Technology

SmartCall

Use Your Idle Telecom Capacity to Cut Your Notification Costs

What if you could cut your notification costs in half? What if it were as easy as plugging a USB drive into a server connected to your existing phone lines?

SmartCall is an add-on to SchoolMessenger's hosted CommSuite service that lets you send non-emergency notifications affordably over your own idle phone lines, while all time-sensitive notifications still quickly route over the massive capacity of the SchoolMessenger CommSuite hosted network. SmartCall is an evolution in cloud-based notification products, and the first to help you easily control notification costs by using the idle capacity in your existing phone system for non-emergency calls. The experience is transparent to users and recipients.

All Calls Delivered Quickly

School districts currently using SmartCall with SchoolMessenger CommSuite are saving an average of 50% off subscription notification fees by affordably routing non-emergency calls over their own phone lines, whether to hundreds of families or tens of thousands of families. And because SmartCall scales from one port to hundreds of ports, even lower-priority calls routed through district phone lines can be delivered quickly.

Fits on a USB Drive

The patent-pending SmartCall technology fits on a single USB drive that you plug into a server connected to your existing phone system or phone lines; there is no software for you to configure or maintain because SmartCall is an endpoint in SchoolMessenger's Software as a Service (SaaS) cloud. Simply plug the drive into a USB port, walk through the setup and configuration process, and never touch it again.

SmartCall operates as a transparent add-on to CommSuite, so district personnel initiate calls in the same way, whether the notifications go out over the hosted service or local lines. And, families receive the calls in the same way no matter how the notifications are routed. The only difference is on your bottom line, where notification costs drop as you take advantage of your idle telecom capacity.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is SchoolMessenger SmartCall™?

   SmartCall is a patent-pending, small software add-on to SchoolMessenger's best-in-class hosted notification service, CommSuite. SmartCall lowers notification costs by routing non-emergency calls through your district's idle phone lines. You maintain access to the high-capacity SchoolMessenger CommSuite hosted network for time-sensitive emergency calls, and cut your notification costs by an average of 50%.

   Back To Top

2. How does SmartCall work?

   The SmartCall software connects to your existing compatible phone system or available phone lines. Whenever you send out a notification through SchoolMessenger's best-in-class hosted notification service CommSuite, the system automatically routes emergency calls over its high-capacity, hosted network. It routes non-emergency calls back through SmartCall and over the idle capacity in your own phone lines.

   Back To Top

3. How do we install it?

   SchoolMessenger has designed SmartCall to fit on a single USB drive that you plug into a server connected to your existing phone system or available phone lines. Simply plug the drive into a USB port, walk through the setup and configuration process, and never touch it again.

   Back To Top

4. Who takes care of updating and maintaining SmartCall?

   SchoolMessenger maintains SmartCall transparently and silently over the network, including security patches and upgrades. After installation, there is no software or hardware for district IT staff to manage or update because SmartCall is part of SchoolMessenger's Software as a Service (SaaS) notification cloud.

   Back To Top

5. What is the definition of "emergency"? Who or what determines whether notifications go out over the hosted network or over our own phone lines?

   Your staff members specify the status upon initiating the notification. Non-emergency calls, such as attendance/truancy alerts, surveys, performance updates, reminders and general outreach notifications, go over your phone lines. Time-sensitive, emergency notifications affecting safety and security, such as severe weather alerts and other school closure messages, go through SchoolMessenger's massive hosted network.

   Back To Top

6. Once SmartCall is installed, is there anything we do differently to use it? What do call recipients experience that is different?

   Nothing. District personnel use SchoolMessenger CommSuite in the same way whether SmartCall is installed or not, and the notifications look and sound just the same to families. In fact, if it weren't for the savings to your notification costs, you might forget that SmartCall is installed.

   Back To Top

7. How is this different from a "blended solution"?

   In blended solutions, the district needs to set up and use two separate applications: one on the local network and one hosted by the notification vendor. These applications work independently and must remain in synch, requiring district IT staff to update two separate databases, manage a local application, and remember to log in through two separate Websites. SmartCall, on the other hand, is simply a transparent extension to the CommSuite hosted application (Software as a Service). As far as users, recipients and district IT staff are concerned, it is as if SmartCall were not even installed.

   Back To Top

8. What must I have in place to use SmartCall?

   SmartCall requires a connection between a supported phone system or compatible phone lines and a server meeting the minimum specifications. See the SmartCall datasheet for details.

   Back To Top

9. Is this a single point of failure? What happens if there is a problem with my district network or servers?

   There is no single point of failure. SmartCall is an optional add-on to the hosted CommSuite service.

   Both the SmartCall software and the recommended hardware requirements include built-in redundancies to maintain the connection between the CommSuite hosted network and your phone lines. In the unlikely event of failure, calls can continue to route through SchoolMessenger's hosted, redundant, nationally distributed network. Districts using SmartCall do not sacrifice CommSuite's uptime, functionality or high reliability.

   Back To Top

10. Are districts really using SmartCall?

    Yes. Many of the nation's leading school districts - with populations from 1,000 to 100,000 students - have implemented SmartCall. With no loss in functionality, and little to no extra burden of management, these school districts are relying on SmartCall to reduce their ongoing notification fees by 50% or more by routing non-emergency calls through their idle telecom capacity.

    This translates into savings of $1 to $2 per student per year. With continuing pressure on budgets, more districts are adding SmartCall to their notification plans.

    Back To Top

11. Can we install SmartCall later?

    Yes. SchoolMessenger provides maximum flexibility by allowing customers to enable and disable options as their needs change. A district may choose to begin service with SchoolMessenger CommSuite, and then add SmartCall in the future to cut notification costs.

    Back To Top