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Are you tired of the "same ol', same ol'?" Well, we went
up to Burnaby, British Columbia in June to visit with
Erik Lagerway, President and CTO of Vocalscape, and his
highly praised, two-year old, close-knit software team
to get a first-hand look at their product-line and to
play with their system. (To give you a sense of Erik's
dedication to his craft, take note that his license
plate reads "VoIP.") Much time was also spent visiting
with Robin Raymond, Software Department Manager. He has
been successfully coordinating the coding activities for
the company. They have some great products, the flagship
being VocalConnect that we will deal with here in this
review.
INSTALLATION
The interface Vocalscape created to be used by clients
is EyeFon. It works today on PC platforms, but will be
operational on Unix and Macintosh platforms at a later
date. The client side for EyeFon is quite easy. You go
to their Web site or to one of their customers that is
using this technology and click on the "Phone button" at
the bottom right of the screen. Then respond to the
pop-up screen. If you are using anti-pop-up software,
this isn't going to work, so disable it to enjoy this
experience.
The three sliders are the mic and speaker volume
controls as well as the delay modulation control. It
also has the DTMF keypad mapped to the keyboard. There
is a transmit silence toggle, a hang-up and redial
button, a quick link bar, and the status message window.
The fun part about this product is that the
completely customizable "skin" can match your business
colors and logos, etc. to make your prospective
customers' Web site experience somewhat unique. It takes
less than five minutes to download the client app
depending of course, on your bandwidth capacity and the
robustness of the connection. We're not just talking QoL,
but also access.
The next part is the VocalConnect Suite. The
VocalConnect eCustomer Interaction Suite is a service
that transforms a Web site into a live communications
center for business and customer interaction. We were
told that about 6,000 companies are currently using this
Linux-based application. Prospective customers can
receive real-time, one-on-one personal service in a
simple, scalable, and cost-effective service that can
add a personal touch to any e-Business by providing
contact with a real live person behind the Web site
transaction process.
There are three flavors of the VocalConnect software
suite:
VocalConnect SOHO: This model allows
businesses that could not previously afford eCRM or CIM
software or service with an instant solution.
VocalConnect Advantage: Better suited for the
small- to medium-size business, this version comes with
10 operator licenses and wireless support for the
callback feature.
VocalConnect Service Provider: A completely
turnkey replica of the entire VocalConnect software
suite, "white labeled" in the client's name. The package
includes training, hardware, and fully deployed server
software on-site. That explains the wide range in the
pricing noted at the beginning of the review. You take a
big hit if you are starting from scratch. If you already
have a lot of the equipment, then obviously, the cost
goes down accordingly. This is the version we
reviewed.
VocalConnect also uses EyeFon as part of its
offering, however, it also expands Web-based customer
interaction beyond simple e-mail correspondence. With
just one click, Web visitors and customers are now able
to receive immediate, interactive, live, personal
assistance through Web-based chat, Web page
collaboration, scheduled callback, and live VoIP
telephone conversations.
The intent here is that behind every Web site there
now can be a live human to respond to transactions and
lead customers to a friendly finalization for buying
products instead of abandoning the shopping cart in
mid-negotiations. The live agent can handle up to four
conversations simultaneously.
DOCUMENTATION
A small spiral bound cardstock booklet that is a quick
read is the documentation we received. Inside, there are
several color-coded Quick Reference posters and cards
that lead you through the various screen options for
VocalConnect. The "QuickRef&FAQs" Poster does a
flowchart "follow-me" format from Agent Log In to Zone
Administration. In the "QuickCards&FAQs," the sleeve
contains four double-sided cards walking you through "Corporate
Administration." The second sleeve has two double-sided
cards on "Agent Interface," "Commands," and "Call Back."
It also shows how to get up-and-running in five days,
and ends with a one-page glossary and a few terms.
OPERATIONAL TESTING
This proprietary Java-based Web-to-phone software
(Version 2) can be deployed on virtually any portal or
commercial Web site in order to provide a PC-to-phone or
PC-to-PC telephony service (if you are using the MS
Windows environment today). The application is
Web-based, meaning that the software is easily
downloaded and installed dynamically from the portal.
VocalScape's client software is built on open-standards
using Java, the H.323 protocol, and the G.723.1 codec,
and has been successfully tested with a number of
vendors and IP telephony networks. The SIP version will
be available this fall.
To properly host VocalConnect, assuming you wish to
go this route yourself, a minimum of five Linux-based
servers are required for standalone functionality. Those
would be: Two Web servers running Apache (the most used
server software in the world -- because it is so
reliable, and free -- see apache.org)
and PHP extensions (HTML embedded cross-platform
scripting language, also free -- see php.net), one
PostGreSQL server (an open-source database package that
competes nicely with commercial object-relational
database management system packages, also free -- see postgresql.org)
and two mail/DNS servers. (Oh, and for the PostFix app,
check out postfix.org.
Okay, guess its price. Yep, nada.)
This configuration allows VocalScape to avoid many
licensing issues and helps to reduce the cost of this
solution considerably. Something everyone would agree is
very much appreciated in these recessionary times. So
what are you really paying for? That depends on which
option you choose and how much handholding is required.
Essentially you are paying for an application that
provides closure for transactions on-line. What is that
worth to you? If it's worth something, then you can sign
right up.
From there, as an assigned Administrator you can log
in to a SSL Encrypted 128 bit secure area. Then you can
navigate using the JavaScript rollover images that allow
for easy navigation on that site, do all kinds of
special customization adjustments, and the like. That is
also where you do the skin changes for that unique "your
company" look.
Using this in-house in Burnaby, BC was a piece of
cake, but trying to do this remotely was a bit more
challenging. During the test period Murphy's Law was in
full effect. The EyeFon interface didn't work with the "platform
of choice" (an iMac) in Washington State. And yes, that
unit did have Virtual PC activated at the time (Virtual
PC allows any Macintosh system to use any PC-based
program). The issue was that the EyeFon interface on
their Web site would start, but then go offline. This
was a C++ coding challenge. Apparently the audio portion
involved some really small percentage of proprietary
coding wrapped in Microsoft mystique that is PC-centric;
just enough to get the "offline" message. Once they go
100 percent Java, this shouldn't be an issue. And
platform incompatibility will become a thing of the
past.
Ironically, the day we were at VocalScape's offices,
a group of crackers infiltrated the only remaining IIS
server, which didn't help matters either. (The FBI in
Washington, D.C. contacted them within 2 minutes of the "hack,"
and asked them to fix the situation. Impressive!) Yet
another reason for Vocalscape to move rapidly away from "commercial"
proprietary products and towards Open Source software
services.
So we switched coasts and tried this from our Labs in
Norwalk, CT. However, we also had some difficulty with
the phone lines at our base of operations in
Connecticut. The unique excuse this time was downtime
caused by "humid squirrels." This turned out to be less
than a humorous joke with the local telco provider -- it
really is the explanation they gave! Vocalscape had
difficulties with the PRI system (xDSL) in Vancouver,
BC. They did manage to get fiber into their office space
earlier, but it was being used for their production
environment. Complete conversion to it would take a
little while. You just can't get there (BC) from here
(CT) if no "here" is here or "there" is there, and the
lines are inoperable.
Then, because of our own VPN setup, we had to find
out which ports could be activated to get past our
firewall configuration so EyeFon would work as
advertised. See http://www.vocalconnect.com/tech_firewall.vox?m=c
for some enlightenment. Only that wasn't "good enough,"
because...
...It seems our existing office firewall system doesn't
care much for H.323-based systems and so, we are
anxiously awaiting the Vocalscape SIP solution in the
fall. The current configuration for the full localized
application requires a firewall that is PIX-compliant.
In other words, it has to be a Cisco router/firewall or
it's not going to work! And no, we aren't currently
using one of those. The SIP solution doesn't really care
what platform you are using. Wait a month or two and the
PIX requirement won't be necessary anymore. (By the way,
a general comment, if you are surfing without any kind
of firewall, you are not safely surfing -- so just do
it. You've been warned. Besides, some firewall solutions
are free, so you have no excuse, unless you're excited
by the prospect of being in the running for a "Darwin
Award" for networking.)
Downloading the EyeFon app may take a while (roughly)
five minutes and it may not load inside the IE browser
window, so the folks at VocalScape developed their own
download system to bypass that issue. And it downloads
much faster to the client. Curiously, the Chat
(text-based) function has no problem whatsoever under
any circumstances with any browser or platform.
We finally got EyeFon to go beyond "offline." We used
a portable computer with a dialup connection to bypass
our firewall. Once the MSIE (Microsoft Internet
Explorer) browser also behaved (and yes, it was having a
tantrum), we were able to talk
intelligently/intelligibly over the �Net. At the time
of this activity, the telco in BC was still only able to
permit access to 800 numbers in Canada and within the
604 area code. We didn't ask, but we are making the
assumption that the other 6,000 firms using this system
didn't have this experience, because they are mainly in
standalone production environments.
The successful PC configuration on this end was an
Andrea anti-noise ANC-600 headset using a Gateway2000
SOLO portable (around 200 MHz processor) and a 33.6Kbps
TelePath (US Robotics/Megahertz PCMCIA modem card,
bypassing our firewall. What is so magical about this is
that it worked so well and much better than cellular or
those portable house phones or "other" Internet Phone
on-line solutions -- no noticeable cutouts. Volume
tolerable. Newer gear will only enhance the experience.
If it works here in this "worst-case" situation (meaning
using a 33.6 Kbps modem), it obviously would work on
just about anything else that is used in the PC
environment today and on other platforms tomorrow.
ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT
VocalScape has got to get this into a truly
cross-platform mode (meaning the package can be capable
of working under Unix, Windows, or the Apple OSs) first.
That means 100 percent Java throughout. Then there is
the SIP thing. And it sure would be nice if the commands
and interfaces were voice-activated, so maybe some
VoiceXML can be added to spice it up. We'll give them a "high
five" in the Features category once they get the
challenges they can control resolved.
CONCLUSION
This is one of those applications that puts Linux firmly
in the enterprise, and weans us away from the current
legacy-system PC situation. Those who use the product
can have a lot of fun using this application by "fast-tracking"
e-mail using the chat interface or by using the
toll-free EyeFon capability. Once it becomes a "universal"
application, this will be even more in line with the "gotta-have"
off-the-shelf packages. Just remember that as in any
curse or blessing, you get what you pay for, and this
product is worth paying for.
[ Return
To The September 2001 Table Of Contents ]
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