Release of Version 5.2 March 19
If you are under warranty, go to our Download Center and upgrade now to get the latest in
- Reporting tools - Flexible Reporting. View the Quick Start Guide.
- Intelligent Queue enhancements. View the Quick Start Guide.
- PC soft phone technology. View the Quick Start Guide.
- Enterprise Presence and Chat Integration. View the Quick Start Guide.
In this issue…
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Download Center
prairieFyre has introduced the Download Center as a place for you to access the most recent hotfixes and service packs.
Determine which hotfix or service pack you need based on the version you are running.
The Download Center supports the following versions of Customer Interaction Solutions/Call Accounting
- 5.2
- 5.1
- 5.0
- 4.5
The Download Center supports the following versions of Intelligent Queue
- 5.2
- 5.1
Ensure you carefully review the description of each hotfix and service pack to verify you have the one you need before you download it. Then click Download now.
If you have any questions or comments, contact customer service.
Call Accounting trials
All NA, LAM, and Caribbean customers - here is your opportunity to provide input on new Call Accounting features and functionality.
Detailed Release Notes
The Version 5.2 Detailed Release Notes (DRN) document is now available. The DRN describes the enhancements and new products and features in the latest version of the Customer Interaction Solutions and Call Accounting portfolios.
View the V5.2 DRN.
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Presence drives positive customer experiences
Based on SIP and Microsoft® Office Live Communications Server, Mitel's presence-everywhere Customer Interaction Solutions allow for easy collaboration among the contact center staff, experts and partners to resolve customers' inquiries and take customer orders. Combined with Federation capabilities, it delivers true first contact resolution by allowing access to external partners such as suppliers to resolve customer challenges and create competitive advantages.
"Mitel is the only major contact center vendor to date to integrate the rich presence capabilities offered in Microsoft's Live Communications Server 2005 directly into its contact center agent desktop application," said Sheila McGee-Smith, president and principal analyst, McGee-Smith Analytics, L.L.C. "Competitors may offer integration to Live Communications Server for telephony users, but only Mitel delivers the capability for communication between contact center agents and telephony users, both internal and Federated."
Learn more about presence.
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Meet the QA team
The prairieFyre Quality Assurance team(QA team) ensures the high standards of all Customer Interaction Solutions and Call Accounting products. As the number and complexity of our products grows, so has the QA team. The QA team includes (from left to right) Vlad, Ghislain, Yan, Trevor, Brett, and Tracy.
Vlad, who manages the QA team, states "QA exists because perfect software doesn’t (no matter what they’ve told you). We strive for perfection, moving the yardstick forward each and every day. Actively creating and seeing that progress – it’s a wonderful feeling and my personal passion."
"I am proud of
what we have accomplished with this product;
In the years I have handled Intelligent Queue, it has grown into a
powerful call routing tool that I would recommend
to any organization. The QA team at prairieFyre takes customer satisfaction very seriously.
The result is quality products like Intelligent Queue."
"Being part of the QA team at prairieFyre, I'm always learning.
There is always something new and exciting to test as the company
grows into new markets and solutions," says Yan.
To improve the efficiency of the software development lifecycle, prairieFyre recently decided to add an Automation Specialist to the QA team. "I am proud to say I will be stepping into that role," says Brett. Brett has been a member of the QA team for almost three years.
"I'm really looking forward to being an Automation Specialist. I'll be using the latest in automated testing technologies and testing processes including Unit Testing and Automated GUI Testing."
I feel that with my experience in Customer Support I have the same perspective as a customer. This perspective benefits the company but more importantly, it benefits the end user."
"My name is Ghislain. I am the newest addition to the Quality Assurance team, but I'm not new to the prairieFyre family; I was previously a Technical Support Specialist. I believe that the knowledge and experience I gained from working with the customer support team will serve me well in my new role."
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Technical tips
In each newsletter, we provide you with a number of tips to help ensure your experience with Customer Interaction Solutions is a great one. In this newsletter we focus on Intelligent Queue including the Intelligent Queue Port Sizing Tool, the Intelligent Queue backup and disaster recovery strategy, Updated position in queue issues, and Intelligent Queue hardware and software requirements.
White papers
Now you can download prairieFyre white papers from our website!
Currently we have a Multimedia White Paper and will be adding another for Mitel Forum in June about Return on Investment.
Who should read the Multimedia White Paper? Customer service and contact center managers, and those seeking solutions for managing multi-channel contacts (email, chat, and fax).
Download the Multimedia white paper.
- Intelligent Queue Port Sizing Tool
More >> - Planning your backup and disaster recovery strategy More >>
- Troubleshooting Updated position in queue More >>
- View the System Engineering Guide for hardware and software requirements on Intelligent Queue and all other prairieFyre products
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Meet our new employees
prairieFyre continues to grow at a steady pace. We have hired nine new employees since our last newsletter: four programmers, four customer service representatives, and a sales director. We welcome them all to the prairieFyre team!
|
Brent White
|
Brent White recently joined the prairieFyre sales department as Director of Sales. "I’m excited to join prairieFyre," states Mr White. "prairieFyre has an impressive suite of products with a sleek, modular design." "I’m looking forward to a growth strategy that includes the addition of new products and services, continued globalization of the product suite, and the introduction of sales programs including ‘mining the base.’ The prairieFyre motto has always been ‘Customers come first’ and we’re going back to our loyal customers to ensure they have the solutions they require to expand their operations and become more profitable. " |
"I am excited to be on the Framework team. I've worked in various software development environments in the past but none promoted such a high level of teamwork. Already prairieFyre is like a second family. I am looking forward to a rewarding career working alongside highly-qualified developers, producing great software, and contributing to a multitude of success-stories here at prairieFyre." |
Danny Adaimy |
| "I’m glad to be working in such a challenging and fast-paced environment. The Applications team members are great and have offered lots of help getting me up-to-speed," states Ryan Graham. For the first couple of weeks at prairieFyre, I got the chance to work briefly with Quality Assurance, as do all developers when they start. I was able to familiarize myself with the prairieFyre products and learn how they inter-relate with each other. Now that I'm programming I know exactly how my contribution fits within the rest of the suite." |
Ryan Graham |
| "I'm a developer for the Applications team. My first couple of weeks at prairieFyre have been great – my co-workers have been very friendly and helpful. prairieFyre treats their employees very well and everybody here takes pride in what they do. I’m looking forward to making a positive contribution to the team and having some fun while doing it." |
Glen Whelan |
Ben says that "... although I've been with prairieFyre
Customer Service only a short while, I feel I make a significant contribution each and every day.
Working on the front-line, I'm able to ensure customers get the information they need when they need it.
It's very satisfying work and I really enjoy my job."
|
Ben Sandberg-Maitland |
| "The Professional Services team is a very technical and dedicated team that I am proud to join. Although this is a new role for me - I was a Senior Web Developer at my last job - I knew from the very first moment I arrived that I was in the right place. Everybody is very passionate about what they do. It is because of that passion that prairieFyre is able to produce award-winning products. I am thankful to be working with such talented individuals." |
Lionel Gaillard | Scott has this to say about prairieFyre: "As the newest addition to the Customer Support team, I believe that I have found the change that I was looking for. It is truly a pleasure day in, day out to work with such a highly technical and passionate team. The same can be said for the company as a whole. The amount of talent and knowledge that people have and are willing to share continue to astonish me each and every day. The prairieFyre team makes it easy to strive toward my personal and professional goals." |
Scott Dixon |
| "I started working with prairieFyre's Customer Service team in January. Everyone has been very welcoming and helpful. We have different skills and levels of technical know-how, and we share that know-how with each other: that is great team work. I am looking forward to implementing the knowledge I gained from working at Microsoft and Dell. I want to provide the best customer service that I can to our customers." |
Taha Zarrug | "prairieFyre makes a great first impression, and everyone says 'trust your first impression because it's right,' " says David Collier. "Customer Service is friendly, helpful, and easy to get along with. Working with the guys is a pleasure; everyone works together as a team. It's a great work environment. I have learned so much in these short two months, and I'm eager to continue learning and growing to become the best that I can be." |
David Collier |
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Advantages of Flexible Reporting
Flexible Reporting enables you to create custom reports for your business. It is an add-on option to Customer Interaction Solutions Enterprise Edition, and soon, Call Accounting. Flexible Reporting includes the following features:Easy-to-use wizard interface Create customized reports with existing statistics (columns headings) using the Flexible Reporting wizard. The user-friendly wizard takes you through the process of building your own reports, step by step.
Custom column selection Select from existing column headings to build a report. Position the columns in the order that suits your reporting needs. For example, stock reports may contain more information than you need. Custom column selection lets you choose only the columns you want to view. Combine like-data across device types Select column headers for two different devices and combine them in one report. For example, select “by period” column headings for agents and queues and combine them in the same report. Control column order Arrange the columns in the order in which you want to view the statistics. Customize column headings Specify the names of statistics (column headings) so they are meaningful to your department, business, and industry. Insert columns with custom calculations Create new columns with modified statistics. You can customize existing statistics by using them in calculations and inserting these new columns in reports.tttt
Call Accounting Trials...continued
Participate on our customer panel and in our software trials and tell us which features are important to your business. Contact prairieFyre at Version5Trial@prairiefyre.com, or 613-599-0045 extension 1116 to confirm your interest in participating in the trial.
Software trials for the enhanced Call Accounting application start early summer. If you participate on the panel and in the field trials you will benefit in the following ways.
Benefits
During the trial you will
- Preview ongoing design and functionality updates over the web.
- Receive remote instructor-led training.
- Receive dedicated technical assistance.
- Adopt the latest Microsoft technologies.
After the trail you will
- Receive 12 months of extended service and support for all Customer Interaction Solution software (prairieFyre components) from the closure date of the trial.
- All new, add-on component customers keep the product free of charge by purchasing a one year support agreement for the additional product.
- New customers receive a 50% reduction in the purchase price and receive 12 months of extended service and support from closure date of the trail for all Customer Interaction Solution software (prairieFyre components).
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Tech tips…continued
Intelligent Queue Port Sizing Tool
The Intelligent Queue Port Sizing Tool helps you determine the number of ports you require to run your applications effectively. The number of ports you require depend on the applications you are running. For example, if you use Updated position in queue, you will need a port for each caller to whom you send Updated position in queue messages. View the Intelligent Queue Port Sizing Tool.
Planning your backup and disaster recovery strategy
It is important to have a backup and disaster recovery strategy (if Intelligent Queue is used as an autoattendant) so that if your port or hunt group goes out of service, your telephone system will automatically send calls to a backup routing destination, and your business will function uninterrupted. The backup routing destination can be a desktop device (an extension), another phone number, another voice application (Voice mail), an operator/console, a queue, a hunt group, or a redundant Intelligent Queue Server that is mirrored from your primary. Your best choice is a redundant Intelligent Queue Server that is mirrored from your primary. It enables call processing to be handled in the same manner that your customers are accustomed, and so failover is not noticeable to them.In an Intelligent Queue environment, your backup strategy should include the following.
- Intercept handling
- Call rerouting
- Override button
Intercept handling lets the system control what happens to a call when the call cannot be completed to the required destination. It allows the call to be automatically routed to a tone or to a directory number.
Call rerouting enables you to provide an alternate answer point for your calls based on any or all of the following device states: No Answer, Busy, and Do Not Disturb.
If you intend to use Intelligent Queue as the call control gateway to your contact center, we recommend that you create an Intelligent Queue override button on the contact center manager’s telephone. The override button enables you to route calls away from Intelligent Queue when you take the server offline for maintenance or if the server fails.
Updated position in queue issues
If your caller does not receive an Updated position in queue message, there are a number of possible reasons why the message does not play. The most common reasons are listed below.
The Updated position in queue message does not play because there are too many Updated position in queue messages
The number of Updated position in queue messages (tap internal calls) your switch can handle is 1500 or less. If the number of
Updated position in queue messages exceeds the recommended number, some messages will be delayed or might not play at all.
You will need to reduce the number of Updated position in queue messages or increase the number of ports.
The Updated position in queue message does not play because there are not enough ports
If you do not have an adequate number of ports to run Intelligent Queue, as programmed, your callers might not receive
Updated position in queue messages. Intelligent Queue provides queues with the greatest priority ports first.
If you run out of ports, it is queues with lower priorities that do not receive the Updated position in queue messages.
You can use the port sizing tool to determine the number of ports you require to run Intelligent Queue.
If your callers hear only their position in queue, for example, “3” or “2,” you did not record the Updated position in queue message. Intelligent Queue Updated position in queue will provide the position but will not provide the message. If you want the callers in queue to hear a messages, for example, “Your call will be answered next” or “You are in position...” you must record the message.
The RAD message does not play
If you have an Updated position in queue message frequency that is higher than any of the RAD message frequencies for that queue,
the RAD message will not play. Intelligent Queue resets the RAD timer after an Updated position in queue message occurs, therefore,
a RAD message will not play unless its frequency is higher than the Updated position in queue message frequency. For example, if the
RAD frequency is set to one minute, and the Updated position in queue message frequency is set to 30 seconds, you would never hear the
RAD message because the Updated position in queue message would reset the timer every time.
About the prairieFyre Newsletter
The prairieFyre newsletter is a quarterly bulletin that contains information
on the latest news, events, product features, and tips to help you make the
most of Customer Interaction Solutions and Call Accounting.
If you no longer want to receive the prairieFyre newsletter,
unsubscribe or send an email to
support@prairiefyre.com.
Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risk, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance, or achievements of the company to be materially different from any future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied.
