Loway is proud to announce the release of WombatDialer 18.08; a focus on visibility, future-proofing and integration makes it the intelligent dialer of choice for your modern Asterisk call-centre.

What are the main improvements for this release?

  • Improved visibility into the dialer
  • Support for different kinds of servers
  • Dialing and Rate limiting
  • QueueMetric integration
  • Database maintenance
  • Infrastructure

On top of this, about 70 bugs and minor issues were fixed.

Improved visibility into the dialer

We wanted to make it easier to understand what WombatDialer is doing. Why is the dialer calling so slowly? Why is it making just so many calls? Should I use a larger batch size when reading calls?

It is now possible to get insight into the decisions WombatDialer is taking when running a campaign - so you can see if the dialing is limited by not having more channels, or by a slow database access, or because you forgot to define and end-point for that campaign, so it will not dial at all!

We have also added a way to run connection tests to servers, trunks and end-points. Often an incorrect dial string, or the wrong password, or a misspelled queue name, would leave you wondering what was wrong. No more! Just click a button, and a test will be run to assess that the component is working as expected.

We have added hints and tips to some GUI editors, so that expected formats of variables and items are displayed exactly where you need them.

We have also improved the sparkline graphs that display in real-time how many calls are being dialed, so it is easier to see how multiple runs interact with each other and whether you are dialing at full speed or not.

The real-time page is now snappier in displaying updated information coming from the dialer, making the interaction more pleasant and easier to use.

Support for different kinds of servers

WombatDialer 18.08 allows you to select the kind of server it connects to. At the moment, it’s either a normal AMI connection to Asterisk or a ‘Fake server’ that will simulate a PBX receiving traffic - quite useful for load tests, without having to manually create the PBXs for your infrastructure.

In the future, this gives us the opportunity to better support different PBXs - e.g. different ways to connect to Asterisk, or support for specific models / makes.

Dialing and Rate limiting

If you have run Wombat in high-load scenarios, you know that sometimes Wombat has a problem - it dials too fast! Depending on the kind of agreement you have with them, some upstream providers may not like receiving too many calls at once and may black-list you for a while if you do. To solve this problem, it is now possible to enforce a specific CPS (Calls Per Second) rate for each trunk, so that you do not risk flooding your provider when you launch a new campaign.

We also improved the campaign scheduler in order to have a fairer attribution of calls to different campaigns when running multiple campaigns in parallel with the same importance.

QueueMetric integration

WombatDialer improved its QueueMetrics integration by reporting variables and attributes to the “queue” side of the call - so they will appear automatically on the Agent’s page in QueueMetrics, and integrations with CRM’s and intranet applications will “just happen” as for any other inbound call in QueueMetrics.

This means that that information is immediately available on the QueueMetrics Icon page, so the agent can see and you can also use it to control automated CRM screen-pops.

Infrastructure

WombatDialer was updated to run on a modern Java 8/Tomcat 8 infrastructure. JDBC drivers were updated to the new high-performance MariaDB drivers. Existing systems doing a migration should look on the User Manual for specific tips. Starting from this version, we do not support CentOS 5 systems anymore (but they are obsolete and insecure - if you still run them, it’s time to move on).

We now allow for HTTPS interactions in all service calls that can be defined in WombatDialer.

WombatDialer also supports secure password storage, to better protect your user accounts.

Database maintenance

WombatDialer 18 now has an integrated script that is used to clean the database of obsolete and unused data. While this is not required but on the biggest systems, it will make your life easier when maintaining and backing-up the system.

Misc items

  • Agents are tracked correctly even they set Music on Hold
  • Campaigns are now cloned in their entirety
  • AMI load is significantly reduced if you run hundreds of queues
  • Synthetic logs are easier to parse and events maintain their ordering
  • Reschedule rules can be set as not to increment reschedule count
  • Shorter error traces are stored on the system log
  • Completed lists are hidden from Active lists

Get it now!

WombatDialer 18.08 is immediately available, as a RPM archive, a tar.gz archive or a preconfigured Docker image. The updated User Manual can also be found on the Downloads page.

If you currently have a licensed WombatDialer system, you can upgrade now at no extra cost.

We welcome your comments and feedback.

Happy dialing!

About WombatDialer

WombatDialer predictive dialer software is highly scalable, multi-server and works with your existing Asterisk PBX. With easy to use campaign management tools it boosts agents productivity and improves your call center campaigns with automatic dialing, queue recalls functions, call forwarding options, and different dialing modes including direct, reverse, preview, manual and predictive.
If you are a new user and would like to test all the new features and benefits offered by WombatDialer feel free to request a 30 days trial with 100 channels at https://www.wombatdialer.com/requestDemoKey.jsp.

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