IP Office Phone Systems

IP Office Conference Calls

IP Office includes a free inbuilt conferencing bridge supporting 1 conference with as many as 128 participants on a single conference call, or combinations thereof (ie 10 x 12 person conference calls simultaneously). Multiple conferences can take place simultaneously; and with the Meet-me Conferencing Bridge a PIN number can be added for more secure conferences, requiring participants to input a code before entering the call. Use IP telephony, and all internal conference calls become free. The Conferencing Center application adds management through the Scheduler component and audio control for the host through the Web Client component. The Scheduler interface enables conferences to be established, e-mail invitations to be sent, or set up ad hoc. The Web Client enables the host to upload and publish documents and presentations for real-time viewing. IP Office Calls can be placed on hold and a conference created using either the phone or desktop applications. Additional conference members may be added, however a single conference may not have more than 128 members.

The IP Office Web Client interface allows the Host to manage the audio portion by controlling who has "Speak" and "Listen" privileges or who has "Listen only" capabilities. It is through the Client interface that the Host can Whisper to a specific individual without disruption to the conference call. Participants can also send messages using the web chat functionality privately to the Host or to all participants. Employees can cost effectively conduct meetings over the phone and spontaneously collaborate, share information and make decisions creating more effective work practices leading to shorter project times and increased employee productivity. The Meet-me Conference Bridge can lower conferencing costs by reducing the need for third-party conferencing service providers. ROI on IP Office conferencing solutions can be as short as 9-10 weeks, depending on location and provider fees.

The cost of using external conferencing solutions is extremely expensive. The conference facilities on the Avaya IP Office are extensive with 128 party conferencing built in to the system. We calculated and demonstrated that the savings made by Universal Aviation over a 5 year period on conferencing alone have paid for the new telephone system and call recording solution.

IP Office Standard Conference Features

IP Office provides the following features and benefits relating to conferencing:

• No special conferencing equipment required
  • You only need an IP Office system unit with as many digital trunks/VoIP channels as external participants (as well as Preferred Edition for Meet-Me conferences).
• Ease of use
  • Simply dial the direct number allocated to the conference bridge, type in the PIN if required and you have joined the conference (PIN codes require Preferred Edition/VoiceMail Pro).
• Conference control from Avaya Display telephones, IP Office Phone Manager and Avaya one- X Portal for IP Office
  • For ad-hoc conferences with a few participants, users can easily set up immediate conferences by calling all parties and bringing them to the conference bridge. With Avaya one-X Portal for IP Office , the originator of the conference can keep control: the Caller ID number (and the associated name if recognized) of each participant is displayed. If required, they can selectively hang-up a specific participant.
• Customized greeting
  • Record a personalized greeting per conference (requires Preferred Edition/VoiceMail Pro).
• Conference entry/exit tones
  • Single beep on entry/double beep on exit
• Conference call recording
  • Manual recording initiated by user on IP Office via Avaya one-X Portal for IP Office , Phone Manager, digital/IP display phone or a short code (requires Preferred Edition/VoiceMail Pro)
• Security
  • To prevent unauthorized access to the conference bridge, PIN codes, Caller ID number screening as well as time and date profiles can be set-up using IP Office VoiceMail Pro.
• Privacy
  • In cases where the security of calls is critical, in-house conferencing is the only way to ensure privacy.
• Remote Management
  • Allows a single person to manage the conferencing bridge facility from any location. Furthermore, the full IP Office solution - phone system, voicemail, CTI server, router, firewall and DHCP server- can all be managed from a single management interface called IP Office Manager.