Focus on features
There have been a number of great comments over the past number of weeks concerning Cisco Unity Connection. Many of the comments relate to “how does this help me run my business?” The focus always should be to solve a business situation, problem, or improve productivity. Never should this be… “hey, this is a really cool feature… let’s implement it.” Keep in mind that features provide the means to the end, which is helping business run their core business. Features are not the end in themselves.
The Cisco Unity products have provided a number of features over the years that have helped companies and supply more than just voicemail services. Many organizations have found the ability to utilize Cisco Unity Connection audiotext applications to answer the calls and direct callers to the proper department. In this case, the caller is provided a list of options… “Thank you for calling, ACME services. Press “1” for admin, press “2” for the directory, or hold for an operator.” This is nothing new and has been around since the beginning of Unity and voicemail systems. However, many new improvements have been implemented with Cisco Unity product line over the years. Some these features will be explored here.
One interesting aspect about audiotext applications is that multiple audiotext applications can configured based on the called or calling number. For example, a banking system may use this to direct the caller to the loans department based on the number dialed, or if the caller is from a certain region based on their calling number or area code. Other companies prefer the personalized touch of directing the caller to the right individual. In this case, the auto attendant can be enabled to provide direct transfer to the correct individuals or customer service agent.
Getting to the right person and immediate notification of urgent messages assists business in supporting their customers. Many companies have realized this to provide them with a more competitive advantage. Cisco Unity Connection provides a number of features that assist engineers and administrators to configure call screening, direct transfer rules, and message notification. The beauty of these features is that they can be configured by system administrators and also managed by the users. For example, I may be in meetings throughout the day, but don’t want to miss a call from an important customer. Personal call transfer rules allow me to configure a rule to transfer the call directly my phone (for this specific customer only), or screen the call if I wish.
Using message notification callers can be enabled to mark user messages as urgent, where users can then be notified of the message on their home phone, cell phone or other devices and listen to their message directly from this notification. Message notification can also be used with a general mailbox or distribution list to provide off-hours support. For example, customers can call and leave a message after hours, where message notification provides immediate notification to the correct individuals.
Also, additional user features, such as the Messaging Assistant and Messaging Inbox allows users to manage and retrieve their messages using their web browser. In the next blog, we’ll take a closer look at the user’s perspective and the different methods that users can retrieve messages based on how the user works.
