What is Call Detail Reporting and how can it help my business?
Posted by
Eric Moore on Thu, Mar 22, 2012 @ 11:27 AM
CDR or Call Detail Reporting is the process of collecting phone call data on your business telephone system and analyzing this data, and then reporting on the telephone network's cost, performance and capacity
Traditional PBX manufacturers would typically provide a “bolt on” component piece to capture this information or use a third party software package due to the fact that older phone systems could not provide this functionality. Many current telephony systems include Call Detail Reporting largely due to systems being software rather than hardware based.
On older, traditional PBXs, the connection is through a serial port. On newer models, an Ethernet connection is normally used. The information is delivered via the appropriate method to a PC running the CDR software.
The objective reporting software is to gather the raw CDR data and allow the user to produce graphical reports. Call logging software packages differ in the sizes of PBX systems that they can support (from hundreds of extensions to hundreds of thousands of extensions). They also differ in reporting capability and support for specialized PBX features.
In general terms, Call Detail reporting can offer a snapshot of how effectively a company is using their telephony resources- some of these include:
Cost Control – it can track the cost of calls, cost of trunk lines, costs by department or individual extension the number of unused extensions, etc. It can also capture instances of telephone fraud or scamming campaigns.
Performance– looks at how long it’s taking to answer phone calls- by extension or by department and demonstrates whether they meet acceptable levels of customer service.
Capacity Management – judges whether the system is being over or under-utilized. It examines trunk usage and call patterns that show where extra capacity is required or where cost savings can be achieved.
CDR reporting provides essential information to help streamline costs, enhance customer service and maximize existing resources.
