Call control functionality development using Finesse Non-gadget sample

[roshan.kumar.j]

Hi,

Has anyone built a complete call control and agent status change functionality using the non-gadget sample and finesse rest webservice api that works fine?

The reason I ask is that currently we are using the Finesse desktop client with some custom gadgets but we are planning to scrap finesse desktop client and build a custom CTI toolbar to imbed in our custom CRM application.

If someone has achieved the above requirement (imbedding the call control and agent status change capability) that works successfully then can you share from your experience an estimate of effort required to build it?

Also, it would be good to get call some sample code which is better than the current non-gadget sample?

Thanks,

Roshan

[hemajosh · Accepted solution]

If you want to move away from Finesse desktop and want an CTI app to develop , then You can use the CTI toolkit provided with CTIOS with samples for dotnet,  java, win32 CIL.

Use anyone according to your requirement and create your own custom application to accomplish your need.

Path:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Cisco Systems\CTIOS Client\CTIOS Toolkit

Let me know if this help.

Regards
Hemant

[Mark Pareja]

Roshan,

     We have been undergoing this task for the last 13 months and are in the early phase of a global roll-out of the application. We integrated it with our home brew'd CRM application that is also webBased. A team of five developers working almost exclusively on the application. Its a daunting task as the JabberWerx SDK is not well documented and deciphering the communication flow can be complex.

Why cisco insist on using a XMPP server for message transport is beyond me when newer more efficient realtime messaging mechanisms have existed for years, but trust me this piece of the stack will be your biggest hurdle. Once you're done you will have a beautiful cross-platform webBased Cti application.

[roshan.kumar.j]

Mark,

Thanks for your valuable feedback.

Due to the complexity and effort we didn't pursue the custom call control build, we are currently settled with out of the box Finesse client with some custom gadgets for customization for screen pop and integration with our custom CRM.

I agree with your comment, Cisco could have done a better job with a web based CTI client product.

Regards,

Roshan

[golmsted]

I agree with your comment, Cisco could have done a better job with a web based CTI client product.

If you have a recommendation of how we should have done this I am all ears. Finesse is not just a "CTI client". It is an integration container. Yes, the event notification mechanism is a bit cumbersome to work with, but it was best at the time.

Thanks,

Thanks,

g.

[Mark Pareja]

First off XMPP and Long Polling is just not a great experience for 24x7 continuous environments its very chatty at the client side (no pun intended).

Second using XMPP as a "Real-Time" message bus seems like it was a decision that originated from lack of options at the time. XMPP is a morbid technology no matter how many times Cisco tries to revive it, even SIP is being gradually replaced with WebRTC gateways and WebRTC clients.

For all the IoP's you consume supporting XMPP infrastructure you could support 5k-10 agents on a more modern platform design.

I would suggest looking at augmenting your offering first buy moving to a solution like otalk/stanza.io · GitHub that essentially wraps XMPP with WebSockets. No More Long Pulling, moving to this methodology would eventually allow you to completely drop XMPP entirely for a more modern message bus.

I'd suggest looking at the architecture of Jet , and maybe find one that is comparable and fits with in your application platform (Tomcat). 

Also please no more XML, i know its arbitrary but JSON is much more compatible with modern web applications.

Last but not least ALLOW US TO ENABLE CORS . . . . Please =-) .

Got much love for the 'blue', but if you want to stay in this market worry more about the platform and lean on your integrators to deliver "Canned" Solutions. I love what B+S has done with "Connect" for SalesForce. Hosted directly on the finesse server, integrated to Finesse and SalesForce very elegantly i would even go as far as using "Sexy" to describe the integration. 

[golmsted]

Thanks for your open and candid response. The good thing is that you didn't miss any of the things I (as Finesse Architect) have had on my Wish List for a pretty long time.

The trouble with replacing a complex application (CAD and CTIOS) with a new one is that it takes time to do it. You have to start somewhere and at the time (2011) things like Websockets were not generally available. XML was the standard for REST API's. So we built a solid Platform, using then hot technologies, and proceeded adding the features that Customers needed to adopt Finesse. As of the 11.0 release due out very soon, we finally have a mostly complete set. There are still odds and ends to go, but we have a solid application.

But alas, use, we are sitting here in top of (now outdated technologies) and on a stale UX. It is a about time for some changes.

You will be happy to know that Websockets (via SocketIO) and JSON are the new technologies standard in the BU. We had to get rid on IE9 support to get there, but I see these choices coming to a release hopefully in the near future. The latest LiveData coming in 11.0 uses these to great success.

What gives me headaches is figuring out how to deal with backwards compatibility and migration. You are right, going to JSON over Websockets gives a HUGE performance boost, but difficult to think how to support Customers who have invested in our existing platform without odd and complicated support matrix.

No promises when Finesse will get this stuff. We are in sore need of a UI refresh too. CC'd our Product Owner here and he is listening.

Cheers and thanks for the support!

Appreciatively,

g.

[roshan.kumar.j]

Thanks for the response Hemant.

We already had CTIOS based custom .NET thick client but our plan was to use Finesse which is completely web based.