Telephone Switch Replacement Project: Services Matrix Detailed Desciptions

Services Matrix | Full Service Description

Voice Mail Trees
A specialized voice mail application that presents options to callers via a “branching” mechanism (e.g., “Press 1 for Helpdesk, 2 for ITC Support,….”). The application is part of the voice mail system applicable to the service level.

Branching options include transferring to another extension or sub-department, informational recordings, individual mailboxes, and various other functions. Because each tree is set up according to an individual department’s needs, ITS provides consulting to customize each application.

Advanced (IP Telephony) options:
Users will be served by Cisco’s IPCC Express. Features include:

Call routing
Caller queuing with optional Messaging or Music on hold
Real time data
Historical reporting
Conditional routing
Interactive Voice Response functions such as estimated time to answer
Computer Telephony Integration (screen pops)

Advanced Voice Mail
Centralized voice messaging that includes call answering and message-taking capabilities. Other features, such as programming voice mail to activate a pager, may be available and may be customized to your needs.

Standard and Enhanced options:
Users will continue to be served by the Mitel NuPoint Messenger (previously known as Centigram) system currently deployed on campus. Features include:

Ability to give/forward messages to other users
Answer/reply to messages from other voice mail users
Keep/store messages for later retrieval (there are limits depending on your level of service)
Message addressing options (mark urgent, confidential, future delivery, and request return receipt), and personal distribution lists.
Can be programmed with a “0” out option, which allows callers to be transferred to another preprogrammed extension.

Advanced (IP Telephony) options:
Users will be served by the new Cisco Unity system. This system includes all of the above features, as well as advanced features. One advanced feature is a web-based application called Unity Assistant that will allow users to manage message notification options, such as setting up voice mail to page you.

Station Hunting
A hunt group allows an incoming call to be directed to an idle station (telephone) in a preprogrammed group when the called station is busy.

Standard and Enhanced options:
Up to 20 extensions (or members) can be programmed into a hunt group. The hunt group can be set up as either a pilot or circular hunt group. A pilot hunt begins with the same designated extension (the pilot) each time and hunts for an available extension in a linear fashion. A circular hunt begins by calling any of the extensions in the group which then hunts to the next available group extension in a circular fashion.

Advanced (IP Telephony) options:
Up to 64 extensions (or members) can be programmed into a hunt group. Hunt group types include pilot, circular, longest idle time, and broadcast.

Conference Calling
The current ability to conference 3 parties together into one conversation without operator assistance and without pre-arrangement.

Operator assistance is available to arrange bridged conferences of more than 3 parties (charges apply)

3rd party conferencing service providers are also available for calls with more than 3 parties (charges apply)

Advanced (IP Telephony) options:
Ad hoc conferencing of up to 6 parties can be accomplished by users with the facilities of their IP phones.

Authorization Codes
An option that requires a code be entered to allow long distance/toll calls to be made from the phone (programmed by ITS/TNS).

Standard and Enhanced options:
The phone programmed with the authorization feature will only allow long distance calling if an authorization code has been entered. The call will also be charged against the authorization code rather than the extension from which the call is being placed.

Authorization code(s) can be set up via the ITS Customer Information Desk in Lindquist Center, or by calling 384-0800.

Advanced (IP Telephony) options:
Authorization codes are not currently an option for IP telephony users, but might be added in the future.

Caller ID
Displays number and/or name of calling party. Caller ID might not be available in all areas. This feature requires a Caller ID compatible phone. As the Caller ID feature is implemented throughout the campus we will notify users of its availability and functionality.

Analog Caller ID Telephone
It is necessary to have a telephone that has display capability in order to take advantage of the Caller ID Service. The existing analog telephones on campus do not have display capability. As part of the TSRP Project, TNS is replacing existing analog telephones with new caller ID capable telephones.

Music on Hold
Callers hear music while on hold.

This feature will be available on a per extension basis, so it will be an optional service.

Unified Messaging
Also known as “universal in-box”; allows the user to access voice mail from their e-mail inbox.

E-mail and voice messages are organized in your e-mail inbox
A text-to-speech module reads e-mail messages to you over the telephone
Flex Stack allows subscribers to specify the order in which they want messages presented to them
Live Reply enables subscribers to immediately reply to messages from other subscribers
You can send voice messages to anyone who can receive Internet e-mail

E-mail and voice messages are organized in your e-mail inbox
Messages are available to the user in a single in-box instead of having separate message stores for e-mail and voice mail messages.

A text-to-speech module reads e-mail messages to you over the telephone
By dialing into your in-box, the Unified Messaging system can read you your e-mail messages to you over the phone. This means you can access your e-mail messages from anywhere you can make a phone call.

Flex Stack allows subscribers to specify the order in which they want messages presented to them
Where you receive multiple types of messages in a single in-box you might want to browse through those messages in a particular order. The Flex Stack feature allows you to define the order in which the messages are presented to you.

Live Reply enables subscribers to immediately reply to messages from other subscribers
If, while listening to a voice mail message in your in-box, you decide you want to call the person that left you the message, you can immediately have the system dial that person from within your e-mail client.

You can send voice messages to anyone who can receive Internet e-mail
Forwarding a message to another user (who might or might not be a unified messaging user) is as simple as forwarding an e-mail message. The voice message is sent to the other user as an attachment to the e-mail you are sending.

Multiple Line Appearances
The ability to have more than one phone number (or “line”) appear on a phone for answering purposes or visual indication of line in use.

Enhanced options:
NEC’s Dterm phones have programmable buttons that can be customized to your needs. Depending on your phone type you can have anywhere from 2 to 32 lines. These line appearances can be programmed with any combination of phone numbers you wish to answer or just view. You can also have speed dial functionality programmed into these buttons.

Enhanced users can have line appearances from the Standard service level.
Enhanced users can’t have line appearances from the Advanced service level.

Advanced (IP Telephony) options:
There are multiple lines on your phone that can be programmed with any combination of phone numbers you wish to answer or just view. Additional features that are available from some IP phones include expanded ring tone options, and a voice mail indicator for multiple lines.

Most IP phones have up to 6 line buttons, and can be expanded up to an additional 28 buttons. The additional buttons that are not used for line appearances can be configured as speed dials.

IP Telephony users can only have line appearances for other IP Telephony users.

Automated Call Distribution
Automated Call Distribution (ACD) provides the ability to queue callers and distribute calls among available attendants.

Enhanced options:
Users will be served by NEC’s ACD platform, Call Center WorX. This system provides users with traditional ACD capabilities. It answers incoming calls according to customized programming instructions and distributes calls evenly among multiple attendants. This platform offers reporting on the type and volume of calls and efficiency of the agents. An additional option includes “real time” client software that shows current ACD activity.

Advanced (IP Telephony) options:
Users will be served by Cisco’s IPCC Express application. IPCC Express provides all of the traditional ACD capabilities, and more.
Features include:

Call routing
Caller queuing with optional messaging or music on hold
Real time data
Historical reporting
Conditional routing
Interactive Voice Response functions such as estimated time to answer
Computer Telephony Integration (screen pops)

Customizable Personal Options
Cisco’s Personal Assistant (CPA) software, available for the Advanced (IP Telephony) service level only, offers personal call handling rules, speech recognition, and enhanced text-to-speech functionality. Features include:

Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR)
Text-To-Speech (TTS)
Rule Based Routing
Information portal to Microsoft Exchange
CalendarView
MailView
Contacts Synchronization
Rule-Set Activation

Automatic Speech Recognition
CPA features an automatic speech recognition interface that provides users with simple voice commands to perform tasks. You can verbally dial entries from your personal address book or the corporate directory.

CPA provides speech enabled access to your Cisco Unity voice-messages. Speech recognition gives you the option to voice-navigate mailbox access and such standard voice mail functions as reply to, record and delete.

Text-To-Speech
CPA offers an optional enhanced TTS interface allowing the system to read and speak call-routing rule names, personal address book names, and corporate directory names when there are no recorded names available.

Rules Based Routing
CPA allows individual users to consolidate how and where they want to receive calls. Using a Web interface to create rules, users forward and screen calls based on caller identification, time of day, and/or meeting schedules. Users can also instruct Cisco Personal Assistant to forward selected calls to a series of phone numbers. CPA processes the user-configured rules and dispatches calls accordingly.

Information portal to Microsoft Exchange
CPA enhances the capabilities of Cisco’s 7960 phone and newer graphic display IP phones with simple scrolling keys for checking e-mail, voice mail, personal contact, and calendar information from the Microsoft Exchange server.

CalendarView
CPA gives users the ability to keep track of appointments right on the IP phone. Because CalendarView directly uses the Microsoft Exchange server built-in calendar function, no synchronization is necessary. Users can see an entire day or week’s worth of appointments on one screen. In addition, they can choose to be notified of upcoming events or appointments on the IP phone display or by pager. If a phone number is included in the appointment, users can dial the number with the touch of a button.

MailView
CPA gives users access to e-mail and Cisco Unity voice messages in their e-mail inboxes on the Microsoft Exchange e-mail server. Users can scroll through messages and read e-mail on the screen display of their IP phones. They can also listen to and delete voice mail by using the IP phone softkeys. Any operation performed on the messages by using MailView is automatically reflected in Microsoft Exchange and Cisco Unity because the two applications use the same message store.

Contacts Synchronization
CPA provides two options for users to synchronize personal address books with their Microsoft Exchange contact lists. Users can access the Web interface or use the IP phone service. These contacts will then become available for voice access through the speech recognition name-dialer and dialing on the IP Phone using the Cisco CallManager Personal Directory feature.

Rule-Set Activation
CPA allows users to activate or deactivate call-routing rule sets from their IP Phone, or by using the Web or speech recognition interfaces. Users can also view which rule set is currently active.