Unified Messaging

About

Unified Messaging combines voicemail and email messages into one email mailbox. Voice messages that are left at your Tufts extension are delivered to your Tufts email mailbox. You can play them on your computer, your smartphone, or by dialing in to the voicemail system as you have in the past.

Additional Information

Unified Messaging Wiki with Tipsheets, FAQS, and general information

Getting Help with Unified Messaging

For Support Escalation for Unified Messaging please refer to these resources:

1. UM Tipsheet and FAQ (see link above)
2. UIT Client Services Center (uitsc@tufts.edu, x73376)
   • Will then Escalate to the Teldata desk for account related issues and concerns with the Call Routing platform.
   • Will Escalate to the UIT-ESS group for systemic Unified Messaging Issues.

As Unified Messaging is a hybrid technology (Relies on both Exchange and Telephony components) the Teldata desk and ESS will often collaborate to troubleshoot some of the higher tiered questions.

About the Unified Messaging Dial Plans

All Telephone Extensions are routed through the Medford Calling Center, and thus all Unified Messaging accounts are by default created with the Medford Dial Plan. To determine which Dialplan someone is using, you can look them up in FSP Tools on the https://tuftstools.tufts.edu website, or contact the support escalation group.

The two available dial plans are as follows:

Medford Dial Plan Default Policy
This is our standard offering. Voicemails generate an email with attached audio file and voice to text translation. Users can listen to the message both via Voice Access and via a suitable email client.

Medford Protected Voice with no Email Playback
This is the protected voicemail service. Protected voicemail does send an email notification that a message has been left, but it does not allow any email clients to retrieve or play the message. (outside of "Call on Phone" functionality in OWA and Outlook 2010.) It is important to re-remind users of protected voicemail that 1) they may not forward their email from tufts to an external email provider and subscribe to protected voicemail 2) The message IS the email, so deleting the notification deletes the message.

Reminder on Forwarding

Unified Messaging is designed with Exchange as the destination client. You cannot forward mail to an external vendor and take advantage of listening to voicemails on the Voice Access, they will have to be retrieved and listened to at the external mail destination.

Understanding HOW Unified Messaging Works

1. A call is placed to a Tufts University Phone Extension. If it is not answered, the Call Routing System (2) passes the call off to the Exchange Unified Messaging servers (3) to record a message
2. The Call Routing system is how all phone calls make it to each extension. From a telephony perspective, if a telephone RINGS when its extension is called, then the call routing system is working. Troubleshooting if the phone does not reach voicemail should be done in the hand-off between (2) and (3)
3. The Exchange Unified Messaging servers are tied DIRECTLY into an individuals mailbox. Once the call is handed off from the Call Routing System to Unified Messaging, the option to leave a voicemail for the expected person is presented. The recorded voicemail is then saved (via the email notification of the voicemail) to the mailbox of the Exchange account attached to Unified Messaging.
4. Users may then access these recorded voicemails in one of two ways:
   • Voice Access: This number varies by campus, but by using the Voice Access PIN, listening to a message that has been left is possible
   • Email Access: The mailbox that the message was left for will be placed into the inbox as a message.

Group Extensions

In some ways this is a very loosely defined term. Group extensions, like Group calendars in Exchange, may be used for several reasons. There are a few things to keep in mind:

1. Every Unified Messaging Voicemail box MUST be attached to an Exchange account
   • That exchange account does not have to be the individuals exchange account, but they will not receive email notifications of new voicemails if this is the case.

There are a couple of different scenario's in which a group extension may be recommended:

1. A phone extension is used as a departmental or group phone, and multiple individuals take part in checking the voicemail of the phone.
2. A phone extension is used as a departmental or group phone, and only one individual takes part in checking the voicemail of the phone BUT the voicemail message must be separate from that individual's personal voicemail
3. An individual absolutely cannot receive email notifications for voicemail to their personal or shared group mailbox. In this situation a separate mailbox can be created to house just their voicemail, but this will sever all access to electronic voicemail.

Some Caveats to keep in mind:

1. If a group mailbox is used as the delivery point for Unified Messaging, the same rules apply. if the message is marked read or deleted it will be removed from the inbox on the telephone.
2. In some cases if only an individual collects voicemail for a group phone extension and does NOT need a personal voicemail recording, the "Group" extension can be assigned to their personal extension, but extra care needs to be made during staff transitions to make sure the voicemail is unaffected by the coming and going of the individual.

Transitioning Mailboxes from one person to another

As people enter and leave the university, the following is true:

1. One person may have multiple UM extensions, but UM extensions can ONLY be mapped to a single exchange mailbox.
2. The ability to leave voicemail for an individual after their 28day grace period will cease. It is possible to re-route the extension to another person, but if a private message needs to be left then a group extension will be employed.

Termination Considerations

From the moment an AD account is disabled it will not be possible to leave a voice message for the extension unless a transfer to another account is performed.

1. If the desire is to simply reroute the voicemail to the manager's desk, have UITSC remove the extension from the employee's exchange mailbox and add it to the manager's desk line. This is an option, but it will NOT allow the manager to provide a custom voicemail for the departing employee.
2. If a custom message is needed, ask for a UMX account, which is a hidden group account that can hold the voicemail and be checked via outlook voice access for the manager. This will allow a custom message to be left and separate messages for the old extension from the manager's voicemail.