Unified Messaging

TheDirectData.com

Page 1

Unified Messaging

CONTENT

I. II. III. IV. V. VI.

INTRODUCTION.......................................................................2 WHY UNIFIED MESSAGING.4 BENEFITS OF UNIFIED MESSAGING..4 THE INTEL SERVEY ON UNIFIED MESSAGING8 IMPLEMENTATION.10 LATEST UPDATES ON UNIFIED MESSAGING..15

VII. PITFALLS OF CONVERGED NETWORK . VIII. CONCLUSION17 IX. REFERENCES..20

TheDirectData.com

Page 2

Unified Messaging

I. a. overvie

INTRODUCTION.

The rapid increase in worker mobility, accompanied by the dramatic rise of mobile de ices, has ca!sed the ability to stay in to!ch anytime, anywhere, ia any de ice, to take on new meanin". #eople are in!ndated with messa"es and comm!nications, both real$ time and non$real time, necessitatin" a better way to red!ce messa"in" chaos and mana"e all of the oice mail, e$mail, te%t, and fa% messa"es workers recei e e ery day. The sol!tion is &nified 'essa"in" (&'), the inte"ration of oice mail, fa%, e$mail, allowin" !sers to access any of these messa"es,anywhere, anytime, from any terminal of choice. &nified 'essa"in" (&') has the promise of central, !nified mana"ement of m!ltiple ser ices and brin"s the ability for e%istin" pro iders to offer new offerin"s s!ch as email, fa%, one$n!mber and other ser ices to lock in e%istin" s!bscribers. *t also introd!ces se eral new challen"es and opport!nities for ser ice pro iders $ with traditional lines between phone n!mbers and ser ices bl!rred. This paper e%amines the paradi"m shift from traditional messa"in" systems and e%plores s!ccessf!l strate"ies in implementin" &nified 'essa"in"

!. W"a# i$ %&i'ie( )e$$a*i&*+ De'i&a#io&,

&nified messa"in" is a techni+!e which inte"rate all the messa"in" ser ices like, e$mail, oice mail, fa%es, sms into a ,one bo%- sol!tion. &' takes all of the !ser-s messa"es, stores and mana"es them consistently, and presents them in a "i en conte%t. .mon" all definitions of &', these points "o to the essence of &'. &nified messa"in" is a personal a"ent for the indi id!al !ser. *t can help send and recei e messa"es, whether they are oice, e$mail, or fa%. *t also will notify the !ser whene er mail arri es. The concept of notification is becomin" a lar"e part of messa"in". /ome people want to be reached at all costs, anywhere, at any time. 0hether they are at home or on acation, they want to be notified of messa"es. 1thers are more protecti e abo!t their pri acy. They do not want to be reached when, for e%ample, they are sleepin" or ha in" dinner. &nified messa"in" technolo"y pro ides the power to reach people almost anywhere, at any time and the fle%ibility to allow people to control when they can be reached. This is based on a concept of 2yo!r time2 comm!nications, where s!bscribers can interface with messa"es how and when they want. &nified 'essa"in" offers s!bscribers the ability to mana"e se eral comm!nication media s!ch as phone, fa%, email, oicemail, and messa"in", thro!"h a central messa"e mana"er. *n addition, m!ltiple access methods are a ailable to the central TheDirectData.com Page 3

Unified Messaging messa"e mana"er $ web, oice enabled email3 oicemails and fa%es from a sin"le place and choose the disposition action for forwardin", copyin", archi in" etc. i.e. this techni+!e takes all the messa"es as inp!t , store it and m4na"e it accordin" to !ser-s contact. The ser ice is tar"eted at b!sy, mobile professionals who are challen"ed with the need to be constantly in to!ch with all methods of recei in" and sendin" messa"es. Take the b!sy sales professional as an e%ample $ he or she probably has an office land line n!mber, mobile phone n!mber, two oicemails, a fa% n!mber, an email address and a pa"er. Traditionally, this indi id!al wo!ld separately check oicemails, emails, fa%es and pa"ers !sin" three or fo!r different de ices $ each with different interfaces. 0ith a &nified 'essa"in" acco!nt, a !ser can lo" on to a central site and iew5play back all messa"es at once. 6or professionals on the road, emails, oicemails and fa%es can all be listened to thro!"h oice reprod!ction technolo"y sa in" time and fr!stration. #robably the bi""er ad anta"e is the ability to easily find the b!sy professional $ instead of tryin" two phone n!mbers, pa"in" and sendin" an email, !nified messa"in" can also pro ide a 7,one n!mber8 ser ice where yo!r b!siness card only has to ha e one n!mber for all messa"es, fa%es and emails. 9ach messa"e type is distin"!ishable by an easy to read "raphical icon. The inte"ration with these already$familiar email systems practically eliminates the need to train employees to !se !nified messa"in" technolo"y beca!se they are able to mana"e all messa"es :!st like an email. 0hen o!t of the office or on the road, !sers can also access and mana"e all of their messa"es from any telephone worldwide. &nified messa"in" pro ides !nparalleled fle%ibility by "i in" !sers the ability to access their messa"es 24 ho!rs a day, se en days a week, and ;<5 days a year from almost any location. so, from this !ser is in complete control of ro!tin" of their messa"es accordin" to his con enient. This de ice has become a ery !sef!l transaction terminal. #eople can !se it for bankin" transactions, brokera"e transactions, and e en to order a book or a pi==a. 1n the other end of the network, a pi==a resta!rant, for e%ample, wo!ld ha e a small database of !sers on a >1,000 #?. ?!stomers call in and enter the data mode. Their callin" n!mber is reco"ni=ed immediately as a pre io!s c!stomer, and they can order their pi==a with choices presented to them on the phone7s display. The caller7s address and telephone n!mber is then retrie ed from the database. This application is an e%ample of technolo"y yieldin" b!siness sol!tions

TheDirectData.com

Page 4

Unified Messaging

-o&-e.# o' %&i'ie( )e$$a*i&* II. W"/ U&i'ie( Me$$a*i&*+

Wo%0( i# )a1e /o%r 0i'e ea$ier #o "ave a&/ o' #"e 'o00o i&*+ @ecei e fa%es in yo!r email. Aisten to yo!r email o er the phone .BC reply o er the phone. Da e a messa"in" ser ice answer yo!r telephone calls in yo!r name. Da e yo!r emails sent to yo!r pa"er or Te%ted to yo!r mobile phone. Da e emails sent to my fa% machine. Ee alerted when yo! recei e a messa"e. 6orward all yo!r e$mails to yo!r phone ia Te%t messa"e Da e all yo!r messa"es in one central, always accessible store. Da e yo!r calls forwarded to any phone yo! choose (6ollow 'e) Page 5

TheDirectData.com

Unified Messaging Da e yo!r calls locate yo! ia a series of n!mbers (6ind 'e) Da e an a!tomated system which anno!nces the caller before answerin" /end all types of messa"es from one central in$bo%. Eroadcast 6a%, 9$mail or /'/ Te%t messa"es from the web

*f the answer is yes to any of the abo e, 'essa"epoint is for yo!. .nd the best part is that *t also does m!ch more. 6or e%ample , s!ppose yo! are at home and any fa% is arri ed at yo!r office in yo!r fa% machine then there is no means to "et that fa% instantly or e en yo! aren-t aware of incomin" of the fa%. /o, &' "i es yo! the sol!tion of this problem . yo! can read yo!r fa% from #? or mobile or any comm!nication de ice which yo! want and also it will notify yo! for comin" of the fa%. The "oal of a &nified 'essa"in" system is to simplify and speed !p comm!nication processes to achie e time and cost sa in"s for companies and5or indi id!als. &nified 'essa"in" makes it easier for !sers and system administrators to mana"e the infl!% of messa"es, while pro idin" enhanced oice mail and fa% capabilities. &nified 'essa"in" enables !sers to access oicemail, email, and fa% messa"es from a sin"le !ser interface, makin" messa"es accessible ia telephone, wireless de ice, or 0eb interface. *t can be premise$based, !sin" a ser er to brin" to"ether the applications, or it can be offered by a ser ice pro ider as a network$hosted ser ice. &nified messa"in" makes possible #?$based oicemail and fa% retrie al, telephone access to email and fa% messa"es, and instant #ersonal Ci"ital .ssistant (#C.) notification of incomin" messa"es. &' !ses a common "raphical !ser interface to "reatly enhance and simplify the ability to retrie e, or"ani=e, and re iew messa"es. .nd as the n!mber and type of comm!nication de ices increases, &' ens!res contin!ed anywhere, anytime, any$de ice access to all messa"es. &' c!ts administration costs by eliminatin" infrastr!ct!re red!ndancy. *t also pro ides ad anced prod!cti ity feat!res s!ch asF 1 Te%t$to$speech con ersion for cross$interface messa"e retrie al and deli ery 2 6a% inte"ration ; /peech$to$te%t con ersion for fle%ible messa"e creation (f!t!re) 4 /peech reco"nition 5 GAi e @eply8 feat!res to a!tomatically re$dial the person who left the oice messa"e.

TheDirectData.com

Page 6

Unified Messaging

III.

FEATURES AND BENEFITS OF UNIFIED MESSAGING

U0#i)a#e Mo!i0i#/ 2 &' can deli er yo!r messa"es to yo! on the mo e $ ia phone, e$mail, pa"er, fa% or /'/ capable cell phone. Ho! can also lo" onto any *nternet enabled comp!ter and access yo!r messa"es. 6or e%ample, read yo!r messa"es from an *nternet cafe, hotel, library or airport world$wide. /pecial software is not essential as yo! access yo!r messa"es ia any web browser s!ch as Betscape Ba i"ator or 'icrosoft *nternet 9%plorer. Le# Yo%r Me$$a*e$ C"a$e Yo%3 No# T"e O#"er Wa/ Aro%&( 4 .ll messa"es can be forwarded to yo! where er yo! are.... and not where yo!7re not. Ho!7re in complete control of the ro!tin" of yo!r messa"es $ tell !s where yo! wo!ld like them deli ered, and by which method and we7ll or"ani=e that for yo!. .nd e en if yo!r comp!ter or mobile phone is switched off we can still "et yo!r messa"es to yo! when yo!7re on the mo e $ the messa"es are stored !ntil yo! switch on a"ain. C0ear A&( Si).0e The &' system is simple and fast to !se. 6a%es are recei ed with di"ital +!ality so they will always be clear and easy to read. Ioicemail is recorded with ?C +!ality, so not only will yo! be able to hear clearly what yo!r messa"e is, yo!7ll also find that lost messa"es thro!"h f!ll or broken answerin" machine are a thin" of the past. 5%i-1 Se# U. 4 &' deli ers yo!r oicemails, fa%es, telephone messa"es and e$mail messa"es strai"ht to yo!r own !ni+!e ro!tin" r!les meanin" no more lost messa"es, and no need to worry abo!t sensiti e doc!ments or fa%es. 0ith &' all messa"es are encrypted. Eeca!se of this a fa% transmitted ia &' will be more sec!re then !sin" the p!blic telephone network. 'essa"es come to yo!, and follow yo! to yo!r e%act location. 6a%es need not "o to a hotel reception, nor messa"es be handled by anyone e%cept yo!rself. There is no need to rely on staff to "et yo!r messa"es to yo! $ &' deli ers them to a specified location accordin" to yo!r instr!ctions.

TheDirectData.com

Page 7

Unified Messaging

Trave0 Li*"# 4 Bo need to tra el with laptops and pa"ers and mobile phones and personal or"ani=ers. *nstead of carryin" aro!nd c!mbersome comm!nications e+!ipment, ha e all yo!r messa"es sent to one location where yo! can iew and respond to them. /imilarly, yo!r contacts can reach yo! on one n!mber, first time, instead of chasin" yo! for ho!rs. Hi*" $-a0a!i0i#/: #EJ systems Gma% o!t8 at a certain n!mber of !sers, re+!irin" e%pensi e system !p"rades or add$ons to increase capacity. ?on er"ed networks, on the other hand, are as easy and efficient to scale as any data network, with the ability to seamlessly pro ision additional capacity for infrastr!ct!re, ser ices, and applications on demand I&$#a&# No#i'i-a#io& &' can pro ide notification to yo!r pa"er or /'/ capable cell phone or e$mail acco!nt to alert yo! that new messa"es ha e been recei ed and are waitin" for yo!r attention. There will be no more wasted time lo""in" on to find that no messa"es are waitin", and no more time and e%pense spent callin" back to the office to see if perhaps there are messa"es waitin" for collection there. Botification can be pro ided for all messa"e types, so e en when yo! are on the mo e yo! can still keep ri"ht in to!ch. . notification tells yo! the time of messa"e receipt and the n!mber of the caller (if a ailable) so yo! can then choose the !r"ency of yo!r response . Rea02Ti)e Ca00 Ma&a*e)e&# The heart of !nified comm!nications is real$time call mana"ement K it ens!res that people ma%imi=e their time and prod!cti ity and "i es control back to the !ser by enablin" them to prioriti=e calls. Dow does this workL ?allers dial the !ni ersal n!mber and "i e their name to the system, which then calls m!ltiple !serspecified n!mbers sim!ltaneo!sly K office phone, car phone, home office, pa"er, meetin" room, or e en a c!stomers- office. Eeca!se callers are anno!nced, !sers now ha e the fle%ibility to take the call, send it to oice mail, redirect it to another collea"!e, or e en initiate a conference call with additional parties. @ecall that in the absence of !nified comm!nications, fewer than 25 percent of b!siness calls reach their intended party. *f 75 percent of b!siness calls are not reachin" the intended party, one res!lt is an o erab!ndance of messa"es waitin" for that party at the end of the day. /o, what does real$time call mana"ement really mean for a !serL *t means that the !ser is able to e%ercise :!d"ment o er which calls to take, which calls to forward to someone who can address the caller-s needs, and which calls to send to oice mail to deal with later. The TheDirectData.com Page 8

Unified Messaging res!lt is better time mana"ement and prioriti=ation of work. There are fewer messa"es to ret!rn at the end of the day beca!se the !ser has ro!ted each call appropriately as it came in throughout the day. E&#er.ri$e I&#e*ra#io& . truly !nified comm!nications ser ice for b!siness cannot force !sers to check messa"es in more than one mailbo%. *t m!st allow messa"es to be ro!ted and stored where er the b!siness or !ser chooses K either in the system-s own mailbo% or by inte"ratin" the !nified comm!nications system with an e%istin" corporate oice mail system. This decision often in ol es a cost$benefit analysis of the merits of keepin" an or"ani=ation standardi=ed on a sin"le oice mail platform ers!s a typically richer feat!re set offered in the !nified comm!nications mailbo% (s!ch as one$to!ch call ret!rn, messa"e forwardin" to others o!tside the system, 0eb access to oice and fa% messa"es, etc.). Re#%r& o& I&ve$#)e&# The increased prod!cti ity, time sa in"s and fle%ibility of !nified messa"in" translate into al!able cost sa in"s. . recent ind!stry st!dy p!blished by ?om"ro!p, an independent telecomm!nications cons!ltin" firm, and .IT ?orp. meas!red !nified messa"in"7s effects on time sa in"s and prod!cti ity. The st!dy fo!nd that by !tili=in" !nified messa"in", mobile !sers e%perienced a time sa in"s "ain of 70 percent when compared to the traditional means of checkin" messa"es. 0hile some *T mana"ers worry that they cannot afford to deploy !nified messa"in" within their company, the st!dy fo!nd that an a era"e si=e system pays for itself in <8 b!siness days. The followin" e%ample ill!strates a 200$!ser system with 20 remote5tra elin" employees.

N%)!er o' e).0o/ee$ Ti)e2$avi&*$ 7i& "o%r$6(a/8 Avera*e "o%r0/ $a0ar/ -o$# Savi&*$ .er (a/ S/$#e) -o$# Pa/!a-1 i& (a/$

O''i-e2!a$e( 180 0.25 >12 >540 >45,000

Re)o#e6#rave0i&* 20 0.4 >25 >200 >5,000

To#a0 200

>740 >50,000 <7.5<

TheDirectData.com

Page 9

Unified Messaging

IV.

THE INTEL SERVEY ON UNIFIED MESSAGING

*ntel cond!cted an 18$month !nified messa"in" research and de elopment pro:ect. This incl!ded a se en month !sa"e trial, in which we so!"ht to determine the best approach to &' deployment and to establish a framework for !nderstandin" o!r ret!rn on in estment (@1*). #rior to the trial, *ntel s!r eyed many of o!r b!siness "ro!ps to determine the demand for !nified messa"in" and to establish !sa"e preferences. 0e also s!r eyed e%ternal companies to better !nderstand &' trends, prod!ct mat!rity, and prod!ct offerin"s. *ntel-s &' team !sed the s!r ey information to form a sol!tion that meets !ser needs, with minimal impact on the e%istin" messa"in" infrastr!ct!re. The !sa"e trial in ol ed 100 participants drawn from *ntel camp!ses in 6olsom, ?.3 ?handler, .M3 Bew 'e%ico3 1re"on3 and /anta ?lara, ?.. 0e !sed the e%istin" 6olsom #EJ, and installed a dedicated *ntel$based &' ser er at the 6olsom camp!s. #articipants were s!r eyed d!rin" the trial and a"ain !pon its completion. The s!r ey data f!rther aided o!r !nderstandin" of &'-s impact (pros and cons) on day$to$day prod!cti ity and helped identify areas for impro ement. .ltho!"h we did not seek to identify or recommend any specific &' prod!ct d!rin" the !sa"e trial, the s!r eys "enerated eno!"h data to s!""est a "eneral approach to implementation. 9 ery company-s needs are !ni+!e, b!t the information "athered by *ntel can benefit any b!siness, whether lar"e or small, that is considerin" a mo e to !nified messa"in". U$er $a#i$'a-#io& 9i"hty$si% percent of the trial participants responded to the post$trial s!r ey, praisin" the sa ed time, increased messa"e responsi eness, enhanced mobility, and impro ed comm!nication that !nified messa"in" pro ided. .ssi"nin" absol!te dollar al!es to s!b:ecti e benefits is diffic!lt, b!t the !sers- response paints a clear pict!re of o erall satisfaction with !nified messa"in"3 ninety$two percent of respondents felt that &' met or e%ceed$ed their e%pectations. I&#er'a-e .re'ere&-e 2 The ability to !se an email client with the "raphical interface of their #?$based, email office application pro ided an appealin" alternati e to phone$based messa"in". 1f the !sers s!r eyed, N8O o erwhelmin"ly preferred their #? email application as their messa"in" interface (rather than a telephone or #C.). These !sers estimated that once &' was in place, they accessed oice messa"es !sin" a desk or cell phone only 1O of the time. That is why this partic!lar sol!tion works so well in this en ironment Pro(%-#ivi#/ 2 /!r ey respondents cited mobility, responsi eness, and sa ed time as si"nificant !nified messa"in" benefits. 0hile only <O cited impro ed comm!nication, that n!mber will likely increase as !sers become more &'$proficient, takin" ad anta"e of new capabilities s!ch as the ability to combine oice and te%t in the same messa"e. 6i"!re ; depicts the prod!cti ity benefits reported by !sa"e trial participants. TheDirectData.com Page 10

Unified Messaging

Ea$e o' %$e -

Eeca!se of its role in the acceptance of new technolo"y, ease of !se is a key factor in &'-s s!ccess. .s depicted in 6i"!re 2, N2O of respondents fo!nd &' easy to !se once it was in place. These n!mbers were based lar"ely on !sers- ability handle oice and email messa"es on their #? by !sin" the same, familiar Gemail8 interface.

TheDirectData.com

Page 11

Unified Messaging Ti)e $avi&*$ 4 The s!r ey res!lts re ealed si"nificant sa in"s of time. Bearly half (47O) estimated sa in" at least one ho!r per week3 and 14O estimated o er three ho!rs sa ed per week. 6i"!re 4 f!rther breaks down the amo!nt of time sa ed.

Mo!i0i#/ 2 &nified messa"in", especially when combined with wireless A.B, "reatly enhanced !ser mobility for nearly three +!arters (7;O) of participants (6i"!re 4). 'any !sers la!ded the ability to recei e, listen to (or i"nore), and reply to incomin" oice messa"es while in meetin"s or in the cafeteria. Telecomm!ters with a sin"le phone line appreciated a sin"le messa"e interface that let them a oid disconnectin" e ery time they needed to check oicemail. He0. De$1 !e&e'i# 2 Delp Cesk personnel at *ntel al!ed &' for the sin"le, non$telephone interface that enhanced m!ltitaskin". They also appreciated &'-s ability to forward oice messa"es with their precise meanin" intact instead of first translatin" them into te%t email.

TheDirectData.com

Page 12

Unified Messaging Trai&i&* 2 6i"!re 5 re eals that 22O of respondents considered trainin" to be essential, 48O deemed it Gnice8 b!t not essential, and ;0O said it was !nnecessary. That o er two thirds considered trainin" essential or beneficial !nderscores its necessity in any !nified messa"in" deployment.

&' !sers report a wider mobility ran"e, impro ed ability to recei e and respond to incomin" messa"es, and more efficient messa"e mana"ement. These !ndeniable prod!cti ity "ains make &'-s !ni ersal acceptance ine itable. &' technolo"y has already been deployed on many small$ and medi!m$si=ed networks. The +!estion network administrators m!st consider is not whether to add &' to their network, b!t how and when.

TheDirectData.com

Page 13

Unified Messaging

V.

IMPLEMENTATION

The f!ndamental challen"e of &' is combinin" two ast comm!nications networks that !ntil now ha e remained lar"ely separate. 6irst, the phone networkF p!blic phone systems, feedin" corporate #EJ systems, performin" directory look!ps, and feedin" indi id!al oicemail bo%es on a central ser er, all done !sin" telephony comm!nication standards. /econd, the *# networkF p!blic *nternet ro!ters, feedin" corporate email ser ers, performin" directory look!ps, and feedin" indi id!al email inbo%es on a central ser er, all done !sin" data standards like *nternet #rotocol (*#). . tr!e &' sol!tion re+!ires se eral key pieces. The first ma:or piece is an ob:ect store, a ser er which can sa e oice, fa%, and email messa"es. Comino already has the capacity to do this. The Comino 1b:ect /tore can handle many kinds of data $$ te%t, ideo, presentation files, ima"es $$ and it fits the bill as a oicemail ser er as well. . second component is a hardware connection to translate between the #EJ system and the *# network. 1!r bl!eprint for &' ri"ht now !ses a Cialo"ic network interface board to handle this d!ty, b!t other endors will soon pro ide alternati es. These first pieces, howe er, are lar"ely transparent to the knowled"e workers who act!ally take ad anta"e of &'. The piece most isible $$ or a!dible $$ to them is of co!rse the !ser interface. .IT ?orporation pro ides ?allJpress, the T&* (Telephone &ser *nterface) which fits seamlessly into Botes and Comino to pro ide access to oicemail, and pro ides considerable capabilities for mana"in" email thro!"h the phone. 1nce all of these pieces are in place, and the &' system is r!nnin", all of a !ser7s incomin" messa"es collect in one central inbo%. 0ith some estimates p!ttin" today7s information worker at an a era"e of 200 messa"es a day sent and recei ed, !sers who can access those messa"es with whate er de ice is ri"ht for them at the time sa e time and a""ra ation. Bo one can be at the comp!ter all the time, or be on the phone constantly$$ the key is that it7s !p to yo!r discretion as to how yo!7ll stay in to!ch. 'essa"e handlin" capabilities thro!"h the phone are :!st as fle%ible. .fter yo! dial in to yo!r mailbo%, ?allJpress lets yo! know how many emails, oicemails, and fa%es are waitin". *t reads s!b:ect lines and senders to yo!, and yo! choose which messa"es to listen to. Ho! can listen to shorter messa"es in their entirety and send a +!ick oice response with one to!ch of a b!tton. Aon"er messa"es that need more caref!l readin" can be sa ed, forwarded to other email addresses, or e en sent to a nearby fa% machine for immediate access. ."ain, it7s !p to yo! to decide how to handle each messa"eF the Aot!s &' sol!tion simply pro ides the tools for any sit!ation. This new offerin" also helps with prioriti=in" messa"es, based on messa"e senders, priority fla"s, or whether a messa"e is oice, email, or fa%. *t can send yo! a pa"e whene er a oicemail is recei ed. 1r :!st oicemails from the boss. 1r :!st !r"ent oicemails from the boss. .ll of this is easily confi"!rable in Comino. /oon, the control TheDirectData.com Page 14

Unified Messaging will be fine eno!"h to create r!les s!ch as, 2*f people on the ?lient list call o er the weekend, transfer the call to my home3 if it7s after 10F00 #.'. on /at!rday send it to my cell phone instead.2 The inte"ration of oice technolo"y with Comino messa"in" is :!st the first step in a lar"er chan"e in the way people "ather information. ?allJpress already incl!des an interacti e oice response (*I@) system thro!"h which callers can !se the phone keypad to select doc!ments to be read to them from a database $$ a broad description which incl!des the !nified messa"in" applications disc!ssed here. E!t that7s only the start. The potential e%ists for almost any e%istin" Comino database to be oice$enabled, allowin" any a!thori=ed !ser telephone access. 6or e%ample, one pop!lar Comino app is sales force a!tomation (/6.). Ey addin" the *I@ system to an /6. application, a company co!ld "i e their sales force the ability to dial in from where er they are and listen to the daily reports, "ettin" the day7s bookin"s in one concise description. The report co!ld also be sent as a oice messa"e to the sales team7s !nified mailbo%es. 0ith some creati e !se of oice interfaces into Comino applications, mobile workers co!ld "ain a whole new le el of connecti ity. Ho %&i'ie( )e$$a*i&* or1$+ &nified messa"in" !ses a &' ser er connected to both the *# network and the telephony network, typically thro!"h a #ri ate Eranch 9%chan"e (#EJ). .n email ser er stores and distrib!tes email, oicemail, and fa% messa"es. 'essa"es are stored and accessed !sin" a sin"le irt!al inbo%. This consolidation means that messa"in" is mana"ed thro!"h a sin"le #? inter$face (for e%ample, a #?$based email and calendarin" application), or remotely !sin" a cell phone or #C.. &ser can also mana"e their messa"es thro!"h *I@ (interacti e oice response) men! selection, by enterin" in it and selectin" type for messa"e recei in", especially oice messa"es. Bow, what the *I@ does is, it accept inp!t from either a telephone keypad or the caller-s oice and !ses that inp!t to send back synthesi=es oice or pre$recorded messa"es offerin" callers choices on how they can complete their calls. this is often :!st information in response to a +!ery or men! ser ice pro ided by #EJ systems . .n *I@ #EJ wo!ld answer a phone call and prompt the caller to respond to its men! selections by p!shin" b!ttons on a to!ch$tone phone. .n e%ample 0o!ld be telephone bakin". This is a key component in ?omp!ter Telephone *nte"ration (?T*).

TheDirectData.com

Page 15

Unified Messaging

No W"a# #"e PBX i$+ . #EJ is a means of pro idin" switched comm!nication to a n!mber of different !sers, !s!ally within one or a "ro!p of b!ildin"s i.e. switchin" between the !sers. The #EJ also acts as the primary interface to either p!blic or leased networks ia either direct connection or a series of "ateways. . "ateway is a comp!ter Kcontrolled interface between a #EJ and other network ser ices .this co!ld be a "ateway to other comp!ters3 networks, s!ch as packet switched network. Cependin" on the de ice or network bein" interfaced, the "ateway can be either simple or comple%. *n a comple% interface, the "ateway mi"ht perform f!nctions s!ch as speed or protocol con ersion. . #EJ also contain the ?#& for processin" . which control and select the call ro!tin" it also has memory in that attached tr!nks identified n!mbers is stored. The present "eneration of #EJs are confi"!red in a star topolo"y, meanin" that the #EJ is a centre switchin" !nit to which all de ices are directly attached . . #EJ !ses as it-s transmission medi!m pairs of twisted copper wires that radiate from the switch to e ery e%tension , to which co!ld be attached a telephone, #?, terminal, facsimile machine, printer and so on. Ioice o er *# #EJ F . speciali=ed ser er based #EJ wo!ld be a Io*# #EJ ,which we are !sin" here. Io*# is simply p!ttin" oice o er o!r data network, *n this case, a A.B attached to a #EJ !ser. 1ne A.B wire wo!ld be !sed for both oice and data traffic. This can s!bstantially sa e wirin" costs. 6!rther, a Io*# ser er$based #EJ can ro!te oice and data traffic across any hi"h speed *# network or the internet . the Io*# #EJ TheDirectData.com Page 16

Unified Messaging m!st be confi"!red with *# addresses of the remote facilities for it to ro!te Io*# tyraffic to those remote facilites. Re9%ire)e&#$ 'or #"e U&i'ie( Me$$a*i&*. *n &' applications, the &' ser er often needs to comm!nicate to a #EJ instead of bein" directly connected to the network.1ne way this connection can be established is ia the P$/i" protocol. P$/i" is a standard protocol that is !sed for the connection to a #EJ. Ey !sin" a comm!nication adapter that s!pports the P$/i" protocol, the &' ser er can easily comm!nicate to a #EJ ia a common standard. The &' ser er needs to s!pport all low$le el protocols for the transmission of messa"es. *n addition to the basic re+!irements &' systems also need to s!pport Ioice 1 er *# (Io*#). 0hile &nified 'essa"in" can e%ist witho!t oice o er *#, Io*# protocols make inte"ration of these two ser ices easier. . comm!nication adapter can also be able to ser e as a "ateway connectin" the #/TB and the *# network workin" with an */I-s "ateway software, pro idin" the !nderlyin" physical hardware to transmit the data. Therefore, in addition to the f!nctionalities , there are specific re+!irements m!st be pro ided when operatin" in an *# network. RTP .a-1a*i&* pro ided on the adapter handles the transformation of #/TB oice streams into *# packets and ice ersa. *f bandwidth is critical on the *# network, Ioice compression helps to compress oice data so that the oice packets take !p as little bandwidth as possible. The comm!nication adapter sho!ld offer different options and let the application choose if and which oice compression will be !sed. Voi-e a-#ivi#/ (e#e-#io& 7VAD8 is especially important in *# networks, as this a oids sendin" empty packets o er the network, th!s conser in" bandwidth. This I.C (also called Gsilence s!ppression8) can be enabled to monitor si"nals for oice acti ity so that when silence is detected for a specified amo!nt of time, the application informs the #acket Ioice #rotocol and pre ents the encoder o!tp!t from bein" transported across the network. *n an *# network, the indi id!al packets associated with one connection often prod!ce delays of aryin" si=e. . contin!o!s stream of oice packets therefore cannot be "!aranteed. D/&a)i- A&#i2:i##er B%''eri&*, an anti$:itter techni+!e that is pro ided by the comm!nication adapter, stores recei ed packets temporarily in an internal b!ffer, from which they are contin!o!sly read o!t in a separate process. . contin!o!s o!tp!t of the data stream is th!s ens!red, while the inp!t contin!es to wait for the ne%t packet. This process can, howe er, "enerate additional delays, dependin" on the intermediate memory. The "reater the potential de iation in the delay between the packets (:itter), the "reater the capacity of intermediate memory re+!ired .Di"h$+!ality systems are able to monitor the :itter effects and ad:!st the si=e of the intermediate memory dynamically to keep the b!ffer as low as possible and as hi"h as necessary. TheDirectData.com Page 17

Unified Messaging

VoIP Io*# is a oice carried between telephony clients !sin" the *#. *n *# telephony, Io*# represent the networkin" hardware and software components for mana"in" deli ery of oice comm!nications !sin" *#. This co ers transmittin" oice in di"ital form in discrete packets rather then o er circ!it$switched connections in the #/TB. Io*# !ses the *# and @eal$Time #rotocol(@T#) to dele er oice and ideo packets. Bow the internal approach is deployin" Io*# "ateway de ices to con ert between Io*# and traditional telephony. These "ateways are deployed internally to pro ide e%ternal interfaces to both pri ate *# networks and the internet as well as the #/TB. The e%ternal approach inte"rates Io*# technolo"y into the enterprise #EJ, makin" it the focal point for Io*# comm!nication Eoth approaches pro ide enterprises the opport!nities to sa e si"nificantly on telecomm!nication costs and to inte"rate oice and data comm!nication into a sin"le !nified network. . #EJ may send some connections to the Io*# ro!ter5"ateway and others to #/TB. ?alls to non$Io*#$e+!ipped facilities are sent to the Io*# ro!tre5"ateways. The Io*# ro!ter5"ateway wo!ld pocketsi=ed the oice calls and connect them to the tar"et Io*# ro!ter5"ateway ser icin" the destination #?s or Io*# telephones, and ca!se it to rin", indicatin" an incomin" call. Telephony switches that encode oice calls in *# packet and ro!te them o er the internet to identical switches in remote locations are the key component in the e%ternal approach to Io*# networkin" that we are !sin" in o!r &' systems. The Io*# #EJ m!st be confi"!red with *# addresses of the remote facilities for it to ro!te Io*# traffic to those remote facilities. /o !ltimately the Io*# connect both *# network and telephony network which we desired in o!r &'. /o it will con ert o!r telephony calls n!mbers in to *# packets. Dere in fi" Io*# #EJ confi"!ration is shown . B. Re#ro'i# e;i$#i&* )e$$a*i&* 'ost corporations ha e made a considerable in estment in their messa"in" reso!rces so the idea of re$lacin" a complete, f!nctional oicemail system and its familiar interface and feat!res mi"ht be diffic!lt to :!stify. E!t a case can be made for sal a"in" a le"acy oicemail system (pro idin" the e%istin" oicemail ser er s!pports it) by inte"ratin" its o!tp!t into each email client. /al a"in" messa"in" hardware already in place offers a client$side retrofit sol!tion that is simple, fast, and cost$effecti e. .s shown in 6i"!re (?lient side inte"rated messa"in"), a retrofit sol!tion maintains the c!rrent oicemail, while software installed on each #?.

TheDirectData.com

Page 18

Unified Messaging ?lient enables messa"e retrie al directly from the oice$mail ser er. ?alls still enter thro!"h the e%istin" #EJ 3 if !nanswered, they are ro!ted to the oicemail ser er :!st as before. The client$based software then retrie es messa"es from the oicemail ser er as .wa a!dio file attachments that are decompressed and played. i.e. not only calls b!t also all the types of messa"es are stored in oicemail ser er and from the oicemail ser er !ser can access their messa"es from their workstation. This client$based approach to retrie in" and interpretin" oice messa"es is better termed Ginte"rated8 than G!nified,8 beca!se it bypasses the email ser er and can be accessed only by the !ser-s workstation, not by other de ices. 9mail cannot be accessed by phone, pa"ers cannot notify that new messa"es are waitin", and ad anced ser er f!nctions (s!ch as ser er$ based r!les or filterin") are !na ailable. 'essa"e access may also re+!ire an alternate interface s!ch as a 0eb browser (rather than the primary email interface). @etrofittin" does pro ide limited inte"ration of email and oicemail, allowin" workstation access to oicemail. E!t to en:oy the f!ll prod!cti ity benefits of !nified messa"in", companies need a different approach.

C. Mi*ra#io& 0hen mi"ratin" to a tr!e !nified messa"in" sol!tion, yo! sa e the e%istin" #EJ b!t replace the oicemail ser er with a &nified 'essa"in" /er er (6i"!re .). *ncomin" calls still arri e at the #EJ b!t !nanswered calls are transferred to the &' ser er, which TheDirectData.com Page 19

Unified Messaging connects *# and telephony networks. 'essa"es are con erted to compressed data files (three kilobytes per second) and mo ed to the email ser er, where they are treated e%actly like any other email messa"e. 1nce the messa"e is transferred to the email ser er, the &' ser er deletes it. Bow !ser-s workstation with !nified messa"in" softwere is connected to &' ser er and the 0.B. /o , !ser can access their messa"es thro!"h &' ser er thro!"h any de ice . yo! can access calls thro!"h yo!r w$mail beca!se yo!r workstation is connected to the ip network also. .ltho!"h yo! can con ert !ser connections from an e%istin" oicemail system to a &' ser er system all at once, it is recommend con ertin" lo"ical blocks of !sers in phases. *n this way yo! can comm!nicate thro!"h any lo"ical combination of de ices that yo! can ima"e. To ens!re a smooth con ersion and a scalable, e%tensible &' framework, one needs to establishF 1 2 ; 4 @eso!rce re+!irements prior to the transition The n!mber of !sers .cc!rate estimates of the +!antity of oice messa"es e%pected and The a era"e messa"e len"th

0ith this information, the amo!nt of stora"e re+!ired on the &' ser er is calc!lated by applyin" this form!laF 'a%im!m stora"e Q !sers R (n!mber of messa"es S a era"e messa"e len"th). Eeca!se messa"es on the &' ser er are transient$ that is, calls are deleted as soon as they are transferred to the email ser er$ disk stora"e space is rarely a concern. .lso consider the n!mber of #EJ ports connectin" to the &' ser er. 6ort!nately, &' port re+!irements are ro!"hly e+!al to the n!mber of connections re+!ired for an e%istin" oicemail ser er. Dowe er, if the #EJ connectin" to the &' ser er needs to play an e%panded role $ for e%ample, if remote sites s!ch as sales offices will be ro!ted thro!"h it,

A. T/.i-a0 UM De.0o/)e&# Wi#" Ce&#ra0i<e( E2)ai0 Server

TheDirectData.com

Page 20

Unified Messaging

the n!mber of ports may need to be increased. The reso!rce b!rden on other &' hardware components s!ch as the network, email ser er, and client workstation is less si"nificant lar"ely d!e to the compression of oice messa"es and the relati ely low ol!me of oice messa"es a typical !ser will be able to recei e. 6or e%ample, transferrin" a compressed ;0$second oice messa"e from the 9%chan"e ser er to a client wo!ld cons!me fewer than 100 kilobytes of network bandwidth and stora"e. 9 en hea y oicemail !sers rarely recei e eno!"h oice messa"es to b!rden the system. 1f co!rse a network that is at or abo e its bandwidth balks at the addition of oice messa"in". To ens!re a smooth transition, we s!""est e al!atin" e ery part of the system to!ched by an !p"rade to !nified messa"in". The fib. b "i es the e%planation of the lar"e site .this is the another sol!tion , which is "i en by intel for lar"e site and ery small remote site. Dere at ery small remote site #EJ is directly interact with the 0.B. .nd thro!"h 0.B the call is ro!ted to the !nified messa"in" ser er a"ain thro!"h another #EJ located at lar"e site. Then from !nified messa"in" ser er messa"e is a"ain transferred to the e$mail ser er which is connected to the 0.B. Bow !ser-s workstation with &' software can access messa"e from 0.B enterin" in to the e$mail ser er. here the !ser-s workstation mi"ht be any de ice that !ser able to comm!nicate. so, this is the scenario of the lar"e site. *n reality there are so many ser ers connected between them.

B. Re)o#e Si#e S%..or# Wi#" Ce&#ra0i$e( UM a&( E2)ai0 Server$ 7PBX Ne# or1i&* Co).0e;8

TheDirectData.com

Page 21

Unified Messaging

D. Crea#ive .ro!0e) $o0vi&* Dandlin" remote sites is astly easier when all calls are ro!ted thro!"h the same #EJ, 6i"!re E depicts how each remote #EJ-s call forwardin" capability to forward !nanswered calls to the 6olsom #EJ. The *ntel sol!tion re+!ired caller *C to be s!pported and enabled. ?aller *C allowed the &' #EJ to distin"!ish between a remote$#EJ forwarded call and a Gstandard8 incomin" call. *t also identified the phone n!mbers of the caller and the recipient. 0hen the &' #EJ co!ld not identify a forwarded call-s destination mailbo%, the caller was prompted with a "eneric (non$personali=ed) re+!est for the recipient-s e%tension. 'any remote trial !sers en:oyed complete caller *C capability. *ntel-s approach demonstrated that cost$effecti e options are a ailable witho!t ha in" to settle for anythin" less than tr!e, ser er$based !nified messa"in" system. .nd it !nderscores how preparation, plannin", and inno ation can be !sed to !nify messa"in" in irt!ally e ery en ironment.

TheDirectData.com

Page 22

Unified Messaging

VI. LATEST UPDATES ON UNIFIED MESSAGING

B. Ne $ B%00e#i& 7I&(ia8 Hutch announces unified messaging services
#T* T TD&@/C.H, .#@*A 0;, 200; 04F28F55 #' U

B90 C9AD*F ?ell!lar ser ice pro ider D!tch anno!nced on Th!rsday the la!nch of !nified messa"in" ser ices, which wo!ld allow its post$paid c!stomers to access and mana"e three types of messa"es $$ oice mails, e$mails and fa%es. 2&nified messa"in" will ens!re that all messa"es can be easily recei ed at a time, in one place by !sin" a sin"le command. D!tch s!bscribers can a ail of this ser ice witho!t ha in" to replace their e%istin" handsets,2 @a:i /awhney ?91 of D!tch Celhi said. The ser ice wo!ld offer c!stomers the option of listenin" to the e$mail messa"es !sin" te%t$to$speech technolo"y and respond to the e$mail with a oice messa"e. *t wo!ld also offer the option of iewin" all messa"es, oice, fa% and e$mails, when in office or on the mo e with the help of laptop or a comp!ter. The ser ices wo!ld be made a ailable to D!tch c!stomers from .pril 7 at a monthly s!bscription of @s. 14N

caltiger.com, Indian ISP, Taps 3Com Comm orks !or "# $ %oIP ;?om says that ?alti"er.com, the lar"est free pri ate */# in *ndia, is !sin" the ;?om ?omm0orks to dri e new enhanced *# ser ices to more than ;00,000 c!rrent s!bscribers (a n!mber the */# hopes to triple by year end as it do!bles its presence to abo!t 100 cities). &nified messa"in", *#$based fa% and mi"ration to *#$based telephony are amon" the ser ices that will be enabled ia the >15 million deal. ?alti"er.com c!rrently !ses ;?om Total ?ontrol m!ltiser ice access platforms for dial$!p *nternet access for its s!bscribers. Bow ?alti"er.com will add the ;?om ?omm0orks 8250 !nified messa"in" system (!ni ersal inbo% for oice, fa% and e$mail), ?omm0orks 8200 *# fa% ser er for store$and$forward fa% (incl!din" fa% broadcast, fa%$to$email and ne er$b!sy fa% ser ices), the Total ?ontrol 1000 platform to enable mi"ration to Io*#, and Total ?ontrol 100 "i"abit ro!ters for *# backbone and "ateway f!nctionality. ?alti"er c!rrently offers e$mail ser ices in ?alc!tta, /ili"!ri, Vamshedp!r, '!mbai, Earoda, /!rat and W!wahati

TheDirectData.com

Page 23

Unified Messaging Tata-Avaya to roll out Unified Messaging Service soon

T9conomic Times $ .pr 27, 2002U

Tata Telecom$. aya, a :oint ent!re between the ><.8$bn &/$based pro ider of comm!nication ser ices . aya, and the Tata Wro!p, the co!ntry-s second$bi""est con"lomerate, is "earin" !p to roll o!t &'/ (&nified 'essa"in" /er ice) in *ndia in the ne%t +!arter.

VII .
TheDirectData.com

PITFALL OF CONVERGED NETWORK

Page 24

Unified Messaging

*n li"ht of all the benefits K and the notable pitfalls of separate$network sol!tions K why ha en-t con er"ed networks become the norm at most or"ani=ations todayL To answer this +!estion, one m!st consider some of the ma:or technolo"ical challen"es that con er"ence has had to o ercome alon" the wayF 5%a0i#/ o' Servi-e 75oS8, The con er"ed network m!st deli er the same Po/ as the traditional #!blic /witched Telephone Betwork (#/TB)3 witho!t it, ideo$ and oice$o er$*# are simply not iable. *n an *#$based network, this re+!ires handlin" data packets K to red!ce loss, latency and :itter K with a Po/ si"nificantly hi"her than most data transmission networks are desi"ned to s!pport. Re0ia!i0i#/ a&( Avai0a!i0i#/, The con er"ed network m!st pro ide red!ndancy and fa!lt$tolerance with 2fi e nines2 (NN.NNNO) a ailability. 0hile this is the standard le el for most oice systems, many data networks lack the infrastr!ct!re to deli er s!ch hi"h a ailability across the entire system. Ba&( i(#", The con er"ed network m!st pro ide the necessary bandwidth to accommodate oice and ideo applications, which can demand considerably more than most data applications. 0hile some efficiency schemes ha e pro ed !sef!l in lowerin" the re+!ired bandwidth, most ha e been !nable to effecti ely balance transmission speeds with oice and ideo +!ality. Se-%ri#/, *n traditional *# networks, packets are transmitted across shared se"ments, where the possibility e%ists that someone co!ld decode packets and access sec!re information. . con er"ed network m!st pro ide a new meas!re of encryption and sec!rity for oice traffic. De$1#o. Po er, Typical phones systems draw C? power from the #EJ. *# addressed phones m!st pro ide an e+!ally standard and con enient power sol!tion K this is an area that has not been an iss!e for traditional data networks. ?learly, s!pportin" the !ni+!e demands of oice and ideo applications o er *# networks that ha e traditionally been desi"ned to optimi=e data transmission is not a simple, strai"htforward process. These challen"es are compo!nded by the lo"ical need for companies to protect their in estments in e%istin" #EJ systems. To facilitate a smooth, sensible mi"ration to a TheDirectData.com Page 25

Unified Messaging con er"ed network, any sol!tion m!st allow for inte"ration with an or"ani=ation-s c!rrent phone sets, fa% machines and other #EJ$based e+!ipment. 1ne final obstacle has come from within the con er"ence technolo"y ind!stry itself. 0hile some endors ha e in the past s!pported ario!s elements of the con er"ed network, "aps in con er"ence hardware and software sol!tions ha e made enterprise$wide deployment an ard!o!s process at best. 0itho!t an end$to$ end con er"ence network sol!tion, it was diffic!lt to "ain the moment!m amon" c!stomers and establish a track record of s!ccess.

TheDirectData.com

Page 26

Unified Messaging

VII.

CONCLUSION

'essa"in" is a critical piece of the portfolio for b!siness and residential markets. 9nhanced mobility, increased responsi eness, si"nificant time sa in"s and red!ced administration costs are amon" the many compellin" factors that ens!re the ine itable acceptance of !nified messa"in". &nified 'essa"in" is the ne%t lo"ical component in the e ol!tion process. To reap the benefits of &' tomorrow, smart companies ha e already "otten the messa"e by preparin" today. The first steps to implementin" a s!ccessf!l !nified messa"in" sol!tion are establishin" a "oal, form!latin" a plan, and choosin" the ri"ht architect!re to ens!re a &' sol!tion that "rows and e ol es. 'arket for !nified messa"in" ser ices is still in a ery nascent sta"e in *ndia, b!t heady "rowth of /'/ and oice mail ser ices point to a stron" potential for &nified messa"in" ser ices in the comin" years

TheDirectData.com

Page 27

Unified Messaging

VI.

REFERENCES

www.!nifiedmessa"in".com T1U www.bitpipe.com T2U www.iec.or" T;U *ntel *nformation Technolo"y 0hite #aper. T4U The telecomm!nication /!r i al W!ide K #ete 'o!ltan T5U www.messa"epoint.com T<U www.timesofindia.com T7U

TheDirectData.com

Page 28