Introduction to Live Call Routing

Introduction

Live Call Routing gives your team a dedicated phone line that instantly connects incoming calls to the right on‑call engineer. It captures human‑reported incidents—like a security vendor reporting a breach or a payment partner flagging a failure—that automated monitors might miss.

Instead of wasting minutes tracking down the right person, the caller reaches the responder on shift within seconds. This closes the gap between automated alerts and real‑world reports, helping your team act faster, reduce downtime, and keep every critical signal from slipping through the cracks.

How Live Call Routing Works

Spike uses your on‑call schedules to determine who should receive calls.

• An incoming call first rings a configured on‑call responder.

• If there is no answer, it rings fallback responder.

• If still unanswered, it rings fallback responder 2.

• If no one answers, Spike plays your configured No Answer message and takes a message from the caller.

Every call is recorded and logged. A detailed alert is sent to your configured Slack or Microsoft Teams channels.

From the call log, you can:

• Create a new incident

• or link the call to an existing incident

• Save the caller’s number as a contact

How to set up Live Call Routing?

Visit Live Call Routing on dashboard to get started.

Live Call Routing works with any phone number from Twilio or Plivo. You can use an existing number you already own, or you can purchase a new number directly from Twilio or Plivo.

Your number stays completely private. Spike does not require API keys or direct access to your account. Instead, Spike gives you a simple webhook URL. Paste this webhook into your Twilio or Plivo console so all incoming calls are forwarded to Spike. From there, Spike handles the routing, fallbacks, and call logging for you.

If you would like Spike to provide you with a number, contact us at [email protected].

1. Add and name your phone number

Choose a clear name (e.g., Engineering Hotline) and enter your phone number in full international format, including the + symbol.

On Twilio, find your number on Console → Develop → Phone numbers → Active numbers.

On Plivo, you can find your number on Plivo's console → Numbers → Active.

2. Configure who receives the calls

Select an on-call schedule or a responder. Optionally add up to two fallback responders.

3. Customize your messages

Set up three audio messages:

• Welcome Message – played when someone calls.

• No One On‑Call Message – played if no one is currently on call.

• No Answer Message – played if all responders fail to answer.

4. Connect your Twilio or Plivo account

Spike provides a webhook URL Paste this webhook into your Twilio or Plivo console as per their instructions.

5. Go Live !

Your phone number is now ready to start routing calls.

Important Note About Call Recordings

When call recording is enabled, Spike retrieves the recordings directly from your Twilio or Plivo account. To play these recordings inside Spike, you must turn off HTTP Basic Authentication for media access in your provider’s settings.

Personalise Messaging

You can make every call feel unique by customizing the messages callers hear. Spike lets you set up three types of audio messages, giving you full control over how you greet and guide callers:

These options let you create a professional, branded experience for anyone calling your number—whether it’s during an incident or off‑hours.

Call Logs and Recordings

All calls appear in the Call Logs section of your dashboard. Each log entry includes:

• Caller information

• Who answered (or if unanswered)

• Fallback activity (e.g., “Primary did not answer → routed to Secondary”)

• Duration of the call

• A link to the audio recording

• Detailed activity log

• Link to incidents

You can:

• Review the call for post‑incident analysis

• Create or link incidents directly from the log

• Archive or delete entries when no longer needed

Test Mode

Before going live, you can test your setup:

• Enable Test Mode for 5 minutes.

• During this time, all calls will route directly to you.

• Ask a colleague to call your number and confirm that routing, fallback, and messages work as expected.

FAQ

If you need help configuring Live Call Routing or integrating your Twilio/Plivo account, reach out to [email protected].