Week 3 (19-23 April 2010)

Continuing last week's incomplete work, I carried on with the practical test on IP phone. In order to use the physical IP phone which was actually Linksys SPA 912, I had to configure the settings in the server provided. each physical phone has its own server which was provided by SIPURA. After configuring, calls can be made to and from a softphone.

Figure : Configuration in SIPURA (each IP phone as its own server )

Once I am done with that task, my supervisor gave another three topics to do research on. The topics are IVR Customization, Find Me/Follow Me and also 3-Party Voice Conferencing.

IVR Customization

IVR stands for Interactive Voice Response. It is the technology that we use everyday when we call a bank or a hospital or any large business. It is the voice activated prompts that brings us to the correct person or gives us the answer we want. IVR automates inbound call routing and fosters self-service.The whole process of placing an order by the caller, and checking the status with the help of the order number can be automated with the customized IVR flow. During wait time or hold time, messages about other products and promotional offers can also be played allowing you to capitalize on cross-selling and up-selling opportunities.

Figure : IVR Customization Application

Find Me/Follow Me

Find me and follow me are two call forwarding services that are commonly used in conjunction with each other. Find me service allows the user to receive calls at any location; follow me service allows the user to be reached at any of several phone numbers.

Find me / follow me is often used in IP telephony. In some systems, the user is assigned a virtual phone number. When that number is dialed the system routes the call through a user-defined list of numbers. The numbers may be called simultaneously or sequentially, either in a preferred order or in accordance with the user's scheduled activities and locations. Once the list has been called and no connection made, the system may route the call to voice mail.

In a unified messaging system (UMS), find me / follow me may route messages among VoIP, voice email, fax and text messaging applications.

Figure : Auto attendant/IVR, find me/follow me and failover support.

3-Party Voice Conferencing

Voice conferencing is one of the most critical elements of group communication. Excellent voice quality is essential for both voice-only calls and visual communication environments, ensuring that everyone can clearly hear and be heard to improve productivity and deliver a seamless, natural communications experience.
Below are the steps to setup a third-party conferencing service to be the main audio conference solution:

1. As the host, enter the meeting room.
2. Select the Meeting menu.
3. Select Set phone conference options. The Phone Conference Options appears.
4. Select Other.
5. Enter the conference number.
6. Enter the participant code.
7. Enter the Moderator code.
8. Click OK.