FLASKAMP AG
FLASKAMP AG - A gesamtkunstwerk is our goal
FLASKAMP AG has worked successfully for many years in the fields of advertising, public relations and multimedia. Our customers especially appreciate the ability to combine these four areas in a unified concept. The goal: communication in one coherent message. From classic advertising to PR and event organization, to a modern look in the new media.
The problem definition
FLASKAMP has modelled its internal workflows using FileMaker agency software. This product was developed by the Munich software house DeskTop Organisation GmbH (DTO) to manage complex customer relationships. Calculation, time tracking, correspondence, address management and financial bookkeeping were previously managed inefficiently with a variety of individual software modules. These tasks can now all be accomplished from one application. Business processes were all put on a new footing with the FileMaker Pro Database solution.
As part of their switch to FileMaker, FLASKAMP sought a way to comfortably dial contacts directly from the agency software without having to enter numbers by hand. With a.i.s. the conditions were already perfect. All the address data are stored with other company data, and an unlimited number of personal entries can be associated with a company. Furthermore, several telephone numbers may be associated with each person in fields such as company, mobile phone and private numbers.
Thanks to TeamCall Server and simple programming with Macintosh Applescript, it was possible to connect the telephone switch directly with the address data from a.i.s., both under Mac OS 9 and Mac OS X. Now dialing can be done with a simple click. The Windows computers in the company (IT, bookkeeping, and media) can also use this function because the ilink server can receive commands through the standard TAPI interface. A specially created Delphi program makes this possible, although FileMaker does not directly support such a function. Using the TAPI interface it is even possible to dial directly from within Outlook. This solution is being used in a network with 45 Macs and 15 PCs.
The solution
Our decision to implement the telephone solution ourselves was easy after finding the ilink TeamCall Server. When the FLASKAMP AG purchased a new telephone switch compatibility with ilink software was a prerequisite. This didnt significantly limit our choices, as ilink supports the standard interface CSTA. The installation of the test server and creating the connection to FileMaker was quite fast thanks to the examples provided. Although connecting to the Windows FileMaker installation required more time, this was also accomplished on one day.
Since introducing a.i.s. and adopting ilink software, colleagues dial almost exclusively from within a.i.s. This is also due to the fact that all current phone messages are stored there together with telephone numbers. There is one function afforded by the ilink application that we dont use. Although it is possible to automatically associate incoming calls with addresses, it was decided against using the use of these pop-up windows.
Hardware and Software used
- direct/TeamCall Server from ilink
- ca. 60 users
- Alcatel Omni PCX phone system
- Agency software a.i.s. based on FileMaker
- TeamCall Server under Windows (on an existing server)
Link: http://www.flaskamp.de
[ back ]
|
|
|
