With Salesforce Open CTI (Computer Telephony Integration), users place outbound calls directly from a Salesforce record without installing traditional CTI adapters on the computer. Salesforce Open CTI integrates with the Salesforce Call Center file. Allows applications such as Fastcall, to create customizable softphones, integrate completely with Salesforce Classic, Salesforce console, and Lightning Experience. Best of all, Salesforce Open CTI is browser and platform agnostic. Before Open CTI, Salesforce used Desktop CTI also called CTI Toolkit. Desktop CTI – now retired – required installed adapters on each user computed (PC only.)
How are Open CTI applications different than Salesforce Dialer?
Salesforce Dialer – a paid add-on in Lightning Experience only – offers a very basic way make calls directly from Salesforce. Open CTI allows developers – such as Fastcall – to give a much more customized and advanced feature set.
These more advanced features found in Fastcall include:
- Voicemail drop with multiple recorded messages per user; and messages shared with a group
- Inbound call routing with call distribution, menus, directories, time of day routing, overflow and more
- Dial by list in Salesforce Classic, Console and Lightning
- Inbound and outbound call recording with granular options for admins and users
- BeLocal caller ID
- Worldwide availability of phone numbers
- Inbound routing options include simulring and overflow
- Support for softphone, SIP or hardphone
- Call logging to opportunities, cases, multiple contacts
- Transfer calls to other Fastcall users, to Salesforce user or to Groups
- Listen-in to live in-progress calls
How does Open CTI differ in Classic, Console, and Lightning?
Salesforce Classic
In Salesforce Classic Open CTI will place the softphone in the left side bar at the top. This is one hint to determine if an application is using Salesforce Open CTI. Keep in mind, an application can use Open CTI and not be native in Salesforce. Just because the app is OpenCTI, it may not be native. And if the application is not using Open CTI then it is not native.
Salesforce Console
In Salesforce console Open CTI will place the phone button in the footer on the far right of the page. In Salesforce Console, but not in Classic, you can work in one window and edit a record in another. Editing the page will not interrupt the softphone call. Fastcall dial by list is awesome in Console. We can move from record to record without the need to refresh the page or list.
Salesforce Lightning
In Salesforce Lightning Open CTI places the phone in the left footer. Lightning and Console are very similar in how they manage the active phone call. In Classic the user cannot edit the browser while on an active call. The call will terminate. In Console and Lightning, the Salesforce record can be edited while on a call.
In Fastcall, if you don’t answer within the set call duration or dismiss the call, the call follows the next set of instructions. Options include overflow to another inbound calling route or voicemail. If you’re not in Salesforce on a page with Open CTI when someone calls, the call will not ring the softphone. Fastcall will still ring a simulring phone, overflow or go to voicemail. If voicemail is enabled in your org, you can also receive and store unlimited voicemail messages. Fastcall includes several options for missed calls. There is a missed call notification email that is sent to the user and as many CCs as required. Missed calls are listed in the widget Fastcall also matches a reply to a missed calls for reporting.
When an inbound call arrives, Fastcall will search Salesforce for the matching caller ID. We will present the city, state, and country if the location is available. If no match is found the user can create a new Lead in Salesforce. Fastcall will add the calling phone number to the Lead along with the lead source and status. Inbound calls can be transferred, recorded and managers can listen to an in-progress call.
In Salesforce the softphone is customizable. Open CTI appears for the user who is assigned the Fastcall call center file. The specific softphone functionality and interface are determined in Salesforce by the admin.
Users access Fastcall if they are assigned to a call center, permission set, and license. Fastcall manages these assignments on the Fastcall user panel.
How to Place an outbound call in Open CTI?
Users click the phone button to display a softphone from the footer of a console. The phone is in the left footer in Lightning and in the left sidebar in Classic. Fastcall users edit the call subject, write notes, use Task pick lists, and more. A user can also log a call to a Case, Opportunity and add multiple Contacts to a call. Fastcall creates a custom record for calls and also gives an option to create a Salesforce Task.
The Fastcall call record automatically generates when you use a softphone, tracking the phone number, caller, date, time, and duration of the call. You can view call logs either in the Activity History related list of any record associated with the call or the custom object for Fastcall.
IMPORTANT: Your call may not save properly if refresh or edit the browser during a call; or use the softphone in multiple browser tabs simultaneously
You can hide the softphone by clicking the softphone button, but you can’t move it away from the footer of a console. You can also resize the height of a softphone by dragging the bar on top of it. When you click End Call the call ends. To save your logged call, click Close Task.
When logged in to a softphone, you can receive a call when:
The call originates from a phone assigned to a group and your Fastcall status is set to available.
The call is dialed directly to your extension and you are not already on a call
Users see the incoming call in the softphone. “Incoming Call,” with the name if match and the telephone number of the caller.
Details about the call, if any, are displayed just above the Answer button, and typically include the phone number of the caller and the number that the caller dialed to reach you. When the caller’s phone number can be matched with a number in an existing Salesforce record, a link to that record is also displayed. Fastcall give a search option to look for another record in Salesforce.
To answer an incoming call, you can:
- Click Answer in the softphone.
- Use a physical telephone to answer the call.
- When users answer a call, the Call Duration starts, and the user status is automatically set to “On a call.” If the user does not answer the call, Fastcall tries the overflow phone, forwards the call to another user or goes to voicemail.
Once users answer a call, they can:
- Log comments and associate Salesforce records with the call.
- Put the caller on mute.
- Transfer the call to another call center user, another Salesforce user or a freeform phone number.
- Conference another call center user into the call.
- Log the call to a Case or Opportunity.
- Finally, end the call.