IP Office offers several features to provide versatile inbound call processing, including PC based applications, and a standards-based TAPI interface for 3rd party applications.
Incoming calls can to be presented to an Operator who then decides where to pass the call, but IP Office supports intelligent call routing capable of making routing decisions based on a number of criteria.
The system currently supports routing based on;
• Call presentation digits from the exchange such as DDI/DID or ISDN MSN.
• Calling telephone number or Caller ID (This could even be part of the number received such as an area code).
• ISDN sub-address.
• ISDN/PRI service type i.e. Voice Call, Data Call, etc.
It is even possible to look for multiple criteria so, for instance, a DDI/DID call to a sales group could be handled differently depending on which part of the country the call is originating from.
Each incoming Call Route also supports a secondary destination 'Night Service' that can provide alternative routing for an incoming call based on 'time of day' and 'day of week' criteria, as well as calendar-based routing for specific dates.
Calls that cannot be routed to the configured destination are re-routed to a user defined 'Fall Back' destination. This can be particularly useful where calls are normally answered by an auto- attendant and a network fault occurs.
Where multiple call routes are set up to the same destination, a Priority level can be associated with the call. This priority level is used to determine a call's queue position in place of simple arrival time, but note that calls already ringing a free extension are not considered queuing and are not affected by a high priority call joining a queue (unless the option" Assign Call On Agent Answer" is selected for that hunt group). A Priority Promotion Timer can be configured to increase the priority of calls which have been in the queue for more than a defined time.
An optional tag can be added to calls on the Incoming Call Route, which can be displayed on the alerting telephone.
A hunt group is a collection of users, typically users handling similar types of calls, e.g. a sales department. An incoming caller wishing to speak to Sales can ring one number but the call can be answered by any number of extensions that are members of the hunt group.
Four modes of call presentation are supported on IP Office;
• Sequential
One extension at a time sequentially always starting at the top of the list.
• Collective
All extensions in the hunt group simultaneously.
• Rotary
Start with the extension in the list immediately following the extension that answered the last hunt group call.
• Longest Waiting
Start with the extension that has been free for the longest time.
Multi-site Networking Distributed Hunt Groups
Hunt groups in a Small Community Network can include members located on other systems within the network.
Note: Distributed Hunt Groups are not supported for use with CCC or CCR.
Night Service
When a hunt group is in Night Service mode, the hunt group is temporarily disabled. Callers to this hunt group will:
• Pass to a Night Service Fallback group used to provide cover, e.g. pass calls to a manned extension or an external number
• Be played the Out of Hours greeting if voicemail is operational
• Receive the busy tone
A hunt group can be switched in or out of Night Service mode by a user dialing the appropriate
short code – by any extension or by specific users.
Time Profiles
Time Profiles can be used to define when a Service, Hunt Group, Least Cost Route, Conference Bridge or a user's dial-in facility are operational. For example, a time profile can be used to route hunt group calls to a manned extension or voicemail outside of office hours, or be used to apply different Least Cost Routes at varying times of day to take advantage of cheaper call rates. Multiple Time Entries can be created so that a Time Profile can be used to define specific hours in the day e.g. 09:00-12:00 and 13:00-17:00. Outside of a Time Profile, voice calls would be re-routed according to the configuration but any currently connected calls at the time the Time Profile changes would not get cut off as the change only affects the routing. Data calls will get cut off as the time profile goes out of service but a new data call will start immediately if specified. Time Profiles can also be based on specific calendar dates to make allowance for public holidays or other events.
Queuing
Queuing allows calls to a hunt group to be held in a queue when all extensions in the group extension List are busy. When an extension becomes free the queued call is then presented. The definition of queued calls now includes ringing calls and calls waiting to be presented for ringing. The queue limit can be set to control the maximum number of calls to wait against a hunt group.
While queuing, if Voicemail is operational, the caller will be played the announcements for this hunt group.
Announcements
Hunt group announcements are separated from hunt group queuing and can be used even when queuing is off. Hunt group announcements are now supported by Embedded Voicemail in addition to VoiceMail Pro.
Further, times for the first announcement, second announcement, and between repeated announcements are configurable.