Frequently Asked Questions

What is Callfinity's ContextIP™ product?

ContextIP is a trademarked name for Callfinity's contact center suite of products. It includes our ContextACD, ContextPBX, ContextIVR, ContextDialer, ContextRecorder, and ContextCRM. ContextIP is available either as a complete and integrated suite or as individual modules that integrate with existing systems.

What is the difference between a call center and a contact center?

A call center deals with telephone calls, whereas a contact center deals with calls plus all other forms of communication. A contact center system would allow your customers to reach your agents, or vice versa, regardless of the communication method: telephone, live chat, email, voicemail, fax, or other means. The power of a contact center system is that all of these types of interactions can be queued and distributed to available agents as one unified pool based on agent skill and priorities of both agents and queues. Learn how to make the transformation to a contact center using Callfinity’s products and expertise.

I like the idea of subscribing to a hosted application instead of spending a lot of capital up front, but I'm afraid that voice quality will suffer. Can you provide your software on a hosted basis without giving up call quality or security?

Yes. In addition to being able to license systems for on-premise use, and a separate option host everything in our cloud using VoIP, Callfinity offers several ways to avoid up-front capital AND maintain perfect voice quality at the same time:

1. ContextIP can be used to route calls over the PSTN (no VoIP). This allows customers to operate in a fully-hosted cloud-based environment while all calls are routed using local phone companies and without relying on any sort of VoIP.
2. ContextIP is available for on-premise deployment through several leasing programs. Contact a Callfinity sales representative for more information.
3. Callfinity offers HybridHosted technology. A HybridHosted deployment allows you to keep using your existing phone company, and even your own existing phone equipment/PBX if you'd like, while all the configuration, maintenance, backup/recovery, and administration is handled in Callfinity's hosted cloud infrastructure. Here's how it works: you install a CETD (Cloud Enabling Technology Device) at your location, and connect it to your local phone network. This device receives instructions upon boot, and continuously thereafter, from our data centers in order to tell the CETD how to queue, route, distribute, or record calls or other interactions. In other words, the application and all the meta data lives in our cloud, while all the voice and content stays local to you. Best of all, you can pay for this as a hosted subscription service on a per-user, per-extension, or per-port basis per month: no capital expenses. As us about HybridHosted deployment options today.

We're trying to figure out if we should choose an on-premise  or hosted solution. What’s best for my business?

Many businesses contemplating a new system incorrectly assume that selecting a hosted or on-premise solution is an ‘either or’ proposition. Vendors of on-premise solutions will argue that if you're concerned about call quality and security, a hosted solution isn't the right choice for you business. On the other hand, hosted solution providers will lead you to believe that on-premise solutions are expensive and require a substantial amount of resources to maintain.

But before you begin to assess which option is right for you, it’s important to realize that choosing one option over the other doesn't necessarily mean you're stuck with that particular contact center solution. Callfinity allows customers to move from one model to the other with ease, and uniquely offers a HybridHosted option which combines the best of both worlds: on-premise phone calls, with all the intelligence in our hosted cloud environment.

I need to purchase an automated dialer for my call center. What options do I have?

Callfinity's ContextDialer product supports four modes of operation: preview, progressive, predictive, and outbound ACD. With a preview dialer, agents initiate the call by clicking on a phone number that has been programmed into the dialer. The dialer is only acting as an ordered list, and waits for an agent's command to place a call.

A predictive dialer use sophisticated algorithms to predict when an agent is available to take a call. They automatically place calls from call lists, detect a live answer, and then direct the call to an available agent. Because predictive dialers must first determine if a human or voicemail/answering machine answered a particular call, all predictive dialers have a small delay that is perceptible to people when they answer. Usually this is manifested by a called party saying, "Hello? Hello?" As consumers become more annoyed by predictive dialers, an increasing number will immediately disconnect when they realize that they have been called using a dialer.

A progressive dialer, on the other hand, solves a lot of the problems with preview and predictive modes in that it blends the best properties of each: calls are placed automatically, but agents are connected throughout the dialing process so there is no delay when someone answers the line. Progressive dialers monitor agent status and then initiate outbound calls automatically when an agent has been selected by the system to handle a particular call. Like preview mode, progressive mode assures that an agent will be available when a connection is made, and the system makes no attempt to determine if a human has answered or not.

We need a great deal of integration with other systems. How can Callfinity help?

Callfinity understands that some customers will require additional services that our main product set does cover, including customizations to our existing products, integration with other systems, and even customized software development.

As an organization dedicated to contact center and conferencing software, we have an 11 year history of providing these and other consulting services to companies of many sizes around the world.

We're considering implementing call scripts in our call center. What are the benefits of this and how can Callfinity help streamline  this process?

Your customers don't want to hear a rep reciting the same information every time they call. They want to feel significant, important, and special. At the same time, your employees want to learn new things and develop their skills. Forcing a rep to rattle off the same information on a regular basis may result in lost desire and boredom, which can only further derail your sales and retention objectives.

As a result, Callfinity offers a variety of flexible, responsive, and customizable products that provide administrators with the tools they need to execute flawless scripts. Callfinity’s solutions provide extensive feedback and clear statistical analysis, making it easy for you to track employee performance and determine which scripts are receiving the best results. Learn more about call scripts