Reference
UCaaS & CCaaS Glossary
Definitions for cloud communication and contact center terms — what they mean, how they work, and how they relate to EaseDial.
Contact Center
ACD
Definition: ACD (Automatic Call Distributor) is the system that distributes incoming calls from a queue to available agents based on configured routing rules.
When a call enters a contact center, the ACD evaluates available agents and routing rules — skills match, round robin, priority, or longest idle — and connects the caller to the appropriate agent. It works alongside the IVR, which collects caller input, and the call queue, which holds callers when all agents are busy.
Without an ACD, calls would need to be manually answered and transferred. The ACD automates distribution so the right agent receives each call without human redirection.
Related: Call Routing and Call Queues
Contact Center Metrics
AHT
Definition: AHT (Average Handle Time) is the average total time an agent spends on a customer interaction — including talk time, hold time, and after-call work.
AHT is calculated as: (Total Talk Time + Total Hold Time + Total After-Call Work) ÷ Total Calls Handled. It is one of the primary metrics used to evaluate contact center efficiency and agent performance.
AHT helps contact centers size staffing requirements, identify agents who may need coaching, and track the impact of process changes on efficiency. A lower AHT is not always better — it must be balanced against resolution quality.
Related: Analytics
AI
AI Chat Agent
Definition: An AI Chat Agent is software that conducts automated text conversations with website visitors or messaging channel users, handling questions, collecting information, and escalating to a human when needed.
When a visitor opens a chat on a website, the AI Chat Agent processes their message, identifies their intent, and responds based on configured knowledge. Unlike a rule-based chatbot that follows fixed decision trees, an AI Chat Agent handles varied phrasing and maintains conversational context. It transfers to a live agent when the request exceeds its scope.
AI Chat Agents handle FAQ inquiries, lead qualification, and basic customer assistance without a human agent for every conversation — reducing cost and enabling 24/7 availability.
Related: AI Chat Agent feature
AI
AI Receptionist
Definition: An AI Receptionist is an automated system that answers inbound phone calls, understands caller intent through natural language processing, and either handles the request or routes to the appropriate person — without requiring a human to pick up first.
When a call arrives, the AI Receptionist answers immediately, greets the caller, and listens to what they say. Unlike an IVR that uses menu presses, the AI understands spoken language. It answers common questions, collects information, and transfers to a human agent when needed — passing along a conversation summary.
Businesses use an AI Receptionist to handle call volume 24/7, capture after-hours inquiries, and reduce the number of routine calls that require a live agent.
Related: AI Receptionist feature, IVR
AI
AI Voice Agent
Definition: An AI Voice Agent is an automated system that handles inbound phone calls end-to-end — answering, detecting caller intent, retrieving information, and resolving or transferring calls — using natural language processing rather than touch-tone menus.
The AI Voice Agent answers an incoming call, identifies what the caller needs through natural conversation, accesses the configured knowledge base or data integrations, and either resolves the inquiry directly or transfers to a human agent. On transfer, it passes a full conversation summary.
AI Voice Agents handle routine, high-volume inbound calls — account status, FAQs, appointment requests — without putting callers on hold or requiring a human agent for each interaction.
Related: AI Voice Agent feature
Contact Center
Call Queue
Definition: A call queue is a virtual line that holds inbound callers when all agents are busy, releasing them to an agent in order as agents become available.
When a caller arrives and no agent is immediately available, they enter the call queue. They hear hold music or messages and receive position announcements. When an agent completes a call, the routing engine selects the next caller in the queue based on the configured strategy — round robin, longest idle, or skills-based — and connects them.
Without queuing, overflow calls would ring unanswered. A call queue ensures every caller waits in line rather than being lost, and that agents receive calls in a controlled, fair order.
Related: Call Queues feature, Call Routing
Contact Center
Call Recording
Definition: Call recording is the automatic capture and storage of telephone conversations for quality assurance, compliance, dispute resolution, and agent coaching.
In a cloud contact center, call recording is configured at the platform level — all calls, specific queues, or specific agents can be set to record automatically. Recordings are stored and searchable by date, agent, queue, or content. In EaseDial, AI transcription runs alongside recording to make the content searchable and summarized.
Call recording is used for quality audits, compliance documentation, dispute resolution, and coaching. It removes reliance on manual notes and provides an objective record of every interaction.
Related: Call Recording feature
Platform Type
CCaaS
Definition: CCaaS (Contact Center as a Service) is a cloud-delivered model for contact center infrastructure — including inbound routing, call queues, IVR, outbound dialers, omnichannel messaging, workforce management, and analytics — accessed via subscription without on-premise hardware.
Rather than operating a physical contact center with on-premise servers, PBX hardware, and dedicated network infrastructure, CCaaS moves all contact center capabilities to the cloud. Teams access agent interfaces, supervisor dashboards, and admin controls from a browser or application. Scaling is done by adding seats or features through the admin portal.
CCaaS reduces the capital cost and operational complexity of running a contact center. It enables remote and distributed teams to work from anywhere, and allows operations to scale without hardware procurement cycles.
Related: EaseDial CCaaS, Contact Center Platform
Contact Center Metrics
CSAT
Definition: CSAT (Customer Satisfaction Score) is a metric that measures how satisfied customers are with a specific interaction or service experience, typically collected through a post-interaction survey.
After an interaction — a support call, chat, or email — the customer is asked to rate their satisfaction, typically on a 1–5 or 1–10 scale. CSAT is calculated as the percentage of respondents who gave a positive rating. It is interaction-level and immediate, making it useful for flagging specific agents or channels that are underperforming.
CSAT provides direct customer feedback at the individual interaction level. Combined with call recordings and analytics, it helps identify which agents, queues, or processes are producing negative experiences.
Related: Analytics
Contact Center Metrics
FCR
Definition: FCR (First Contact Resolution) is the percentage of customer contacts that are fully resolved during the first interaction, without the customer needing to call back or follow up.
FCR is measured by tracking whether a customer makes a repeat contact about the same issue within a defined window — typically 24–72 hours. High FCR indicates that agents are effectively resolving issues on first contact. Low FCR suggests issues with agent training, routing accuracy, or knowledge base gaps.
FCR is a leading indicator of both customer satisfaction and operational efficiency. Repeat contacts increase handle volume and agent workload while decreasing customer experience. Improving FCR reduces costs and improves CSAT simultaneously.
Related: Analytics, Call Routing
Contact Center
IVR
Definition: IVR (Interactive Voice Response) is an automated phone menu system that greets inbound callers, presents options, and routes them based on their input — either touch-tone key presses or spoken responses.
When a call arrives at a business phone number, the IVR answers with a pre-recorded greeting and menu: "Press 1 for Sales, Press 2 for Support." The caller presses a key, and the IVR routes the call to the appropriate department, queue, or agent. Multi-level IVR supports sub-menus for more granular routing.
IVR automates the first step of every inbound call — identifying where the caller wants to go. It prevents calls from landing on the wrong agent, handles after-hours calls with configured routing, and supports self-service for common inquiries.
Related: IVR feature, Call Routing
Contact Center
Omnichannel
Definition: Omnichannel communication is the practice of managing customer interactions across multiple channels — voice, chat, email, WhatsApp, social messaging — from a unified platform where all conversations share the same customer history.
In an omnichannel platform, every channel feeds into a shared inbox and a single customer record. An agent can see a customer's prior phone call, WhatsApp message, and email thread in one view — regardless of which channel they are currently using. Routing rules apply across channels, and conversation history is preserved between sessions and channels.
Without omnichannel, customers must repeat themselves when switching channels, and agents lack context when handling contacts from customers who have communicated before through a different channel. Omnichannel eliminates those friction points.
Related: Omnichannel feature
Contact Center
Predictive Dialer
Definition: A predictive dialer is an outbound calling system that dials multiple numbers simultaneously, predicting agent availability to connect answered calls to available agents while dropping unanswered calls.
The predictive dialer uses algorithms based on call duration, abandonment rate, and agent availability to dial ahead of when agents finish current calls. When a live person answers, the call is immediately transferred to an available agent. Unanswered calls, busy signals, and voicemails are filtered out automatically.
Predictive dialers maximize agent talk time by eliminating the manual dialing and wait time between calls. They are used in high-volume outbound operations — debt collection, sales campaigns, appointment setting — where agent productivity is the primary optimization goal.
Related: Campaign Dialer
Contact Center
Preview Dialer
Definition: A preview dialer is an outbound calling mode that presents the agent with contact information before each call is placed, allowing the agent to review and prepare before dialing.
The agent receives a preview screen showing the contact's name, history, and any relevant notes. The agent reviews the information and initiates the call — either manually or after a configured delay. Preview dialing is slower than progressive or predictive modes but produces more informed conversations.
Preview dialing is used when the quality of each conversation matters more than call volume — complex sales, account management follow-ups, or sensitive customer situations where the agent needs context before speaking.
Related: Campaign Dialer
Contact Center
Progressive Dialer
Definition: A progressive dialer is an outbound calling mode that automatically dials the next number on a list as soon as an agent becomes available, without the agent having to dial manually.
When an agent finishes a call and enters a ready state, the progressive dialer automatically places the next call from the lead list. The agent waits while the system dials. If the number is not answered, the dialer moves to the next contact automatically.
Progressive dialing balances efficiency and control — it is faster than preview mode because agents do not manually dial, but slower than predictive because calls are only placed when an agent is definitely ready. It is suited to campaigns where a dropped call would be harmful.
Related: Campaign Dialer
Telephony
SIP
Definition: SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) is the signaling protocol used to initiate, manage, and terminate real-time communication sessions — including voice calls, video calls, and messaging — over IP networks.
When a VoIP call is placed, SIP handles the signaling: establishing the connection between two endpoints, negotiating the audio format, and terminating the session when the call ends. SIP trunking extends this to connect a business phone system to the public telephone network via the internet rather than traditional phone lines.
SIP enables cloud business phone systems and VoIP calling. It is the underlying protocol that allows EaseDial to deliver phone calls over the internet without physical telephone lines.
Related: Business Phone
Contact Center
Skills-Based Routing
Definition: Skills-based routing is a call routing strategy that matches incoming calls to agents based on defined skill attributes — such as language, product knowledge, or account tier — rather than simply routing to the next available agent.
Each agent is assigned one or more skill attributes in the platform. When a call arrives, the routing engine evaluates the call's requirements — set by IVR input, caller data, or AI intent detection — and matches the call to an available agent whose skills align. If no perfectly matched agent is available, the system applies fallback rules.
Skills-based routing improves first contact resolution by ensuring callers reach agents who are qualified to help them. It reduces transfers and repeat contacts, which directly affects both customer satisfaction and operational efficiency.
Related: Call Routing feature
Business Phone
Softphone
Definition: A softphone is a software application that enables users to make and receive phone calls over the internet using a computer, tablet, or smartphone — without requiring a physical desk phone.
A softphone connects to a VoIP or cloud phone system through the internet. Users access it through a desktop app or browser. It provides all the functionality of a desk phone — calling, transferring, conferencing, voicemail — plus features that physical phones cannot offer, such as call transcription and CRM integration.
Softphones eliminate the need for desk phone hardware and allow teams to work from any location. For distributed or remote teams, a softphone is the primary device for business communications.
Related: Business Phone
Platform Type
UCaaS
Definition: UCaaS (Unified Communications as a Service) is a cloud-delivered model for business communication that consolidates voice calling, video meetings, team messaging, and related tools into a single platform accessed via subscription.
Instead of managing a separate business phone system, conferencing service, and messaging app, UCaaS consolidates them into one service. Teams make calls, join meetings, and send messages from the same application. Administration — adding users, configuring routing, managing numbers — is done through a single admin portal.
UCaaS reduces the cost and complexity of managing multiple communication tools. It enables consistent communication infrastructure for teams of any size, from small businesses to enterprise organizations with distributed workforces.
Related: EaseDial UCaaS, Business Phone
Contact Center
Workforce Management
Definition: Workforce management (WFM) in a contact center context is the process of forecasting call volume, scheduling agents, tracking real-time availability, and monitoring performance to ensure staffing matches demand.
WFM uses historical call volume data to forecast how many calls will arrive at what times. Those forecasts drive scheduling — which agents work which shifts. Real-time monitoring tracks whether the actual volume matches the forecast and whether agents are adhering to their schedules. Performance monitoring tracks metrics like AHT, occupancy, and adherence.
Without WFM, staffing is based on guesswork — leading to overstaffing (wasted cost) or understaffing (long wait times, abandoned calls). WFM provides the data and process to match staffing to actual demand.
Related: Workforce Management feature
See EaseDial in action
Book a demo and walk through the platform — UCaaS, CCaaS, and AI in one workspace.