The Greatest companies in the world are known for their stellar customer services. Customer satisfaction is not only their goal but a priority. Many of you must be familiar with the book "Aesop and the CEO, where the author, David Noonan highlights the exceptional services offered by Southwest Airlines. Noonan points out how the company is managing to convert each of its first- time customers to a lifetime user. The book clearly emphasizes the fact that a good customer experience can lead to customer loyalty.
According to a recent study customers leave a brand when:
- Customers made to wait for unreasonable lengths of time.
- Right customer executives not assigned to the customers for solving their queries.
- Customers forced to pass around with multiple people for getting the final solution.
The above reasons are self-explanatory of the importance of the call centers in:
An efficient call center with trained staff, adequate infrastructure, and advanced technology can go a long way in flourishing your business. Call centers software plays a significant role in customer retention.
What is Call Center Software?
Customer satisfaction and engagement is the sole objective with which both the inbound and outbound call centers work diligently to solve customer queries and maintain customer relationships. Here comes the role of the Call Center Software. Customer relationship management (CRM) is a difficult task that requires flawless technical support. So, call centers leverage technologies to deliver customers a remarkably pleasant experience.
Call center software is a tool that assists the call centers to ease, micromanage, and expedite their day to day activities, thereby enhancing the customer experience. This software is loaded with features to ease the processes involved and reduce unnecessary manual work.
Below is the list of popular features of call center software:
- Call recording
- Call barging
- Toll-free services
- Call termination
- Conference calling
- Call queues
- Interactive voice response system
- Automatic Call Routing (ACD) /Automatic call distributor
- Voicemail, transcription, and notifications
- Virtual Private Network solutions
- Disposition codes
- Predictive dialler
- Voice Logging/ Recording
- VoIP phone systems
- Campaign Management
- Reporting/Analytics
- SIP Trunks
- Authentication
- Database screen pops
- PBX
Leveraging technology can achieve higher productivity and reduce workload. A plethora of software is available in the market. One has to choose according to one's requirement and budget. If call centers have budget constraints then, Free and Open Source call center software will help them to manage their work efficiently.
We have collated the list of best free and open source call center software for your business.
FREE and Open source Call Centre Software
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*Comparison Chart of the 10 free and open source Call Center Software
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*(Apart from the free and open source software category, we have included two more free online call center software that are not open source but available for free to use online-ActiveDemand and Crazy Call)
If you are looking for a highly sophisticated, all features enabled, customizable and free and open source call center software, and then there is no competitor of Bitrix 24 in this category. It is a one-stop solution for what your entire call center needs. Bitrix 24 is free and open-source call center software with powerful features like workgroup collaboration, task and project management, multi-channel CRM, and a free helpdesk. It comes with fully loaded features and cloud storage that can impress anyone. It has a sound tracking and broadcasting competence. It has both a desktop and mobile app version. It is free for 12 users with storage of 5GB and 100 call recordings per month and 1000 free emails.
Features:
- Virtual PBX
- Call Recording
- IVR
- Call Routing
- Employee Extensions
- Robocalling
- Caller ID
- Automatic Dialer
- Multichannel features
- Queue and route intelligently
- Delegate chit-chat to virtual assistants
- Reports and Analytics
VICIdial is free call center software. It is an open source software for all call center solution. The main screen supports 16 different languages, with options to easily create your customized version. The best part is that everything is on one screen. They also host a forum to answer your queries. It has advanced predictive dialler features in a single display.
Features:
- Load balancing of calls between Inbound servers
- Works without any specific proprietary hardware
- Automatic Call Distribution (ACD)
- Automated reports
- Call transfer,
- Call Conferencing
- Inbound call routing
- Call Recording
- Predictive dialler
- Scheduling
- Voice mail detection
- 3rd party verifications
Ekiga is a free and open source call center software used widely by call centers for video conferencing, messaging, and softphone. It supports several codecs. It is user-friendly. Users get a free SIP address. It lets you make voice and video calls to any other person around the world who also has a SIP address.
Features:
- Call Hold
- Call Transfer
- Call Forwarding
- Message Waiting Indications
- Calls History
- Call Monitoring:
- Call Auto-Answer:
- HD sound quality
- PC-To-Phone calls under Linux
- Silence Detection by algorithms
- Echo Cancellation
- Advanced Address book
- Address Book access from a remote LDAP directory
4. OrekaGPL by OrecX
OrekaGPL is a popular free call center software. Almost all call centers record calls for training and quality service purpose. Therefore, they must have robust software that records calls and keep the data secure. Oreka GPL facilitates this for call centers. The Oreka GPL is a free call recording software that is used by several call centers. It is ready to work in just half-hour of installation. Once installed, there are no other expenses. It allows Voice over Internet Protocol interface. The system can be customized. This open-source recording project currently supports VoIP and sound device based capture. Recorded calls are stored in any database and can be retrieved via the web. Oreka GPL records call passively.
Features:
- Automatic audio segmentation
- Voice activity detection
- Real-Time Monitoring
- Live chat system
- Archiving & Retention
- IVR / Voice Recognition
- Predictive Dialer
- Campaign Management
- Call Logging
- Call Scripting
- Inbound Call Center
- Workforce Management
- Call Sharing
- Distributed Call Recording
- File Transfer
- Recording Bookmarking
- Scheduled Recording
- Screen Activity Recording
5. Linphone
Affordable call costs, the lower requirement of hardware, and unbelievable features make the Voice over Internet protocol popular than traditional call methods. If your quest is for powerful VoIP software for your call center, then your search should invariably end with Linphone, which is an open source call center software. Linphone Desktop 4 is a VoIP/SIP platform for advanced audio/video calling in professional places and can be used by call centers to connect within the organization as well with specific clients. It is a Session Initiated Protocol based platform for calling and keeping call records. It works with both Mobile and desktop.
Features:
- It offers a very intuitive user platform where all functions are accessible to users smoothly.
- Remote provisioning
- Call management (pause and resume)
- It provides live chat option and while on call the chat view is accessible
- Collective call and chat history
- Call history
- HD video calls in full-screen mode (H.264, H.265, and VP8 codecs supported)
- Optimized audio/video quality through algorithms
- HD voice
- Supported languages: English, French
- Account creation assistant
- Call transfer
- Auto-answer
- Call quality indicator
- Call Security with SIP/TLS, SRTP, and ZRTP encryption
- Call recording and replay
- Echo cancellation
- conference calls
- Picture and file sharing
- Call statistics- advanced
6. Asterisk
If you are searching for a communication system for you, call center than Asterisk should be your first choice. Asterisk is a complete call center communications system. Asterisk is a popular call center software used worldwide. Asterisk is free and open-source.
Features:
- Authentication
- Call Detail Records
- Call Forwarding
- Call Monitoring
- Call Queuing
- Interactive Voice Response (IVR)
- Call Recording
- Call Retrieval
- Caller ID on Call Waiting
- Call Routing
- Call Transfer
- Caller ID
- Blacklists
- Music on Transfer:
- Caller ID Blocking
- Conference
- Call Waiting
- Dial by Name
- Do Not Disturb
- SMS Messaging
- VoIP Gateways
7. ICTBroadcast
If you are looking for an all-in-one autodialer, then ICTBroadcast has a lot of features to offer you. ICTBroadcast is an open-source, auto dialer software. An auto dialer is software used to dial phone numbers from a database. It is used to leave voice messages for individuals to dial phone numbers for an administrator. Auto dialers save a lot of time by dialing automatically.
Features:
-
- Calls using VoIP, FoIP, or PSTN.
- Call recording
- Bulk messaging
- Campaign management
- Dashboard with Illustrative statistics on the front page.
- Enhanced GUI,
- Fast data adding option
- Multiple themes and layout
8. MicroSIP
It is a useful software for small call centers handling fewer amounts of data on an everyday basis. It has softphone features based on VoIP technology.
Features:
- It allows high-quality VoIP calls
- It has an open SIP protocol.
- You will get free person-to-person calls and cheap international calls.
- Echo cancellation algorithm
- It has an inbuilt system for detection of voice activity
- Call Encryption
- Multilanguage Support
- It lets the user choose the SIP provider cloud
- Fewer system resources are required to use this software.
9. VMukti 1.1
This open-source call center software allows both inbound and outbound support with a range of dialing modes (predictive, preview, progressive and broadcast).
Features:
- Automatic Call Distribution (ACD)
- Call transfer,
- Call Conferencing,
- 3rd party verifications
- Voice Logging,
- Monitoring & Agent Quality Management
- Call Detail Record (CDR) and Reporting
- Call handling features
- Predictive dialler with data screen pop up,
- Auto-answer,
- Filtering
- Call transfer, Call Conferencing, 3rd party verifications
- Web-based solution
- Authentication
- Interactive voice response system
- Database screen pops
10. GoAutodial
Goautodial is open source call center software that lets users make phone system for their call center. It also has a very powerful predictive dialer and Automated Call Routing system.
Features:
- Reports and Analytics
- Personal Voicemail
- Scheduled call-backs
- Real-time Dashboard
- Call barging
- Call recording
- Predictive dialing
- Call Segmentation Filters
- Automatic dialing
- VoIP trunks lines
- Technical assistance via tickets, chat, and phone,
- Interactive voice response system
- Automatic Call Distribution
- Higher quality configurations
- call recording
- Scalable software
Apart from the free and open source software category, we have included two more free online call center software that are not open source, but available to use free online. It is prudent to add these two as they are popular and offer a wide range of features for call center solutions. These are: ActiveDemand and Crazy Call.
It is free call center software that comes with robust features that you will not find anywhere else. It is a call tracking software that supports all devices Devices -Windows, Linux, Android, iPhone/iPad Mac, and Windows Mobile.
Its powerful functions make it stand apart from the pool of various call tracker software. Its detailed call analysis helps you in boosting your business. It has a pre-built campaign, and it is such an intricate platform that if you receive a call from a customer, its tracker program can tell you which sites the caller has visited before visiting your website and calling you. It is not a simple call tracking software but an overall marketing automation tool. Active Demand software leverages technologies like Encoded links, Cookies, Geo-IP to track individual customers.
Features:
- The free version works for one user
- SMS Campaigns
- Elaborate Reports and Analytics
- Social Media post scheduling
- Automatic Lead Distribution
- Call Attribution
- Automated RoboCall campaigns
Crazy call is a free call center software that comes with a lot of embedded features for the smooth functioning of the call centers.
Features:
-
- View all metrics of projects on dashboard
- Call recording
- Monitor the current activity of call center executives
- Analyze the existing data with multiple parameters:
- 13 different types of exportable reports to track agent call data
- Calling trends chart for analysis
- Call routing
- Create call scripts as a tool for cold calling
- Focuses interface without distraction
- Auto dialler
- Auto scheduling calls
- Conference call
- Sorting callers through IVR
- Unlimited Inbound calls
- Virtual phone number for free
- Toll-free number allotment
Conclusion:
Remember, customers are the most valuable assets and the most demanding stakeholders a company possesses. Customer lifetime value (CLV) is the outcome of the relationship factor that companies share with their customers. A call center helpdesk is the first place where your customer evaluates the commitment and responsibility you exhibit towards them. The investments in customer service solutions create a long term value proposition for the businesses. One should never refrain from investing in technologies that assist in managing customer relationships.
A user-intuitive, easy to install, and scalable free open source software would surely be the first choice of everyone. The essential features for call center software were jotted down for you at the beginning of this article. When it comes to you can follow the below steps to choose the right software for your business needs:
Steps to select the best call center software for your business:
- List down all the features you require for the smooth functioning of your business. The thumb rule is- the software that accommodates more features will be more beneficial for your business.
- You should also keep in mind whether the software providers give technical assistance or not.
- Check the hardware support. Software with minimal hardware requirement should be preferred.
- See whether the software is cloud-based or browser-based software. Based on the type of business you do, it is a significant point.
- Choosing software would also depend on the amount of work you have, the number of the user account you require so, finalize only when the software can accommodate these for you.
Share your thoughts in the comments section below. If you have used any of the call center software mentioned above, then do share your feedbackwith us.
If you wish to refer to any call center software or any other software category other than the call center software, do look at our software directory.
