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Configuring Instant Message Sending Methods

Parallels Business Automation - Standard Instant Messaging provides the plug-in that allows sending SMS notifications via the Clickatell SMS service. To create and send SMS notifications, you need to sign up at Clickatell.

Important: The Clickatell plug-in sends the SMS notification information as an e-mail message to the Clickatell gateway. Thus, you need to sign up for SMTP API. Then, when configuring a Clickatell method in Parallels Business Automation - Standard, you must specify the SMTP API ID.

In future Parallels Business Automation - Standard releases the number of Instant Messaging plug-ins will be increased and SMS will be just one of the Instant Messaging methods. So, please do not be confused with the Instant Messaging Sending Method notion introduced in Parallels Business Automation - Standard interface.

SMS notifications in Parallels Business Automation - Standard are designated for HSP and their staff members. For example, SMS alerts can be set for events connected with data center outages or unexpected changes of HSP company balance. A HSP can set SMS alerts for particular mobile phone numbers, thus it is not possible to configure SMS notifications for customers since placeholders for recipient's phone number cannot be used in this case.

The scheme of attaching an SMS notification is simple:

  1. HSP creates SMS sending method and enters both their Clickatell account requisites and a recipient's mobile phone number.
  2. HSP selects an event, attaches an SMS alert to this event and while writing an SMS notification text, selects an SMS sending method that defines the number of mobile phone to send notification to.

To create the Clickatell SMS sending method:

  1. Click Instant Messaging on the Event Manager submenu. The list of IM sending methods (if any) appears.
  2. Click the New Instant Message sending method button.
  3. Set the option button to Clickatell SMS and then click the Next button.
  4. Fill the form that appears:
    1. Type the name of the sending method into the Method Name field. This is just an alphanumeric identifier, for your reference. When you will attach an SMS alert to an event, you will select an IM method by this name. For example, if you are going to configure SMS notifications sending on your Data Center related events, you can name a sending method like 'SMS to System Administrator'.
    2. Type the SMTP API ID received from Clickatell on your account registration into the ClickatellSMS API ID field. Please remember that SMTP API is to be used for the plug-in to work correctly.
    3. Enter our Clickatell user name into the ClickatellSMS User field.
    4. Type the password received from Clickatell on your account registration into the ClickatellSMS Password field.
    5. Type the SMS notification recipient mobile phone number into the Recipient Phone Number field. Please, type the phone number in the international format, starting from the country code (one digit), then network code (three digits) and finally the phone number, - exactly 11 digits without spaces and any other symbols.
  5. Click the Update button to save the sending method.

Repeat the steps described above to create as many SMS notification sending methods as you need.

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