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IP Softphone
The IP Softphone makes it easy to place
and receive phone calls from your laptop or PC through its simple
Graphical user Interface (GUI) and integration with Microsoft
Outlook contact lists and other directories.
 
Avaya IP Softphone integrates a
flexible IP telephone client with a SIP/SIMPLE-based Instant
Messaging (IM) client. It incorporates a contact list of other IP
Softphone users and makes both phone and IM presence visible to
other users. It is simple to toggle between the softphone and IM
applications. The IM and presence capabilities require registering
with the Avaya Converged Communications Server, which is available
separately.
The IP Softphone telephone client can
be configured for Road Warriors or Telecommuters. The Road Warrior
configuration is suitable for users who tend to have only one line
for remote access. In Road Warrior, the voice or audio is run across
the IP network for a "pure voice over IP" configuration, and offers
a great amount of flexibility due to the ubiquity of IP networking.
The Telecommuter configuration is ideally suited for users working
from a remote office with two lines for remote access. With this
option, feature/access control and signaling is maintained and
delivered across the IP network, but the voice is delivered across a
second line to either a public switched telephone network or digital
line to help ensure toll-quality voice. This capability can be
extended to a cellular, PCS, or GSM phone. In the Telecommuter
configuration, the Avaya communications server "binds" the two
connections as a single transaction or session.
The IP Softphone can also be configured
for shared control of either Avaya IP telephones or Avaya digital
telephones. The Avaya IP telephone configuration enables users to
log into and control their Avaya IP telephone from the Avaya IP
Softphone. Users can speak and listen through their telephone, but
unlike the Telecommuter configuration, users can make and handle
calls from both the Avaya IP Softphone interface and the IP
telephone. This feature can help improve productivity by integrating
the IP Softphone capabilities and Personal Information Managers,
such as Microsoft Outlook, with the IP Telephone. The Avaya IP
Telephone configuration is supported on the Avaya 4606, 4612, 4620,
4624, and 4630 IP Telephone with release 1.7 or later.
Similarly, the Avaya DCP Telephone
configuration enables users to log into and control their
traditional digital telephone from the Avaya IP Softphone. This
capability is supported on Avaya 2400, 6400 and 8400 series phones.
It also requires Avaya Communication Manager 2.0 and higher.
With the introduction of Avaya IP
Softphone 5.1, there is a new mode of operation for the IP Softphone
called IM-only mode. In this mode, the Instant Messaging capability
of IP Softphone can be used independently of the other modes of
operation. For those who like to use IP Softphone in telecommuter
mode or road warrior mode but not shared control mode, IM-only mode
enables them to use IM from their desktop when they are "in the
office". It also allows Digital phone users with pre-2.0 versions of
Avaya Communication Manager to avail themselves of Instant
Messaging. (Note that Instant Messaging does require the Converged
Communications Server in all instances).
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