Charlton uses a Wide Area Network (WAN) to connect the corporate headquarters and data center in Madison, Wisconsin, with its Performance Centers. The WAN is used to distribute campaign and administrative calls to the Performance Centers, and to access management data and the Internet.

Madison and Performance Center employees use Company Local Area Networks (LANs) for communication and data retrieval.


Database and Network

Charlton uses ISIS, a proprietary database system for management, reporting, and billing. The system, originally developed in 2000, has been refined over the years to meet the needs of the Company's changing business mix and clients.

At the end of every workday, data from each performance center's transactions are transferred from performance equipment located inside the data center to a server in the same data center, which processes and automatically delivers data to a distribution system. It generates and e-mails customized client reports to clients before 6:00 a.m. CST the next day. It also loads standard management reports into the internal network at the same time. In addition to the standard reports, managers can produce ad-hoc and customized project specific reports for any specified time period.

The WAN and LANs also are used for campaign operations. Campaign Programmers in the Madison office use the network to download campaign leads and scripts, and to perform system maintenance. The Information Technology staff uses the network to monitor and administer network traffic, as well as the inbound phone switch, predictive dialers, digital recorders, and printers. Sales, Client Services, and Operations personnel use the system, either internally or remotely, to monitor and schedule campaign performance.

Charlton uses Global Crossing and Charter Business for long distance and data distribution services, respectively. Both administrative and operational telephone systems use VoIP infrastructure with QoS. All major operating system equipment is located in the data center, which is connected to the Public Telephone Network by three DS-3s. Madison and each of the three centers are connected to the Internet (and to the other sites) via a fiber optic network.


Loss Prevention/Control

Charlton has a disaster recovery plan to permit operations to continue in the event of a major disaster in the Madison area. Charlton backs up three weeks of data for each performance center, both within the network and on disks at a secure offsite location at the end of each workday. Using this data, Charlton could reconstruct complete historical data in the event of a disaster.

The servers, dialers, switches, recording and network systems are protected against temporary power fluctuations by multiple UPS units. Performance centers are located in different cities, and are served by different power systems, as an additional security precaution. The telecommunications systems of the headquarters and two performance centers are connected by fiber to a SONET ring to guard against telecommunications disruptions. The Company also has emergency generators for each performance center and the data center.

Access to all data is strictly controlled by password and limited to personnel on a need-to-know basis. Additionally, the overnight cycle has multiple checks and balances built-in to notify the End-of-Day Operator in the event discrepancies occur between calling files and the reporting database.


Performance Center Equipment

Performance Center workstations have a Windows-based PC environment to enable Agents to access the Internet, handle multiple screen pops, and to connect to client billing systems and other applications as needed.

The Performance Centers use an IP SER TSP 500 predictive dialer for outbound campaigns and an IP Avaya Contact Center system for inbound calling. The inbound phone switch is configured for non-blocking and high availability operations, and the Company uses two dialers to guard against unscheduled downtime. Equipment for the operating systems is housed in the data center, which is backed up by UPS units and an emergency generator.

The Madison office and the performance centers use an IP Toshiba CTX 670 inbound switch for administrative calls.

In addition, three TDI-Wygant digital systems are used to record inbound and outbound calls, and a fourth server is available in the event one of the live systems fails. The recording system makes it easy to retrieve and archive calls, and allows copies of recorded calls to be sent as e-mails with .wav file attachments. Of course, call retrieval and monitoring are the basis of the Company's stringent Quality Assurance Program. The Company saves three months of digital recordings on site, and two years of recordings at a secure location off site.

All Centers are equipped to handle remote client monitoring. Typically, Charlton Account Managers schedule remote monitoring through Global Crossing's toll-free conferencing system, which permits simultaneous, high quality remote monitoring for an unlimited number of persons.

Of critical importance is the Company's working relationship with its principal technology vendor/partners-Global Crossing, Charter Business, SER, Avaya, and TDI-Wygant-- which provide 24-hour technical support enabling Charlton to respond quickly if problems arise.