Develop a cloud conferencing service for small businesses
Most modern cloud PBXs have similar functionality. As a rule, it is a set of voice menus, call forwarding, all kinds of voice boxes and statistics. This gentleman's set can be found in almost every phone SaaS. At the same time, there is a modest, not very noticeable at first glance, but very useful, when used correctly, option - conference call. Historically, conferences have always been associated with big business, conference calls and the making of important, authoritative decisions. When developing our communication platform, we try to follow a slightly different path and develop a conference module focusing on the needs of small and medium businesses.
We will try to talk about what has been done by the developers in the framework of the HIVE project in the context of conference services for small businesses. Our cloud PBX already has a zest, which distinguishes it from many other similar platforms - this is integration with mobile communications. A mobile phone with an IP-SIM sim card that performs office functions often changes the approach to the most common and standard features of virtual PBXs. Using IP SIM, you can not only record calls from corporate cellular and view statistics online, but also create conferences with an unlimited number of mobile employees, using the specific features of cellular communication.
To begin, consider a typical conference call scheme.
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Most cloud PBXs allow you to create conferences according to the most common scenario: Subscriber A wants to discuss something with Subscriber B and all this needs to be done in the presence of Subscribers D and C. The phone number you need is dialed, the respondent is asked to “hang” on the line and at that moment other phone numbers are dialed, after which all participants are connected in turn. At the end of the conference, all amicably disconnected and the process is considered to be successfully completed. It seems that everything is simple and clear, the task of communicating several people is done, automation and “features” have no place. It is unlikely that someone from the small business thinks in terms of advanced functionality. What problems may be found? The first and main problem: employees outside the office or employees on mobile.
If at the right time one of the participants missed the call to the cellular one, then there is no chance to connect to the conference on their own, you have to wait for the organizer's call again. The automatic telephone exchange simply fixes the status "not answered" or "is busy" and transfers the corresponding KPV to the line. No analytics is provided.
In the case of IP SIM, you can provide the ability to monitor the status of employees' mobile phones and implement different scenarios for connecting participants, depending on what status the mobile line has at the time of the call.
If the called IP SIM is busy, then you can create a script so that after a short timeout, the PBX continues to “knock” on the short number and achieve connection of the corporate cellular to the conference. If the SIM card has the “offline” status, you can complicate the scenario and make the PBX redial the required short number two more times at an interval of 5 minutes, then call the “offline employee” on line and stop dialing attempts . The third interesting option may be the scenario where the initiator creates a pre-created scenario indicating the desired start time of the conferences and enters the number of all expected participants. After that, the PBX starts dialing in advance to the necessary numbers and issuing an IVR to the line indicating the start time of the conference and the number of the so-called conference room, to which anyone can dial who has dialed the unique internal number of the same room. Such a scenario, in combination with the first two, allows to achieve the desired effect flexibly and without time-consuming - all the participants of the meeting, regardless of their location, will practically be guaranteed to take part in a joint discussion.
Sometimes a large number of participants may need to be connected to a conference without a clear control of a 100% connection (for example, a meeting meeting of all free couriers). For such tasks, it is advisable to use not the internal number of the conference room or automatic dialing scenarios for the necessary subscribers, but a specially dedicated service virtual city number, the relevance of which is lost after the completion of the event. All potential participants, or through advertising channels, are informed of the start time of the conference and the virtual number for the incoming call to connect.
If necessary, such functionality can be used for interactive interaction with a large number of customers or partners who wish to listen to useful and relevant information while in motion. It is only necessary to state the exact date of commencement, duration of time and the virtual number of the conference itself. The application of IP SIM in this scenario adds “raisins” - remote employees, being recognized by a short number, can connect to the conference on a specific condition - with the right only to listen or with the right and speak and listen.
The list of such scenarios can be continued almost infinitely and the very fact of having an IP SIM and the ability to set the time and duration of the conference using voice menus provides a lot of room for imagination. There is hardly any need to “announce the entire list.”
In the HIVE interface, we tried to simplify and automate the functions of creating the conference as much as possible. Right now, you can use a convenient visual tool to generate a list of participants from the list of internal numbers of the company or add numbers to an external telephone network.
Having created the necessary list in the graphic mode, you need to click the Start button and the PBX will launch one of the scenarios described above. Additional data indicating that this particular employee is on the mobile is not required. PBX will take all the necessary information from the database internal lines. In the sandbox, we and the possibility of fully visual conference management - the necessary numbers or employees are connected to the conference using the drag-drop GUI and are also turned off.
You can program the desired event in advance and forget about the need to dial short and fixed numbers of participants each time. HIVE will do everything automatically. In this sense, the “Scheduled Conference” function is very convenient and the conference leader or initiator can create meeting scenarios a week or two ahead, and integration with an external IP will ensure timely notification of interested parties about an upcoming event, you can relax and work. The robot will do everything at its best.
The functionality described above is only a part of what can be realized in the field of conference communication if we begin to consider telephone “calls” and meetings as a tool in automating business processes with very convenient tools and controls. We are trying to move precisely in this direction - we automate and improve what, from our point of view, is undeservedly forgotten - an old and kind telephone conference. It is still in demand and useful and in many cases can replace an innovative, but resource-intensive in terms of time spent on creating and conducting, webinar.
We will try to talk about what has been done by the developers in the framework of the HIVE project in the context of conference services for small businesses. Our cloud PBX already has a zest, which distinguishes it from many other similar platforms - this is integration with mobile communications. A mobile phone with an IP-SIM sim card that performs office functions often changes the approach to the most common and standard features of virtual PBXs. Using IP SIM, you can not only record calls from corporate cellular and view statistics online, but also create conferences with an unlimited number of mobile employees, using the specific features of cellular communication.
To begin, consider a typical conference call scheme.
')
Most cloud PBXs allow you to create conferences according to the most common scenario: Subscriber A wants to discuss something with Subscriber B and all this needs to be done in the presence of Subscribers D and C. The phone number you need is dialed, the respondent is asked to “hang” on the line and at that moment other phone numbers are dialed, after which all participants are connected in turn. At the end of the conference, all amicably disconnected and the process is considered to be successfully completed. It seems that everything is simple and clear, the task of communicating several people is done, automation and “features” have no place. It is unlikely that someone from the small business thinks in terms of advanced functionality. What problems may be found? The first and main problem: employees outside the office or employees on mobile.
If at the right time one of the participants missed the call to the cellular one, then there is no chance to connect to the conference on their own, you have to wait for the organizer's call again. The automatic telephone exchange simply fixes the status "not answered" or "is busy" and transfers the corresponding KPV to the line. No analytics is provided.
In the case of IP SIM, you can provide the ability to monitor the status of employees' mobile phones and implement different scenarios for connecting participants, depending on what status the mobile line has at the time of the call.
If the called IP SIM is busy, then you can create a script so that after a short timeout, the PBX continues to “knock” on the short number and achieve connection of the corporate cellular to the conference. If the SIM card has the “offline” status, you can complicate the scenario and make the PBX redial the required short number two more times at an interval of 5 minutes, then call the “offline employee” on line and stop dialing attempts . The third interesting option may be the scenario where the initiator creates a pre-created scenario indicating the desired start time of the conferences and enters the number of all expected participants. After that, the PBX starts dialing in advance to the necessary numbers and issuing an IVR to the line indicating the start time of the conference and the number of the so-called conference room, to which anyone can dial who has dialed the unique internal number of the same room. Such a scenario, in combination with the first two, allows to achieve the desired effect flexibly and without time-consuming - all the participants of the meeting, regardless of their location, will practically be guaranteed to take part in a joint discussion.
Sometimes a large number of participants may need to be connected to a conference without a clear control of a 100% connection (for example, a meeting meeting of all free couriers). For such tasks, it is advisable to use not the internal number of the conference room or automatic dialing scenarios for the necessary subscribers, but a specially dedicated service virtual city number, the relevance of which is lost after the completion of the event. All potential participants, or through advertising channels, are informed of the start time of the conference and the virtual number for the incoming call to connect.
If necessary, such functionality can be used for interactive interaction with a large number of customers or partners who wish to listen to useful and relevant information while in motion. It is only necessary to state the exact date of commencement, duration of time and the virtual number of the conference itself. The application of IP SIM in this scenario adds “raisins” - remote employees, being recognized by a short number, can connect to the conference on a specific condition - with the right only to listen or with the right and speak and listen.
The list of such scenarios can be continued almost infinitely and the very fact of having an IP SIM and the ability to set the time and duration of the conference using voice menus provides a lot of room for imagination. There is hardly any need to “announce the entire list.”
In the HIVE interface, we tried to simplify and automate the functions of creating the conference as much as possible. Right now, you can use a convenient visual tool to generate a list of participants from the list of internal numbers of the company or add numbers to an external telephone network.
Having created the necessary list in the graphic mode, you need to click the Start button and the PBX will launch one of the scenarios described above. Additional data indicating that this particular employee is on the mobile is not required. PBX will take all the necessary information from the database internal lines. In the sandbox, we and the possibility of fully visual conference management - the necessary numbers or employees are connected to the conference using the drag-drop GUI and are also turned off.
You can program the desired event in advance and forget about the need to dial short and fixed numbers of participants each time. HIVE will do everything automatically. In this sense, the “Scheduled Conference” function is very convenient and the conference leader or initiator can create meeting scenarios a week or two ahead, and integration with an external IP will ensure timely notification of interested parties about an upcoming event, you can relax and work. The robot will do everything at its best.
The functionality described above is only a part of what can be realized in the field of conference communication if we begin to consider telephone “calls” and meetings as a tool in automating business processes with very convenient tools and controls. We are trying to move precisely in this direction - we automate and improve what, from our point of view, is undeservedly forgotten - an old and kind telephone conference. It is still in demand and useful and in many cases can replace an innovative, but resource-intensive in terms of time spent on creating and conducting, webinar.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/273693/
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