Exchange Server 2010 extends the UM features first
introduced in Exchange Server 2007. Unified messaging seamlessly
integrates voice messaging, faxing, and electronic mail into a single
Inbox. This frees up the user from having to manage separate accounts
and Inboxes for these three types of messages. With the new role, there
are a number of new features.
Telephony
Integration
With unified
messaging, Exchange Server is integrated into the telephony world. This
integration takes place between the Exchange Unified Messaging server
and gateways or Private Branch Exchanges (PBXs).
In a classic set of
telephony and electronic mail systems, shown in Figure 1, there are two separate networks that deliver voice messages
and electronic messages (email). In the telephony system, there are
separate components for the PBX, voice mail, external lines, and phones.
As shown in the figure, calls from the Public Switched Telephone
Network (PSTN) come into a PBX device. Typically, an incoming call is
routed by the PBX to the telephone. If the phone does not answer or is
busy, the call is routed to the voice mail system. Similarly, email from
the Internet arrives at the Exchange messaging server. Note that in the
classic system, there is no integration or connectivity between the
telephony and electronic mail systems.
With Exchange
Server 2010 and unified messaging, these two disparate systems are
integrated, as shown in Figure 2. Although the UM server does not connect directly with a
traditional PBX, it does integrate with PBXs via gateways. The
combination of the PBX and the Internet Protocol (IP) gateway can also
be replaced by an IP-PBX, which provides both sets of functionality.
One such IP-PBX
option is Microsoft Office Communications Server, OCS. Integrating these
two Microsoft platforms provides a powerful enterprise voice solution
that can replace most modern PBXs at a fraction of the cost.
Notice that, in
effect, the Unified Messaging server has replaced the voice mail server
in the classic system. The new Microsoft Exchange Server 2010 Unified
Messaging server is a voice mail server.
The more detailed view with
all the Exchange Server 2010 server roles is shown in Figure 3. This figure also includes the various ways
that a user can interact with the integrated system.
Single Inbox
The Unified
Messaging server enables the true unification of email messages, voice
mail messages, and fax messages into a single Inbox. Messages from all
these disparate sources are stored in the user’s Inbox and are
accessible through a wide variety of interfaces, such as Outlook, a
telephone, a web browser, or even a mobile PDA.
The Inbox can be
managed just like a traditional email Inbox, with folders, Inbox rules,
message retention, and so on. Exchange Server administrators can back up
and restore Inboxes with all these forms of data just as they do with
email data. This reduces the complexity and ease of use for both users
and administrators.
Call Answering
Call answering
picks up incoming calls for a user who does not answer their phone. It
plays their personal greeting, records voice messages, and converts the
voice messages to an email message to be submitted to the user’s
Exchange Server mailbox.
Fax Receiving
If the incoming call is
from a fax machine, the server can recognize this and accept the fax.
The fax is then converted to an email message and submitted to the
user’s Exchange Server mailbox. The user can then read the fax as an
attachment to the message.
Subscriber Access
The subscriber
access feature allows a user to access their Exchange Server mailbox
using a phone. This access mechanism is called Outlook Voice Access.
With Outlook Voice Access, a
user can access their Exchange Inbox with the telephone to do the
following:
Listen to
and forward voice mail messages.
Listen to, forward, and reply to email
messages.
Listen to calendar information.
Access or dial contacts.
Accept
or cancel meeting requests.
Notify attendees that the user will be late.
Set a voice mail Out-of-Office message.
Set user security preferences and personal options.
This,
in effect, gives the user working access to their Exchange Inbox while
out in the field with only a telephone.
The system not only
recognizes dual tone multiple frequency (DTMF) key presses from the
phone, but also understands voice commands. The system guides the user
through the prompts responding to voice commands, giving the user
complete hands-free operation.
For example, a user might
be on the freeway running late for a lunch meeting. Not remembering the
exact time, the user calls into the subscriber access and says “Today’s
Calendar.” The unified messaging system speaks the summary of the next
meeting, which is at 12 p.m. Recognizing that the traffic will force him
to be 20 minutes late, the user says “I’ll be 20 minutes late for this
appointment.” The unified messaging system confirms and then sends a
message to all the attendees.
The speech
recognition is remarkably effective and able to recognize commands even
over cell phones and with background noise.
Outlook Play on
Phone
The Exchange Server 2010
Outlook Web App client and the Outlook 2007 client both support a
feature called Play on Phone. This feature allows users to play voice
mail on a phone rather than through the computer. The user opens the
voice mail message, selects the Play on Phone option, enters the number
to play the message on, and clicks the Dial button.
This allows the user
to send the audio stream of the voice mail message to a phone for more
privacy or to allow a third party to hear the message. The system also
provides prompts over the phone following the playback with message
handling options.
Outlook Voice Mail
Preview
Outlook voice mail
preview is a new feature to Exchange Server 2010 unified messaging. In
Exchange Server 2007 UM, you would see caller information and message
priority. Exchange Server 2010 kicks it up a notch with speech-to-text
functionality. Before the voice mail message arrives in your inbox,
Exchange Server UM transcribes the voice mail and puts the text in the
body of the email. Though not perfect, it’s quite accurate. This is
especially helpful for “spam” voice mail with “anonymous” caller
information. Using this function a user can save time, and frustration,
by deleting unwanted messages without listening to them with no fear of
deleting a legitimate message.
Call Answering
Rules
New to Exchange Server
2010 is the concept of call answering rules. A user can configure basic
call workflows using Outlook Web App. By default, no call answering
rules are configured. However, users can browse to the phone tab and
then select voice mail in the OWA options menu. See an example in Figure 4.
For example, let’s say you
want your kids to reach you at anytime, but you don’t want coworkers to
reach you after 5 p.m. You could set a rule to allow calls from the
numbers your children would call from to come through to Communicator
and then also ring your mobile phone or another phone. You could also
set a rule to force any calls from a business associate or coworker to
be forwarded directly to voice mail after 5 p.m. The interface is
reminiscent of Outlook Web App email rules and should be familiar to
most users. Even after rules are created, they can be disabled or
enabled through the Outlook Web App Voice Mail menu. Rules, by default,
are created as enabled.
Intelligent call
routing, a more generic term for Microsoft’s call answering rules, was a
frequently noted omission in Exchange Server 2007. Its inclusion in
Exchange Server 2010 and Exchange Server 2010 UM’s tight integration
with Office Communications Server 2007 R2 offers a rich voice platform
capable of being a full PBX replacement.
Auto Attendant
The auto attendant, as shown in Figure 5, is like a secretary, providing voice prompts
to guide an external or internal caller through the voice mail system.
The system can respond to either telephone keypad presses or voice
commands.
The auto attendant features include the
following:
A
customizable set of menus for external users
Greetings for business hours and
nonbusiness hours
Hours of operation and holiday schedules
Access
to the organization’s directory
Access
for external users to the operator
The voice prompts
that provide the preceding information can be customized to suit the
organization.
