SFTP is the supported mechanism for one-time data transmissions, typically used for sending training data files during the implementation phase prior to initial launch. ASAPP customers can transmit the following types of training data via SFTP:

  • Conversation transcripts from messaging or voice interactions
  • Recorded call audio files
  • Free-text agent notes associated with messaging or voice interactions

Getting Started

ASAPP will require you to provide the following information to set up the SFTP site.

  • An SSH public key.  This should use RSA encryption with a key length of 4096 bits.

ASAPP will provide you a username to associate with the key. This will be of the form: sftp<company marker> where the company marker will be selected by ASAPP.  For example a username could be: sftptestcompany

In your network, open port 22 outbound to sftp.us-east-1.asapp.com.

Data File Formatting and Preparation

General Requirements:

  • Files should be UTF-8 encoded.
  • Control characters should be escaped.
  • You may provide files as CSV or JSONL format, but we strongly recommend JSONL where possible. (CSV files are just too fragile.)
  • If you send a CSV file, ASAPP recommends that you include a header. Otherwise, your CSV must provide columns in the exact order listed below.
  • When providing a CSV file, you must provide an explicit null value (as the unquoted string: NULL ) for missing or empty values.

Call Center Data File Structure

The table below shows the required fields to include in your uploaded call center data.

FIELD NAME

REQUIRED?

FORMAT

EXAMPLE

NOTES

customer_id

Yes

String

347bdddb-d3a1-45fc-bbcd-dbd3a175fc1c

External User ID. This is a hashed version of the client ID.

conversation_id

No

String

21352352

If filled in, should map to ASAPP’s system.  May be empty, if the customer has not had a conversation with ASAPP.

call_start

Yes

Timestamp

2020-01-03T20:02:13Z

ISO 8601 formatted UTC timestamp.  Time/date call is received by the system.

call_end

Yes

Timestamp

2020-01-03T20:02:13Z

ISO 8601 formatted UTC timestamp.  Time/date call ends.

Note: duration of call should be Call End - Call Start.

call_assigned_to_agent

No

Timestamp

2020-01-03T20:02:13Z

ISO 8601 formatted UTC timestamp. The date/time the call was answered by the agent.

customer_type

No

String

Wireless Premier

Customer account classification by client.

survey_offered

No

Bool

true/false

Whether a survey was offered or not.

survey_taken

No

Bool

true/false

When a survey was offered, whether it was completed or not.

survey_answer

No

String

Survey answer

toll_free_number

No

String

888-929-1467

Client phone number (toll free number) used to call in that allows for tracking different numbers, particularly ones referred directly by SRS.

If websource or click to call, the web campaign is passed instead of TFN.

ivr_intent

No

String

Power Outage

Phone pathing logic for routing to the appropriate agent group or providing self-service resolution. Could be multiple values.

ivr_resolved

No

Bool

true/false

Caller triggered a self-service response from the IVR and then disconnected.

ivr_abandoned

No

Bool

true/false

Caller disconnected without receiving a self-service response from IVR nor being placed in live agent queue.

agent_queue_assigned

No

String

Wireless Sales

Agent group/agent skill group (aka queue name)

time_in_queue

No

Integer

600

Seconds caller waits in queue to be assigned to an agent.

queue_abandoned

No

Bool

true/false

Caller disconnected after being assigned to a live agent queue but before being assigned to an agent.

call_handle_time

No

Integer

650

Call duration in seconds from call assignment event to call disconnect event.

call_wrap_time

No

Integer

30

Duration in seconds from call disconnect event to end of agent wrap event.

transfer

No

String

Sales Group

Agent queue name if call was transferred. NA or Null value for calls not transferred.

disposition_category

No

String

Change plan

Categorical outcome selection from agent. Alternatively, could be category like ‘Resolved’, ‘Unresolved’, ‘Transferred’, ‘Referred’.

disposition_notes

No

String

Notes from agent regarding the disposition of the call.

transaction_completed

No

String

Upgrade Completed, Payment Processed

Name of transaction type completed by call agent on behalf of customer. Could contain multiple delimited values. May not be available for all agents.

caller_account_value

No

Decimal

129.45

Current account value of customer.

Historical Transcript File Structure

ASAPP accepts uploads for historical conversation transcripts for both voice calls and chats.

The fields described below must be the columns in your uploaded .CSV table.

Each row in the uploaded .CSV table should correspond to one sent message.

FIELD NAMEREQUIRED?FORMATEXAMPLENOTES
conversation_externalIdYesString3245556677Unique identifier for the conversation
sender_externalIdYesString6433421Unique identifier for the sender of the message
sender_roleYesStringagentSupported values are ‘agent’, ‘customer’ or ‘bot’
textYesStringHappy to help, one moment pleaseMessage from sender
timestampYesTimestamp2022-03-16T18:42:24.488424ZISO 8601 formatted UTC timestamp

Proper transcript formatting and sampling ensures data is usable for model training. Please ensure transcripts conform to the following:

Formatting

  • Each utterance is clearly demarcated and sent by one identified sender

  • Utterances are in chronological order and complete, from beginning to very end of the conversation

  • Where possible, transcripts include the full content of the conversation rather than an abbreviated version. For example, in a digital messaging conversation:

    Full

    Abbreviated

    Agent: Choose an option from the list below

    Agent: (A) 1-way ticket (B) 2-way ticket (C) None of the above

    Customer: (A) 1-way ticket

    Agent: Choose an option from the list below

    Customer: (A)

Sampling

  • Transcripts are from a wide range of dates to avoid seasonality effects; random sampling over a 12-month period is recommended
  • Transcripts mimic the production conversations on which models will be used - same types of participants, same channel (voice, messaging), same business unit
  • There are no duplicate transcripts

Sales Methods & Attribution Data File Structure

The table below shows the required fields to be included in your uploaded sales methods and attribution data.

FIELD NAMEREQUIRED?FORMATEXAMPLENOTES
transaction_idYesString1d71dce2-a50c-11ea-bb37-0242ac130002 An identifier which is unique within the customer system to track this transaction.
transaction_timeYesTimestamp2007-04-05T14:30:05.123ZISO 8601 formatted UTC timestamp. Details potential duplicates and also attribute to the right period of time
transaction_value_one_timeNoFloat65.25Single value of initial purchase.
transaction_value_recurringNoFloat7.95Recurring value of subscription purchase.
customer_categoryNoStringUSCustom category value per client.
customer_subcategoryNoStringwirelessCustom subcategory value per client.
external_customer_idNoString34762720001External User ID. This is hashed version of the client ID. In order to attribute to ASAPP metadata, one of these will be required (Customer ID or Conversation ID)
issue_idNoString1E10412200CC60EEABBF32IF filled in, should map to ASAPP’s system. May be empty, if the customer has not had a conversation with ASAPP. In order to attribute to ASAPP metadata, one of these will be required (Customer ID or Conversation ID)
external_session_idYesString1a09ff6d-3d07-45dc-8fa9-4936bfc4e3e5External session id so we can track a customer
product_categoryNoStringWireless InternetCategory of product purchased.
product_subcategoryNoStringBroadbandSubcategory of product purchased.
product_nameNoStringBroadband Gold PackageThe name of the product.
product_idNoStringWI-BBGPThe identifier of the product.
product_quantityYesInteger1A number indicating the quantity of the product purchased.
product_value_one_timeNoFloat60.00Value of the product for one time purchase.
product_value_recurringNoFloat55.00Value of the product for recurring purchase.

Generate SSH Public Key Pair and Upload Files

You can generate the key and upload files via Windows, Mac, or Linux.

Windows Users

If you are using Windows, follow the steps below:

1. Generate an SSH Key Pair

There are multiple tools that you can use to generate an SSH Key Pair. For example: by using puTTYgen (available from PuTTY ) as shown below.

Choose RSA and 4096 bits, then click generate and move the mouse pointer randomly.  When the key is generated, enter sftp followed by your company marker as the key comment.

2. Provide the Public Key to ASAPP

Save the public and private key.  Only send the public file for your key pair to ASAPP.  This is not a secret and can be emailed.

3. Upload Files

Use an SFTP utility such as Cyberduck (available from Cyberduck ) to upload files to ASAPP.  Click Open Connection, add sftp.us-east-1.asapp.com as the Server,  and add sftpcompanymarker as the Username.  Choose the private key you generated in step 2 as the SSH Private Key and click connect.  The following screenshots show how to do this using CyberDuck.

A pop-up window appears. Click to allow the unknown fingerprint.  You will then see the in and out directories.

Double click the in directory and click Upload to choose files to send to ASAPP.

Mac/Linux Users

If you are using a Mac or Linux, follow the steps below:

1. Generate an SSH Key Pair

If you are using a Mac or Linux, you can generate a key pair from the terminal as follows.

If you already have an id_rsa file in the .ssh directory that you use with other applications, you should specify a different filename for the key so you do not overwrite it.  You can either do that with the -f option or type in a filename when prompted.

ssh-keygen -t rsa -b 4096 -C sftp<companymarker>; -f filename

For Example:

ssh-keygen -t rsa -b 4096 -C sftptestcompany -f keyforasapp

Where the filename will be the name of two files generated - filename (the private key you must keep to yourself) and filename.pub (the public key which ASAPP needs)

If you do not have an id_rsa file in the .ssh directory, you can go with the default filename of  id_rsa and do not need to use the -f option.

ssh-keygen -t rsa -b 4096 -C sftp<companymarker>

2. Provide the Public Key to ASAPP

Send the .pub file for your key pair to ASAPP.  This is not a secret and can be emailed.

3. Upload Files

You can upload files using the terminal or you can use Cyberduck. This section describes how to upload files using the terminal.

To login to the ASAPP server, type one of the following:

If you used the default id_rsa key name:

sftp sftp<companymarker>@sftp.us-east-1.asapp.com

If you specified a different filename for the key:

sftp -oIdentityFile=filename

sftp sftp<companymarker>@sftp.us-east-1.asapp.com

For Example:

sftp -oIdentityFile=keyforasapp

sftptestcompany@sftp.us-east-1.asapp.com

You will see the command line prompt change to sftp>

If the sftp command fails, adding the -v parameter will provide logging information to help to diagnose the problem.

Use terminal commands such as ls, cd, mkdir on the remote server.

  • ls: list files
  • cd: change directory
  • mkdir: make a new directory ls will show two directories: in (for sending files to ASAPP) and out (for receiving files from ASAPP).

To create a transcripts directory on the remote machine to send transcripts to ASAPP, type:

cd in
mkdir transcripts
cd transcripts

To navigate on the local machine, prefix terminal commands with l

  • lcd: change the local directory
  • lls: list local files
  • lpwd: to see the local working directory

Use get (retrieve) and put (upload) to transfer files.

get will fetch files from the remote server to the current directory on the local machine.

For example:

get output.csv will transfer a file named output.csv from the remote server.

put will transfer files to the remote server from the current directory on the local machine.

Navigate to local directory with transcripts and type:

put transcripts.csv will transfer a file named transcripts.csv to the remote server.

or

put * will transfer all files in the local directory.

or

put -r <local directory> works recursively and will transfer all files in the local directory, all sub directories, and all files within them to the remote machine. 

For example:

put -r sftptest

will transfer the sftptest directory and everything within it and below it from the local machine to the remote machine.

To end the SFTP session, type quit or exit.