In today’s digital world, evermore reliant on the internet, VoIP (voice over IP) calls are an increasingly popular form of communication. VoIP calls are popular for both business and personal uses, with VoIP services such as Skype now boasting user bases of millions. For businesses especially, VoIP calls are one piece of the constantly changing puzzle that is achieving a modern, profitable and efficient workplace. As telephony technology evolves, so too do the add-on services that accompany them, from conferencing to call recording. Here we discuss the top 4 effective ways to record your VoIP calls. We look at how this can benefit your business and personal life, and how to increase your efficiency by recording them.

A report by Tech.co recently suggested that small businesses can cut the cost of their local calls by approximately 40% when they use VoIP services, and large businesses can cut the cost of their international calls by a staggering 90%!

VoIP Call Recording For Business And Personal Use

Of course, VoIP is not just for the business user: a fact that Skype’s 300 million monthly user base proves (even though since their acquisition they are now making a play for the business market also). The many uses for traditional call recording only increase with VoIP call recording. For personal users, use cases include sharing of data, aiding your education, keeping souvenirs from personal conversations, organising the never-ending list of what I like to call ‘life admin’, recording online seminars and many, many more.

For businesses, VoIP call recording can dramatically increase productivity. Its many uses include training new staff, employee evaluations, creating staff incentives, quality assurance for your customers, a simple solution for dispute resolution, regulatory compliance, and so on.

There are multiple methods of VoIP call recording, many of which come with at least some issues or flaws. The most common problems of VoIP call recording services include: a decrease in quality of audio files through the recording process, large overhead costs, a limited scale of use, lack of guaranteed security, different tool availability for Windows to Mac users and a need for agent interaction. There is also no universal solution, meaning that available software often varies from platform to platform, depending on the desired function of the software. And all of this is before we’ve discussed on premise or cloud solutions. Here at Dubber we strive to deliver VoIP call recording services that eliminate these problems.

[caption id="attachment_715" align="aligncenter" width="395"]

VOIP Cloud[/caption]

VoIP Call Recording Methods

Through a quick Google search you will come across dozens of solutions when it comes to recording VoIP conversations. But which one is right for you? Here we break down the top 4 methods for recording VoIP (without getting too technical), and explain the benefits of each solution:

1. Port Mirroring - this is the traditional recording solution, the legacy technology. It relies on on-premises hardware that enables call recording by sniffing the network and capturing calls as they pass through. The problems of this method are all related to its need for on-premises hardware: large amounts of configuration, high costs of installation, a limited scale, difficulty managing the network and potential for losing calls.

2. Hosted recording - this is a subscription solution. Users subscribe to a recording service and all incoming and outgoing calls pass through that service. This is most relevant for those who need small scale call recording: they do not want their own recording platform for cost or time management reasons. However, these services often use Port Mirroring, and so reflect the same issues. Additionally, users have no control over the choice of service provider, and hence no control over the service they receive or the call charges they incur.

3. Local recording clients - Users of VoIP services such as Skype can use local recording clients to record their calls. This process usually involves selecting and running a local recording client service on a device such as a computer or smartphone. Just as with hosted recording, this is most relevant for those who need small scale, or occasional, call recording. The main problem with this method is that the recording process must be repeated for every user, and so creates a lack of cohesion for business users, because the recordings cannot be shared across the company. There is also little security and no automated backup.
   Examples of local recording clients include CallTrunk for Skype, Evaer and G-Recorder, however many business users experience problems in utilising their service on larger scales. Pamela for example, offer a service which allows call recording for only a limited time, unless additional charges are paid. MP3 Skype recorder users incur additional charges if they require the service for more than personal use. Quicktime is only able to record your side of the conversation. eCamm’s Skype Call Recorder and Rogue Amoeba’s Piezo are just two of many services that have an installation charge.

4. Dubber - Dubber uses the industry standard SIPREC protocol to capture recordings directly from telephony platforms. The use of SIPREC benefits our services as we are able to integrate directly into core telephony platforms. This allows us to store recordings directly from the service provider, make them instantly available to the user, and provide an overall more secure and resilient solution.
   Dubber also has global coverage, working with most service provider technologies. The intelligent software provides a call recording solution that is without the problems of traditional solutions, such as Port Mirroring. Dubber therefore offers call recording with no CapEx, rapid deployment and the benefits of a native cloud platform. The solution also provides unlimited scalability, allowing users to scale call recording to fit the needs of their business, therefore providing a service without the limitations of local recording clients and hosted recording. Finally, Dubber offer an open API, allowing users to adapt the service to their individual requirements.

Through Dubber’s revolutionary approach to VoIP call recording, a service devoid of many of the conventional issues is now available for all users. Call recording can now have lower costs, faster deployment and unlimited scalability.

Why not sign up for a demo to see how it works and how it can help your business?