Line is Busy, Please Call Again Later
Hi OCS fans! We have to skip this week’’s post. Just too busy at the moment to put one together. Check back next week for a post on OCS 2010.
How to Use OCS 2007 on Your Mobile
Filed under: Instant Messaging (IM), OCS 2007, OCS 2007 R2, Unified Communications
I'm still amazed at how many people use their phones for–well, everything! We've reached the point where almost anything you can do on a computer, you can do on a mobile phone.
So it's no surprise that we've received requests for using OCS on mobiles. Some companies want their employees to still have access to OCS functions while out & about. Sure, why not? We have the tech to do that. In fact, it's now possible to put an OCS client on all major phones out there.
Let me list the clients I know about. (If I miss one and you know it, leave a comment and share it with us!)
If You Have…
a. An iPhone
Use the “iDialog” iPhone OCS client. Ironically, this app is not made by Microsoft or Apple. It was released in 2009 by Modality Systems, a UC consulting firm.
Find iDialog in the App Store. Documentation and links are available on Modality's website here.
b. A Droid (Google Android Phone)
Right now the best way to use OCS on Droids is Communicator Web Access (CWA). Like Outlook Web Access, this framework allows web-based use of a Microsoft app - in this case, Office Communicator.
The Communicator Team blog has an overview on CWA here.
(I mentioned the Web Scheduler component in February, too.)
c. A Windows Mobile Phone (Palm Pre, Nokia)
Those of you on Windows Mobile phones luck out here. There's a mobile OCS client available straight from Microsoft: Communicator Mobile 2007 R2.
d. A Blackberry
There is no native Blackberry OCS client to my knowledge. You can use the Communicator Web Client though, like you would on a Droid phone. However, if your company limits Web access on Blackberries, you're stuck. (Maybe this can help you successfully argue in favor of Web access…?)
I should note that in terms of capabilities, OCS mobile clients and CWA are practically identical to Office Communicator. Aside from screen size and a couple formatting differences, you won't lose out on anything by using OCS 2007 on your mobile.
Do you use OCS 2007 on the go? What mobile phone do you use? How's it been working for you? Let us know in the comments.
Introducing New Employees to OCS 2007: 4 General Rules on How to Use It
Filed under: Instant Messaging (IM), OCS 2007, OCS 2007 R2, OCS 2010, Unified Communications, Voice over IP
We brought a new network engineer on board this week. I didn't give him “the tour,” but apparently he breezed through all of it and got to work right away.
Then he had a question about OCS.
He just wanted to know who to add to Office Communicator's contact list. Easy answer. But this pointed out something important regarding new employees. He already knew how OCS worked technically; he just wanted to know our policies around it.
What are the Rules for Using OCS Around Here?
That sparked a little discussion (and this blog post). Do we have any rules in place for how we use OCS? If so, what are they? How did they come about?
Turns out we did have several rules in place. They came into existence by the whim of a nutty systems administrator who journeyed to the Forbidden Server Room–
Okay, we just used common sense when it comes to business communication.
4 General Rules for OCS Use
These are 4 of the rules we came up with. I included questions our newest employee asked.
Who Do I Add to My Contact List? Why?
Add everyone you'll communicate with regularly. Use Contact List Groups or Access Levels to group people by priority and/or proximity to you. My first group is “Team,” direct co-workers in the same department. Another group is “Company,” which holds people I don't regularly talk to, but who need to talk to me now & then.
How Often Should I Update My Status (Presence)?
Rule of thumb for us: Update Presence once a day or when you change projects, whichever is more frequent. Above all, keep it up-to-date. Avoid what happens when you don't change your Presence status.
When Is it Okay to IM People?
Depends on the severity and length of the request you have. If you have a problem that can be answered quickly, then go for IM. If the problem is more extensive, and you may need input from more than one person, then use email.
Should I Use OCS to Answer the Phone?
Yes. Our phone system runs through OCS first and cellphones second (OCS is set to auto-forward). So we answer phones via OCS whenever possible. That's what the VoIP is there for, after all.
Does your company use OCS 2007? What are your rules concerning office use? Do you have different rules than ours? Let us know in the comments.
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OCS 2010
Remember: With VoIP, Wait for the Line to Connect Before Talking
Filed under: OCS 2007, OCS 2007 R2, OCS 2010, Unified Communications, Voice over IP
In recent client discussions, we've observed communications going awry. Our clients, when calling us, start talking immediately upon the line connecting.
Now this is pretty normal. The line connects and you start talking. Pretty basic.
But! Here comes VoIP to make this parade turn down a side street.
We're bringing this up because several of our clients are getting cut off at the start of their conversations. They'll start talking immediately, but the first few words will never reach us. And we'll have to ask them to repeat. Naturally, this gets a little frustrating now & then.
This is one of those little kinks in new technology we have to work past. It happens because the tech is still relatively new, and disparities between data and voice are still being worked out.
Call Routing and Why You Should Be Aware Of It
The thing with VoIP is that it takes a second or two to connect to a regular POTS phone line. This is because the VoIP gateway must route the call between data and voice. Bridging the two networks, essentially. Here's an overview on VoIP gateways from TopBits.com to help explain.
If you're talking during the few seconds while the call is still being routed, those words won't make it through. They vanish. You'll be rambling on in mid-sentence by the time the other person is able to hear you.
Start the Conversation with a Breath
The way to prevent this little communication mishap? Take a breath before speaking. That's all. The amount of time it takes to route a VoIP connection is the same as how long it takes to breathe once.
And since breathing is good for you, it's an easy tip to remember. Relax, breathe, and then say Hi.
