NICE Uptivity On-Demand Overview

NICE Uptivity On-Demand is part of the base Uptivity installation, but is enabled only if the customer requests on-demand recording. You can choose to use either web-based NICE Uptivity On-Demand, or server-based NICE Uptivity On-Demand using a desktop application. The differences between these two methods are discussed in the next two sub-headings. The remaining sub-headings in this topic apply no matter which method you choose for NICE Uptivity On-Demand.

Server-Based NICE Uptivity On-Demand

The server-based method of NICE Uptivity On-Demand recording allows users to do the following via a desktop application:

  • Control (in other words, start or stop) recording of their interactions. For example, some agents may only need to record certain types of calls, or some agents may receive calls that should not be recorded, such as personal calls. If your organization uses NICE Uptivity Screen Recording, synchronized audio and screen recording can be started and stopped using the NICE Uptivity On-Demand client.
  • Control (in other words, start or stop) recording of their screen activity independent of a call. For example, the agent may want to record an email or chat conversation. This feature is only available if your organization uses NICE Uptivity Screen Recording and the Screen Capture Client is running on the agent's workstation.
  • Start and stop blackouts in recordings when sensitive data might be recorded, such as credit card numbers or protected health information. Required Permissions — Allow Blackout Start and Stop
  • Add information to update the database call record, such as caller name or subject of the call.

You can configure NICE Uptivity On-Demand to offer all of this functionality, or only some of it. For example, if you want to record all calls, you can configure NICE Uptivity On-Demand so that agents have blackout and update functionality but cannot start or stop recording.

The NICE Uptivity On-Demand client application must be installed and configured on every workstation where it will be used. The customer is typically responsible for user workstations.

When the NICE Uptivity On-Demand client launches, it tries to connect to the server (or servers) configured during installation. A balloon tip displays the status of the connection attempt.

If the connection fails at start-up, or if there is a disruption in the server that causes a disconnection, an error message appears. The application will try to reconnect every 10 seconds.

After ten failed reconnect attempts, the client will enter standby mode, and you will need to select Reconnect from the menu to try again. If the client is not connected to the server, you cannot record, the NICE Uptivity On-Demand icon is disabled, and On-Demand menu choices are limited.

When connected, the client sends the local machine’s currently logged in username and domain (if any), as well as the machine’s name, to the designated NICE Uptivity On-Demand server.

Some organizations use NICE Uptivity On-Demand to supplement fulltime or QA recording that is controlled in other ways. To support this scenario, agents may be granted the Notify On-Demand Recordings Only permission. Agents can then see when their on-demand recordings start and stop, but they cannot tell when they are being recorded by another method. They can also stop recording, and start/stop blackouts, only for those recordings they started with the NICE Uptivity On-Demand client. The options will be disabled at all other times.

Web-Based NICE Uptivity On-Demand

Web-based Uptivity NICE Uptivity On-Demand allows users to do the following from a web portal:

  • Control (in other words, start or stop) recording of their calls. For example, some agents may only need to record certain types of calls, or some agents may receive calls that should not be recorded, such as personal calls. If your organization uses NICE Uptivity Screen Recording, synchronized audio and screen recording can be started and stopped using the NICE Uptivity On-Demand client.
  • Start and stop blackouts in recordings when sensitive data might be recorded, such as credit card numbers or protected health information. Required Permissions — Allow Blackout Start and Stop
  • Add information to the database call record, such as caller name or subject of the call.

Web-based NICE Uptivity On-Demand does not support desktop-only recording control (that is, starting or stopping desktop recording with no associated audio recording).

For security reasons, the NICE Uptivity On-Demand web portal does not support saving either your username or password within your web browser. However, you can have Uptivity remember your username so you do not have to type it each time you log in. You can also use the Forgot Password feature, just as in the main NICE Uptivity Web Portal.

NICE Uptivity On-Demand Users

See Roles and Permissions Overview and New/Edit User Page for more information.

The following user account settings apply to agents who will be recorded on-demand:

  • System Username — This is the network ID the agent uses to log in to Windows (not the fully qualified user name).
  • System Domain — This is the agent's Windows domain. The field is optional.

Each agent to be recorded on-demand must have a unique username, even if they are on different Windows domains. Duplicate usernames will result in login failures. The logs will report that multiple agents were returned with the same username.

Additionally, users must be assigned roles that have NICE Uptivity On-Demand permissions.

Screen Recording NICE Uptivity On-Demand

This feature is available only from server-based NICE Uptivity On-Demand, and only to organizations using NICE Uptivity Screen Recording. The Screen Capture API (SCAPI) must be installed on the agent's workstation, and the agent's account must be configured for screen recording. Otherwise, desktop recording will be disabled in NICE Uptivity On-Demand.

If you use NICE Uptivity On-Demand to start audio recording, and your system includes NICE Uptivity Screen Recording, the audio and screen activity will both be recorded. There is no need to start desktop recording separately.

If you use server-based NICE Uptivity On-Demand, and allow agent-initiated blackouts, be aware that agents cannot initiate a blackout in a desktop-only recording. Blackouts are dependent on call-related events.

Information Field Updates

You can configure Uptivity so that the user-defined fields can be updated using NICE Uptivity On-Demand. For more information regarding these fields, see Terminology Settings.

When agents update call records using NICE Uptivity On-Demand, they can insert or replace information in user-defined fields, but they cannot view any previous information that might have been in the fields. Access to each field is controlled by a separate permission. For details, see Managing Roles.

These special characters can cause issues and are therefore not permitted in call record updates:

  • Angle brackets (< or >)
  • Exclamation points (!)
  • Equal signs (=)
  • Plus signs (+)
  • Percent signs (%)

Schedule Considerations

See Recording Schedules Overview for more information.

Uptivity NICE Uptivity On-Demand requires use of one or more specific schedules where the Type is On-Demand. Keep the following in mind as you work with NICE Uptivity On-Demand recording schedules:

  • Agents who are recorded on-demand are given the privilege of deciding whether their calls are recorded. Therefore, the schedule typically should never expire.
  • Target Percent should be set to 100; however, the percentage is ignored in favor of the start and stop events received from the client application.
  • You do not have to enter any Schedule Requirements. This makes the schedule available for all users, although other factors may be involved as well (such as permissions, installation of the software client, and call direction).
  • Alternatively, you can use Schedule Requirements to limit the schedule to specific users, extensions/devices, ACD groups, or ACD gates.