Gladly has native Voice into the platform, removing the need to bolt in a third-party Voice provider. Gladly utilizes webrtc as the most common Voice setup and allows calls to be accepted and made directly in Gladly.
Using Gladly Voice (webrtc) provides two Voice deployment options:
Accept/make calls directly in Gladly
Accept/make using a physical desk phone/direct dial setup
Browser Requirement | Hardware Requirement | Network Req | |
|---|---|---|---|
Browser-based (webRTC) | Chrome | Headset plugged into a computer | See Network Requirements for more information. |
SIP | Chrome | SIP-based phone | See SIP Provider Requirements below |
Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) and Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN)
When a user calls, that call is typically transmitted in one of two ways before the call reaches Gladly:
SIP, in a nutshell, uses the internet to send voice calls as data over an ethernet or fiber connection. SIP can have multiple users per line used if you require that Gladly integrate with an existing telephony system (like desktop phones) where phones are SIP-enabled or if a VDI environment cannot be configured to support webRTC (please contact your Gladly implementations team to assist with testing and validation of VDI environments before considering this option)
SIP Requirements:
Ability to forward calls from a VoIP System to Gladly.
Ability to add a custom header to the SIP invite message.
SIP Endpoints should be public or provide a means to connect external SIP endpoints.
SIP infrastructure needs to support SIP Authentication or have a static IP address from which call-forwarding requests will originate, which Gladly can then allow.
Infrastructure needs to support SIP over TLS and SRTP (both of which are security protocols used to encrypt the data being sent over the web).
Need to be able to forward SIP calls to different SIP addresses depending on which phone number had been originally dialed.
PSTN uses physical connections and circuit-switching technology to connect phone calls.
Toll-free or local phone numbers with Gladly Voice
You can leverage your existing toll-free and/or local number or even procure a new number directly in Gladly.
A few things to note about phone numbers:
Toll-free numbers only support Short Message Service (SMS) (i.e. texting characters). If you want to offer your customers and agents the ability to text pictures, audio, and video content, you’ll need to have a local number to support Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS).
Toll-free numbers do not support making or forwarding calls to other toll-free numbers.
See Call Forwarding vs. Porting to learn more about how to leverage your existing numbers.
Purchase phone numbers
Phone numbers can be purchased and configured directly from the Gladly UI without needing Professional Services.
Country Limitations
Toll-free and dual functionality numbers (i.e., voice and SMS) may not be available for international countries. Work with your Implementation Team to verify what numbers are supported for the international countries you need.
Direct Dial
A less common setup in Gladly is Direct Dial, where calls are transmitted over traditional landlines or mobile phones, but call activities (e.g., recording, notifications) still appear in Gladly. This means calls can be handled in Gladly or for a landline/mobile device. Gladly does not act as the Voice service provider in this setup, and you bring your own “dial tone” through another Voice service carrier.
Direct Dial is set up most appropriate for cases where phone numbers are specific to locations. For example, phone numbers linked to a physical store location (e.g., a shopping mall) where store employees assist callers directly rather than a centralized contact center.
When using Direct Dial setup, you should:
Deactivate voicemail for phone numbers used with the Direct Dial setup.
Voice providers like Ubiquiti and Ring Central have a "Smart Attendant" feature that may answer phone calls and cause Gladly to think the call was picked up by an Agent rather than an automated service, so calls may not get passed to Gladly. Ensure you test to avoid this scenario.
See Forward Calls Outside of Gladly (Direct Dial Setup) for setup details.
Setup process for Direct Dial/Hotelling
See the requirements and setup process for Direct Dial. They require Gladly Professional Services support and are subject to call-forwarding costs.
Phone numbers are assigned to specific Gladly user accounts
With Direct Dial setup, a particular phone number is assigned to each user profile in Gladly, which is manually added to the user’s Gladly profile. Calls made to this phone number are only received in the Gladly user profile associated with the phone number. When calls come in, a desk phone and an incoming call banner will ring in Gladly.
Hoteling
Specifically used with Direct Dial, hoteling, if activated, allows Agents to select and “claim” a specific phone number or extension to receive/make calls from. Anyone calling the number selected is routed to the Agents who claimed the number while working in Gladly.