below)
The context-menu of a call-box provides several CRM functionalities like
- Open CRM record (account, lead, contact,..)
- Create new records (account, contact, lead, case, opportunity)
- Create new CRM activity (phone call, task, appointment,...)
The integrated search allows to search for CRM records even if you are not working inside CRM. Just type in name or number and the balloon will deliver all available records matching your criteria providing all available numbers to initiate the call.
Handling phone calls (incoming and outgoing)
Once a call is recognized by our CTI, the balloon will pop-up showing details of the caller. Simultaneously it will search the number against the CRM-system and display information about the associated CRM-record.
The Client can be set up to perform different operations once a call is received:
- Create and open a new phone call activity
- Open CRM-record if the number can be resolved against CRM
- Automatically create new account, case, opportunity, lead, contact,... if the caller is unknown
The actions are specified per user to ensure that the CTI behaves the way they need.
As for incoming calls, the behaviour of the CTI-client can be adopted to fit each users needs. Thus, it is possible to:
- automatically create and open a new phone call activity - open the record form CRM (depending on how the call is initiated)
Call can be initiated in threee different ways:
- Click-to-Dial: A CommandBar button allows to trigger a call from within MS CRM. It shows all available numbers of the record so users can choose the number to dial.
- Direct call: Users can simply enter a phone number into the balloon to initiate a call. Combined with the integrated CRM-search the balloon becomes a powerful tool to quick-call records.
- ClipBoard-integration: if a number is copied from a signature or anywhere else our client allows to call the current clipboard-content.
Additional Features
The "Lync chat integration" allows to connect Lync-messages to CRM records. Conversations can be stored into a new "chat" entity as well as into letter activities associated to the regarding record.
The "Power Dialer" enables semi-automated call queues for CRM 2013.
Based on campaing activities, scheduled calls can be processed simultaneously by various users. During processing, details about the called record and marketing list are displayed within the call-window.
To simplify handling, several states like "Unprocessed, Claimed, Successful, Failed,..." or rescheduling of phone calls are supported.
The "history" keeps track on previous calls. This allows users to analyze calling times or search and call numbers stored in the history. All calls are stored into the CRM -database.
All calls are stored into the "CTI Call History" entity inside your CRM-system. This allows to run reports against calling times from within CRM.
TelephoneIntegration can be set up to automatically look for numbers of related records. This becomes very handy when e.g. working on opportunities or quotes - You rather want to call the potential customer rather then storing phone numbers on quotes.
Licensing
TelephoneIntegration is licensed per User. It consists of two components:
Server-license: Mandatory. It comes with 5 Client-Access-Licenses (CAL's)
Additiona Client-licenses: Optional. Additional CAL if you need the CTI for more than 5 users
If you have questions regarding the licensing, I hardly recommend to contact us. We are happy to help you finding the best way to license the product.
Find the best way to contact us
here.