Custom Helpdesk Integration Overview

Cloud Voice can link to a helpdesk platform over its API (Application Programming Interface, the connection that lets two systems exchange data), bringing your phone system and your customer-support tooling together in one workflow. Agents handling calls on their Cloud Voice extensions can pull up a caller’s profile and past call activity directly inside the helpdesk, and calls can spin up support tickets on their own so nothing slips through the cracks.

When the helpdesk you use isn’t one of the ready-made integrations, you can build a custom integration template instead. Any helpdesk that exposes a REST API (REST is a common style of web API, so most modern helpdesks qualify) can be connected to Cloud Voice this way.

Requirements

• PBX server (PBX, or Private Branch Exchange, is the Cloud Voice phone system itself)
  • Firmware: version 84.23.0.123 or later.
  • Plan: Enterprise Plan (EP) or Ultimate Plan (UP).
• Helpdesk system: must support a REST API.

Caution

Both requirements must be met before the integration will appear: the PBX has to run firmware 84.23.0.123 or later, and the account has to be on the Enterprise or Ultimate Plan. On an older firmware or a lower plan, the option is hidden.

Key features

A custom API-based helpdesk integration can deliver the capabilities below.

Note

Apart from Click to Call, whether each feature is available depends on what your helpdesk supports and how you configure the template.

Click to Call : Agents place a call with one click on any phone number the browser detects in the helpdesk, dialing through the Cloud Voice App web client.

Note

This feature relies on the Cloud Voice App browser extension for Google Chrome. Install the extension and configure the web client to work alongside it.

Call Popup : When an agent whose Cloud Voice App web or desktop client is signed in rings or answers an inbound call from a helpdesk contact, that contact’s profile opens automatically in the browser. The contact page can also be opened by hand from the call window mid-call.

Contact Synchronization : Helpdesk contacts are copied into an associated Cloud Voice phonebook as inbound calls arrive from them or outbound calls go out to them.

Contact Creation : For calls to or from an unrecognized number, a matching contact can be added to the helpdesk either automatically or on demand.

Call & Chat Journal : Every call an extension user has with a helpdesk contact is logged to the helpdesk once the call ends. Likewise, when a user runs an external chat with someone whose number matches a helpdesk contact, the full conversation is written to the helpdesk when the session closes, whether the user or the system ends it.

Call Recording Playback : Recordings held on the PBX appear alongside their call entry in the helpdesk, so agents can review and play them without leaving the helpdesk interface.

Automatic Ticket Creation : An inbound or outbound call can generate a new helpdesk ticket automatically.

Where to go next

For details on building and maintaining the integration template:

• Add a Helpdesk Integration Template
• Manage Helpdesk Integration Templates
• XML Descriptions for Integration Template

For connecting the integration and turning on individual features:

• Integrate Cloud Voice with a Helpdesk Using a Template
• Set Up Helpdesk Integration Features