Call Recording should be a one-time purchase

Why should call recording be a one-time purchase?

The initial selection of a call recording vendor typically entails quite a bit of work:

1) research and identification of requirements

2) market comparison of industry vendors

3) due diligence

If the relationship is maintained properly, the customer should never have to go through those steps again. The selected call recording vendor should be able to provide exemplary service, seamless transitions through evolving phone system technologies, consistent introduction of value-added enhancements, and an extremely high value to price.

Let's dispel some myths relative to the purchase of a call recording solution:

- Upgrade paths do not need to be a complete call recording rebuy
Updates and full upgrades/point releases should be included as part of your maintenance program. New features should be added continually as part of a valuable product evolution, rather than to save for the next big release with a hefty upgrade price tag.

Upgrading to VoIP shouldn’t require a entirely new call recording system
- At most, the recording methodologies may change, but you shouldn’t need to purchase an entire new solution. - VoIP recording systems use either Packet Sniffers or API connections with the phone system itself.

Implementing a new phone system should not necessitate a new call recording solution
- Many call recording methodologies interact with different phone systems in the same manner using the same equipment. - Direct API recording would require a different connector dependent on which phone system you have.
- You may be changing phone systems, but you’ll still be using the same core software solution.

The bottom line is you shouldn't have to rebuy your entire call recording solution every time your environment changes.

In the call recording marketplace, competitve replacement programs aren’t always what they seem to be

Are you facing an upgrade of your call recording software?


Every call recording software vendor offers some form of discount on the next upgrade of their software. The upgrade, typically a major new release with added features and often an overhaul of the user interface, varies greatly in their pricing models.


Some vendors charge a reasonable upgrade fee, around 10-15% of the original purchase price. Some of the larger companies charge upwards of 50%. At that point, the customer is locked in and forced into what basically amounts to a re-buy situation.

Some creative vendors have crafted “competitive replacement programs” which basically reward a new customer with a "credit" toward the new purchase.

CSI's own upgrade pricing model, already part of the industry’s lowest cost of ownership, does not include any “competitive replacement programs”.


We don't see a need to extend any special discounts or sale prices, as our prices are already very competitive. It's a unique position to not have to respond to these programs – upon closer analysis, our prospects and customers are also smart enough to cut through the mirage of a “competitive rescue” program and see that the value of Virtual Observer is already far beyond what can be presented with any fictitious discounting.

CSI customers with an active maintenance contract always get free full-system software upgrades, gain robust features with periodic free updates, enjoy rapid implementation and receive world class support.

Bottom line: be wary of special "competitive replacement programs". Fears over recent industry consolidation is valid and creates many questions, such as:


"My software was just purchased by a much larger company. Will they force me to upgrade to their software, which is much more expensive?"


"Will the acquiring company honor existing maintenance agreements?"

"Without knowing much about us, how will they support our own unique needs?"

Upgrades to call recording software are free for actively supported customers

We are still one of only a few (if any) call recording vendors who enable supported customers to obtain the latest and greatest version of product at no charge for software. We've upgraded 75% of our customer base and will continue to transition the rest of the VO customers with active maintenance contracts.

3.0 customers are also the beneficiaries of the additional features added to the existing product - for example, the Live Desktop feature set is an incredibly valuable tool for managing agents. This could have been a standalone add-on module, but the benefits are so great from a QA perspective and customer satisfaction standpoint, we had to include it as a standard feature. For more information about the Live Desktop functionality, please contact your CSI sales rep.