by Denis ONeil | Feb 7, 2022 | Escalation Lists, List Management, Uncategorized
+++ Updated May 30, 2023 +++
Users of EmailToVoice.Net are not always able to add a special Tag to the content of the email before the content is converted to voice and used as a voice phone call. That restriction is now solved through a special feature of EmailToVoice.Net.
Multiple Ways To Send To Multiple Recipients
EmailToVoice.Net can send a message to a phone using email and have the email content read to the recipient with a nice-sounding voice using Text-To-Speech. The destination used in the email is simply to have the TO field look something like 2145551234@tts.message-service.org.
To send the message to multiple recipients, the sender can merely send the message multiple times to different recipients. However, there are three other ways to send a message from EmailToVoice.Net to multiple recipients.
Multiple Destinations in the TO Field
Multiple destinations can be specified in the TO field by separating them with a “#”. IE;:
2145551234#2145551235#2145551236@tts.message-service.org
OR, multiple destinations can be entered as multiple full email addresses:
“2145551234@tts.message-service.org, 2145551235@tts.message-service.org”
NOTE: When stringing destinations in the TO field of the Email, there is standard general length restriction of about 64 characters for the TO field.
Multiple Destinations in the Email Content
Multiple Destinations can be In the body of the message in the following format:
<Numbers>
2145551234
2145551235
2145551236
</Numbers>
NOTE: The destination phone numbers are included in the body of the message. So, the TO field should be: msg@tts.message-service.org
Multiple Destinations Using a Pre-Loaded List
Multiple Destinations can be through pre-setup lists by using the format:
<Lists>
My First List Name
My Second List Name
</Lists>
NOTE: The destination phone numbers are included in the body of the message. So, the TO field should be: msg@tts.message-service.org
Creating Lists
EmailToVoice.Net continues to grow in features and functionality. On March 16th of 2020, we launched our new Customer Portal. The customer can see real time status of their jobs submitted through EmailToVoice.Net, change details in their Profile settings, create distribution lists, and much more.
Manage Personal Lists: The customer can set up distribution lists, which are then referenced by the LISTS tag in the content of the email for sending TTS or SMS messages to a group of recipients.
No Need for LIST Tag in Content
The List name can be designated in the TO field. For example, if a List has been created with the name nightshift, then the TO field would look like this:
list-nightshift@tts.message-service.org.
When the email is sent to our service, we will look for the List name nightshift in the Customer Portal profile of My Personal Lists. Our service will then use that List of recipients.
Considerations when creating the list in the Customer Portal:
- The name of the list must be in lower case
- The name of the list cannot have spaces or any special characters, like a dash or a plus sign or anything other than alphanumeric characters. Keep the name of the list short.
- The reference field for each entry must be unique.
- The reference field is sorted alphabetically when you designate the list as an ‘escalation’ list, so name the references something like ‘reference1, reference2, etc.’.
Escalation Lists Work, Too
Escalation Lists in EmailToVoice.Net are used to sequentially send a text-to-speech (TTS) message to a list of phone recipients from any business application. An alert notification needs action immediately. This may require the alert to be sent to more than one person to assure action is taken on the critical issue. EmailToVoice.Net provides the ability to send to a sequential list of people until one is reached. The feature of EmailToVoice.Net is called an Escalation List.
This feature will work with Lists setup as an Escalation List.
Works for all Communications
The examples above are using TTS. However, these multiple destination options are applicable for all of the communication methods available in EmailToVoice.Net. The exception is that escalation lists are only for TTS (Text to Speech). For instance, the tts can be replaced with sms, fax or voice, since EmailToVoice.Net can also send to SMS, FAX and send a pre-recorded voice message via an attached WAV file.
You can learn more at our Features Page. If you have any questions regarding these optional methods to specify recipients in EmailToVoice./Net, please Contact Us
Author
Director at EmailToVoice.Net: CISSP – Solutions Architect for Industrial IoT Alerts and Business Communications.
LinkedIn
by Denis ONeil | Jan 7, 2022 | Blockchain, cURL
Blockchain applications need the ability to communicate with individuals. This can be everything from important alerts to sharing general information with a team. The challenge is to get the message out of a Blockchain application and deliver it to a human as a voice phone call or SMS message.
EmailToVoice.Net provides a cloud-based business communications service that can be invoked by a URL. This enables a Blockchain application to send voice phone calls and SMS messages using a cURL command.
Blockchain
Blockchain is quickly becoming integrated with all aspects of business in the form of Web 3.0 applications. Supply chain, finance, and health processes are developed in Blockchain environments using Smart Contracts, as explained in the article: Blockchain-enabled wireless communications: a new paradigm towards 6G
Empowered by its inherent properties such as transparency, anonymity, immutability, traceability and resiliency, blockchain can create trustworthy and secure environments in decentralized manners with low cost and enable a variety of innovative applications and services besides cryptocurrencies. Nowadays, blockchain is widely used in finance and many areas such as logistics, digital voting, tax regulation, copyright protection, health care, to name a few.
Web 2.0 and Web 3.0 Communications Requirements
Generally speaking, the traditional Web 2.0 applications easily send email messages. But, email is often not enough to get the attention of the recipient. So, EmailToVoice.Net was designed to allow traditional business applications to deliver data using a simple email interface. The TO field in the email specifies the recipient’s phone number. EmailToVoice.Net converts the content of the email to either a voice or an SMS message and is then delivered to a phone. Examples of the TO field are 5551231234@tts.message-service.org or 5551231234@sms.message-service.org.
However, Blockchain applications do not send emails as easily as traditional applications. To provide the same capability for Blockchain Web 3.0 applications, EmailToVoice.Net now provides a URL capability.
Blockchain programs can issue a cURL command that invokes EmailToVoice.Net and its A2P business communications services. The cURL command would be executed through protocols that provide off-chain communications. One example would be Chainlink, which is an oracle network that expands the capability of Smart Contracts by providing access to off-chain capabilities, like cURL commands. Chainlink has external adapters. There are templates to develop external adapters. One example would be Chainlink NodeJS External Adapter Template by Thomas.
Using cURL with EmailToVoice.Net
Emailtovoice.net converts a text message into a voice phone call or SMS message. The call can be sent to any phone in the world. A cURL command can invoke the capabilities of EmailToVoice.Net. The command can be a GET request or a POST.
A URL example for having a program make a voice phone call using EmailToVoice.Net would look something like this:
-
- Username: The user name created during the subscription to EmailToVoice.Net (Always preceded by etv/)
- Password: The password used to sign on to the Customer Portal
- JobType: Text-to-Speech or SMS
- Message: The text message that will be converted based upon the JobType: For Text-to-speech, the text is converted to a voice and then played when the recipient answers or left on voicemail if the recipient does not answer. For SMS, the message is converted to an SMS and sent to the recipient’s phone
- Recipients: the phone number of the recipient. If the number is in the USA or Canada, then the format would be 5551231234. For any number outside of the USA or Canada, specify the country code, like +615551234 or 0011615551231234. If you want more than one recipient, use the | as a separator, for example, 5551231234|5552343456
- version: Always specify 2
How does EmailToVoice.Net work With Blockchain
EmailToVoice.net converts the content of an Email or a message in a cURL command into a Voice Phone Call or an SMS Text Message for Blockchain applications. We are an Application to Person (A2P) Solution for Critical Alerts and Business Communications. If you have any questions, please contact us. We love to share our experience in A2P business communications and expertise in Blockchain.
Author
Director at EmailToVoice.Net: CISSP – Solutions Architect for Industrial IoT Alerts and Business Communications.
LinkedIn
by Denis ONeil | Aug 29, 2021 | Customer Portal, How To
EmailToVoice.Net provides a seamless way to make alert voice phone calls and to send rich content SMS messages. This is done by merely sending an email. However, it is important to not disregard how easy it is to send TTS, recorded Voice, and SMS messages using the Customer Portal in EmailToVoice.Net.
Customer Portal
QUICK SMS
You can send Quick SMS messages to a list of phone numbers by using the Customer Portal.
- Step One: Enter the cell phone numbers that are to receive the message. The only field that must be filled in is the Mobile Number field.
- Step Two: You can optionally enter an SMS reply number. This is for International (not USA or Canada) numbers. If you need an SMS reply number for the USA or Canada, Contact Us
- Step Three: Enter your messages. Your SMS message can be a maximum of 1071 text characters. Messages between 160 and 306 characters will be charged as two messages; each extra 153 characters after that will be charged as an extra SMS message.
On the next screen, you can merely hit SUBMIT if you want the message to be sent out immediately. However, there are other options available for you to schedule the job to be released on a specific day and time.
Create Escalation or Sequential Lists – SMS, TTS, Recorded Voice, Email, and FAX
You are able to use the Customer Portal to set up lists. These lists can be simultaneous or sequential escalation lists. You can have the messages sent to all recipients in the list at effectively the same time. Or you click the ‘escalation list’ box and have the messages sent one at a time until a person answers and listens to the message for 10 seconds. The Escalation lists are for TTS and prerecorded voice messages.
Send to Lists – SMS, TTS, Recorded Voice, Email, and FAX
You can send a new message broadcast to a predefined list in the Customer Portal. You will be guided through the setup step by step. The message can be SMS, TTS, Recorded Voice, Email, and FAX.
Features of the Customer Portal
The Customer Portal has many useful features for an enterprise to manage a no-code solution for business messaging. For instance, you can see the real-time status of jobs submitted through EmailToVoice.Net, change details in Customer Profile settings, create distribution lists, and much more.
Here is a quick summary of the capabilities of the EmailToVoice.Net Customer Portal
- View All Jobs: The customer can view summary and detailed information on messages that have been sent through EmailToVoice.Net. Specific date ranges or a specific job number can be specified.
- Manage Personal Lists: The customer can setup distribution lists, which are then referenced by the LISTS tag in the content of the email for sending TTS or SMS messages to a group of recipients.
- New Broadcast: The customer can send a TTS, SMS or Email messages to one or more recipients directly from the Portal
- Quick SMS: A customer can send a Quick SMS message, one-way or two way, to one or more recipients directly from the Portal
- Manage Opt-Outs: The customer can specify a phone number that is never to be sent through the customer’s account. This is useful for phone numbers that have changed and should no longer be used. This is useful when an employee leaves the company and their personal cell phone number remains in lists.
- My Details: The customer can change profile settings, such as company address, email address or main account phone number. This includes the customer’s account password. To learn more about the very useful fields in the profile, refer below.
More than Email To Voice
EmailToVoice.Net does more than send Voice and SMS messages via an email interface. You can use the Customer Portal to quickly send SMS messages or you can create Lists and use the Customer Portal to send email, Fax, SMS, TTS, and prerecorded Voice messages. Explore the Customer Portal and learn about the advanced capabilities of EmailToVoice.Net. Or just Contact US and let us know what you want to do. Our Solutions Architects will get on the phone with your project coordinator and work out all the details. We want you to be successful and we can help you achieve that.
Author
Director at EmailToVoice.Net: CISSP – Solutions Architect for Industrial IoT Alerts and Business Communications.
LinkedIn
by Denis ONeil | Jul 22, 2021 | Enterprise SMS
EmailToVoice.Net can send Two-Way SMS messages in either simple text or rich content by just using Email.
Business applications and monitoring software need to send critical alerts and rich communications through SMS. Often, a response is required to ensure the recipient received the message or trigger another workflow action. EmailToVoice.Net provides the ability to send an SMS by using the email capability within Monitoring Software, CRM, ERP, or any enterprise business application.
Additionally, the recipient can reply to the SMS and the replied message is sent back to the Customer Portal and a designated email address. The authorized individual can review the replies on the Customer Portal or review the responses in the designated email address, which is collecting the replies.
SMS Reply Handling
Because the replies are collected in a designated email mailbox, no code solutions such as Microsoft Power Automate (Flow) can be used to evaluate the replies and act upon them accordingly.
Microsoft Power Automate and EmailToVoice.Net work well together. Microsoft Automate has email connectors that enhance business flows. These email connectors can easily act upon emails being sent from EmailToVoice.Net, such as the replies from two-way SMS messages. EmailToVoice.Net and products such as Automate integrate SMS communications with enterprise business flows. When Microsoft Power Automate detects an email message arriving in the designated email address, it will trigger an action such as a database update and/or an email to be sent back through to EmailToVoice.Net that will then generate a phone call or SMS to other recipients.
Two-Way SMS
The SMS can be set to 2-Way by adding the tag “<TwoWay>” anywhere in the email. If this is set, then the user can reply to the SMS, and an email with the reply contents will be sent to the email address set in the customer’s account profile. The email address to receive the replies can be set in the Customer Portal / My Details.
Alternatively, the tag “<TwoWayReplyAddress>” can be put in the email message when the SMS is sent through EmailToVoice.Net to set a designated email address to receive the replies for this specific event.
Sender ID
For One-way SMS, you will see the same Sender ID each time an SMS is received through EmailToVoice.Net. In the case of a Two-Way SMS, the Sender ID number will be chosen from a pool of long-code numbers so that we can track the replies. However, you have the option to purchase a LongCode for a nominal monthly fee that is added to your monthly charges. Then the Sender ID number will be unique to your organization.
Text or Rich Communications
EmailToVoice.Net can send either a simple SMS text message from any email interface or a Rich Communications SMS message as a link to a hosted web page automatically inserted into the SMS.
Sending formatted text messages for industrial communications can be done easily with just a simple email interface using EmailToVoice.Net. SMS Messaging is a reliable means to get important information to employees or business partners immediately. However, the limitations of SMS text messaging often keep it from being used in mission-critical business processes. Text messaging is limited by the lack of formatting and low text character limit, which is necessary to convey detailed information. MMS and RCS attempt to address this issue. However, they too have limitations that cause barriers to wide adoption for mission-critical applications.
EmailToVoice.Net provides the ability to send formatted data to a cell phone using SMS from monitoring software or business applications. Messages with the formatting requirements of an HTML Web Page can be automatically sent to just about any cell phone in the world as easily as sending an email. EmailToVoice.Net uses the LinkInSMS service to provide Enterprise SMS to its customers.
Enterprise SMS is a feature of EmailToVoice.Net, which creates a custom HTML Web page from your business email alert and then delivers it as a simple SMS message. For each SMS recipient, a custom web page is created and inserted in their SMS text message, allowing viewing of the page of HTML with a simple tap. This allows a single text message to communicate large amounts of formatted data.
To send an Enterprise Text message,
- the TO field merely needs to have the recipient’s phone number and specific email domain provided by EmailToVoice.Net.
- Our cloud-based messaging service will convert the email content into a custom web page and insert the link of the automatically created Web page into the text message.
- The recipient can then tap the link in the text message and see the entire email content formatted as a Web Page on their smartphone.
The Email Fields would look like this:
TO: 5551231234@linkinsms.message-service.org (The recipient’s cell phone – no preregistration required)
FROM: emailaddress@yourcompanydomain.com (Subscribed to EmailToVoice.Net)
SUBJECT: Anything (Used as a job name for reporting purposes)
The content of the email is converted to an HTML Web page. The Web page of data is hosted by our service and a link to the Web page is substituted into the outgoing SMS text message so that the recipient can easily view the data with a tap.
Features of Enterprise SMS
Enterprise SMS provided by EmailToVoice.Net is rich in features to meet any business requirement. Below are some examples of these features that can be set up in the Customer Details in the Customer Portal.
- You can add a Header and a Footer that will be used in all text messages from your account. For example, you can add a logo, an introductory message, disclaimers, and links using HTML
- You can specify a specific SMS Sender ID so the recipient can recognize the sender of the text message.
- You can enter a default email address for SMS replies. So, if the recipient replies to the text message, the reply will go to this email address. You can then alternatively use Microsoft Power Automate to continue a complex business workflow process without any coding. (Contact us for assistance in developing workflow processes)
There are many more features of the Enterprise SMS Messaging feature in EmailToVoice.Net. Let us know if you would like to learn more. Contact us. We love to share our experience in industrial communications, workflow, and alerts.
Author
Director at EmailToVoice.Net: CISSP – Solutions Architect for Industrial IoT Alerts and Business Communications.
LinkedIn
by Denis ONeil | Apr 30, 2021 | Emergency Alerts, Voice communications
SIEM critical alerts need to get immediate attention when triggered. Phone calls get people’s attention. A phone call is rare and loud.
SIEM is a class of products that combines security event management and security information management. SIEM technologies provide the analysis of log and event data together with security information management. Machine learning and artificial intelligence capabilities within SIEM products are on the rise. Cloud services are also being developed for SIEM offerings.
People responsible for the issues are notified of the results of the threat monitoring, event correlation, and incident response. The critical alerts cannot be ignored. A multi-channel response must be used because of the importance of these issues. Voice phone calls must be part of that multi-channel alert. These SIEM services can send emails. But, an email to voice and SMS service needs to be implemented to achieve the multi-channel communications network. EmailToVoice.Net is a cloud-based multi-channel communications service that can be implemented with minimal effort and reasonable cost.
As stated by Mary Pratt in What is SIEM software? How it works and how to choose the right tool
The SIEM market has several dominant vendors based on worldwide sales, specifically IBM, Splunk and HPE. There are at least several more major players, namely Alert Logic, Intel, LogRhythm, ManageEngine, Micro Focus, Solar Winds, and Trustwave.
Implementing critical alerts delivered from SIEM products is a major effort. Sending a message from SIEM products to a phone requires specialized hardware and software solutions to be installed in the client’s central data center. However, a cloud-based communications solution such as EmailToVoice.Net makes this all as easy as sending an email. The EmailToVoice.Net service does the hard stuff. It converts the text of the email message into a genuine-sounding voice (Text to Speech), then dials the phone, handles voice mail, and much more. All of this is done without the need to install hardware or use APIs. There are not even any monthly fees.
People pay more attention to voice calls these days than email. A phone ringing gets the attention of the person that needs to be alerted in an emergency. The reason is that email has swamped us to the point we do not pay attention to them, anymore. A phone ringing still makes people pay attention. They are loud and rare.
How to send an Alert to a Phone
EmailToVoice.Net provides the ability to make a phone call using any email interface. This can be tested using a personal email mailbox. However, the production use of this capability is by utilizing the email capability within Alert Software, CRM, ERP or any enterprise application.
First, a user should subscribe to EmailToVoice.net. A free trial is available with a value of $4.95 USD allowing about 55 message units to be sent within a 28 day trial period. The user will be able to immediately make a phone call using their email by following the simple instructions below:
The email must be sent from the same email address as was specified during the free trial subscription process.
The TO field will specify the phone number to be dialed. The TO field would look something like 2145551783@tts.message-service.org. (if the number is not a USA or Canadian number, then the TO field would look something like +6155551243@tts.message-service.org) The number can be any phone number in the world, with some exceptions due to international regulations, and does not have to be preregistered.
The SUBJECT field can be anything brief. It is used for reporting.
The content of the email is converted to a pleasant-sounding voice.
That’s it. The EmalToVoice.net service will dial the number, play the voice rendition of the email content, handle voicemail, etc.
Extensive Features
There are many advanced features of EmailToVoice.Net. EmailToVoice.net can make a phone call, send an SMS, send 16MB of HTML data via SMS and even send a FAX. We love to share our many years of experience in this industry and provide easy no-code solutions for your workflow communications needs. Do not hesitate to Contact Us.
Author
Director at EmailToVoice.Net: CISSP – Solutions Architect for Industrial IoT Alerts and Business Communications.
LinkedIn
