New Voice Mail System Coming 2008

As part of the initiative to provide the next generation of integrated communication services (data, voice, Internet, media) to the University community, ISC will replace the existing voice mail system. The new system will able to provide a high availability for voice mail using modern servers and networks. We can recover from a voice mail server failure or machine room failure in a well-structured and rapid way, as we do for campus email and web servers.

What this Means Now
You are to continue accessing voice mail in your normal manner. You will be given ample notice of when the changeover is to take place.

Implementation Schedule
The new voice mail system will be implemented during the Winter semester.

Learn More
To learn more about the new voice mail system, refer to the New Voice Mail System FAQ. Expect to see more questions added to the FAQ as the conversion date approaches. If you have questions, please contact Michele Narcavage, Voice Services Project Leader, at narcavag@isc.upenn.edu.

Background

• The current voice mail server, Octel, has been in use for almost 15 years. It is expensive to maintain, and has no ability to interface with outside systems (like email).
  
  
• With the Octel server, recovery is cumbersome and time consuming, and would involve at least some loss of message data.
  
  
• Asterisk was selected to replace the current system (Octel). Asterisk voice mail will offer functionality and better integration with newer technologies.
  
  
• Because PennNet Phone users use Asterisk (the new system) and traditional phone users use Octel (the old system), the new system will bring the community back to a single system with more flexibility.
  
  
• The new voice mail system will offer a few new features, however, features received will depend on the phone service you use (PennNet Phone or traditional). Benefits for faculty and staff who use PennNet Phone include the ability to check voice mail in email and to manage their passwords via a web browser.
  
  
• Although you may need to learn a few new prompts, for the most part, key presses in the new system for common voice mail features such as save, delete, and replay are the same or similar to those in the current system.
  
  
• The new system will not affect the voice mail number: you will continue to dial 89-VOICE (898-6423) to access voice mail.