Cyara Solutions:
Contact Center Number Test Types
Why & When to Use Each Test to Ensure Customers Can Reach You
For contact centers around the world, phone line testing and monitoring to make sure inbound and outbound lines, as well as SMS and even fax lines, are working properly is a massive undertaking, especially on a global scale. Why? Because to ensure your customers can connect with you, clearly navigate your IVR, hear and speak with agents, and receive speedy, efficient, and quality customer experiences, you have to employ many different types of tests to truly exercise your systems, identify where issues may exist, and collect data that can help you fix or improve CX.
What are these different tests and why, where, and when should you use them?
Read on to discover the use cases and what you can learn from each type of test listed below.
Connection Test
This test dials your numbers from an in-country server and detects when the call is answered, or if there is a connection-related issue.
The connection test is a straightforward test, and typically makes up a huge portion of contact center testing efforts.
What is it?
During test execution, a connection test dials your number(s) from a Cyara in-country server. When this occurs, the test can detect when the call is answered or if there is a connection related issue, and, after validating the problem, alert you before any of your customers experience an issue.
When is it used?
The connection test is used when you need monitoring enabled quickly. There is no setup required on your side and testing is enabled as soon as the numbers are loaded into the system. Where you have a large global telecom footprint, the connection test can be used to proactively alert you to any customer-impacting issues.
What is measured?
A connection test measures and monitors key telecommunications performance indicators, including:
- Call connection rate
- Post dial delay
How Connection Testing with Cyara works:
- Cyara’s in-country server dials your contact number – we use standard phone lines with ISDN signalling to replicate your customer’s experience.
- Cyara’s server waits for connection or failure related messages.
- Once signal is received, the test call is ended to ensure the call doesn’t connect to a live agent.
Discover more about our Enhanced Global Dialing solution that includes this and every other type of contact center number testing for global customers.
Voice Quality Test
This test enables replication of a customer’s call and generates objective audio quality scores.
The quality of your audio channel has a direct influence on the quality of your customer conversations.
What is it?
Conducting voice quality testing enables you to replicate a customer’s call and generate objective industry-standard audio quality scores. With minimal setup, this test can provide a wealth of understanding about your customer’s experience, as well as the level of service being delivered by your carrier.
When is it used?
You should use voice quality testing to proactively monitor the availability and quality of your global toll and toll-free numbers. It gives you real-time alerts on customer-impacting issues and helps you hold carriers to SLAs. In many cases, it is also used to demonstrate your quality standards to your customers using independent and objective measures.
What is measured?
A voice quality test like this measures and monitors key telecommunications performance indicators, including:
- Audio quality
- Post dial delay
- DTMF (touch tone) functionality
- IVR response
- Connection success or failure
How Voice Quality Testing with Cyara works:
- Cyara’s in-country server dials your toll/toll-free contact number. We use standard phone lines with ISDN signaling to replicate your customers’ experience.
- Cyara’s server sends a DTMF tone which your IVR is configured to recognize (eg ‘9-8-7-5-7’)
- IVR connects the test call to a pre-loaded audio (WAV) file. The WAV file is played back over the line, recorded on the Cyara server and then analyzed to generate an audio quality score.
Discover more about voice quality testing or learn about our Enhanced Global Dialing solution that includes this and every other type of contact center number testing for global customers.
Microsoft Teams Voice Quality Test
Cyara’s Microsoft Teams Voice Quality Test allows you to replicate your target call flow to or from a cloud-PBX provided number.
The reliance on cloud-based team collaboration software has grown rapidly in recent years, with many enterprises relying on these applications to keep dispersed teams connected and communicating.
What is it?
The Microsoft Teams Voice Quality Test will replicate your call flow to or from your Cloud PBX provider. Whether the technology is Microsoft Teams Direct Routing or Operator Connect, Webex Calling, RingCentral Phone, or something else, call quality can be tested in key market geographies.
What is measured?
A Microsoft Teams voice quality test like this measures and monitors key telecommunications performance indicators, including:
- Audio quality
- Post dial delay
- DTMF (touch tone) functionality
- Connection success or failure
How Microsoft Teams Voice Quality Testing with Cyara works:
Cyara’s Microsoft Teams voice quality testing solution is conducted in two stages:
Stage 1: Inbound
We begin the test by dialing into the cloud calling number provided from within the target country. The call is delivered to the cloud PBX and then directed to a subscriber. Once a connection is established, the call connects to a voicemail option where the test prompt is located. This allows us to monitor call connectivity and capture voice quality. A PESQ score (Perceptual Evaluation of Speech Quality) is then provided. PESQ is the ITU-standard for measuring audio quality, and you can learn more about this in our blog post on voice quality measurement.
With PESQ, audio quality on a cloud-based call can be assessed to an agreed international standard; there’s no ambiguity, so organizations can be confident that they know for certain how their voice services are performing at any point in time across the globe.
Stage 2: Outbound
The second part of the testing involves dialing into a unique cloud calling number, which is preset to call-forward to a Cyara number located in a target geography / country. Once answered, the call plays the audio prompt. This test allows you to monitor voice quality and connectivity across carriers, enabling you to make more informed call routing and carrier sourcing decisions.
Discover more about our Enhanced Global Dialing solution that includes this and every other type of contact center number testing for global customers.
Cloud PBX Voice Quality Test
Cyara’s Cloud PBX Voice Quality Test allows you to replicate your target call flow to or from a cloud-PBX provided number.
The reliance on cloud-based team collaboration software has grown rapidly in recent years, with many enterprises relying on these applications to keep dispersed teams connected and communicating.
What is it?
The Cloud PBX Voice Quality Test will replicate your call flow to or from your Cloud PBX provider. Whether the technology is MS Teams Direct Routing or Operator Connect, Webex Calling, RingCentral Phone, or something else, call quality can be tested in key market geographies.
What is measured?
A cloud PBX voice quality test like this measures and monitors key telecommunications performance indicators, including:
- Audio quality
- Post dial delay
- DTMF (touch tone) functionality
- Connection success or failure
How Cloud PBX Voice Quality Testing with Cyara works:
Cyara’s cloud PBX voice quality testing solution is conducted in two stages:
Stage 1: Inbound
We begin the test by dialing into the cloud calling number provided from within the target country. The call is delivered to the cloud PBX and then directed to a subscriber. Once a connection is established, the call connects to a voicemail option where the test prompt is located. This allows us to monitor call connectivity and capture voice quality. A PESQ score (Perceptual Evaluation of Speech Quality) is then provided. PESQ is the ITU-standard for measuring audio quality, and you can learn more about in our blog post on this voice quality measurement test.
With PESQ, audio quality on a cloud-based call can be assessed to an agreed international standard; there’s no ambiguity, so organizations can be confident that they know for certain how their voice services are performing at any point in time across the globe.
Stage 2: Outbound
The second part of the testing involves dialing into a unique cloud calling number, which is preset to call-forward to a Cyara number located in a target geography / country. Once answered, the call plays the audio prompt. This test allows you to monitor voice quality and connectivity across carriers, enabling you to make more informed call routing and carrier sourcing decisions.
Discover more about our Enhanced Global Dialing solution that includes this and every other type of contact center number testing for global customers.
Fax Test
Fax testing is used to give organizations that use fax as part of their business telecommunications confidence in consistent performance.
Fax tests allow you to manage and control your fax-based business processes, verify that your inbound fax services are operational, and confirm fax devices are fully connected.
What is it?
Fax tests verify that your fax numbers are operational, and that the fax devices, and systems are functioning as they should be. The inbound fax tests can be carried out across global fixed-lines, wherever Cyara has a presence.
The fax test dials your numbers from a Cyara in-country server. We can detect whether or not the number being tested has fax tones present when dialed, post-dial delay or if there is a connection related issue. After validating the problem, we will alert you before any of your customers experience issues.
When is it used?
Many sectors around the world still rely on fax messaging as a means of communication. In particular, the health, legal and financial service sectors, as faxes are seen to be secure and reliable.
Fax devices provide an inexpensive backup capability in case of technical problems with Internet or wireless connections.
How Fax Testing with Cyara works:
- Add the fax number to the system
- Cyara’s in-country server dials the desired fax number
- Once connected to the number, Cyara performs what’s known as a ‘Handshake,’ which determines if a fax machine is present.
- If the call connects and a fax machine is detected, standard ISDN signaling will be used to send a document from the Cyara server to the number.
- Once sent, Cyara receives a transmission confirmation or a fax failure related message and the test call is ended.
If the call connects and a fax tone (frequency) is detected, standard signaling will be used to send a fax from the Cyara server to yours. The content of the fax can be tailored to suit your needs.
If a connection failure is identified, we’ll send an alert with the necessary information on how to resolve the problem with your carrier.
A failed test is:
- Any test call where a fax handshake error is received.
- Any test call that fails to connect with the number Cyara dials.
- Any test call where fax tones are not detected upon connection.
- Any test call where the fax is not sent successfully.
Discover more about our Enhanced Global Dialing solution that includes this and every other type of contact center number testing for global customers.
Latency Test
Latency is the time between when you speak, to when the other person hears your voice.
Replicate the customer call flow and quantify the amount of latency your customers’ experience.
What is it?
Latency is the time between when you speak, to when the other person hears your voice. If latency values are high it can lead to great difficulty in conducting conversations and cause frustration. The latency test replicates your customer’s call flow and allows you to quantify the amount of latency your customers experience.
When is it used?
A long delay in audio being received (or a highly variable delay) can have a severe impact on customer experience, especially in a conferencing scenario where larger numbers of people are trying to speak at once. The latency test allows you to proactively measure and benchmark this delay, and, with repeated testing, spot where there are variations over time. Data generated enables you to make informed routing decisions, which have a positive impact in reducing latency values.
What is measured?
A latency test measures and monitors key telecommunications performance indicators, including:
- Connection success or failure
- Post dial delay
- Latency (or round trip time of audio)
How Latency Testing with Cyara works:
- You set up a number that, once dialed, is placed in ‘echo back’ mode (all audio received is immediately echoed back down the line). Cyara’s in-country server dials your toll/toll-free number.
- Cyara’s server sends audio tones that, once received, are echoed back to the Cyara server.
- Cyara measures the round trip time of the audio tones (the time from when the audio was sent to when it was received).
Discover more about our Enhanced Global Dialing solution that includes this and every other type of contact center number testing for global customers.
Standard Conference Test
This test type enables you to replicate a conference call and test all conference functionality.
The Conferencing sector is more competitive than ever. Quality is increasingly the most important competitive edge.
What is it?
The conference test enables you to replicate a customer call and test all the functionality they need on a call without the need to deploy hardware or perform any setup. With a conference testing solution, you can proactively monitor and troubleshoot your global telecom footprint.
When is it used?
The conference test is used to proactively monitor the availability and quality of both your global toll and toll-free numbers and your internal conference infrastructure. The test is commonly used to gain real-time alerts on customer impacting issues, to hold carriers to SLAs and to evidence your independently measured quality to your customer. It is also an excellent tool when your network operations center (NOC) teams are troubleshooting issues.
What is measured?
This type of testing is measuring and monitoring key telecommunications performance indicators, including:
- Audio quality
- Post dial delay
- DTMF (touch tone) functionality
- IVR response
- Connection success or failure
How Standard Conference Testing with Cyara works:
- Cyara’s in-country servers place two calls into your conference. One is to a number local to the physical location of your conference bridge, and the second is to the overseas number being tested.
- Once connected, both calls pass access credentials to enter the same conference room.
- Audio is passed between the two calls. This audio is recorded, analyzed and industry standard audio quality scores are generated.
Discover more about our Enhanced Global Dialing solution that includes this and every other type of contact center number testing for global customers.
Post Dial Delay Test
This test type enables you to monitor the time between a number being dialed and the call being answered.
Know how quickly your customers’ calls are answered and take action if they’re being kept waiting with the post dial delay test.
What is it?
The Post Dial Delay (PDD) test is used to proactively monitor the time between a number being dialed and the call being answered. PDD is a call answer time metric that takes the intermediary networks into account.
Acceptable Post Dial Delay is stated as 7 seconds by the international Telecommunication Union (ITU) however, Post Dial Delay can increase or decrease over time as carriers move traffic through different interconnects to handle volume.
When is it used?
The test is commonly used to gain real-time alerts on customer impacting issues, to hold carriers to SLAs and to evidence your independently measured quality to your customer. It’s an an excellent tool when your network operations center (NOC) teams are troubleshooting issues.
What is measured?
This type of testing is measuring and monitoring key telecommunications performance indicators, including:
- Connection success or failure
- Post dial delay
- Caller Line Identification (CLI) Presentation
How Post Dial Delay Testing with Cyara works:
- Cyara’s in-country or in-state server dials your toll and toll-free contact numbers. We use SIP or standard phone lines with ISDN signaling to replicate your customers’ experience.
- Cyara’s server waits for a connection or failure related message.
- Once a message has been received, the test call is ended to ensure the call doesn’t connect to a live agent.
Discover more about our Enhanced Global Dialing solution that includes this and every other type of contact center number testing for global customers.
SMS Test
Test your SMS services, in-country, to indicate if a sent SMS has been sent, or if a received SMS message is intact, or has been received at all.
Use this test as a reliable method to test an organization’s SMS services in-country.
What is it?
SMS testing shows you whether a sent SMS has been sent or if a received SMS message is intact, or has been received at all.
When is it used?
The test is commonly used by any large enterprises, teleco carriers and conference providers that rely on SMS messages to communicate with their customers.
What is measured?
This type of testing is measuring and monitoring key telecommunications performance indicators, including:
- SMS ID
- Timestamp
- User ID
- Destination and country code
- SMS provider
How this test with Cyara works:
- Send an SMS message, in-country, from your own number(s) to a Cyara SMS number using the API, to query if the message was received.
- Run a test to identify if you can receive an in-country SMS message sent from a Cyara SMS number to your own customer-supplied number.
- Access live data and analytics that highlight which SMS messages were received, and which ones weren’t, via a Cyara API query.
- Should an SMS message fail to send or receive, you can query the API for an error message explaining the reason for the failure allowing you to take the necessary steps to rectify the issue.
Discover more about our Enhanced Global Dialing solution that includes this and every other type of contact center number testing for global customers.
Touch Tone Test
This test type verifies if your system is recognizing the correct touch-tones (DTMF) to support your customer interactions.
Check if the call can reach the right department or enter a conference call successfully.
What is it?
In both Contact Center and Unified Communications services, users can be required to interact with DTMF touch tones in order to speak with an agent or enter a conference call. Users are dependent on these DTMF’s in order to use a service. Contact Centers and UC customers may not be aware of failures with the DTMF touch tones.
How Touch Tone Testing with Cyara works:
The DTMF (Dual Tone Multi Frequency) Recognition tests whether the touch-tone functionality is working correctly on your contact numbers. It detects if the call is able to reach the right department or enter a conference call successfully. If a DTMF-related issue is identified we will validate the problem and alert you before any of your customers experience issues.
- Cyara’s in-country or in-state server dials your toll and toll-free contact numbers (we use SIP or standard phone lines with ISDN signaling to replicate your customers’ experience).
- Cyara’s server sends a series of DTMF tones that your IVR is configured to recognize (eg. a conference bridge or contact center IVR system).
- Cyara detects if the call is able to reach the right department or enter a conference call successfully. If a DTMF related issue is identified we will validate the problem and alert you before any of your customers experience issues.
What is measured?
This type of testing is measuring and monitoring key telecommunications performance indicators, including:
- Connection Success or Failure
- Post Dial Delay
- Caller Line Identification (CLI) Presentation
- DTMF Recognition
Discover more about our Enhanced Global Dialing solution that includes this and every other type of contact center number testing for global customers.
SIP Route Test
Add new, and edit existing SIP trunks and carrier or prefix details and test performance.
Test your SIP routing so that you can save time, stay in control, enjoy full visibility of all your SIP trunks, and compare carriers to determine which performs best for you.
What is measured?
This type of testing is measuring and monitoring key telecommunications performance indicators, including:
- Audio quality
- CLI
- DTMF
Two Key Elements to SIP Route Testing with Cyara:
SIP trunk and carrier configuration
Add SIP trunks and configure them with the trunk name, termination gateway and dialing options.
Here’s how:
- Select the ‘SIP trunk’ option from the numbers module, where you can add the trunk details.
- Once the SIP trunk menu has been selected, you will see a split table structure. One table is for the SIP Trunk details and the second table is for carrier details. These work independently of each other.
- Once added, you will see a list of SIP trunks and a list of carriers. The user can search and edit existing trunks and carriers from this page
SIP trunk selection setup
Create a campaign with the ability to select trunk and carriers / prefixes to dial out from.
Here’s how:
- Create a campaign and select test type ‘SIP trunk test’.
- Add the numbers you want to test in the campaign.
- Choose from a list of trunks that have previously been added to the numbers module.
- Select one or more carriers that you want to map the selected trunk to. As long as you have a carrier code, you can add as many carriers as you like. A summary will show what trunk has been selected and the carriers mapped to the trunk.
Discover more about our Enhanced Global Dialing solution that includes this and every other type of contact center number testing for global customers.
Agent Response Test
This test type enables you to replicate your customers’ call path to your agent so you can ensure a great call experience.
Be sure that your infrastructure is supporting your agents in providing a great customer experience.
What is it?
Agent response testing lets you measure performance of your outsourced contact centers – giving you full visibility of your partners’ performance, and your customers’ experience. By generating test calls from our in-country servers around the world, you can ensure that your global customers are able to connect to their local contact numbers, and get through to an agent in good time.
When is it used?
Agent response testing is typically used by enterprises using outsourced contact center providers, such as BPOs (business process outsourcing), to ensure that partners are performing to agreed standards.
With the right testing solution, you can get proactive alerts about customer-impacting issues, such as long response times or inability to navigate an IVR. The test gives you the insights and data you need to manage performance and hold providers to service level agreements.
What is measured?
This type of testing is measuring and monitoring key telecommunications performance indicators, including:
- Call connection rate
- Post dial delay
- Agent confirmation
- IVR functionality
- DTMF (touch tone) functionality
How Agent Response Testing with Cyara works:
- Cyara’s in-country servers dial your toll/toll-free number.
- Cyara’s server sends DTMF tones to navigate through your IVR.
- After navigating through the last IVR prompt, we begin a countdown timer. At the same time, we begin to play a prompt, asking the agent to press 1 on their keypad.
- When we receive a tone for 1, a thank you prompt plays and the call disconnects. The time taken for the agent to respond is recorded. If no tone is received from the agent before the call times out, this is recorded as a fail.
- As an optional extra, we can ask the agent for extra inputs, such as their extension number or call whisper displayed on their phone.
Looking for real-time, live agent experience and call monitoring to keep watch on your in-production customer experience performance? Explore Cyara’s ResolveAX solution.
Discover more about our Enhanced Global Dialing solution that includes this and every other type of contact center number testing for global customers.
Conference Call Forward Test
This test type enables you to test access to your conferencing platform via user-specific call pathing.
Bring your customer’s network into the testing loop.
What is it?
Conference call forward testing enables you to replicate your customer’s calls into your conference and test all functionality. And, when combined with standard conference testing, you can identify where an issue or degradation is occurring, be it on your customer’s network or your own.
When is it used?
The conference call forward test is commonly used to troubleshoot customer issues where the problem may be intermittent or hard to resolve. In many cases conference companies use it as an optional add-on in customer agreements or SLAs, offering customers greater visibility of the quality of service on offer.
What is measured?
This type of testing is measuring and monitoring key telecommunications performance indicators, including:
- Call connection rate
- Post dial delay
- Touch tone functionality
- Availability of conferencing services
How Conference Call Forward Testing with Cyara works:
- Your customer sets up a standard toll number for the test, which is set to forward to your local toll free conference number.
- Cyara’s in-country servers place two calls into your conference. One call is to a number local to the physical location of your conference bridge, and the second call is to your customer’s number.
- Once connected, both calls pass access credentials to enter the same conference room.
- Audio is passed between the two calls. This audio is recorded, analyzed and industry standard audio quality scores are generated.
Discover more about our Enhanced Global Dialing solution that includes this and every other type of contact center number testing for global customers.
Benchmarking
Set and track against call quality goals based on historical data and supplied benchmark indicators.
Not every contact center number testing solution is created equal and includes the ability to conduct what we call Benchmarking.
This is a specialized Cyara solution we offer our Enhanced Global Dialing Customers, which allows them to set and achieve testing and performance goals based on historical, benchmarked indicators.
How Benchmarking with Cyara works:
- At the start of each month, Cyara calculates in-country benchmarks from the previous three months’ data. Benchmarks are determined by removing the customer’s data from the previous three months of testing data and calculating the average performance across all other companies for the connectivity rate, audio quality, and Post Dial Delay (PDD) in each country.
The reporting feature provides an option to select one of the values (countries, carriers, numbers, departments, and customers) to present and outline the Best/Worst performing case over the time period selected, while also providing in-country benchmarks to compare performance against others in the market.
We also provide Customers with the options to automate report results for all available call metrics using custom dashboards and the ability to customize up to 100 reporting dashboards for different reporting situations.
Key Benefits of Benchmarking include:
- Full performance perspective:
Using Cyara benchmarks, you can gain a full perspective on performance when compared to others in-country, allowing you to proactively identify any areas for improvement over periods of time. - Highlight problems before your customers are affected:
Use benchmarking data to help make proactive informed decisions on where to place valuable resources and highlight specific problem numbers or carriers. By identifying performance gaps or areas for improvement over long periods of time, you can resolve potential issues faster, before your customers are negatively affected. - Validate and compare the quality of your carriers:
By validating and comparing the quality of carriers, you can stay ahead of the competition and resolve any potential issues that may arise. By making these proactive efforts and informed decisions, you can choose the correct carriers and resolve issues faster.
Plus, with Benchmarking you can:
- Filter, group, and search through all test results in a custom date range
- Automate report results for all available call metrics using custom dashboards.
- Customize up to 100 reporting dashboards for different reporting situations.
- Provide in-country benchmarks to compare performance against others in the market.
- Outline the Best/Worst performing countries, carriers, numbers, departments, and customers.
Discover more about our Enhanced Global Dialing solution that includes this and every other type of contact center number testing for global customers.
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