Policy Engine and Summary
What is the Policy Engine
The Communication Recording Agent Policy Engine is a service that takes a collection of settings, evaluates them against various data sources, and makes a decision whether to perform one or more actions or not. The Communication Recording Agent allows you to create ongoing policies that run in the background and are checked against each new or historic recording, depending on how the policy has been configured. Multiple policies can be created, each with a priority value.
Each policy is configured with one or more metadata filters. This creates a list of recordings that the policy is applied to, providing a powerful, flexible filtering system, known as a Calls Filter.
You can define as many policies as you need. In general, Uniphore recommends that you select and define your policies carefully, apply them consistently, and try to avoid conflicts. Make use of the Priority setting to define the order that policies are applied – for example, you may want to purge data before applying an archive policy to perhaps avoid unnecessary transfers.
The Communication Recording Agent currently provides the policy types summarized below, for more detail on each policy and further direction on adding, editing and deleting policies see Manage Policies.
Recording Control Policies
Use Recording Control policies to control which call recordings are discarded and retained. Recording Control policies do not impact live calls so they can continue to be monitored. Blocklisting a call does not disable the call for recording and instead simply discards the call after the call has ended.
For more info on Recording Control Policies and further direction on adding, editing, and deleting Recording Control Policies, see Manage Recording Control Policies.
Blocklist: Blocklist policies can be used to provide fine control of what recordings are discarded. All calls outside the scope of the Blocklist are retained.
Allowlist: Allowlist policies are the reverse of a Blocklist. An Allowlist can be used to specify calls to be retained that would otherwise be discarded. All calls outside the scope of the Allowlist are discarded).
Storage Policies
Use Storage Policies to manage (delete, move, archive) stored data across your storage locations.
For more info on Storage Policies and further direction on adding, editing, and deleting Storage Policies, see Manage Storage Policies.
Purge Policies
The Purge policy type can be used to delete recordings (media, metadata, and transcriptions) from Communication Recording Agent accessible storage. This policy type is usually used to provide a retention policy capability, removing data from the system after a specified time.
Note
The purge process will not delete locked recordings and will not remove associated records such as audit logs.
Move Media and Archive Metadata Policies
Archive/storage policies can be created to move media/archive metadata to External Storage Locations (for example, “hot, warm, cool, or cold storage” facilities). Media and metadata are separated to provide further flexibility. For example, you may want to retain metadata and transcriptions (generally smaller file sizes) for faster search, but move the media (generally larger file sizes) to external cold storage, providing for more cost-efficient occasional access.
Also, data can be moved from any Communication Recording Agent accessible storage to your defined External Storage Location. This means data can be moved multiple times using separate policies to allow for changing requirements – for example, you may want to move media to warm storage after a year, but then move it again to cold storage after two years to provide a more cost-effective long-term archive.
Retention Policies
Most organizations have one or more retention policies, defined by internal processes and/or regulatory requirements, that directly impact the duration for which recorded media and associated metadata should be retained. The Communication Recording Agent Retention policy type automatically locks captured conversations for a specific duration where metadata matches specified Filters. The policy is also configured to perform a chosen action against the conversations once the retention period has expired. Actions include moving the conversations to a specific storage location, purging the conversations (deleting them), or leaving the conversations unchanged.
Note
In addition to Retention policies, the Communication Recording Agent provides Locks policies to automatically lock captured conversations until they are manually unlocked. See Locks Policies for more information.
Use Schedules to determine when your Storage Policies are applied. Multiple Schedules and Storage Policies can be configured to provide fine control of your data storage. This is achieved by setting which conversations to move/archive/purge using Storage Policies and then when to apply those policies using Schedules. Schedules can be configured to apply policies on specified frequencies, times, and time zones.
Relevant information on applying Schedules to Policies is covered in Manage Storage Policies. For further details on configuring your Communication Recording Agent Schedules, see Manage Schedules.
Transcription Policies
Use Transcription Policies to control which call recordings (stored or live audio) are sent for transcription (voice to text), provided a transcription service is configured. Once transcribed, transcription data and metadata are saved, which can then be exported to a defined Endpoint.
For more info on Transcription Policies and further direction on adding, editing, and deleting Transcription Policies, see Manage Transcription Policies.
Transcribe
Optional transcription services can be deployed with the Communication Recording Agent to provide voice-to-text services post-call or in real-time. The Transcribe Policy can be used to define exactly which calls will be transcribed. This can provide for efficient utilisation of transcription services both in terms of cost and capacity.
Export Policies
Use Export Policies to specify recordings to export to your defined endpoints and trigger the export automatically. Endpoints can be configured in Configure > System > Endpoints.
Note
Exports can also be performed manually. Zee “Actions” in the “Search and Replay Recordings” topic for more info on generating exports manually.
For more info on Export Policies and further direction on adding, editing, and deleting Export Policies, see Manage Export Policies.
Call Push: Use Call Push Policies to export specified calls to defined endpoints post-call.
Real-Time Audio: Use Real-time Audio Policies to export specified calls to defined endpoints in real-time as the call is recorded.
Access Control Policies
Use Access Control Policies to assign granular access permissions for your Communication Recording Agent Users using call Filters (which calls) and Claims (which groups/ users in your Organization Hierarchy).
For more info on Access Control Policies and further direction on adding, editing, and deleting Access Control Policies see Manage Access Control Policies.
Media Playback & Metadata Access: Combines the below policies to allow media and metadata access for your defined recordings.
Locks Policies
Use Locks policies to automatically lock conversations where metadata matches specified Filters, ensuring that conversations remain in the system and are not deleted. Locked conversations can be manually unlocked from the Conversations page.
For more information on Locks policies and further direction on adding, editing, and deleting Locks policies, see Manage Locks Policies.
Note
Locks Policies are used to automatically lock captured conversations based on filters. However, conversations can also be locked manually, either live or post-call. See Listen to Live Calls - Actions for information on manually locking calls as they are taking place, or see Search and Replay Recordings - Actions for information on manually locking calls after they have finished.
Lock Policies work as conversations are captured. Post-Call integrations, such as Webex Calling, do not support automatic Lock Policies because capture is handled by the telephony platform.
Considerations and Requirements
There are many considerations and requirements when designing or updating policies, but here are a few considerations that may help, and a few requirements you must follow:
Minimum/Maximum Call Age
Use the Call Age filter to apply a Storage Policy to recordings once they reach the set age.
Historic Recordings/New Recordings
Use Start/End Date metadata filters to only apply policies to historic recordings, new recordings, or within a specific date and time.
Specific Recordings
Use general metadata filters to apply a policy to specific recordings. For example, only apply a policy to recordings from a specific team. You can set as many filters as needed, and use advanced search logic to be as specific or as broad as you like. Use Test Filter to check your filters.
Multiple Policies & Policy Priorities
You can define as many policies as you need. In general, Uniphore recommends that you select and define your policies carefully, apply them consistently, and try to avoid conflicts. Make use of the Priority setting to define the order that policies are applied – for example, you may want to purge data before applying an Archive Policy to perhaps avoid unnecessary transfers.
Multiple Moves
As mentioned, data can be moved multiple times using multiple Archive/Storage Policies to allow for changing requirements.
External Storage Locations
As mentioned, External Archive Storage locations provide additional “hot, warm, cool, or cold storage” facilities. If you need additional storage locations added to your system, see Manage Endpoints and Storage Locations. For additional help, please contact Uniphore support.
Purge Policy Data Types
When you define a Purge Policy, you can decide whether to delete the entire recording (media, metadata, transcription), or just the media, or the metadata and transcription. In general, you’ll likely just remove all data for the recording, but Uniphore has provided a flexible approach to allow you to delete data in isolation. However, this can clearly impact your ability to retrieve data within the Communication Recording Agent:
Removing just the media would allow the conversation record to be searched and retrieved, and allow you to view the transcription, but the media (audio) would no longer be available. This may be useful in circumstances where you need to retain the record, but the media is no longer required within the Communication Recording Agent.
Removing just the metadata and transcription data would mean that you could no longer search for or replay the conversation within the Communication Recording Agent. This may be useful where external systems are being used to retrieve and replay the open format media (WAV/OPUS) from Communication Recording Agent managed storage.
Edit Existing Purge Policies
Here are a few things you should consider when editing Purge Policies:
If you set a Purge policy that deletes conversations sooner than your current one, additional recordings may be deleted from your system (depending on your settings). Before making the change, you may wish to perform a review to ensure older recordings are not being deleted that are required for legal or regulatory purposes. You can safeguard (lock) these recordings using the Call Lock features to prevent some or all of them from being deleted.
If you set a Purge policy that deletes conversations later than your current one, this means you’ll obviously store more data. Uniphore recommends that you review your storage needs and provision additional storage as needed. If necessary, contact Uniphore support to discuss your new storage requirements.
If you change the scope of the policy, applying it to more, less, or simply different recordings, you may want to consider what recordings could be impacted and lock those you want to retain, and also consider the impact on your storage needs.
This one is obvious, but is stated here for clarity. Any recordings deleted by previous versions of a retention policy will not be recovered if those recordings are subsequently removed from the scope of the policy.
Depending on what policy edits you’re making, it may be more appropriate to disable the current policy and create a new one with a new name.
Edit Existing Archive/Storage Policies
Here are a few things you should consider when editing Archive/Storage Policies:
If you change the scope of the policy, you may want to consider what impact this may have on your storage needs.
Again, this one is obvious, but is stated here for clarity. Any data moved by previous versions of an archive/storage policy will not be moved back to the Communication Recording Agent Media Store or Metadata Store if those recordings are subsequently removed from the scope of the policy.
Depending on what policy edits you’re making, it may be more appropriate to disable the current policy and create a new one with a new name.