Contact Center Administrator Application Notes

Bright Pattern Documentation

Generated: 7/07/2022 2:26 am
Content is available under license unless otherwise noted.

Application Notes

Application notes are supplementary materials that provide further instructions and procedures for various subjects related to the configuration of or integration with Bright Pattern Contact Center software.

The following application notes are available for use with Contact Center Administrator:

Agent Desktop

IBM Cloud

Microsoft Graph

Microsoft Teams

Phones

Storage



Agent Desktop Helper Application Audio-Handling Options

If your contact center requires the use of the Agent Desktop Helper Application, note that you have the capability to control the audio-handling options via the librtc.ini file.

After installing and first launching the Agent Desktop Helper Application, this file is automatically created when making the first phone call from the Agent Desktop application; the file is accessible from the following locations:

The following table contains the configurable options from this file.


Option Name Default Value Description
automatic_gain_control 0 If set to 1, this option helps the microphone maintain a suitable signal amplitude. Turning this on might amplify echo, so if echo cancellation is not sufficient, keep this off.
echo_control 1 If set to 1, this option removes echo (i.e., sounds from speakers that are reflected back into the microphone). Note that turning this setting off does not necessarily introduce echo, as most USB headsets have echo-cancelling hardware. Additionally, turning this setting off might be beneficial for voice quality.
highpass_filter 0 If set to 1, this option removes low-frequency noises (e.g., the rumble of an air conditioner, wind noise, etc.).
noise_suppression 0 If set to 1, this option removes background noises.



WebRTC Considerations

WebRTC is an open-source project that allows secure (i.e., encrypted) real-time communications in web browsers. Starting from version 5.5.0, Bright Pattern Contact Center software includes the Secure phone via browser audio (Web RTC) phone device option.

If you will be using this option in your contact center, please note the following.

All Browsers

Firefox

Safari

Internet Explorer




How to Configure Microsoft Email Account Access Using Microsoft Graph

Bright Pattern Contact Center software allows contact centers to use the Microsoft Graph API as a method for authenticating access to different Microsoft-based email services (e.g., Exchange Online, Office 365, Hotmail.com, Live.com, Outlook.com, etc.), from non-Microsoft email hosts.

This section explains how to to configure a Microsoft Graph email scenario entry.

Prerequisite

The Microsoft Graph API must be enabled for contact centers; ask your service provider for more information.

Procedure

  1. Log into the Contact Center Administrator application.

  2. If no email service exists, one must be created in section Services & Campaigns.

  3. Next, navigate to section Scenario Entries > Email, and then click the Add new + button.

  4. The POP3 server type displays by default in the Account tab. For the setting Protocol type, select Microsoft Graph.

  5. Click the Connect account button. A pop-up window will prompt you to select or enter the desired Microsoft email address credentials.The application can request grant permissions, so you will need to give the required permissions to the application. Note: If the tenant is already signed into a Microsoft email account, a session cookie will be detected and credentials will not need to be entered.

  6. Upon successful connection to the email account, the address will automatically populate the Email address and Display name fields. The tenant can click the Test button; a “Success” message should display.

  7. Next, in the Services tab, a Default email service must be selected.

  8. If nothing else needs to be defined, the tenant may click Apply at this point.

  9. For more information, see the Contact Center Administrator Guide, section Scenario Entries > Email.

    Required permissions



Microsoft Teams Integration Configuration Overview

Microsoft Teams integration enables contact center users to access Teams communication channels information for internal calls and chats with Teams users (i.e., experts) while working in Bright Pattern Contact Center’s Agent Desktop application.

This integration allows the following types of users to interact via Teams and Bright Pattern Contact Center:

Tutorials

The Microsoft Teams Integration Configuration Guide provides the following tutorials to help you to configure Teams integration:


For information about how to use Teams integration in the Agent Desktop application, after configuration is complete, see the Agent Guide, section Tutorials > Microsoft Teams.

Features and Limitations

Teams integration provides Bright Pattern Contact Center users with access to some, but not all, features and functions of the Microsoft Teams application from within the Bright Pattern Agent Desktop application.

This section describes the features and functionalities that are currently supported and not supported for agents using Teams integration in Agent Desktop.

What Is Supported

The following features or functionalities are supported by Teams integration:

What Is Not Supported

The following features or functionalities are not supported by Teams integration:

Bria Mobile Softphone Configuration

The Bria Mobile softphone app works well for phone calls with Bright Pattern Contact Center software; it minimizes battery drain in standby by using Bria Push Service.

Configuration

In the Contact Center Administrator Application

To configure Bria Mobile with Bright Pattern Contact Center, take the following steps:

  1. Add a hardphone account in the Contact Center Administrator application, and edit Properties.

    Hardphone Properties


  2. In the Authentication tab, make sure the authentication username is the same as the phone's extension.

    Hardphone Authentication tab


  3. Note your domain (e.g., from the Properties tab, see “Phone registers as <ext>@<domain>”), extension, and password.

In the Bria Mobile Softphone

In the Bria Mobile app, add a new account. This is done by going to Settings > Accounts > “+” > Select Provider > User-Defined Generic Accounts > SIP.

Note that the steps that follow are for User-Defined Generic Accounts. You do not have to select a VoIP provider. Also note that you can only edit account options when the account is disabled.

Section SIP Account

To configure the SIP account, take the following steps:

  1. Give your account an Account Name.

  2. Set the desired Display as name.

  3. Set the Username and Password to the same username (e.g., "3001") and password from your configured hardphone account.

  4. Set the domain to the hardphone account’s domain and add :5080 (Bright Pattern CCaaS service uses the non-standard SIP port 5080). For example: "example.brightpattern.com:5080"

  5. Enable the option Use Push Notifications and set the option Registration Mode to Single Device Emulation.

  6. Disable the option NAT Emulation.

  7. Leave the option Push Advanced Settings disabled.

Section Account Advanced

To configure section Account Advanced, take the following steps:

  1. In section Network Traversal, option Custom configuration, turn all options off.

  2. In section IP Version, set option Wi-Fi IP Version to IPv4

  3. Also in section IP Version, set option Mobile IP Version to IPv4.

  4. In section DTMF Type, make sure option Send DTMF using is set to RFC2833.

  5. In section Transport and Security, set option SIP transport to UDP.

  6. In section SIP Registration, set options Wi-Fi Refresh Interval and Mobile Refresh Interval to 30 seconds.

  7. In section TLS Cert Management, disable option Verify TLS cert.

  8. In section SIP Miscellaneous, leave option Show Miscellaneous disabled.





Cisco SPA Hardphone Configuration

These instructions will show you how to configure and register a Cisco hardphone manually on the Cisco Configuration Utility web interface. We are using a Cisco SPA508G as an example. Note that this example can be used for any Cisco hardphone in the “SPA” model family.

Prerequisites

You should have Bright Pattern Contact Center version 5.2.x or later.

In order to configure your Cisco phones with Bright Pattern Contact Center software, you will require a special outbound proxy; Bright Pattern Operations will create this for you upon request. (See Step 5.1.b. in the following procedure.)

Procedure

1. Locate the IP address of the phone

On your phone, press the Menu button, and then select the Network option; the IP address should be listed here.

2. Check for software updates on the Cisco phone (important)

Make sure you are running the latest firmware version for your phone. We recommend updating your phone at least once per year. For updates, visit the Cisco Software Download page.

3. Perform a factory reset (important)

On your phone, press the Menu button, and then select Factory Reset. The phone will restart.

4. Open the phone’s configuration utility web interface

  1. Enter the IP address of the Cisco phone in the address bar of your web browser.
  2. In the top right corner of the page, click Admin Login and then click advanced.

    Cisco-SPA-1.PNG


    Alternatively, you may navigate directly to the following to get to the same place: http://<your-phone-IP-address>/admin/advanced

  3. Click Voice and then select the extension tab you wish to configure. In this example, we are configuring Ext 2.

    Cisco-SPA-2.PNG


5. Edit the extension settings

Note: Configuration requires the following settings to be changed. Any settings not specifically mentioned in this step are set by user.

  1. In the extension settings, under Proxy and Registration, set:
    • Proxy: The access domain of your Bright Pattern tenant, which is found in the Bright Pattern Service Provider application, section Tenants > Properties
    • Outbound Proxy: The setting created for you upon request to Bright Pattern Operations (e.g., “yourcorporation-sip.brightpattern.com”)
    • Use Outbound Proxy: Select “yes” (default is “no”)
    • Register: Select “yes”
    • Use DNS SRV: Select “yes”
    • DNS SRV Auto Prefix: Select “yes”

      Cisco-SPA-3.PNG


  2. Under Subscriber Information, set:
    • User ID: The phone extension number (e.g., “1000”)
    • Password: The password of the phone extension, set by user

6. Edit System configuration settings

  1. Click the System tab to edit system configuration settings.

    Cisco-SPA-4.PNG


  2. Under Optional Network Configuration, set:
    • NTP Enable: Select “yes”
    • Secondary NTP Server: Set “0.pool.ntp.org”

      Cisco-SPA-5.PNG




Polycom Hardphone Configuration

These instructions will show you how to configure and register a Polycom hardphone manually on the Polycom Configuration Utility web interface. We are using a Polycom SoundStation IP 6000 as an example.

There are several ways to configure a Polycom phone on the web interface: Simple Setup, Lines settings, and SIP. The following instructions will guide you through Lines settings configuration. We recommend that you do not use Simple Setup or SIP.

Prerequisites

In order to configure your Polycom phones with Bright Pattern Contact Center software, you will require a special SIP address; Bright Pattern Operations will create this for you upon request. Note that the address has built-in redundancy (i.e., it contains two servers), so you will only need one SIP address.

Procedure

Step 1: Locate the IP address, SIP extension number, and password of the Polycom phone

  1. On the Polycom phone, hit Menu > Status > Network > TCP/IP Parameters, and note the listed IP address.

  2. Note the SIP extension number on the display of the Polycom phone.

  3. You can locate or set the phone password by logging into /Admin > Setup > Manage > Modify (pencil button) > the SIP extension you wish to register > Phone Settings tab > Common Settings > Phone Password.

Step 2: Open the phone’s configuration utility web interface on a web browser

  1. Enter the IP address of the Polycom phone in the address bar of your web browser. # When prompted for credentials, select Admin and enter your password. If you don’t know the password or you have never changed it, it is likely “456”.

    Polycom web interface login screen


  2. The phone cannot be in use during configuration. Before proceeding to Step 3, check that the phone is not being used. Note that if the phone is in use, you will not be able to access the configuration utility.

  3. We recommend doing a phone backup before proceeding, in case you need to undo what you did. Go to Utilities > Phone Backup & Restore and click Phone Backup.

    Utilities > Phone Backup & Restore


Step 3: Edit Lines settings

Note that if your phone freezes during any part of configuration, you can unplug/restart it and try again.

  1. Go to Settings > Lines.

    Settings > Lines


  2. Under Line 1 > Identification, set:

    Settings > Line 1 > Identification settings


    1. Display name: Any name

    2. Address: The path to your Polycom phone in the following format: extension number@<tenant>.brightpattern.com.

      This corresponds to the field “Phone registers dynamically as” in Bright Pattern’s Contact Center Administrator application, section Directory > Hardphones > <Your extension number> > Properties. For example:

      Contact Center Administrator > Hardphones > Properties


    3. Authentication User ID: The authentication username of your Polycom phone (e.g., “9999”).

      The Authentication User ID and Authentication password correspond to the “Username” and password as set in Bright Pattern’s Contact Center Administrator application, section Directory > Hardphones > <Your extension number > Authentication. For example:

      Contact Center Administrator > Directory > Hardphones > <Your extension number > Authentication


    4. Authentication password: The password of your Polycom phone

    5. Label: Any; this will be shown on the phone’s screen

    6. Type: Select “Private” or “Shared”

    7. Third Party Name: Any; OK to leave blank

    8. Number of Line Keys: Any (e.g., “1”)

    9. Calls Per Line: Any (e.g., “8”)

    10. Ring Type: Select

  3. Under Line 1 > Outbound Proxy, set:

    Line 1 > Outbound Proxy settings


    1. Address: Must be empty (if any value is here, you must remove it)

    2. Port: Must be “0”

    3. Transport: Leave as “UDPOnly”

  4. Under Line 1 > Server 1:

    Line 1 > Server 1 settings


    1. Address: The address in the following format: <tenant>-sip.brightpattern.com (e.g., “example-sip.brightpattern.com). Note that this address is created by Bright Pattern Operations upon request.

    2. Port: Set “0” (The default is 0. Do not type any other port number here because it comes from the DNS server automatically.)

    3. Transport: Select “DNSnaptr”. (default).

    4. Expires (s): The expiration period in seconds - “60” (default is “3600”)

    5. Register: Select “Yes” (if you select “No,” the phone will not be registered)

    6. Retry Timeout (ms): The timeout period in milliseconds (e.g., “0”). The default is 100 ms. If you set “0”, the timeout will be set to default.

    7. Retry Maximum Count: The max number of times to retry (e.g., “3”)

    8. Line Seize Timeout (s): The line seize timeout in seconds (e.g., “30”)

Step 4: Check for software updates on the Polycom phone

  1. We recommend updating to the latest software on the Polycom phone at least once per year.

  2. Still in Polycom’s web interface, go to Utilities > Software Upgrade.

    Utilities > Software Upgrade


  3. In Phone Details, you will see your current software version. Leave this as-is.

  4. Click Check for Updates.

    Phone Details


  5. Now you will see the Software available at Polycom server drop-down list. Select and run the latest version (e.g., “4.0.14.1388D”).

  6. Click Install. The phone will restart. The software update takes about 2–5 minutes.


Polycom phone configuration is now complete.




How to Configure Softphone Solo for Remote Desktop

This article describes how to configure Softphone Solo for remote desktop use. Softphone Solo is an application (Windows) that installs the softphone functions of Bright Pattern’s Agent Desktop Helper Application component (i.e., bpclient.exe) outside of a user’s main client machine.

When Softphone Solo is set up, contact center users are able to have softphone functionality on Agent Desktop through a remote session—without having to download and install the Agent Desktop Helper Application component.

Procedure

In this procedure, we treat Softphone Solo as a default hardphone, and we assign it to each Agent Desktop user with a specific number.

Step 1: Configure a hardphone for your contact center

  1. Log in to the Contact Center Administrator application and go to section Configuration > Directory > Hardphones.

  2. Click Add hardphone (“+”) to add a new hardphone.

  3. In the Properties tab, set the following:

    1. Number - The number (e.g., “5001”) that will be used for users who log in to Agent Desktop with a remote session; choose a number that is different than the number range of users’ extensions

    2. Caller ID - Optional; OK to leave empty

    3. MAC address - Leave empty

      Hardphone Properties


  4. In the Authentication tab, set:

    1. Username - Set the hardphone number (e.g., “5001”)

    2. Password - Set any, but follow the rules of your contact center’s password policy

      Hardphone Authentication


  5. Click Apply at the bottom of the screen to save your changes.

Step 2: Set the agent’s default hardphone number

As a best practice, set the agent’s default hardphone number. This is the number that the agent will use for placing calls in Agent Desktop. Note that this step is not required for using Softphone Solo, but it is recommended. The agent can choose a number manually at a later time.

  1. Go to section Configuration > Users & Teams > Users.

  2. From the Users list, select the agent who will be using Softphone Solo.

  3. In the agent’s Contacts tab, set the Default hardphone number to the same number you configured for the hardphone in Step 1 of this procedure.

    The Users > Contacts properties for the agent


  4. Click Apply at the bottom of the screen to save your changes.

Step 3: Configure Softphone Solo

  1. Download and install the Softphone Solo for Windows application (SoftphoneSolo_5.x.x.xxxxx.msi). Please contact Customer Success Management for the file.

  2. Launch the application after installation is complete, or right-click the Softphone Solo tray icon (phone icon) and select Configure to launch it.

    Softphone Solo tray icon, right-clicked


  3. The Softphone Solo configuration dialog will open.

    Softphone Solo configuration settings


  4. Set the following:

    1. HTTP(s) URL to access the system - The URL of the contact center (e.g., “http://company.brightpattern.com”)

    2. Tenant name - The contact center domain (e.g., “company.brightpattern.com”)

    3. Login - The agent’s username (e.g., “christy.borden”)

    4. Password - The user’s password

  5. Click Apply.

  6. If you see an error message, go back and check your configuration, as you may have set the wrong username/password or the wrong URL. The Troubleshooting section describes some common errors you may encounter.

Step 4: Check that the agent can use the phone in Agent Desktop

  1. Go to the Agent Desktop application, and log in as the agent, using the same Authentication user name and password as set in the Softphone Solo configuration dialog.

  2. Go to Settings > Phone Device and set Internal hardphone, my default number. You will have to log out and log in again for the change to take effect.

    Selecting the phone device in Agent Desktop


    Note that if the agent (or an administrator) has configured Softphone Solo manually, the agent has the option to use the Internal hardphone, number setting, with the number of their choice, as shown.

    Selecting the "Internal hardphone, number" setting


  3. After logging in again, if you hover your cursor over the agent’s Settings, you will see that the agent’s phone number is the default hardphone number (e.g., “5001”).

    Hover text over agent's profile/Settings shows the agent's phone number


  4. Configuration is now complete. Try placing a call.


Troubleshooting

This section describes error messages and what they mean.

Unable to access the system

Unable to access the system error message


This error could mean that you may have set the wrong URL in configuration. Make sure that in the field HTTP(s) URL to access the system, that you have set the correct URL of your contact center, including the leading “http://” (e.g., “http://company.brightpattern.com”).

You can quickly check the status of both configuration options (automatic and manual) by looking at Softphone Solo's Windows tray icon (phone icon) color at the bottom of your desktop screen: green = OK, gray = fail.

Unable to obtain phone configuration. Error: HTTP error: 401 Unauthorized

HTTP error:401 message


This likely means that you did not set the user’s default hardphone number to the correct number, and because of that, the configuration could not be completed.

Or, it means that some other values have not been configured. If this is the case:

  1. Right-click the Softphone Solo tray icon and select Configure.

    Configure Softphone Solo


  2. Select the checkbox for Use manual configuration and click Configure.

  3. In the Advanced SIP configuration dialog that opens, if you see that the Advanced SIP configuration is empty, fill in the blank fields. These settings are normally filled in by the system automatically during manual configuration. However, these settings could be affected if the default number was not set correctly, or some other setting was wrong.

    Advanced SIP configuration, empty


    1. Phone number - The hardphone number you configured in Step 1 of this procedure (e.g., “5001”); this will be filled in for you once you enter the Authentication user name and password (see below)

    2. SIP domain - Your SIP domain; this will be filled in for you once you enter the Authentication user name and password (see below)

    3. SIP Server address - Your SIP Server address (e.g., “<tenant_url>.brightpattern.com”); this will be filled in for you once you enter the Authentication user name and password (see below)

    4. Port - 5060 (default)

    5. Authentication user name - The username of the agent (e.g., “christy.borden”) who was assigned the hardphone in Step 2 of this procedure

    6. Password - The agent’s password

    7. Registration interval - 90 seconds (default)

  4. When done, the settings should look like this:

    Advanced SIP configuration settings completed


  5. Click OK.

  6. Back in the Softphone Solo configuration dialog, click Apply.







Setting up Private S3 Storage

Bright Pattern Contact Center allows you to export audio recordings and screen recordings to external storage servers, such as Amazon Web Services (AWS) S3 or Minio for storage or playback.

This article explains how to 1) set up Minio as S3-compatible local storage, 2) get the access credentials to integrate Bright Pattern Contact Center with Minio, and 3) use those credentials to configure an Amazon AWS integration account.

You can learn more about integration accounts in section Amazon AWS Integration of this guide.


Procedure

Step 1: Install Minio

You can install Minio on either a Linux- or Windows-based system. After installing the app, you will have the Minio credentials needed for integrating Minio with your contact center as a private S3 storage option.


If Using a Linux-Based System

Docker container: 

docker run -p 9000:9000 -v /mnt/data:/data -v /mnt/config:/root/.minio minio/minio server /data

Linux x86 (CentOS 6 or CentOS 7): 

wget https://dl.minio.io/server/minio/release/linux-amd64/minio
chmod +x minio
./minio server /mnt/data


Get credentials

After the app is installed, the console will show these credentials:

Copy the Endpoint, AccessKey, and SecretKey. You will be using these credentials next to set up your Amazon AWS integration account in Contact Center Administrator.


If Using a Windows-Based System

  1. Download the Minio application.

  2. Run:

minio.exe server F:\Data


Get credentials

After the app is installed, the console will show these credentials:

Copy the Endpoint, AccessKey, and SecretKey. You will be using these credentials later to set up your Amazon AWS integration account in Contact Center Administrator.


Step 2: Create a bucket

A bucket is a container for stored objects. Before you can export recordings to your private S3 storage, you first have to create a bucket to store them.

  1. Go to the Minio web interface. Note that by default, Minio uses port 9000 for access.

  2. Log in to Minio using your AccessKey and SecretKey.

  3. Create a new bucket and name it (e.g., "test").


Step 3: Integrate with Minio

After Minio is installed and you have a bucket, you can configure your contact center to work in an integrated manner with Minio. This is done in the Contact Center Administrator application.


Add integration account

  1. In the Contact Center Administrator application, go to Call Center Configuration > Integration Accounts.

  2. Click the Add button (+) to add a new integration account of type Amazon AWS. (Note that in order to add this account type, the AWS feature must first be enabled for your contact center by your system administrator.)


Add-Amazon-52.PNG


Edit integration account properties

  1. Name the integration account (any name).

  2. Select the Use private S3 storage checkbox.

  3. In field Url, paste the Minio endpoint that you copied earlier.

  4. In field Access Key ID, paste the Minio AccessKey.

  5. In field Secret Key, paste the Minio SecretKey.

  6. In field S3 bucket, add the name of the bucket you created.

  7. Click Apply to save your changes.


Minio-Prop-52.PNG


Your S3-compatible private storage option is now set up and ready to be used for storing screen recordings, call recordings, and so forth.

For more information about integration account properties, see the Contact Center Administrator Guide, section Amazon AWS Integration.