Unified Mobility – Part 1

It is no secret that the art of collaboration is being applied to all facets of technology. Unified Mobility has stepped up to the plate to encourage users to “man up” and become more productive in the work space. There are several pieces of unified mobility that offer companies a multitude of benefits such as: reduction in missed calls resulting in missed opportunities, eliminating call interruptions, and cutting back on roaming costs among others. In addition, this technology is adapting to a more simplified management style to accommodate the growing need of user communications. Therefore, it is fitting that we discuss these options further and begin providing insight into not only the user experience but how it is crafted on the back end.

In this blog, we will begin with Mobile Connect; aka “Single Number Reach” (SNR). SNR supports the ability to redirect incoming IP calls from CUCM to up to ten different remote devices. During this process the incoming call will ring the local IP device and any of the enabled remote devices. In the event this call goes unanswered it is routed to the local IP device’s destination, not that of the remote device.

Now then, let’s move to the nuts and bolts and build our scenario. Jill is a Sales Rep at a prominent Toy Distributor. The majority of her work week involves extensive traveling. Due to the nature of her business, it is essential to ensure reachability. To add to this, she has indicated it is very inconvenient to manage multiple voice mail accounts. We must also ensure we are complying with company standards which state all remote devices are within the local calling area.

For the sake of this blog, let’s assume Jill’s Enterprise IP device is configured and associated with an end user account.

User Account Configuration

This activates Mobile Connect and allows it to work with an adjunct device (in this case, Jill’s desk phone). Keep in mind, this method consumes 2 DLU’s. If you do not associate with an adjunct device, 4 DLU’s will be consumed.

1. Ensure the account is associated with the correct IP device

2. Check the “Enable Mobility” check box and select the “Primary User Device”

3. Check the “Enable Voice Access” check box (This will be covered in Unified Mobility – Part 3.)

4. Ensure the user is assigned to the “Standard CCM End Users” Group

Remote Destination Profile Configuration

The remote destination profile contains the parameters that apply to all remote destinations for that particular user. In this case, these settings should accommodate the same capabilities as the Enterprise IP phone. Keep in mind, the “Calling Search Space” for the profile only applies when engaging Mobile Voice Access and Enterprise Feature Access calls. (This will be covered Unified Mobility Part 3.) The “Rerouting Calling Search Space” is used to route calls to the Remote Destinations attached to the user’s profile. Be careful not to forget this in your configuration. You may also in some cases want to apply calling restrictions. In this scenario, we would utilize a local-only CSS in order to adhere to company policy.

Remote Destination Configuration

A remote destination represents a mobile or other remote phone that is configured to accept calls that come from the system as a result of the shared line configured in the remote destination profile. This is where the rubber hits the road. Several remote destination call characteristics are applied in this configuration component. For now, we are just going to cover a few of the tricky ones.

1. When entering the “Destination Number”, ensure to enter the number as if you were dialing it direct from the Enterprise IP Device.

2. Answer too soon timer – this timer protects the call from being forwarded to the remote device’s voicemail. An example of this would be if the remote device was in an area where mobile network was unavailable and the ring cycle was eliminated, thus causing the call to be “answered too soon” for CUCM to maintain control of the call and properly forward back to the Enterprise Voicemail.

3. Answer too late timer – this timer sets the amount of time CUCM allows for the remote device to answer. Once the timer expires, the call will be pulled back and transferred to Enterprise voicemail. This timer will need to be adjusted per Remote Destination and will depend on the typical ring cycle of the remote device.

4. Delay Before Ringing Timer – depicts the time that passes before the call is extended to the remote destination. It is recommended to set this to 0 (zero) when hunt groups are utilized.

Once desired settings are applied, check “Enable Mobile Connect”. This will allow calls to be extended while simultaneously ringing at the Enterprise IP device. For this blog, we will assume Jill would like the Ring Schedule to be set for “all of the time”. (Time of Day access will be covered in Unified Mobility – Part 2)

At this point it is good to double-check the Enterprise IP device configuration to ensure the call-forward no answer settings are routed to voicemail. It is also good to ensure that your “ring no answer” timer will not restrict the timing you have depicted in the Remote Destination.

It is now time to notify Jill of the good news….

Jill embraces SNR and is now asking if there is a way for calls that originate on the Enterprise IP Device (desk phone) can be moved to her Remote Destination without call interruption. She is also requesting if a SNR call is retrieved on her mobile device as; is there a way to transfer the call back to my desk phone once back in the office?

To be continued…

Amy Ryan CCIE #24677 (Voice)
Sr. Technical Instructor – IPexpert
Mailto: aryan@ipexpert.com
Telephone: +1.810.326.1444
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