How to Enroll and Manage Users in The Spoke Phone Early Release Program (BETA)

Overview

The Spoke Phone Early Release Program (BETA) allows customers early access to new features and significant user experience changes, prior to the release being pushed to all users.

The program is designed to achieve several outcomes:

1. test and provide feedback on new features, upgrades, and user experience changes.
2. validate new builds against internal infrastructure and systems.
3. get ahead of change management, e.g. updating documentation, scheduling user training, sending out internal communications, etc.

Companies enrolled in the program are able to elect which of their users participate in the BETA program.

Entitlement and enrollment

The BETA program is an invite-only program for key Spoke Phone customers and partners. To request access to the program, please contact your Spoke Phone Account Executive.

Beta candidate frequency

Spoke Phone continually update and improve our services and applications. Not all releases will be pushed out to the BETA program. 

What is expected of you when as a BETA release user

Usually nothing other than using Spoke Phone like you normally do. If there are new features or specific things to try, we will provide test plans in advance.

Setting up the program

Once your company is enrolled:

1. Login to the Spoke Phone Account Portal
2. Go to Other -> Advanced -> Other
3. Go to the Early Release Program section
4. Select the minimum release channel for your organization:
   
   1. If you select Beta, users that you enroll in the Beta program are able to swap back-and-forth between the stable production build and the latest BETA test candidate.
   2. If you select Production, all users (including those enrolled in the BETA program) are forced to always use the stable production build.

Adding Users to the BETA program

You can any number of users to the BETA program.

1. Login to the Spoke Phone Account Portal
2. Go to the Users Directory
3. Edit a user
4. Go to Release Chanel Enrollment: Desktop Application and set the user's enrollment to either:
   1. Production - they must use the latest stable production build; or,
   2. BETA  program - they are able to swap between the stable production build and the latest BETA test candidate.

Turning off the BETA program

If you want to exit the BETA program or ensure every user is forced onto the stable production build:

1. Login to the Spoke Phone Account Portal
2. Go to Other -> Advanced -> Other
3. Go to the Early Release Program section
4. Select the minimum release channel for your organization to: Production

All users will now be forced to only use the stable production build.