Hardware for a Call Center

[claritechno]

Hi Everyone,

I'm planning to open a blended call center for 10-15 seats and I'm looking to buy or rent all the necessary hardware and software. I received an offer from one of the IT firms to install a system "Zycoo U100". It seems like this hardware has all the features, but I have doubts about it.
I'm considering for *ast c30 system as well - is this a completely different hardware? And is this "zycoo" something that can be used for a call center?

Thanks!

[bobchaos]

I've never heard of this Zycoo U100 thing, but I'd do my homework if I were you. Lots of unscrupulous salesmen out there

That being said, if you're looking into a Vicidial system, hardware requirements are pretty low. Have a look at this doc http://download.vicidial.com/iso/vicibo ... nstall.pdf for recommended hardware specs, but for a small setup like that you're looking at a single quad core, 8GB RAM, 2X500GB RAID 1 SSDs or enterprise grade HDDs. Vicidial is open source, and therefore free. For a single machine setup, you`ll want redundant power supplies, redundant NICs, backup systems, etc...

You`ll need to consider support infrastructure too: You`ll need an NTP server (required), a TFTP server (optional, for provisioning your phones and such), an FTP server (Optional, for archiving recordings if you plan on doing those), a Sangoma CPA server (Optional, its a really fancy voicemail detection system), DHCP (Optional, but who wants to manually program an IP for all them phone?) and the other usual networking services. I usually virtualize all the support stuff inside a single machine. Chances are, you already have an Microsoft Windows Server or a networking device of some kind to provide all those things.

If you`re looking at proprietary systems, don`t The only thing they have on Vicidial is that they look prettier. They are also obscenely expansive, often inflexible, and require just as much expertize as an open source system. And trust me, when your 100000$, 15 agent system crashes, you won`t care about the quality of their customer service or sales staff With Vicidial you can get help for free right here on the forums, or paid support via the Vicidial group or local talent (like me!)

What you`ll need most of all is expertise: Find a reliable IT firm with Vicidial experience or get your own guys and get them some training through the Vicidial group or local sources. If you`re in Canada feel free to PM me, I`m a consultant in call center efficiency and technology.