Replacement of the University Voicemail and Related Systems
This summer, ITS' Telecommunications Office (TCO) will be installing a new voicemail system. The current voicemail system is no longer supported by the vendor (Octel) and must be replaced as part of a new maintenance contract for the University telephone system. The new system is from NEC Corporation (NEAXMAIL AD 120). This article contains important dates and information to guide all our offices through a successful migration to the new system.
Voicemail
On July 1, 2004, the current Octel system will be locked for any further changes (e.g., adding new voicemail boxes). At this time a copy of its database will be loaded into the new NEAXMAIL AD 120 system.
On August 11, 2004, all University voicemail boxes on the NEAXMAIL AD 120 will be available for initialization. All a user has to do is dial the voicemail number (442-3305) and follow the prompts to receive voicemail on the NEAXMAIL AD 120. Failure to initialize your voicemail box will inhibit a caller from leaving you a voicemail message. The Octel system will remain available to retrieve saved messages until October 1, 2004 when it will be taken off line and decommissioned.
Enhanced Call Processing
The Octel voicemail system also contains over 75 Enhanced Call Processing (ECP) voicemail trees used by campus offices (e.g., caller hears: dial 1 for students, dial 2 for faculty and staff). The current ECP inventory is being reviewed by the TCO for accuracy, ownership and appropriateness. Once the review is complete, ECP owners will be contacted to migrate their ECP trees to the NEAXMAIL AD 120. To assist ECP offices with this migration we have scheduled four two-hour ECP preparation-training sessions for holders of ECP trees on the following dates:
May 25th 10:00 AM – Noon or 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM or
May 26th 10:00 AM – Noon or 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM
Each office using an ECP will have about six weeks to prepare the ECP for migration to the NEAXMAIL AD 120. Four two-hour implementation-training sessions where ECP holders will be taught how to record menus and greetings will be held on the following dates:
July 13th 10:00 AM – Noon or 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM or
July 14th 10:00 AM – Noon or 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM
ECP holders will be required to attend one of both the preparation and implementation sessions.
Automatic Call Distribution
An additional aspect of the new phone services is a new real-time Automatic Call Distributor (ACD) management tool called Navigator. For those offices using ACD, the Navigator system will allow managers and supervisors to see the status of their ACD activity in real-time. This new tool replaces the manual reporting that has to be done daily.
The TCO will hold two, two-hour Navigator training sessions for ACD managers and supervisors on the following date:
August 10th at 10:00 AM – Noon or 2:00 PM – 4:00 PM
Please call the Telecommunications Office to schedule training for ECP and/or ACD systems. All classes will be held in The Standish Room, New Science Library.
These new systems and other technical improvements to the phone system will be the foundation for future enhanced services. For example, ITS is evaluating services such as unified messaging for 2005-06, where voicemail and e-mail can be heard and viewed from your Microsoft Exchange account.
If you have any questions please call The Telecommunications Service Center at 437-3800.
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