Category: ShoreTel Configuration

Where is the ShoreTel ECC Query file?

Posted on by DrVoIP

The ShoreTel Enterprise Contact Center has two sources of generating both historical and real time data.   With the release of 5.X, ShoreTel created the C2G (“cradle to grave”) or Interaction Reporting functionality.   This MySQL database is clearly visible in the default location of D:\ShoreTel\Contact Center Server\DbProvider\Data\c2g  though you may have installed it somewhere else.   For this database to be active, you have to create an OBDC connector to the MySQL database on the local host.  Then database connector in the System tab of the ShoreTel Contact Center Director has to be selected to enable the database write.    The C2G database is something like the CDR database on the PBX.   It captures real time events about ONLY incoming phone calls and enables you to create custom reports not previously available.  For example, Wrap-Code by Agent!

Prior to 5.x, the only report database is actually more of a statistical peg counter and has not detail behind it.   You might track the number of phone calls received by an agent, but not have any detail about the nature of the events that make up those phone calls.   Average talk time, for example, is arithmetically derived and is not the result of actual detail as captured in the C2G database.  One of the more interesting learning experiences you can have with the ECC is to examine the actual SQL query that is generated when you run a report!  Very instructive.   Each time you run a report, a SQL query is created.   Where does this query live?    If you look in the default path D:\ShoreTel\Contact Center Server\Log you will find a SUSQL.TXT file.  This file contains the actual query that was generated when you ran one of the canned reports on the ECC.   This file will be overwritten each time you generate a new file, but it does contain the most recent report query.   It is a great source of educational information on how to write query’s!   The attached video is a quick visual summary of this blog!

ShoreTel Abandoned Call Handling

Posted on by DrVoIP

Every call center has peaks and valleys.  Normall businesses operate with very predictable calling patterns.  Traffic over the normal business day, starts out slow and peaks between 10AM  and 2 PM in the afternoon, then trickles down.  The old Bell Curve distribution pattern!   Call centers on the other hand, have very different call characteristics depending on the nature of the business.  One characteristic that we can be confident in, is the fact that there are more callers than “agents” to service the calls.  Thus the need for some kind of qeueing capability.

“We are sorry, but all available agents are working with other clients.  Please hold the line and the next available agent will be right with you.     Unfortunately,  callers might tire of the music on hold and predictable care messages, and ultimately give up and then hang up!   This is generally an “abandoned call” in most contact center environments and reports.    The ShoreTel Contact Center has a facility for capturing this information and doing something producitive with it.

Back to the concept of  “Peaks and Valleys”.  What if we could take the “abandoned calls”, capture the caller id and feed them to our agents during valleys in the calling periods?  After all the staff is sitting there, logged in and idle!  Lets just put them to work.   In a ShoreTel system this is very easy to setup and is a powerful productivity tool.  First, the system “reserves and agent”.   The agent gets a little pop up window that informs them that they are being reserved for a call back.  They have to accept it, or they are put in “release” as if they turned down an incoming phone call (time for management tutoring).   When the agent accepts the reservation, the ShoreTel places the outbound phone call and then connects the call to the agent.   With the exception that they acknolwedged the reservation request, the agent experiences the call as if it were any other in bound call to the contact center.

Optionally, you can play a file to the callED party before you send the call to the agent.  I have found however, that it is better to send the call to the agent immediately after it is dialed.  This is because the agent is better able to deal with “positive answer supervision” using the human ear, then the machine is able to tell the difference between a fax machine, answering machine or someother non-human answer.

Making use of the abandoned call feature is something that every Contact Center can do to increase agent productivity and customer satisfaction.   You can even setup a group that specializes in abandonded call backs, and route all calls to that “win back” group.    The following video describes how to set this up in your ShoreTel Contact Center (or you can just call us, and we can do it for you)!

New Release Process defines ShoreTel Upgrade paths

Posted on by DrVoIP

ShoreTel will often have a controlled release of software.   For example, Version 9.0 might be shipping to new clients but will not be availalbe to existing installations until it is declared GA.    Existing clients with a compelling need, could always obtain the upgrade, but it would be subjected to the terms of a controlled release.  Over the years I have observed that an 8.0 release, for example, never goes GA, but becomes 8.1 when it does.   With the release of Version 9,  ShoreTel has now formalized this “enhanced delivery” process.

Starting with ShoreTel 9 add-on feature sets will be made available as “dot” releases in the form of 9.1, 9.2 etc.  The impact of this new development process is taht features delivered in a “dot” release will not be included in the first major release of the next version.    So if you are on 9.1 you will not be able to upgrade to a controlled release (CR) of 10.0 butt will have to wait until 10.0 goes GA with a 10.1 release.

So we witness a fomalization of a process that has really be in use for quite some time!   It is a process, however, that has built in software assurance as the primary goal.   If you have an interest in the latest feature set, send me an email and we will update you!

Modify ShoreTel Database to Kill “dial 9” requirement?

Posted on by DrVoIP

Fax Machines on ShoreTel?   It is not uncommon for system administrators to create a user named FAX SEVER, then define it as EXTENSION ONLY.    Though I personally have been trying to eliminate all the forest eating fax machines and printers on the planet, it would appear that Fax machines are going to be with us for quite some time.   Even with a fax server, people want to stick a piece of paper into the machine and watch it “go through” after dialing the distant end.  This is an example of  “Experiential compatibility” as the marketing folks like to say.   We are more comfortable with a technology that is compatible with our experience.

Often, there are other analog devices that survive the move to IP telephony.   For example, the credit card machine!  Many company’s will have another ShoreTel user named CREDIT CARD and it also is defined as EXTENSION ONLY.  These devices share one common trait that many clients find very annoying.   If you connect a fax machine or credit card machine to a ShoreTel analog port, the device will now need to know how to “dial 9” to get an outside line, to complete a call.   So these means that you have to reprogram the fax machine and the speed dial lists that most companies have accumulated over the years.  Not an exciting thought and a great waste of human resourcess.

Is there a way to “hack” l the ShoreTel configuration database to just connectthe fax machine  to an outside line without the need to “dial 9”?   The answer is yes, there is a way.   I hope that you have watched enough of my stuff to have loaded a copy of SQLyog on your ShoreTel Server by now?  In the MySQL configuration database for the ShoreWare sever, there is a data table named “USERS”.   In the USERS database, look for the column labeled EXTERNAL DIAL TONE.   Find the USER of interest, in this example FAX MACHINE, and locate this column.  You will find that the existing default value is 0, requiring the user to “dial 9”.   By changing this value to -1, the user is directly connected to an outside line and is able to dial without using an access code.  Be careful changing this configuration database!  If you do not know MySQL or SQLyog, you should probably find someone who does.    The film clip accompanying this blog will walk you throught the configuration change.   Enjoy!

Microsoft OCS + ShoreTel = IM

Posted on by DrVoIP

Microsoft Office Communications is a powerful collaboration tool. The MOCS provides web conferencing, IM, audio conferencing, desktop sharing and also provided SIP. For purposes of this brief discussion, we will stay focused on the Internet Messaging component of MOCS. With the Release of ShoreTel 8+, the Professional Call Manager provides both desktop to desktop video conferencing and Internet Messaging. The Internet Messaging component makes use of a Microsoft OCS server and the ShoreTel solution integrates the solution as an application server defined within the ShorewareDirector portal.

Internet Messaging, or IM as it is popularly referred to, seems to fall into two corporate philosophy camps: companies who absolutely abhorrer its use; and companies who find it to be an essential business tool. Those companies who do not allow IM of any kind typically have very tightly controlled employee desktops, enable website filtering and block IM ports for Yahoo, AOL, Google and others. Sometimes the excuse is HIPA/Sarbanes Oxley compliance or a general concern that employees might communicate private company information out this internet portal. Companies that find IM to be essential can be broken down into two additional categories: those that allow IM clients on an ad hoc basis and those who want total control of the IM client.

Microsoft OCS provides a solution for that last group of customers; those that need IM but want to control and monitor its utilization. MOCS enables you to “record” all IM conversations to an achieve server to meet those HIPA and Sarbanes Oxley compliance requirements and to assure the content of IM does not violate Corporate use policy. MOCS also enables you to set up “federations” so that inside IM participants across the Company can communicate with Yahoo, AOL or Other corporate MOCS users outside the domain. All in all, MOCS is the great unsung hero of the Microsoft Servers!

The integration of ShoreTel Professional Call Manager and the MOCS is not that complex, but falls under that summary statement “well know, to those who know it well”. Microsoft clearly has a VOIP strategy in which the MOCS plays a key role. Working with a ShoreTel IPBX and a Professional call manager, it becomes a viable solution for adding IM to and existing ShoreTel installation. The video is just a quick overview of how you actually deploy the integration.

ShoreTel Legacy Integraiton: ShoreTel as Voice Mail!

Posted on by DrVoIP

One of the more interesting aspects of PBX system installation in general and ShoreTel in particular, is the subject of Legacy PBX integration. There are a variety of reasons that a new ShoreTel installation might need to integrate with the old, in place or “legacy” PBX phone system. You might be installing the ShoreTel at the first location of a multi-site installation with the rest of the sites coming on line as older equipment leases expire. PBX’s typically use a tandem tie-line to join systems together. The ShoreTel, in this instance, would know the dial plan of the other PBX extensions and know which users lived in which PBX. If a ShoreTel user dials and extension number or receives a call for an extension known to live across the tie-line, the call is sent to the other PBX. The tie-line is typically define as part of a trunk group that outlines a list of “off-premise extensions”. The ShoreTel can also provide digit translation and manipulation to accommodate over lapping dial plans.

Increasingly, as ShoreTel grows in popularity and increased market acceptance, it is being asked to be the Voice Mail system for the legacy PBX. If you think about it, legacy PBX systems have traditionally been installed with separate Voice Mail systems. As it relates to market share, large corporate clients often have OCTEL voice mail systems that are now coming up on ten years after service life! Perhaps the telephone system is not ready for replacement quite yet, but the VM is about to die under its own weight. The ShoreTel makes for a great solution! Install the ShoreTel as a voice mail system for the legacy PBX. Then, as the opportunity allows, let it grow up and strangle the PBX as its obvious replacement.

We have been involved in the integration of Nortel, Avaya, NEC, Mitel and even a Toshiba key system to the ShoreTel as a PBX. We are now seeing growing demand for the ShoreTel to do both functions! The ShoreTel not only integrates as the new PBX with the old, legacy PBX to smooth client migration and transition; but it simultaneously provides VM for the users on the legacy PBX. Now how kool is that? ShoreTel as VM is a powerful migration strategy and a win/win for both client and vendor. Finding someone, however, that has a demonstrated competency in legacy integrations for both ShoreTel as PBX and ShoreTel as VM , complete with a client list that can be referenced is an essential element of a successful solution and implementation.

ToolBar Options for ShoreTel Call Managers

Posted on by DrVoIP

The Personal or Professional Call Manager has long been a key element in the success of the ShoreTel solution. This desktop call control application enables you to easily manage your phone calls. “Point and Click” to take action, or “right click” on an active call to immediately list all of your options. (You will find that there is always more than one way to do things in the ShoreTel Call Manager). The Call Manager can be customized by the system administrator. Each user can have up to 6 toolbars each supporting up to 24 buttons! You can dock or move these toolbars around and they can be hidden from the View menu in the Call Manager user interface. The System Administrator can create “Global Toolbars” and push them out to users as part of a class of service options.

Global and Personal Toolbar

You can create buttons that monitor other members of your team, launch applications, transfer live calls to remote cell phones! If you are using the Integrated toolbar (see previous post) as part of the ShoreTel Enterprise Contact Center, the list of options for your toolbar can include call center specific functions. These functions might include Release with Code and Wrap Up with Code, both generally used in a contact center environment. ShoreTel Toolbars are easy to create, push out to users and offer a wide range of customization options that enable you to create a true “air traffic control system” for manipulating your phone system!   The graphic shows three rows of buttons that are a combination of user-specific, and “Global” that were pushed out to Call Center agents via a COS option.   If the PCM looks strange to you,  it is because you are on a version before 8+ which changed to this new look and feel.

Live Operator or Automated Attendant?

Posted on by DrVoIP

Remember, you never get a second chance to make a first impression! How you handle an incoming telephone call will largely define your company to the calling public, scarefully consider what image you want to project. Some businesses feel strongly that all incoming calls should be answered during normal business hours by a live operator. Others believe that what an automated attendant lacks in up-front personality, it makes up for in promptness and routing efficiency.

There are two characteristics that need to be understood in order to make either choice work effectively. First, how many calls can one live operator handle graciously at any one time? Secondly, an automated attendant cannot make more people answer the phone! You may be surprised to fi nd that statistics identify that less that 3 out of 10 phone calls to your place of business are clients or prospects. Most phone calls are “friends and family”, other employees, outside vendors, and other enterprise support organizations. If the reason for having a live operator answer all incoming phone calls is to provide “high touch” personal attention to the company’s clients, you may want to set up a “back door” automated attendant.

Friends and family know exactly who they want to talk with. Even the vendors have a particular person in mind when they call. In most cases, if the target is not available, nobody else can help them. Why burden the live operator with these phone calls? With a “back door” automated answering solution, you provide friends and family a telephone number that is always answered by an Automated Attendant. This strategy will free your live operator to give that much more time and attention to clients when they do call.

Automated Attendants can be very effective tools for greeting the caller, providing a standardize and uniformed greeting and salutation; and then providing stream lined screening, routing to include message acquisition and retrieval. Used effectively they can by very powerful call flow solutions. Just remember, an AA cannot create more employees to answer the phone! It does not make sense to have a recording that says “dial one for accounting and two for sales” only to have the calls routed to the same person no matter what the caller selects!

Most AAs make it possible to have a company directory available to the caller with a “dialby name” option. This may or may not be a good idea, but it is an option never the less. If the extension that the caller dials is unavailable, the system can prompt the caller to leave a message. Many systems now capture the Caller ID of the caller and make it available to the inside target even if the caller did not leave a message!

Sometimes it is better that a call be routed to a group of individuals rather than a specific single individual. “Dial One for Accounting” might result in the caller being directed to a HUNT GROUP.  The hunt group might first ring, Tom, then Dick, then Harry. Optionally, the hunt group can be set up to ring all three department members simultaneously. If nobody answers, the call is usually forwarded to some individual’s mailbox and the caller is urged to leave a message for call back.

The difference between a hunt group and a WORK GROUP is this: rather than terminate an unanswered call in a voice mail box, you can now play the caller a care message and put them on hold until someone can answer the call. If Tom, Dick and Harry are already on a phone call, we might want the caller to wait a few minutes until one of the team members hangs up. While on hold the caller can listen to pre-recorded music or company messages. Most workgroups have the ability to announce estimated hold times and to provide a “bail out” option to voice mail if the wait is too long.

In my box “VoIP System Planning Guide” (down load from the DrVoIP.Com) there is a diagram that shows an example of all the call flow elements that are available: live answer, automated attendant, hunt groups and workgroups. You will need to create similar documentation and make it available to your phone system vendor so that they can program your call flow vision accurately and to assure that when you “go live”, there is a published understanding among your user groups as to how “call flow” impacts your business operation.

When planning call flow for a live answer operator, remember to separate the operator function from the person who is the operator. If Midge is the company Operator, will calls ring Midge’s desk or an Operator extension that appears on Midge’s phone? The answer to this will determine if Midge will have a personal extension and voice mailbox that is separate from the Operator extension and mailbox. Whenever possible, separate the function of “operator” from the person, in this case Midge, who answers the operator line. Additionally, it is possible for the “operator” extension to have multiple line appearances, a button on other phones that might be a back up to Midge.

Leave a Message by spell by name?

Posted on by DrVoIP
In an early April Blog entitled Add ShoreTel Extension Lists to your Automated Attendant we talked about limiting a callers ability to dial internal extensions. This is the same feature you might use to provide “tenant services” to a ShoreTel installation that was serving more than one company. In Version 9 of ShoreTel, you now have some additional new options that can be used very creatively. Lets assume you do not want to allow people to directly dial an extension at all, but you will allow callers to leave a message for someone. How do you do this without providing a dial by name directory or allowing for multiple digits to bounce around your system? A new feature has been added to the Automated Attendant drop down list: “Leave a message by first name” or “leave a message by last name”. Now your Automated Attendant might have a greeting option that sounds like “….if you would like to leave a message for a specific member of our staff and you know their name, press 9 now”. When the caller presses that option, they are prompted to spell that persons name and then they are directed to that persons mailbox where they can leave a message. This option enables outside callers an ability to leave a message for a specific individual without being able to know or dial their internal extension number. You should use this option along with the Extension name list previously discussed to increase security and maintain privacy! This is a truly unique ShoreTel 9 feature!

 

Example of Extension List for Take a Message
Example of Extension List for Take a Message

 

“The person you have called has requested your name”.

Posted on by DrVoIP

ShoreTel Call Screening is now available in Version 9!   Earlier versions of ShoreTel had a “find me follow me” feature that worked well.   Someone could hit your voice mail greeting and be told to “Press One and the system will attempt to locate me”   You could have two locations and the ShoreTel would call the first location and if you did not answer, it would try the second location.   The system was smart enough to know that if you answered the call at the first location , but did not accept the call, the system would not bother to continue on to the second location.  (Some suggested that an improvement might be to call both locations at the same time).    If the person trying to find you was another member of your team, the ShoreTel would alert you with a friendly sounding “ I have a call from Gandalf”, using the recorded name of the internal team members voice mail.    Unfortunately, if the caller was from outside the system, you would get a very un friendly “I have a call from 212-536-7865”   and that was always a disappointment.

 ShoreTel has remedied  this in its latest release of Version 9.    The system can now prompt the caller with “the party you are calling has requested your name….(record record)”.   Then when the system call you, you will hear a more friendly “ I have a call from (record playback)”.      This is a much more useful function for those who are away from the desk a great deal of the time.  In fact, you can speed the process by having the call go directly into the find me follow me mode before the caller hears your greeting.       You can do this by “Enable record callers name for Find Me”  plus also selecting the “enable find me for incoming calls before playing greeting”.   Set you call handling mode to “out of office” and check find me follow me.   An incoming call to your desk will ring your first “find me location” after saying to the caller “ the person you are calling has requested your name”.    When you receive the call you can hear the name of the person you calling and then accept or reject the call as desired.  

 

 If you use this trick, you need to make sure the greeting in your mailbox for this call handling mode acknowledges that fact that the “find me option” has already been tried automatically.  It would not make sense to leave the caller a greeting that says “if you need to speak to me press one and the system will attempt to locate me”!