How fast is it?

TIM Professional, TIM Plus and TIM Enterprise, are used by multi-national corporate companies and NHS hospitals, who generally process thousands of calls per hour. In these situations, the software easily handles the flow of incoming data, whilst churning out reports over the web, or locally, in seconds, to multiple users.

How many call records can TIM store?

For a medium-sized organisation, the software can comfortably store call records over a year old in its live database. Of course, at any time you can archive data out of the live database and into storage, to be imported and inspected years later.

How quickly can I get information on calls that have just happened?

As soon as a call has finished, within seconds it will have been properly processed and safely stored by TIM in its database, allowing immediate access from the reports. Furthermore, any calls meeting user-defined criteria can be set to start an audible alarm, or their details sent by e-mail instantly.

I have several sites, each with their own telephone system. How can I access this information in one place?

The TIM product range can give you the right product for your company. So, whether you have a single PABX or hundreds, all your reports can focus on any of your sites - or all of them! Sites can be connected to the TIM server directly by serial cable, or over a TCP/IP network using the integrated NetPBX tool.

How safe is TIM's internal web server?

You can setup users to access only information from their own group, or allow full access to designated "super users". The interface is first protected using basic authentication at the web browser, but backed up by a powerful IP-security restriction. Couple this with a firewall if you�re still worried, and you can be sure that no-one will be able to see your valuable call information.

Can TIM tell me if I have enough lines?

Yes. The Trunks Busy report shows how busy your system gets throughout each day. TIM also advises how long it takes to answer calls, through its Incoming Call Analysis Report. These help in making decisions about cutting off redundant lines, or getting new ones installed to stop callers getting busy tone.

Connecting to your PBX

The way in which call records are collected from your telephone system varies between manufacturers, but usually involves a physical connection using a serial cable, or over an existing TCP/IP network connection.

Serial cable connections are slightly more difficult to setup because they run at different speeds (ie. the speed at which the receiver of the call records, your PC, has to match that of your PBX, which can vary).

There are also different types of physical serial connector cables, from 9-pin to 25-pin, and other proprietary interfaces using telephone handsets.

Network connections are usually much simpler to setup and involve the call logging software, running on a PC on the same local area network, knowing the IP address of the PBX. Once a connection is established successfully, the call logger liaises directly with the PBX to receive each call record as it arrives.

Traditional call logging software

In the early days of call logging, to obtain call reports, the operator had to physically attend the PC console and enter the parameters for each report, wait by the printer, and finally collate the reams of paper into meaningful reports. Many call logging systems still operate this way, but most now provide a web browser interface over your local area network.

Web reporting interface

Because the operator can now access reports from anywhere on the LAN using a standard web browser, it's easy to run reports on demand, send them as e-mail attachments to interested parties, or print them for inclusion in wider research.

Advanced call logging systems include the facility to offer this 'web reporting interface' as part of the same product, whereas the thrifty type will rely on there being existing web server software in place, which can be an extra hidden cost in most cases.

Maintaining the call logger

Many people have invested thousands of pounds in call logging systems - sometimes monitoring multiple telephone systems - but fail to keep them up-to-date. Tariff pricing is the main cause of cost discrepancies when it comes to reconciling the call logger's reports to a phone company's telephone bill. It's also important to update your tariffs, since these reflect network changes, such as local dial code and other number group changes.