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How effective is your telecoms reporting within your organisation?

Most large companies have a telephone management system in place that records all phone calls made via the PABX, says Mike Margolius, sales and marketing manager at Telesa.


Johannesburg, 15 Feb 2017

Effectively reporting on your telecoms environment requires tools or services in place to achieve this. Most large companies have a telephone management system (TMS) in place that records all of the phone calls that are made via your PABX, and there may be multiple PABXes in your organisation, says Mike Margolius, Sales and Marketing Manager at Telesa.

These records are known as call data records or CDR. Different PABX brands and implementations generate different call data records, so it is important that those records are translated correctly into your TMS. Failing to do so will result in erroneous data, making all reports meaningless.

Records from the PABX are sent to the TMS, which creates reports on phone usage. There may be importing of mobile records into the TMS too.

Below are the areas to manage to ensure reporting is accurate and effective:

1. Quality of CDR is of prime importance. Any changes made to your PABX should be managed as part of your formal change process. There are many cases where a minor change in the PABX configuration results in the CDR being unrecognised by the TMS. When this happens, the TMS is unable to record the calls made and all reporting is then incorrect.

2. Managing user and extension changes. Your TMS may be configured to reflect your business structure. Businesses are not static, and movement of staff is a given. If staff changes and extension changes are not kept current then your reporting will be inaccurate and ineffective.

3. Validating that your PABX is capturing all of your call records. A data repository or buffer is generally used to capture the calls recorded from your PABX. A daily process should be implemented to validate the number of call records captured by the PABX is accurate. When call records are missing, your reports will show skewed and inaccurate data.

4. Mobile records are not always received in the month that calls are made, so it is important that all mobile call records received also update data for the months that call records were made. Mobile usage reports generally will be inaccurate. Reviewing mobile records for the previous two to three months will show more accurate reports.

In order for your TMS reports to be accurate, you should implement and monitor the adherence of your procedures. Policies are required to define the behaviour required and define the consequences of non-compliance.

Telesa's business intelligence and services will also enable your organisation to report on your needs. With updated information on this matter, you can then effectively manage your telecoms.

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Editorial contacts

Mike Margolius
TelesaComms
(011) 573 2904
MikeM@telesacomms.co.za