Call logging and monitoring systems have continually demonstrated their
importance across a number of industries. Not only have they proven
themselves within the burgeoning call center market where they continue to
serve as valued training and troubleshooting tools, they are often a legal
necessity within telesale and emergency dispatch scenarios. By offering a
series of "do-it-yourself kits," Versadial could offer smaller or
price-sensitive companies and the VARs that serve them an opportunity to
leverage these same benefits. For this review we tested what could be an
ideal solution for a smaller firm that does not have a digital PBX: a
logger built from one of Versadial’s 8 analog channel do-it-yourself
kits (they are also available in 2 and 4 channel kits, as well as 8 and 16
channel digital kits). When such a firm upgrades to a digital PBX, this
home-built logger would grow with them through the addition of a DAC card.
INSTALLATION
Versadial shipped a sample logger to the Labs. This logger was built on a
PC using one of their 8 analog channel do-it-yourself kits. In its native
form, this kit would include a CD and sound card that users can install on
their choice of PC. Versadial also sent two pre-wired connection panels
containing jacks for up to eight channels; these included two audio
outputs (a somewhat vague determination used by Versadial to indicate
ports for radio output, such as in a police station or other radio
dispatch scenario). Since we were not testing the product in conjunction
with a PBX, each channel on the connection panel included a jack for the
CO connection and one for a telephone. We also hooked the logger up to our
office LAN in preparation to test the remote client later. We discovered
that it was not necessary to assign the logger a static IP address,
although the documentation directed us to do so.
As for remote client installation, this was also an extremely simple
process that took roughly two minutes. It involved CD installation on
another networked PC (you know the routine, "Next," "Finish,"
etc.) followed by entry of a logger IP address, machine name, and port
number into a wizard-like setup window. The only difficulty related to
this process was trying to decipher Versadial’s documentation. The time
to complete this process probably could have been cut in half if the
instructions were clearer.
DOCUMENTATION
Versadial’s documentation is an example of why it is a good idea to
carefully read through the manuals when evaluating a product.
Documentation is rarely an indicator of the product’s overall value, but
it can indicate how easily it may integrate into your existing enterprise.
Aesthetics aside, the lack of clarity with which some of the Logger’s
documentation is written and illustrated could seriously hinder some
customers’ ability to implement it easily. "Some" is the operative
word. Real telephony gurus or even moderately experienced professionals
will probably be able to figure it out just fine. But as an example of "cutting
off one’s nose," smaller companies, for whom Versadial’s relatively
affordable products could make an ideal solution, may have difficulty
implementing it as quickly as they could were they to have an experienced
person on hand.
FEATURES
Logging/Recording
VSLogger software supports from 2 to 128 channels of simultaneous,
multichannel recording from any combination of composite analog telephone
lines, composite analog audio/radio channels, or MVIP bus ports. VSLogger
also supports use of DAC (digital to analog converter) cards from several
vendors to record voice directly from PBX digital extensions. Supported
PBXs include any DAC compatible systems with MVIP interfaces. By setting
the VSLogger software to record from a MVIP port, users can record from
any MVIP bus-compatible device (T1/E1 card, PRI, ISDN card, etc.).
Voice data is recorded in compressed format and immediately converts to
nonproprietary .WAV format for playback. "Fast Recall" features allow
users to play back more recent recordings quickly from an active monitor
screen. During software setup, recording can be configured for initiation
depending upon a number of triggers, including receiver pick-up, audio
activity, DTMF sequence, or by an external program specified using
VSLogger’s API.
Monitoring
In addition to logging/recording capabilities, VSLogger enables users to
monitor conversations in real time. Separate outputs allow simultaneous
playback and monitoring without termination of the playback session.
Remote Client
The VSLogger remote client allows users to access and play back recordings
from multiple loggers through a remote networked PC. Remote monitoring of
conversations is also supported, though with a delay of one to two
seconds. The Remote Client also allows users to search for recordings by
channel, time range, numbers dialed, or by a phrase or number found in the
caller-ID.
OPERATIONAL TESTING
Testing logging was simple enough. Using a telephone plugged into the
connection panel, which is in turn connected both to the logger and the
Central Office, one tech editor called another. During one of those
brilliant exchanges frequently heard around the Labs (the "Test, test,
just testing this out can you hear me?" variety), a sort with which
readers in charge of telephony issues are probably all too familiar, the
channel indicator on the VSLogger "monitor" screen (this is distinct
from real-time monitoring) lit up for channel #1, indicating it was
active. Once the call was complete, an entry appeared in the Fast Recall
interface grid with a date/time stamp indicating it as our just-completed
test call. We clicked on it, spawning a listening device. The call was
played back through headphones plugged into the logger’s soundcard.
Three scenarios were tested, one in which logging was initiated by
voice activity, one by DTMF activity, and one by picking up the receiver.
All were successful.
Testing real-time monitoring was perhaps even simpler. As stated above,
an indicator on the monitor screen lights up for the appropriate channel
during an active call. To test real-time monitoring we clicked on this
icon and immediately heard the active test conversation (again of the "test,
test -- one, two, three" variety). The headphones used in this scenario
are plugged into a separate port. They are located next to the RJ-11 jacks
on the back of the PC linking to the connection panels such that
simultaneous playback and monitoring may be supported.
In testing logging and monitoring, our greatest concern was obvious:
whether or not both ends of a typical telephone call could be discerned by
a listener either monitoring or playing back a recorded conversation.
Unfortunately, we experienced lack of clarity and lowered volume on one
end of the call. In calls placed by tech editor X (whose phone was
directly hooked up to the logger) to editor Y, Y’s voice was difficult
to hear, with lowered volume and sometimes poor quality. This problem was
greatly improved by increasing gain and compression settings, switching to
another channel, and changing the central office line. Though quality and
volume improved greatly, they were slightly lower than that of a regular
phone call. According to Versadial personnel, this is usually the case
with analog recordings, though not having compared this logger with a
competing solution (nor tried one of Versadial’s digital kits through a
PBX for that matter), we can’t weigh that statement definitively one way
or the other.
To test the remote client, we listened to a series of calls previously
recorded on the host PC logger and downloaded/ saved them as .wav files to
a number of locations on the remote PC. This test showed neither
degradation nor improvement in quality.
ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT
Versadial could start off by improving their documentation such that
crucial information is not obscured. Ideally, a technically-oriented
non-expert should be able to make sufficient headway without encountering
frustration, which is not currently the case. This is simply a matter of
clarifying terms, providing clearer illustrations, and tightening up some
of the more egregious grammatical issues that required some sentences to
be read twice. This is particularly true in that the company sells its
products in two forms: primarily as "do-it-yourself" kits, and also as "turnkey
solutions," both of which have hassle-free components to
their sales pitch which can only be helped through top notch
documentation.
Secondly, the GUI requires significant improvement. In places the
current interface is not entirely reflective of the conventions most users
will be used to. For example, no right mouse button-activated menus or
drag-and-drop features are available. At times somewhat misleading and
unlabeled icons are utilized (the channel icon in particular looks very
much like the Windows .wav icon). Online Help reflective of the above
recommended improvements in documentation, as well as some "What’s This?" type of screen pop-ups and tutorials, when coupled with the
affordable price, would make VSLogger an ideal entry-level solution for
up-and-coming call centers and brokerage houses, to name a few.
Additionally, there was little integration with the keyboard. For example,
pressing the delete key will not delete highlighted items on the GUI. On
top of these perhaps more advanced features, there are basic navigation
issues that make the interface at times frustrating to use.
Most important, in order for this product to be of real value, both
ends of a telephone conversation need to be as clear and audible as a
regular telephone call. Again, we cannot definitely state that the slight
decreases in volume and quality are truly attributed to Versadial, or
would be the case with any analog phone call.
CONCLUSION
If you’re a start-up shop on a tight budget and have a smart telephony
person on hand (or a decent VAR), Versadial may still have a solution for
you. But buyer beware: make sure you try a shareware or evaluation version
first, and check that the recording/monitoring quality will suit your
purposes. If so, you may have found an affordable solution through their
do-it-yourself kits (offering 50-70 percent savings over a complete system
and free remote access software) with the flexibility inherent in being
able to A) build a logging system on your choice of hardware, and B)
eliminate dependence on proprietary solutions offered by other vendors.
There is also the intimacy afforded by having built your own system,
which has the mixed blessing of eliminating need for much outside support
though also sometimes making it difficult for newcomers to administrate or
train on. In any case, Versadial has demonstrated a proven track record
with a number of call centers and security companies, as well as
communications and security systems VARs. Specific clients include the
Hong Kong Pilots Association, Bay Area Pipeline Operations Center in the
United States.
We generally stand by the democratic concept of making technology
easier and more affordable to implement, and will forgive companies trying
to do this for the bells and whistles they sometimes need to forego in
order to accomplish this task. Nevertheless, we’re not able to give
Versadial the recommendation we wish we could. If they were to implement
the improvements we’ve mentioned, we would not hesitate to recommend
their DIY kits as an affordable means of entry into a variety of purposes --
both for organizations themselves and the VARs that hope to serve them.
Hopefully we will have the future opportunity to review a second version
that realizes a worthy goal.
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