Pickup vs. Team Calling

 

For some time now I have meat this requirement in a lot of RFP’s and customer meetings, …..Call Pickup!

From my personal point of view Smile

What is the idea of having call pick up?, from my point of view, “get the phone answered

This Call pickup function is what you could do in an old time PBX, and it’s used a lot at some customers and other customers hate it, but for whatever reason customers that like it, have an tendency to hang on to it like nothing else can do the same or even better.

What is the reason for having call pick up?

· If you aren’t at your desk and your phone is ringing someone else can pick it up

· If you have a department phone that you need to be answered, by someone in the room that can hear it ringing

Some questions I asked my customers.

· Would you like to know who have called you and who has taken that call, so you can go back and asked what the call was about?

· Would you like to be able to choice who can pick up your call, maybe someone isn’t then best to answer you customers.

· If you have simultaneous calling, so that you “phone” and your mobile rings at the same time, would you like to have at least 10-20 sec, to pick the call up before some else pick it up, when needed and not when you are in meetings.

· Would it be nice to actually not having a phone standing in the middle of the room ringing if everyone in that room is busy.

· Would it be nice to be able to select someone else to pick up your phone, other than people in same room, and be able to change it whenever you like to do that and not be depending on the Telco admin to set it up for you.

· Would it be nice if you could choice what “ring tone” you will get when other phones are ringing, and even choice to not have a ring tone just a little popup on your phone or PC when someone in your teams phone is ringing and only having a ringtone when your own extension ring’s.

Team calling in Lync is actually a very nice/great function, and this function can replace call pick up! back to my statement in the beginning “What is the idea of having call pick up ?, from my point of view, “get the phone answered , and that is what Team calling can do for you and more, but in a more Unified Communication and mobile worker stile and not having a “desk phone look at things”, wakeup it’s 2012 Smile

Look at this little funny video on team calling: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ddkLdw2tJo&feature=player_embedded

This blog show how easy it’s to set it up: https://www.ultimate-communications.com/2011/04/configure-team-call-aka-call-pickup-in-lync-server-2010-lync/

Interesting blog on ring groups etc. https://windowspbx.blogspot.com/2012/05/microsoft-lync-simple-ring-group-for.html

If you are looking for any 3rd party vendor solutions to take care of your call control, I have found solutions like this that might help you.

FonComfort (Beta) from Bressner:

It uses the Client API and provides features like

  • - Pick up
  • - linked call forwarding (e.g from manager to assistant and to a mobile phone)
  • - second call suppression
  • - Convenient conductive call transfer

This solution will be released in 2 version very soon, Basic and professional, and some rumors on en Enterprise Version later.

Basic version is Client based software and the professional version is also Server software on the Lync Server https://www.bressner.de/products/telecom_it/unifiedcommunication/lync-software/lync-foncomfort/

Routing Agent from Competella: https://competella.com/Content/Competella%20Routing%20Agent.pdf

  • Configuration of forwarding rules on a per user level using
    a plugin page in the Lync Client. Defaults can be set on a
    system level.
  • Forwarding to external destinations
  • Optional delay of forwarding (with ring tones)

SimpleRoute https://www.colima.de/en/products/simpleroute.html

  • With SimpleRoute, incoming audio and video calls and instant messages can also be redirected or blocked depending on the origin, content and presence status of the recipient. The ever-popular BusyOnBusy function can be implemented for selected users.

Call pickup from AXON https://www.ubibase.com/ubibase_introduction_axon_eng_v1.3.pdf

Call Pickup from CereBro: https://www.colima.de/en/products/cerebro.html

https://blog.colima.de/en/2012/06/call-pickup-with-colima-cerebro-preview/

If you are looking for other Lync application this site also has a very good list of 3rd party applications