Call recording with a desk phone and laptop

[MisanoPayments]

As a default for doing business I need to record my calls to satisfy Compliance. I have been using a phone app called Cube but it has recently become unreliable. With the FCA now focussing not just on client comms involving a trade(s) but all comms that lead up to a trade(s), I cannot rely on the app anymore.

Can anyone help/recommend what to do? I've a Dell XPS laptop and a Polycom HD voice desk phone. Can I use software on the PC and/or phone to have a totally reliable call recording solution, where I have the phone connected to the PC for VOIP?

Thanks.

[ziggy328]

Couldn't you just switch from calls to webex? You can record everything under webex and even if they want to dial into webex rather than use a laptop, they still can.

[RizzoTheRat]

I don't know what the costs are but we use Skype for Business as VOIP phones, with a normal phone number. Skype has the option to record calls.

[Mr Pointy]

Which model phone do you have? Some of them can record to a USB stick:

https://www.poly.com/content/dam/www/products/phon...

[MisanoPayments]

Thanks all for the responses. I shall have a further look at Skype and Webex. I didn't know some of these phones had a USB stick recording function - very clever, but of course I'd have the phone (model 310) without that capability!

I'll get in touch with my current provider too (Virtual Landline) as it looks like have the tech for me to use the phone as a VOIP handset if not the recording function.

[MisanoPayments]

Mr Pointy said:

Which model phone do you have? Some of them can record to a USB stick:

https://www.poly.com/content/dam/www/products/phon...

Thinking about this some more, I could possibly get one of their models with the USB capability and get that phone set up with my current provider to get me going. My Polycom phone owes me nothing as my serviced office were giving some away last year. Thanks for bringing that to my attention.

[Mr Pointy]

MisanoPayments said:

Mr Pointy said:

Which model phone do you have? Some of them can record to a USB stick:

https://www.poly.com/content/dam/www/products/phon...

Thinking about this some more, I could possibly get one of their models with the USB capability and get that phone set up with my current provider to get me going. My Polycom phone owes me nothing as my serviced office were giving some away last year. Thanks for bringing that to my attention.

Before you splash out on a new phone just get the supplier to confirm that the recording facility is enabled out of the box & you don't have buy an additional licence or something else to actually make it work.

[ArsE82]

If you're FCA-regulated I wouldn't be messing around with a USB-stick plugged in to a phone. What happens if the USB stick gets corrupted? Or goes missing?

Maybe look at a more grown-up VoIP system that has call-recording as an option that satisfies all your compliance requirements? They'll all come with decent soft-phones too that you can use rather than a desk phone, and all sit around £10pcm (maybe a bit more if you need longer-term recording storage).

[MisanoPayments]

Thanks both.

I'll give my provider a call in the morning to confirm a couple of things. If they cannot offer recording facilities, I have found a couple of others who can, and will be happy to transfer my number over.

Good point on the USB stick. With that method I'd also have to transfer the calls to my PC after each day or two which of course is not ideal!

[Bullett]

Make sure you are compliant with all the relevant regulations. Most of my banking and financial services clients need between 5 and 25 years of storage for call recording. 7 is pretty typical. Some of these low level recording solutions don't support long term storage.
Make sure the recordings are secure, properly encrypted at a file level not just storage level.
Do you deal with credit cards? you will have to ensure PCI compliance as well.
Then GDPR, only keep what you must keep and make sure that all calls are properly tagged and stored. You need to be able to find them later on and possibly even delete them if required (and another regulation doesn't trump that request).
Make sure you can export all your data if you need to leave.

[MisanoPayments]

Thanks Bullett, no, no credit cards involved. This is purely to cover mine and my client's backs when trades are being booked and any conversations leading up to that. The Android app has worked well but recently has become unreliable so I have to ditch it for a better solution.