Running Interaction Client from a Remote Location

You can run Interaction Client from a remote location. This means that users at home or on the road can receive regular and ACD-routed incoming interactions, and use all the other Interaction Client features.

For more information, see the Interaction Client Remote Access Technical Reference in the CIC Documentation Library.

Answer and Make Calls

The IC server automatically alerts the remote workstation and rings the remote telephone, assuming the station is configured in Interaction Administrator always to ring the telephone. To answer a call, the remote agent can simply pick up the handset to connect to the call. Once the phone is off hook and connected to the IC server with a persistent connection, the remote agent can dial directly from the phone keypad or from Interaction Client.

Answer Calls

Once Interaction Client starts and the agent’s status is available, incoming calls alert only on the workstation. The agent’s telephone does not ring at the same time the call alerts Interaction Client. The first time CIC sends a call to an available remote agent may be different from subsequent calls, depending on how the agent ends the first call.

To answer the first call from CIC after logging on:

Do one of the following:

- Select the alerting call and click the Pickup button.
- Double-click the alerting call

When the telephone rings, pick up the handset to speak; CIC immediately connects the call.

When the call is over, do one of the following:

- Click the Disconnect button and keep the handset off-hook. CIC automatically keeps a persistent connection to remote agents, which means as soon as you click the Pickup button on subsequent calls, the call is connected immediately without waiting for the phone to ring.
- When the call is over, hang up the handset. In this case, CIC must re-dial the remote number to complete subsequent calls.

Remote agents who are taking campaign calls from Interaction Dialer must not hang up the handset between calls to avoid delays talking to the called party. Remote ACD agents should also keep the handset off-hook after the first call from CIC, especially if the agent is configured to automatically connect to incoming calls (the calls are connected to available agents without the agent clicking the Pickup button).

Make Calls

Once Interaction Client starts, remote agents can place any call they are authorized to dial. The IC server dials the agent’s number and then dials the destination number. As soon as the dialed number starts alerting, it simultaneously places a call to the agent’s telephone.

To make a call:

Enter or select a phone number in Interaction Client and click the Make Call button.

Result: CIC dials the agent then the number, and if it completes the call, it immediately connects it to the remote agent’s telephone number.

Do one of the following:

- If the handset is on-hook, when the telephone rings, pick up the handset to speak; CIC immediately connects the call.
- If the handset is off-hook, listen for the called party to answer.

When the call is over, do one of the following:

- Click the Disconnect button and keep the handset off-hook. CIC automatically keeps a persistent connection (based on this logon setting) to remote agents which means the agent can make multiple calls without hanging up the handset, and the calls are connected immediately without waiting for the phone to ring.
- When the call is over, hang up the handset. In this case, CIC must re-dial the remote number to complete subsequent calls.

Keep a Persistent Connection to the IC Server

CIC detects when it needs to call a remote agent’s telephone vs. when it already has a (persistent) voice connection to a remote agent. If you selected Persistent when you logged on, or if the Remote Station configuration requires it, CIC keeps the connection open once you establish it.

For example, the first time a remote agent receives a call or performs any operation that requires a voice connection to the IC server, CIC calls the agent at the phone number given on the agent’s Logon dialog box. From that point on, the agent can keep the telephone’s handset off-hook and use the Interaction Client interface to pick up, disconnect, and listen to calls or to record prompts. With the voice connection already established, these operations are instantaneous. If the agent hangs up between calls, CIC must re-dial the agent’s telephone and wait for the agent to answer before completing the operation.

Note: If the IC server is ever restarted or switches to a backup server while a remote agent is on a call, the current call may be disconnected.