Is it correct to use voiceXML as a tool in this scenario

Question

I have a telephony scenario in which the following happens:

1. Customer calls a Voice Gateway

2. TCL script runs and a code is taken from customer

3. Authentication is done through a RADIUS server

4. Customer will hear correct voice menu

The problem is that RADIUS server must connect to a SQL Database and check the credentials. I have currently designed the solution using cisco secure ACS and through managed stored procedures on MS SQL server.

My question is: Is the VoiceXML a better tool to do this job and because some extenstions and wrappers of VoiceXML exists in .net, does it fit in this simple scenario??

Sincerely speaking, I am a little confisued with the technology and looking for a good tutorial on its features as well.

Thanks

Answer 1

VoiceXML would work fine in this scenario. There is a an open source project called VoiceModel that uses ASP.NET MVC to generate the VoiceXML and therefore integrates nicely with the .NET stack. There are a lot of examples in the project with discussions on how to use the examples in this blog. The examples use Voxeo Prophecy as the VoiceXML platform which has a SIP interface that will connect with a Voice Gateway. You can download two ports for free to try it out.

Answer 2

In a strict sense, only step 4 is implemented by VoiceXML. Other aspects are handled by the platform or external code. VoiceXML is the standards mechanism for implementing step 4, but if all you are going to do is limited audio output and simple input, it may be overkill depending on the solutions available to you.

The following is just an example of a way to solve your problem and is fairly fictitious given I don't know anything about your environment nor constraints.

Given most VoiceXML platforms, upon receiving of a call your VoiceXML application will be executed. If this is a servlet/ASP based solution, you can perform steps 2 & 3 then generate/return the VoiceXML to play the menu, gather the input and move to the next step. If this is a static VoiceXML 2.1 solution, you can use a Data element call to make an HTTP request to a system that can perform these actions. The system will need to return XML that the Javascript/ECMAScript in VoiceXML application can parse and provide the correct audio output and input processing.

Since you are asking about VoiceXML, I'm assuming your challenge is the telephony aspect of the problem. Unless you have a system already available, choosing and activating a premise or hosted solution is far more complicated than the call flow code involved. Depending on your requirements, there are solutions as low as a single line, analog modem that supports audio output and DTMF input to massively scaled on premise and hosted solutions to handle 10,000s of concurrent calls that implement VoiceXML as well as a wide range of other call flow technologies.