Communication configuration management overview
Civica Cx Housing supports the generation of three communication channels: Printer, Email, and SMS. In addition, the integral CRM call handling capability includes the tracking of Tweets received into one or more nominated Twitter accounts, where valid customer interactions can be automatically captured as a new CRM communication, along with any associated images or video clips.
To support the distribution of letters, any number of available network printers can be configured to ensure the effective handling of multiple document queues. Similarly, for email and SMS communications, all supporting servers and services are maintained as separate records. For each channel, setting up a new communication service is very straightforward, with only minimal information needed to secure successful activation. As the variations in required 'Printer' and 'SMS' communication services may be only minimal, it is possible to clone an existing service and apply the required changes to the new copy, thus saving time and effort. An introduction to these communication channels, along with the polling opportunities for social media messaging is included in the table below.
Communication Channel |
Description |
Printer |
The printer share name, network location and IP address are all required to successfully configure a new printer. This information can be obtained by viewing the printer properties on your PC or laptop (Devices and Printers ). |
In order to send and receive email, an SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) server is required. Most email systems that send mail over the Internet use SMTP to send messages from one server to another; the messages can then be retrieved with an email client (an application such as MS Outlook). |
|
SMS |
Bulk messaging is commonly used for alerts and reminders but also for more general information and communication with tenants and other social housing contacts. Numerous providers are available on the market and the vast majority permit mobile numbers to be uploaded en bloc. Web services manage the SMS dispatch process, automatic notification of delivery status and response handling rules e.g. automatic acknowledgements, collation and redistribution of responses, etc. |
Through API controls, security tokens can be automatically generated against the 'business identify' Twitter handle of the housing organisation, forging an open communication channel between the two systems, ready for subsequent tracking of social media interactions. Once configured, all Tweets can be monitored and matched against the relevant contacts using their recorded communication details, specifically a valid Twitter account name. |
Separate help articles have been created for each key aspect of communication configuration management, including: