Using the Voice Service

Unified Communications (UC) is the integration of multiple modes of communication services, allowing users to receive communication from one service, such as voice mail, and respond using another service, such as Click-to-Call.

Zimbra uses real-time communications services such as voice, telephony and presence to inter-operate with non-real-time services such as email and voice mail. The VMware Zimbra Collaboration Server (ZCS) Voice Service feature includes Visual Voice Mail, Click-to-Call, and Presence (Cisco only). ZCS uses Cisco or Mitel servers, as a third-party voice server, or UC server, to bridge calls between ZCS and the Zimbra Web Client (ZWC).

Note:

UC system administrators are responsible for configuring the UC server based on that UC server’s documentation.

You enable the voice service from the administration console. Users use the voice service feature from the Voice tab in the ZWC.

When users sign into the voice service from their ZWC account, they are actually logging into a UC server. After the initial user set-up, the voice service is seamless and requires no additional account configuration.

Voice service features include:

Visual Voice Mail: From the Voice tab, users can easily view and listen to voice mails and view details such as caller name, time details, and length of message. Users can call back the person that left the message, forward or reply to the message by email, save or delete the message, and select how to be notified of a new voice message. Supported audio formats include WAV and MP3.

Click-to-Call: The ability to make a phone call from a ZWC account. Users can highlight and click phone number in their email to dial, or select a contact’s phone number from their contact lists. The call is bridged from the registered physical or soft phone the user selects to use to call the recipient. Click-to-Call eliminates the use for a dial pad on a phone.

Click-to-Chat: (Cisco clients only) The ability to chat with a contact using the Cisco Jabber client and ZCS. Users must have the recipient’s IM address stored in their contact information. They can then access the recipient’s contact card and click the IM link to initiate a chat session.

Presence: (Cisco clients only) The ability to display in real time the availability information about users or contacts. When using Cisco Jabber, users can manually set their presence status or it is automatically set for them. For example, when users are on a phone call their presence status is automatically set to “on a call”. Presence status is displayed as available, away, on a call, or do not disturb.