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Friday, May 29, 2009

The True Saving Potential Available by Going Green with eBilling

Environmentalism takes many forms. Some environmentalists choose recycling as their cause; some choose closing coal plants while others choose reducing our dependence on oil. However, it’s the simplest things that have the largest impact. And more often than not, the small steps that we take translate into dollars in our pockets as well. For example, if you replace five incandescent light bulbs with florescent bulbs in your house, you will see an estimated $2500 savings over 60,000 hours of usage (http://www.easywebcalculators.com/cf.htm). So, while using far less energy from coal plants, you are also saving money for your family.

These simple steps make the biggest difference both in the environment and in your wallet. If, as an individual consumer, you receive and pay 10 bills via traditional first class mail per month, you have the potential to help the environment greatly by switching to eBilling. You will save 3.7 pounds of paper, 36 gallons of wastewater going into our waterways, 4.8 gallons of gasoline, 148 pounds of greenhouse gases, and 20 square feet of forest (http://www.payitgreen.com/). Who knew there were so many environmental savings simply in paying your bills online, but what about the cost savings? Right off the bat, you will save over $50 in postage in one year by paying 10 bills online - that’s a no brainer. And on top of that is the cost of envelopes and checks. Most families are looking for ways to do their part for the environment and tighten their budgets, and eBilling is one simple way to do that.

And these savings are not exclusive to individuals - companies can reap the same benefits. By implementing programs like eBilling, companies can achieve real savings while improving their image with their new “Green” initiatives. Not only will the company save on paper and postage costs, which can be astronomical, but also on labor costs in the billing department, customer service churn, and overall customer satisfaction. Not only to eBilling products produce and send the bills for you automatically but many also allow for drill down and analysis of the bill, so the customer has the resources at their finger tips to look into their bill and easily answer questions without having to call into customer service. This makes the bill pay process much easier and more efficient for your customers as well…making them much happier customers.

eBilling allows companies to go “Green” by saving forests, waterways and reducing our dependence on oil, while also saving money for the company and for their customers. The choice is clear, Go Green with eBilling.

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Trading Companies Instilling Security in the Minds of Investors

In this current economic climate, financial brokers and traders are under significantly more scrutiny than in the past and that is not likely to go away any time soon. Due to the recent downturn in the markets, restrictions on the financial sector are certainly on the rise. Many trading companies are looking for ways to proactively manage their exposure to the financial crisis by investing in systems to track trader activity and position themselves as a trustworthy and reliable source of financial expertise.

One way that many companies are dealing with this crisis is by implementing a call management system that can monitor and analyze call traffic. These systems monitor phone activity to and from the trading floor to ensure that the traders’ actions are supervised and, therefore, compliant with regulations. In other words, this technology allows companies to insure that their traders are acting with the highest ethical code while on the job.

A call management system gives trading companies credibility, and after the market downturn we have recently faced, credibility is PRICELESS. It says to customers “We are not one of the companies that approved questionable trading activities. We are above that. We are a safe place to invest in your money.”

Many economists say that the biggest issue facing our economy today is the perception of the individual investor. Investors are afraid to jump back into the market and are only going to do so slowly and with reservation. Investors are not going to dive in head first and just “believe” that you are a reputable trading company. Some of the largest and most reputable banks and trading companies in the country have been under fire - having a reputable name is no longer good enough. It is imperative to give your customers a reason to believe that your trading company will be the best place to invest their money.

By adding a call management system to your operations, you are insuring credibility and giving your investors a reason to believe that your company is one of the good ones – free of fraudulent and questionable trading practices. Instilling peace of mind for your investors is more than half the battle to full market recovery.

Friday, May 22, 2009

Service Providers, Large and Small, Must Find Ways to Cut Costs and Stay Relevant in an Ever-Changing Market

For tier one and tier two service providers, finding one complete, efficient system to fit all of their needs can be a tall order. For many of these providers, they are working with many separate vendors to create a unique system that fits their specific needs because they have been unable to find one complete outsourced system. The management of these various systems often requires a dedicated team to manage and constantly monitor the daily data loads.

The best solution is to find one outsourced billing product that will fulfill the growing billing needs of a company. By growing needs, I am referring to the increased demand for electronic billing presentation. Many companies simply will not work with a company that does not offer this efficient billing option. Therefore, many tier one and tier two service providers are on the hunt for an online solution to deliver increased performance efficiency, reduce manual report production and be scalable in order to satisfy the billing needs of both SME and corporate customers.

To fit these needs, many service providers are turning to comprehensive, “out of the box” outsourced billing solutions with different levels of functionality to suit the differing needs of their SME and corporate customers. The most competitive solutions are complete with trend and exception reports, presented as charts to make them easy to understand, with “drill-down” functionality for more detailed information. Additionally, they offer report wizards that are customizable to fit the specific needs of the individual SME or corporate customer. Customers (or end user customers) also receive the added functionality of allocating costs to a visual representation of their company hierarchy, thereby linking each individual department to its personal phone usage and costs.

Through the implementation of one single, powerful eBilling system instead of multiple co-existing ones, many tier one and tier two providers are able to eliminate bill-related communication difficulties and streamline bill presentation allowing for easier housekeeping for their subscribers. The top eBilling systems also offer the customer total control over the management and analysis of expenditure, as well as call details on their accounts. The ability for customers to create and save customized reports for their business requirements can eliminate the need for many providers to produce one-off, customer-specific reports for key accounts, increasing efficiency and scalability.

Installing one unified eBilling system can also lead to fewer billing queries, reducing the number of calls to customer service. Providers are also able to reduce costs by reducing print, fulfillment, and postage costs, while all the while making the bill more easily navigated and customizable for their customer needs. In order to stay competitive in today’s market, it is growing increasingly important that service providers, large and small, cut costs and stay relevant.

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

How a Telemanagement System Can Help you Eliminate Employee Phone Fraud

Fraud Guard is an add-on module for the Proteus family of call accounting systems. With comprehensive monitoring and reporting, it provides a flexible way to control voice costs and guard against the misuse and abuse of voice systems.

Fraud Guard offers high quality, real time monitoring of activities such as incoming, outgoing, international and out of hours calls, together with 24x7 monitoring of a voice network’s status. Its rich graphical representation and easy interpretation lends itself to a wallboard presentation.

Even businesses that are already enjoying the benefits of a call accounting system will appreciate the enhanced monitoring and control provided by Fraud Guard. Traditionally, call accounting systems are used to analyze historical call traffic, for example investigating calls made by individual departments at the end of each month. This means that businesses don’t always have the immediate, hands-on control they need to manage their ongoing communication costs. Small to medium enterprises to large multi-nationals across a wide range of vertical markets, including public sector, finance, professional services and manufacturing, appreciate the additional level of awareness provided by Fraud Guard. By setting limits on costs for individuals, departments and cost centers, they are notified as those limits are approached and if they are subsequently breached.

Monday, May 18, 2009

How recording calls “in the cloud” can save contact centers money

To remain competitive in an ever-changing global environment, contact centers are looking for new solutions that enhance productivity, reduce cost and increase security. Many companies are searching for solutions that allow them to provide flexible work options and enhanced operational flexibility without breaking the bank. Since offshore outsourcing has proven to be unsuccessful for many call centers, they are looking for low cost options that still allow them to operate competitively while providing the quality that their customers expect and demand.

Financial Advantages
In a recent study, by Frost and Sullivan ("The Hosted Model: Why it's Revolutionizing the Contact Center Industry") the costs of hosted call recording were compared to those for a premise-based platform. The study demonstrated a cost savings of 64% in the first year, 36% in the third year and 23% in the fifth year. Through hosting, contact centers save money historically spent on hardware, such as a physical switch or a call recording box. Eliminating this investment not only removes the initial capital requirement, but also eventual replacement and maintenance costs. Hosted call recording is far more affordable to the SMB.

Flexible Work Options and Virtualization
Contact centers implementing geographically distributed branches and home-based agents are finding the traditional premise-based PBX far too limiting. With the call recorder moved into the network, these innovators no longer have to deal with the geographic restrictions created by hardware located on-sight. Recording "in the cloud" provides them with the flexibility they need to place their agents wherever the business needs them to be. The most desirable hosted call recording solutions can easily integrate with a virtual PBX to provide real time, blanket and selective call recording for all agents regardless of their geographic location, providing superior quality call monitoring support for all branch and home locations.

Enhanced Operational Flexibility
In addition to the operational efficiency benefits described above, hosted call recording also helps mitigate risk. Failure to comply with regulations can result in hefty fines that will hurt the bottom-line. Having a permanent recording of customer interactions and regulated transactions helps to alleviate exposure and mitigate risk. If your contact center is faced with regulations that require effective and efficient retrieval of call records, hosted call recording may be the answer.

Friday, May 15, 2009

Hosted Call Recording Solutions for Mobile Market:

In the fixed line market, call recording is a well-established solution set. Since the early 1990s, call recording solution sets for desk phones have been commonly deployed for regulatory and quality assurance purposes. The primary drive for recording functions was the financial services market that required recordings for evidentiary purposes, even before the taping statues became commonplace.

The increased mobility of the workforce, in combination with the ubiquity and consumer popularity of cell phones, has led to a dramatic adoption of mobile devices by the financial services workforce. It is estimated that of the over 10 million financial services employees in Western Europe alone, there are over 12 million mobile devices. 9 out of 10 financial services firms hand cell phones out to their employees, and as noted by the FSA, a substantial amount of business occurs on these phones. 92% of financial services firms consider the employee’s mobile device an asset and they compensate the employee service to the mobile device or directly provide service.

The primary reason that a trader’s landline phones are recorded is not only to provide evidence for investigation in the future, but also to proactively detect fraud and ensure quality guidelines. The same can and will be applied to cell phones as more and more fraudulent activity is uncovered in connection with the use of cell phones. Due to regulatory forces, enterprises will have to record the mobile phone conversations of their employees. This statutory requirement is going to place unprecedented pressure on the information technology functions of financial services institutions, in a time when capital is expensive and difficult to reach.

The key drivers for a financial services enterprise are:
  • Security and Reliability: Any call recording system should provide a failsafe mechanism of recording conversations with a clear chain of custody for the recorded evidence.
  • Device and Service Independence: The service should be tied to the mobile employee – not the device. As devices are upgraded, service options changed, and roaming occurs, recordings must be guaranteed.
  • Transparency: The employee should not even be aware that they are being recorded. The call recording system must be completely transparent, reducing the chance that an employee will circumvent surveillance.


Mobility solutions are best served as hosted solutions that present ubiquitous functionality. Anytime, anywhere, any device access and functionality is a must. Both the employee and the enterprise view mobility functions to be an extension of their service provider and demand the same carrier-grade level and access as basic voice service. If this logic is continued, call recording, therefore, should be a service provider enabled function: carrier-grade recording, anytime, anywhere, and on any device.


In light of the most recent downturn in the financial markets, more and more focus is put on their activities and interactions. Call recording is a key element in tracking this activity and could be a good safeguard for many financial institutions against fraudulent activity. Finding call recording systems to fit all of these requirements is not exactly an easy feet. With advancements in technology, applications providers are finding more cost effective and creative ways to provide the features that end user customers need.

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Green Business Solutions: Making the Most of Paperless

Going green is not just a trend, it is a smart decision that both consumers and businesses benefit from. Ironically, many of the environmentally beneficial solutions are also beneficial economically. eBilling is a prime example of a business solution that works to save money and the environment. It can cost hundreds of dollars to mail out invoices, receipts, and other bills to your clients. First you have to pay for the production of this material, and then you have to pay for the distribution. However, eBilling is a low cost alternative that even a small business can afford. Especially if you work with international clients, eBilling is a foolproof and vital method to deliver important information at a very low price.

Clearly, the money saved on production and distribution of paper billing makes eBilling a large financial advantage over alternative billing methods. eBilling is obviously beneficial to the environment, but there are other benefits of eBilling to be aware of. The environmental benefits of eBilling also affect the perspective of a customer. When a business offers the option of paperless billing, this builds rapport with an environmentally conscious consumer and can help to increase customer satisfaction, retention, and even referrals. Not only does eBilling cut costs and environmental waste; but paperless billing offers a whole new element to billing that simple ink and paper can’t provide. The end user benefits are limitless. More information can be made available in a statement provided through the internet, and there is less confusion on the clients end. (Nobody likes to feel confused over a bill!)

In fact: when the right information is given, you will also save money by cutting back on customer service calls! A good eBilling service provider will offer useful templates and resources to ensure that an end user will receive the most important information (based on independent research.) One of the greatest benefits to paperless billing is how quickly an eBill can reach the client. Instead of waiting days, even weeks, for the information to arrive… a valued client may instead receive important information in a matter of seconds, or minutes after being sent. (The quicker a bill or invoice is received, the quicker a payment is received.)

Paperless billing saves environmental waste. Both businesses and consumers are participating actively in “going green” not because it is a trend, but because it is important to conserve and reduce waste. eBilling is a green business solution that will build rapport and increase sales by increasing customer satisfaction. By cutting back on the costs of production and distribution of paper billing, you will save a whopping amount of money and time. Important information will reach clients much quicker if you use paperless billing, and each transaction can complete in a shorter amount of time than would be possible with paper billing. Finally, eBilling allows a client to receive all of the important information they need so there is no confusion over a statement. The benefits of eBilling are endless!

Monday, May 11, 2009

What differentiates Proteus from other call management systems?

Proteus is a first-class call management system, equipped with a range of standard and custom reports that are easily automated with output to screen, print, or email. Proteus has many standard report templates designed to meet the typical needs of a communications management solution. These template reports include cost analysis, traffic times, and trend reports. If these templates do not fully cover the exact needs of your customer, Proteus also includes an advanced filtering system that enables end users to easily design and update any number of customized reports, saving valuable time while fitting the needs of the end user.

Proteus is also equipped with a versatile alarm system that alerts key personnel to actions of particular interest within the communications system. Alarms can be customized and sent to an individual or a group, typically via email or flagged on screen. Alarms are instant, providing information in real time once a call has been terminated. This call accounting system includes a default set of ten alarm templates, including one that identifies when and from where a 911 call was placed. Alarms can be used for immediate detection of fraud and security breaches as well as alerting the end user of telecom equipment failures. All of these alerts can quickly and efficiently provide the end user with the information necessary to keep the business running smoothly and efficiently while providing a safe and secure environment for the employees. Call management systems are generally very similar in the functionality and features that they offer, but with Proteus, you get the standard functionality and so much more.

Friday, May 8, 2009

Businesses Require the Convenience that eBilling Offers

As a telecommunications service provider, it is essential that you are aware of what is most important to your customers. Most customers are more interested in convenience than anything else. Providing electronic bill presentation via email allows your customers to view and analyze their bills electronically and conveniently. By simply opening an email, they can view their bill and then dive in deeper to view more detail with the touch of a button.

If you send your customers paper bills, they must request an itemized bill for analysis and then must weed through a stack of papers outlining every single call detail on that bill…giving them far too much information. With electronic bill presentation, the bill is simply dropped into an email box and can be analyzed on the spot quickly and easily. This type of ease-of-use makes eBilling an easy and more effective alternative to traditional paper billing.

Wednesday, May 6, 2009

CTI Group’s SmartRecord IP Supports Mobile Service Providers

Mobility solutions are best served as hosted solutions that present ubiquitous functionality. Anytime, anywhere, any device access and functionality is a must. Both the employee and the enterprise view mobility functions to be an extension of their service provider and demand the same carrier-grade level and access as basic voice service. If this logic is continued, call recording therefore, should be a service provider enabled function: carrier-grade hosted call recording, anytime, anywhere, and on any device.


There are other advantages of placing the recording function in the service provider’s facility:
- No reliance on enterprise equipment and elimination of enterprise capital outlay.
- Transparency in recording – the employee will never know they are being recorded.
- No disruption to the enterprise business process.


While these benefits are quite compelling, how does the provider actually implement this hosted call recording solution?


CTI Group partners with switch manufacturers to provide call recording through these partner relationships. One of these partners offers a solution that serves as a service provider application delivery platform for mobile operators. By leveraging this carrier-grade solution, a mobile operator can extend their existing mobile network to provide unique voice applications. One of these applications is the CTI Group SmartRecord IP solution: a secure, multi-tenant, hosted call recording solution designed for operators.

Tuesday, May 5, 2009

Proteus Enterprise Defined as Managed Service

Definition- A managed service provider (MSP) provides delivery and management of network-based services, applications, and equipment to enterprises, residences, or other service providers.

CTI Group offers Proteus Enterprise, a call accounting system that is perfectly described as a Managed Service. This call accounting system provides the customer with features covered under managed services. Administrators of the application can limit the user community via access policies to only create and use information applicable to their areas. The same applies to remote sites – the information available is limited by administrator-managed rights. Other functions such as people, departments, costing and tariffs can be managed based on access and security.

This call accounting system has the ability to collect data in real time from any combination of PBX’s or switches. It is fully compatible with all traditional PBX’s and VoIP systems thus it supports multi site logging with no restrictions to the number of sites. The web interface provides instant connectivity and the ability to perform call management tasks from any PC connected to the web.

Friday, May 1, 2009

The Cell Phone Revolution Spurs New IRS Business Requirements

Two decades ago, it was highly unlikely that you would see someone talking on a cellular telephone. Back in those days, most cell phones were “car phones” or so large you had to have a separate bag in which to carry them. Today, you can’t walk down a sidewalk, through an airport or even down a beach without seeing someone on a cell phone or Bluetooth device. My, how times have changed.

Since this cell phone revolution has taken hold of everyday Americans, it’s no wonder that businesses are incorporating cell phones, blackberries, etc. into their IT equipment needs. Customers expect that sales or support contacts are available to answer calls anytime, and, to stay competitive, that’s what businesses must do.

In the wake of, what is essentially, a cultural shift, there is bound to be some backlash. New rules and regulations regarding business use of cell phones and blackberries are popping up left and right. Specifically, the IRS has started to implement regulations for identifying personal versus business usage on company cell phones.

“To be able to exclude the use by an employee from taxable income from an employer-owned cell phone, the employer must have some method to require the employee to keep records that distinguish business from personal phone charges. If the telephone is used exclusively for business, all use is excludable from income (as a working condition fringe benefit). The amount that represents personal use is included in the wages of the employee. This includes individual personal calls, as well as a pro rata share of monthly service charges.” http://www.irs.gov/govt/fslg/article/0,,id=167154,00.html.

Essentially, the IRS is claiming that any personal use of business-owned cell phones can be considered additional taxable income – that’s right, they want their cut, too. While these regulations are only in their infancy phase at this time and only applicable to government agencies, it is only a matter of time before these regulations become a requirement for all businesses.

So, the question is “How on earth do you keep track of every single call you make?” Well, the good news is that this sort of call tracking has been a requirement in Europe for quite some time, so there are tried and true electronic bill presentment solutions out there to help.

In Europe, most companies use electronic bill presentation software to split the bill into business and personal call groups automatically so that the individual or company doesn’t have to scour the bill line by line. This allows companies to appropriately account for the personal cell phone use, and thereby, adhere to government regulations, without bogging down their accounting departments in the process.

What sales or support representative has time to go through their bill line by line??

With these new IRS requirements going into affect in the United States, it’s only a matter of time before all businesses are required to separate and track cell phone usage. And in order to stay efficient, it will be an absolute necessity to find an easy, low cost way to track and separate that cell phone usage. eBilling could be the solution for you.
Billing & OSS World 2009 ebilling CTI Group Customer Spotlight - Call Recording Call Recording at Metaswitch 2009