We have decided to cease supporting the legacy agent user interface CDT from our Sinch Contact Pro on-premise offering. The last on-premise version with CDT support will be FP20, and from FP21 onwards we cannot guarantee that CDT will further function. The reasons behind this decision are (1) We have not developed CDT for some time as our focus is on Communication Panel. And (2) CDT is based on Internet Explorer technology, which doesn’t meet today’s security requirements.
We highly recommend that you start adopting the modern and more capable agent user interface, Communication Panel (CP). The CP agent interface has already proven its power in our Contact Pro cloud offering, and we encourage you take advantage of its capabilities! Kindly watch this demo on YouTube Sinch Contact Pro: Communication Panel overview and feel free to contact us in case of any questions.
What does sunsetting CDT mean?
Although, FP21 (and onwards until announced) will continue to contain the CDT code and its associated components, we will no longer run any quality assurance testing of CDT. Development of new features in Contact Pro may mean CDT functionality is excluded. Note that this also affects all components that are used by or with CDT, such as terminal, mctabuff, and vwvideo.
Steps towards using Communication Panel
Certain changes are required in your Contact Pro infrastructure before you can use Communication Panel:
- You must add Embedded Communication Framework (ECF) components to your Contact Pro installation. This package enables user interfaces such as Communication Panel and Dashboard.
- To enable voice in Communication Panel you need to have a WebRTC proxy device in your network infrastructure. Our recommendation is to use AudioCodes, for which we'll provide configuration guidance.
Q & A
Q: If I wish to continue using CDT, should I stay on FP20?
A: Yes.
Q: Does FP20 have a longer maintenance period because of this?
A: No. Sinch will consider extended maintenance periods on a per-customer basis. Each case will be evaluated separately by Sinch. Please create a ticket for such a request.
Q: How long is FP20 maintained?
A: Please see Maintenance Cycle (sinch.com).
Q: What happens to Online Monitoring (OM)?
A: Online Monitoring will continue to be supported; however, Dashboard will eventually replace Online Monitoring.
Q: Are other WebRTC-capable proxies supported?
A: We ensure compatibility only with AudioCodes. However, we are aware of customers and partners who have implemented an open-source alternative called Kamailio, which has proven to work well. For help with implementation project, you can reach a partner directly, the partners are Prominion (EMEA & MENA) and Covington (NA).
Q: I have a custom softphone that runs next to CDT. What should I do?
A: We recommend you get familiar with the functionality of Communication Panel, as Microsoft is planning to drop Edge IE-mode by 2029. You should stay on FP20 if you wish to continue using your custom softphone.
Q: I want to move to Communication Panel and consider moving to cloud at the same time. Can someone help?
A: Sinch can help with this. See our post Considering moving to cloud
