Evaluating your needs

By now, you should have an understanding of the underlying process of area code correction.

In this next section, we are going to show you how to determine the extent of your problems with your name, address, telephone and fax files, using PhoneSeal's free diagnostic tools, the Phoneseal Analyzers.

Then, if you have a problem, we will lay out a complete approach to the final resolution of your problems.

The Evaluation Process

Step 1: read the Tutorial
The first step is to look at the PhoneSeal Tutorial on this web site. This illustrates the actual PhoneSeal Wizard in action.

Not familiar with the Wizard concept? Briefly, it is the name Microsoft has given to a procedure that channels the user based on the responses the user has already given. In contrast, some software products give you very large screens with droves of options which cover every option choice.

The PhoneSeal Wizard limits the questions you need to answer, based on the answers you have already supplied. So, for example, when you choose the kind of file you are going to be correcting (an ODBC database, or a .txt file), the subsequent questions you are asked are relevant to that particular file choice. This simplifies the option selection process enormously, and removes the likelihood of introducing errors, or omissions, that impair the correction process.

Step 2: Use a FREE Analyzer to determine the extent of your problems.
Now that you understand the correction process, use PhoneSeal's Analyzers to give you an accurate snapshot of your correction needs.

There is a free Analyzer associated with each of the PhoneSeal correction suites: Standard, Advanced, and Professional. The Analyzers do not actually correct anything. However, they have all the same options as the full Phoneseal Suite, and tell you how many telephone numbers in your files are problems, and how much correction will be required.

PLEASE NOTE: the results you get from PhoneSeal's Analyzers simply define your problem. The results are specific to YOUR files, and can be used as a general guide to determine the cost of ANY correction alternative.

If you are not sure which Suite is appropriate, then download ALL the Analyzers and play around.

Step 3: Determine your correction strategy.
The final step is to decide how you are going to implement your correction processing.

If you have not already read the White Paper, "Options for repairing the damage caused by Area Code Changes", we strongly recommend you do this now. Everybody who has read this document has told us that this document saved them a lot of time in their decision-making, whether they chose PhoneSeal or an alternative solution.

The first part of the correction process is an internal process, deciding on the responsibility areas for internal staff. There must be some kind of monitoring, regardless of the correction alternative that you choose.

The second part is going to be dependent on the number of telephone numbers that PhoneSeal is unable to resolve. PhoneSeal gives a complete summary of these numbers. Often, the best path for a complete correction procedure is to pass this list on to a professional correction service. While this is an extremely expensive option for complete file resuscitation, it is ideal for the relatively small percentage of telephone numbers that require manual correction.