Product Reviews
Simplifying Unified Messaging
With its reliance on standard hardware, CallXpress proves to be a comprehensive, yet cost-effective, unified messaging solution.
Setting up a unified messaging system-voice, fax, and email-can prove
a daunting task. But AVT Corporation's CallXpress simplifies this task,
employing standard, non-proprietary hardware. This is a strength, as you
can use a less costly, older computer system, for example, a Pentium II-based
system, and still support thousands of users.
CallXpress consists of two distinct components, server and client, or
three if you include the connection to a Microsoft Exchange or Lotus Notes
system.
The server device answers your organization's phone system, plays the
greeting menus, routes calls to your phone, and takes messages. Add Exchange
or Notes to the mix, and you can access and reply to messages via your
client applications (Outlook or Notes). The server uses an administration
console that manages phone extensions and facilitates menu setup and call
routing.
With CallXpress' client component, you run an application, called Message
Manager for Outlook (or Notes), so that you can receive and send voice
messages plus faxes. When using these features, you have full control
over how the messages are played or replied to. You can listen to them
on your computer or through the phone (while controlling the message from
Outlook).
Another CallXpress feature is its ability to integrate with Microsoft
Exchange, using the Directory Agent for Exchange component. Once this
component is installed on the Exchange server an extra tab appears on
the mailbox Properties page. This allows a systems administrator to create
voice mailboxes and Exchange mailboxes at the same time.
 |
| The CallXpress administration console allows management
of phone extensions, plus facilitates menu setup and call routing.
(Click image to view larger version.) |
All in all, CallXpress is an extremely powerful and flexible unified
messaging solution. It allows for incredible flexibility in voice system
configuration. Because CallXpress can operate with a standard PBX switch,
an organization using the system saves money by not having to purchase
expensive hardware-based phone systems.
But a word of warning: CallXpress isn't the type of system that most
systems administrators would want to install and configure themselves.
One of AVT's partners should be called in to perform the initial system
setup.
To learn more about CallXpress, see the interactive demo at www.avtc.com/ctghome/free/freedmm/freedmm.html.
About the Author
Barry Shilmover, MCSE+I, MCT, owns Shilmover Consulting Services, a Microsoft
Solution Provider specializing in Windows NT/2000 and Exchange 5.5/2000 solutions.
He has co-authored books that include Windows 2000 System Administrator’s
Black Book and Exchange 5.5 Exam Cram, both from Coriolis Press.