Understanding Unified Messaging Incoming Call Handling

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Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 will reach end of support on April 11, 2017. To stay supported, you will need to upgrade. For more information, see Resources to help you upgrade your Office 2007 servers and clients.

 

Applies to: Exchange Server 2007, Exchange Server 2007 SP1, Exchange Server 2007 SP2, Exchange Server 2007 SP3

This topic provides an overview of the call handling features that are included with Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 Unified Messaging (UM). Each section in this topic gives you the information that is required to understand one or more of the call handling features that are included in Exchange 2007 Unified Messaging.

Overview

Call handling is a term that is used to describe how incoming calls are answered and handled by a computer that is running Exchange 2007 Unified Messaging. The types of incoming calls that are handled by Exchange 2007 UM include the following:

  • Voice calls

  • Fax calls

  • Outlook Voice Access

  • The Play on Phone feature

  • UM auto attendants

For more information about Unified Messaging message flow and routing, see Overview of the Unified Messaging Call Processing.

Voice Calls

Voice call handling is used when an internal or external user leaves a voice message for a subscriber on the Exchange 2007 Unified Messaging system. Incoming voice calls are created as MIME messages and then submitted by using Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) from the Exchange 2007 computer that has the Unified Messaging server role installed to an Exchange 2007 computer that has the Hub Transport server role installed. The two server roles must be installed in the same Active Directory site. The SMTP message transport for incoming voice calls is not only site aware, but all voice messages are submitted to the Hub Transport server by using SMTP, even if the mailbox resides on the same computer that has the Mailbox server role installed.

For more information about voice calls and message routing, see Unified Messaging Voice and Fax Call Processing.

Fax Calls

Fax call handling is used when an internal or external user sends a fax message to a UM-enabled recipient on the Exchange 2007 Unified Messaging system. Incoming fax calls are created as MIME messages and are submitted from the Unified Messaging server to a Hub Transport server in the same Active Directory site by using SMTP. The SMTP message transport for incoming fax calls is not only site aware, but all fax messages are submitted to the Hub Transport server by using SMTP, even if the mailbox resides on the same Mailbox server.

For more information about fax calls and message routing, see Unified Messaging Voice and Fax Call Processing.

Outlook Voice Access

Unified Messaging servers also process and route incoming calls that are received by Outlook Voice Access users. When a UM-enabled user or subscriber dials a subscriber access number that is set on a UM dial plan to access their Exchange 2007 mailbox, they are presented with a welcome message and a series of telephone user interface (TUI) voice prompts. The voice menu system that is presented to the user is called Outlook Voice Access. These voice prompts help the user to navigate and interact with the Unified Messaging system by using touchtone or speech inputs.

Note

When an Outlook Voice Access caller uses touchtone inputs on a telephone keypad, the TUI is used. When the same caller uses speech inputs over the telephone, the voice user interface (VUI) is used.

For more information about the TUI voice prompts found in Exchange 2007 Unified Messaging, see Understanding Unified Messaging Audio Prompts.

Outlook Voice Access is the feature that enables a UM-enabled user to access their Exchange 2007 mailbox by using an analog, digital, or cellular telephone. By accessing their Exchange 2007 mailbox they can perform the following tasks:

  • Listen to new and saved e-mail and voice mail messages.

  • Forward, reply, save, and delete e-mail and voice messages.

  • Interact with their calendar, including:

    • Listening to daily calendar appointments and meeting details.

    • Accepting or declining e-mail and meeting requests.

    • Sending an "I'll be late" message to meeting participants.

    • Replying to a meeting request by using voice inputs to send a message to meeting participants.

    • Declining or canceling meetings.

  • Interact with global address list (GAL) and personal contacts. These interactions may include:

    • Locating a person in the GAL or personal contacts.

    • Inputting a telephone extension number to leave a message for a person.

    • Sending a voice message to a person.

  • Change their PIN, spoken name, or greetings.

For more information about how to navigate the Outlook Voice Access menus, see the Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 Unified Messaging Outlook Voice Access Quick Start Guide. This guide is available in the <Program Files>\Microsoft\Exchange Server\bin folder.

For more information about Outlook Voice Access message routing, see Unified Messaging Outlook Voice Access Call Processing.

The Play on Phone Feature

To enable the Play on Phone feature for UM-enabled users, the UM server must first answer and then correctly route a call when it is placed by a user who is using Exchange 2007 Outlook Web Access or Microsoft Office Outlook 2007. If a UM-enabled user is in a location that is not private or the voice message is confidential, they will likely not want to play their voice message over their computer speakers. The Exchange 2007 Unified Messaging Play on Phone feature lets a UM-enabled user listen to a voice message by using a telephone instead of playing it over their computer speakers or headphones.

For more information about Play on Phone message flow see, Unified Messaging Play on Phone Call Processing.

UM Auto Attendants

To enable the UM auto attendant feature found in Exchange 2007 Unified Messaging, UM servers must correctly answer and then route the incoming calls that are received from internal and external anonymous or unauthenticated users.

To enable a UM auto attendant to answer incoming calls, you must first enable and configure a UM auto attendant. Creating and configuring UM auto attendants is an optional feature in Exchange 2007 Unified Messaging. However, auto attendants help internal and external callers locate and place calls to company users or departments that are in an organization.

A UM auto attendant is a set of voice prompts that callers hear instead of a human operator when they place a call to an organization that has Exchange 2007 Unified Messaging. A UM auto attendant helps callers navigate the organization's menu system by using dual tone multi-frequency (DTMF) (also known as touchtone) inputs or voice-activated inputs that use Speech Recognition so that they can locate a user or caller in an organization and then place a call to that user or department.

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