Auto Attendant Objects

The auto attendant provides an automated phone-answering function, essentially replicating a human secretary. The auto attendant answers the incoming calls, provides helpful prompts, and directs the caller to the appropriate services. The UM auto attendant objects can be found in the Exchange Management Console on the UM Auto Attendant tab of the Organization, Unified Messaging container.

The auto attendant supports both phone key press (DTMF) and voice commands. This sophisticated voice recognition technology enables the caller to navigate the menus and prompts with only her voice.

The auto attendant objects support the following configurable features:

• Customized greetings and menus for business hours and nonbusiness hours

• Predefined and custom schedules for business hours and time zones

• Holiday schedules for exceptions to business hours

• Operator extension and transfers to operator during business and nonbusiness hours

• Key mapping to enable the transfer of callers to specific extensions or other auto attendants based on hard-coded key presses or voice commands

Each auto attendant can be mapped to specific extensions to provide a customized set of prompts. For example, an organization can set up one auto attendant to support the sales organization calls with specific prompts for handling calls to sales. The organization can then set up a second auto attendant to support the service organization with specific prompts for technical support and help. These can service different pilot numbers, depending on the number that the caller used.

A front-end menu can be created with key mapping and an auto attendant with customized prompts. This enables the organization in the previous example to create a top-level auto attendant that can prompt callers to “Press or say 1 for Sales or 2 for Service” and then perform the appropriate transfer. Figure 20.7 shows the key mapping configuration, which can be accompanied by customized prompts.

Figure 20.7 Key Mapping Example

The initial greeting can be customized as well. In fact, there are two default greetings: one for business hours and a second for off-hours. By default, the system says, “Welcome to Microsoft Exchange...” In most implementations, you want to customize this to your company name and include other relevant information. Customized greetings must be saved as PCM/16-bit/8 kHz/mono .WAV files. Each auto attendant may have a unique set of customized greetings and prompts.

There is no limit to the number of auto attendants that can be created in Active Directory. An auto attendant can be associated with only a single dial plan, although a dial plan can be associated with multiple auto attendants.