The Many Uses of VoIP Call Recording

Enterprises have always had a variety of tools at their disposal to enhance business communication, both internally and externally.

However, the equipment and software required for these features were often expensive and thus out of reach for the majority of businesses. With the advent of VoIP, organizations of any size have access to the same tools at a fraction of the cost.

Call recording is one such feature that is invaluable for enterprises. As with other voice related features on VoIP, it is not surprising that call recording is also easy and inexpensive compared to doing the same on traditional PBX boxes.

Active vs. passive recording

Passive call recording involves packet sniffing whereby a network switch/gateway hub is monitored to capture and record real-time audio traffic only.

While passive call recording is efficient, it cannot capture calls made off-site or on peer-to-peer communication channels since internal calls do not flow through the gateway.

Active recording involves duplicating the audio packets and redirecting them to the recorder. This is accomplished by making the recorder an active participant in the call.

It can be used to record calls made from remote locations or internal calls but it can potentially affect the quality of a call since another participant is added.

Hardware vs. software only recording

For enterprises using on premise equipment, there are a variety of options for call recording involving either hardware or software solutions. Choosing the appropriate solution depends upon the existing network and the purpose of recording calls.

Businesses using hosted VoIP solutions can simply turn on call recording through the online dashboard if the feature is offered by the vendor. This requires no hardware but may incur additional costs if it is not included in their current plan.

Automatic vs. on-demand

Organizations have the option of enabling call regarding automatically for all calls on inbound/outbound only. Call recording can also be turned on for every device or for a particular subset only.

On the other hand, users can turn on call recording for particular calls using the key combination set by the vendor. Usually calls are retained for a certain amount of time before being deleted and managers can download the recordings for storage and later retrieval.

How can call recording be useful?

Recording calls can be a useful tool for employee motivation and training purposes, specifically in customer service or sales departments.

Agents can listen to their own calls for improving their interactions with customers and they can be reviewed by managers for performance appraisals.

Nevertheless these are not the only uses of VoIP call recording. In highly regulated industries, recording calls may be necessary for complying with the law or serve as evidence in case of disputes.

Certain businesses also record calls to reduce the probability of lawsuits and for increasing security. Quite a few breaches have occurred as a result of information transmitted inadvertently or deliberately by employees and reviewing recorded calls can pinpoint the source of the leak.

Enterprises that have not implemented voice recording because it is too expensive or complicated to implement can now utilize them effectively, thanks to the latest VoIP technology.