Automatic Dialing vs. Manual Calling

The primary function of Interaction Dialer is to provide an efficient automated, predictive dialing system. However, to respond to industry needs, we have added a manual calling feature to Interaction Dialer that in effect disables all of the automatic dialing capabilities.  In other words, when using the manual calling feature, the system can only make manual calls. You can choose how you want Interaction Dialer to work, either as an automatic dialer or a manual-only calling system, by installing the appropriate license. For more information, see the Dialer Feature License topic.

When it comes to the documentation, the server that handles the calls is referred to as the Outbound Dialer Server or ODS. When you use the manual calling feature, the server that handles the calls is also referred to as a Manual Calling Server or MCS, in order to differentiate it from a fully automated dialing system. (However, other than being limited to only making manual calls, an MCS has the exact same feature set as an ODS.)

The distinction between an ODS and an MCS, means two things:

• First, there are options and functions described in this documentation that do not apply to a Manual Calling Server.

• Second, there are options and functions described in this documentation that apply to both the automatic Outbound Dialer Server and the Manual Calling Server configurations.

To handle the first case, where appropriate we have expressly pointed out some of the differences you will encounter when using a Manual Calling Server as opposed to using an automatic Outbound Dialer Server. In the second case, when we are discussing options and functions that apply to both configurations, we attribute those items to an Outbound Dialer Server or ODS.