Unified Messaging is the fusion of different types of communication services which empowers people using different devices to communicate through different channels. The Unified Messaging system integrates different communication media such as voice mail, email, fax mail, etc into one mailbox so that users will be able to retrieve voice, email messages and facsimile transmissions through a single interface of choice.

The device could be any communication device such as normal wireline desk phone, mobile or cell phone, personal digital assistant (PDA), pager, fax machine, personal computer (PC), notebook, etc. The single interface could be on any of the communication media such as email system (for example Microsoft® Exchange, Lotus Notes®, etc), fax mail, voice mail, web browser, etc.

If it is an email system, voice recognition technology will be used to convert the voice files into text so that the voice mail, email and fax mail could be received via the email as text. In the same light, if the single interface is a voice mail, text-to-speech technology will be used to convert the text from email and fax mail to voice format.

Unified Messaging is suitable for all industries. To stay ahead in the market place, businesses need to be able to react quickly to the ever changing market landscape. As Unified Messaging is a powerful tool which connects people for exchange of information and decision making, it is relevant to all businesses.

Some of the more common users are:

call centers

sales operations

field support operations

In a traditional solution, the Unified Messaging system is a separate sub-system connected to the main legacy phone system such as PABX. The traditional Unified Messaging system contains a limited number of ports. Each of the voice system, fax machine and email server are separately and externally linked to the traditional Unified Messaging system as sub-systems. Each of these sub-systems is connected to at least two ports in the traditional Unified Messaging system; one is an external port used for receiving messages and the other is an ordinary port for connecting the system to the traditional Unified Messaging system.The external port could be a either voice or data port. For instance, the PABX is connected to a voice port and an ordinary port of the traditional Unified Messaging system. This enables voice messages to be sent from the PABX to the traditional Unified Messaging system. The fax server is linked to the traditional Unified Messaging system via one data port and one ordinary port.The message in textual form is sent to and from the fax server through the data port.The email server is also linked to the traditional Unified Messaging system via local area network (LAN).The email messages are transferred to the email server via TCP/IP (internet protocol) over the LAN connection.

In the traditional Unified Messaging system, incoming voice calls are received at the PABX. Facsimile transmissions are received at the fax machines and emails are received by the email server.The voice message, fax message and email are then sent to the traditional Unified Messaging system.There is a table of identities (ID) of all the staff and their respective extensions and email addresses within the traditional Unified Messaging system.The traditional Unified Messaging system identifies the recipient of the message and stores it along with the recipient’s ID.

In the traditional Unified Messaging system, if the recipient chooses to retrieve his messages via the phone, he invokes the interactive voice response (IVR) system. The Unified Messaging system will use its own text-to-speech technology to convert all textual messages to voice format, send it back to his extension at the PABX via the voice port so that the messages can be read to him.

If the recipient chooses to retrieve his messages via email using the traditional Unified Messaging system, he logs into his email account.The traditional Unified Messaging system will use its speech recognition technology to convert his voice messages to textual format and sent it to his email address at the email server via the network (TCP/IP) so that he can view his email, fax as well as voice messages.

However if he wishes to send a fax out (using the traditional Unified Messaging system), he must invoke an interactive voice response (IVR) system to manually activate it before it can be sent.This is because the voice and fax ports are also not interchangeable. A portthat is being used for voice communication cannot be simultaneously used for fax services too.In some traditional systems, it is possible for the fax mail to be integrated with the email system but the voice mail cannot be integrated with the fax or email systems.

The PowerX2011™ telecom server is based on a much more advanced concept.All the different communication systems are seamlessly integrated into one box.There is no need for additional ports to connect each of the communication system.

The PowerX2011™ telecom server uses a revolutionary technique such that every port has resources for Unified Messaging without any need to transfer the message to and fro. The same port used for voice is also used for fax services.In fact, it is possible for the user at the same port to receive an incoming fax while he is speaking to someone using the same line.

When a customer calls the company and leaves a voice message, it is stored as a voice file in the voice mail. Likewise when a customer sends an email to the company, it is kept in the mailbox of the email system until it is retrieved.Without Unified Messaging, in order to receive each of these mail, the company staff, agent or representative needs to log in and out of each of these systems to retrieve the mail. This is very cumbersome and time consuming. Besides he may miss out on important mail if he forgets to log into any of the systems. The Unified Messaging system resolves these problems by enabling the company staff, agent or representative to retrieve all his mail on a single preferred platform.

For instance, both executives John and Larry work for the same department. John is a busy sales executive and always lines up a series of appointments with clients outside of the company. He chooses to use his mobile to retrieve his voice mail, email and fax mail in between meetings. When incoming communication is received, the following takes place:

The system checks if John has configured any settings for his incoming communication. For instance, he may have selected to forward all incoming messages to his cell phone.

If a voice message is left in his voice mailbox, the system automatically directs it to his cell phone.If he does not pick it up immediately, it goes into the mailbox of his cell phone.

If the incoming communication is in textual form, such as an email or fax mail, the system uses text-to-speech technology to convert his email and fax mail into voice format and again directs it to his cell phone.

As John’s messages have all been directed to the mailbox on his cell phone, he can view them any time at his convenience.

In this way, John can continue to service his customers when he is physically outside of the office.

In this example, Larry has been posted overseas.He chooses to use his notebook to obtain his messages.When his incoming communication is received by the system, the following takes place:

The system checks if Larry has configured any settings for his incoming communication.For instance, he may have selected to receive all incoming messages via email.

If an email is received, the system stores it in Larry’s email mailbox.

If the incoming communication is in textual form but not an email, the system converts it into a suitable form for forwarding to his email mailbox.

If the incoming communication is in voice form, the system uses speech recognition technology to convert his voice mail into text format and directs it to his email mailbox.

To retrieve his messages, Larry logs in to his email mailbox.To view the contents of each message, he only needs to click on the specific email item. Larry can also download all his messages via his email.

* Note that Unified Messaging allows each person to use his preferred device to access his communication. The PowerX2011™ telecom server Unified Messaging system fully supports this principle. John uses a cell phone while Larry uses a notebook. As much as they are not confined to the use of a particular device, they can also access the system at any time most suitable for them. Besides obvious savings in cost (in the case of Larry) in downloading mail instead of incurring IDD charges (International Direct Dialing) to listen to them, the system is able to convert all the communication received to either spoken or written form.This represents great savings and convenience to the user.

Traditionally, the Unified Messaging server only covers the following:

voice mail from trunk calls

fax mail

email

This is clearly inadequate for today’s information era where there is a multitude of ways to communicate.The PowerX2011™ telecom server, being a forerunner in Unified Messaging, provides a complete multifaceted solution to serve multiple channels from a single platform. The range includes:

voice mail from trunk calls

voice mail from extensions

voice mail from web calls

fax mail

email

paging (text paging)

instant message (ICQ)

Short Message Send service (SMS)

via mobile devices such as PDAs

This is clearly inadequate for today’s information era where there is a multitude of ways to communicate.The PowerX2011™ telecom server, being a forerunner in Unified Messaging , provides a complete multifaceted solution to serve multiple channels from a single platform. The range includes:

voice mail from trunk calls

voice mail from extensions

voice mail from web calls

fax mail

email

paging (text paging)

instant message (ICQ)

Short Message Send service (SMS)

via mobile devices such as PDAs