Introduction to Live Call Routing

Live Call Routing gives your team a dedicated phone number that routes incoming calls straight to the on-call engineer.

Live Call Routing

Live Call Routing gives your team a dedicated phone number that routes incoming calls to the on-call engineer. It captures human-reported incidents: a security vendor flagging a breach, or a payment partner reporting a failure. The caller connects directly to whoever is on-call.

Live Call Routing is available on all paid plans.

How Live Call Routing works

Incoming calls route through on-call and fallback responders.

Spike uses your on-call schedules to determine who receives calls.

• An incoming call first rings the configured on-call responder.

• If there is no answer, it rings fallback responder 1.

• 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.

Voicemail pickup counts as an answered call. Spike will not route to a fallback responder in this case.

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

How to set up Live Call Routing

Visit Live Call Routing on the dashboard to get started.

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

Your number stays completely private. Spike does not require API keys or direct access to your account.

To get a number directly from Spike, email [e-mail].

Configuring with TwilioConfiguring with Plivo

1

Add your phone number

Enter your phone number in full international format, including the + symbol. Give it a clear name (e.g., Engineering Hotline) for easy identification.

Find your number in Twilio under Console → Develop → Phone numbers → Active numbers, or in Plivo under Numbers → Active.

2

Configure who receives the calls

Select an on-call schedule or a specific 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 it into your Twilio or Plivo console as per their instructions.

5

Go live

Your phone number is now ready to start routing calls.

Call recording setup

When call recording is enabled, Spike retrieves recordings directly from your Twilio or Plivo account. To play recordings inside Spike, disable HTTP Basic Authentication for media access in your provider's settings.

Twilio

In your Twilio Console, go to Develop → Voice → Settings → General. Under HTTP Basic Authentication for media access, select Disable.

Plivo

In your Plivo Console, go to Voice → Settings → Other Settings. Under HTTP Basic Authentication for media access, select Disable.

Customize messages

Configure the three audio messages for your phone line.

Spike plays audio messages at key points during a call. Configure three types:

Welcome message

Played as soon as the call begins. Use it to greet callers and let them know they're being connected to the on-call team.

Example: "Hi, thanks for calling the Engineering Hotline. Please hold while we connect you to the on-call engineer."

No one answered message

Played when no one answers after trying the primary and fallback responders. Ask the caller to leave a voicemail after the beep.

Example: "Sorry, no one is available to take your call right now. Please leave a message and we'll get back to you as soon as possible."

No one on-call message

Played when there is no on-call responder at the moment.

Example: "Our on-call team is currently offline. Please leave a message with your name and number, and we'll return your call as soon as we're back on shift."

Call logs and recordings

All calls appear in the Call Logs section of your dashboard.

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

From the log, 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, test your setup:

1. Enable Test Mode for 5 minutes.

2. During this time, all calls route directly to you.

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

FAQs

How many fallback responders can I add?

Up to 2 fallback responders.

I don't have a Twilio or Plivo account. How can I get started?

Email [e-mail]. The Spike team can help with setup.

What happens if no one is on-call?

The caller hears your configured No one on-call message. Spike takes a message and creates a call log.

Can I review past calls?

Yes. All calls are logged with full details and a recording in the Call Logs section.

Can I have a transcript of my call?

Not yet. Transcripts aren't available currently.