With the Consultation Call feature in Nimbus Assistant, you have the possibility to consult with an consultant before a transfer to either an internal contact or an external PSTN Number. This allows you to pass on information to the consultant before sending the call over or conference it to a consultation call.
Good to know: Please note that consultation calls work with the following destination scenarios:
Supported Destinations
Not Supported
Consultation calls to internal Microsoft Teams users
Consultation calls to PSTN (☝ see PSTN limitations below)
Consultation calls to Nimbus services via UPN
Consultation calls to external UPNs (User Principal Names)
Consultation calls to services using PSTN
🔎 Also refer to the → known limitations below for more details.
🔎 In the following, we refer to the following participants:
You - The instructions are written from this perspective, addressing “you” as the main actor in Assistant and Nimbus.
Consultant - A contact from your search (either a user from your tenant or a Nimbus user from another service). 💡If the consultant is a Nimbus user they may also have (limited) call controls available to them in Nimbus.
Customer - the person calling your service.
Steps
Call accept & outgoing consultation call
✅ Precondition: An incoming call is shown in the queue.
Accept the call and inform the caller that you need to consult with an consultant first. 💡 Note: The call must stay active in order to start a consultation call with an consultant. Putting the caller “On Hold” will disable the consultation call option.
Click the Consult button in Assistant.
Search for the contact or PSTN number of the consultant and start an outgoing consultation call. ☝ Note: PSTN limitations and supported destination scenarios apply.
Consultation to user
Consultation to user
✅ Precondition: You dialed out to a consultant (single user) using your search and contact list.
✅consultant accepts the call
You're connected, talking only to the the consultant.
Decide on the option you want to go forward with:
Transfer - The caller is put out of hold, transferred to the consultant. 💡 You're immediately freed up for further calls.
Conference - Joins the call with all three participants in a conference. 🔍 This scenario is explained in the next step.
Swap - Switches caller and consultant on hold state.
Hangup… (Hangup and Retrieve) - Ends the call with the consulted target and the caller is immediately retrieved from on-hold.
Terminate - Ends the call with the consulted target. The caller stays on hold until the agent retrieves the call.
Retrieve - Retrieves the call with the on-hold target.
❌ consultant doesn't respond or declines
When your consultant contact does not respond in time or declines:
⮑ A busy tone will be played to you. ⮑ Your call with the caller will be automatically resumed. 💡Note that you can abort the dialout at any time leading to the same results.
Consultation to service
Consultation to service
✅ Precondition: You are NOT in a conference call at the moment, because this prevents consultation to an external service. In this example you stay with the customer, making the call to a service in their stead.
Dial out to the target service. Note that the target service workflow will treat this scenario differently:
Music and announcements are audible to you only.
“Input Customer Advanced” activities during the workflow with work with Voice Recognition, but not DTMF (Dialpad) → See Limitations at the bottom of this page.
The workflow may take a separate route than usual as defined per “Origin Routing”Check Activity.
Last User Routing should take your calling customer into consideration, preferring the consultant the customer last spoke to.
If available the target service should also get details and context from your customer.
Once connected to the target service you speak to the consultant from the target service: ⮑ Hold and Park are disabled during this time.
Terminate and retrieve (the customer)
Swap to the customer ⮑ On Hold music is played for the consultant while you swap to the customer.
Transfer: 💡Only available, once a consultant in the target service picked up the call. ⮑ Your session ends. → After the call scenario below applies.
Conference (Merge). 💡Only available, once a consultant in the target service picked up the call. ⮑ You stay together with everyone in the conference. ⮑ You and the consulting agent will only have the “hang up” button after the conference call is started.
Call hang up and on hold behavior: When either you or the consultant hang up during the consultation call, the control over the session change ownership accordingly.
When the customer hangs up, you remain in the session with the consultant. ⮑ The “Hang up” button is available to both you and the consultant
When the consultant hangs up while on hold: ⮑ Call termination of consultant is visible, you are connected to customer. ⮑ You get all call controls back.
When the consultant hangs up while the customer is on hold: ⮑ You will have all call controls back. ⮑ You have to actively retrieve the call with customer back.
You hang up on the customer and consultant while the consultant is still on hold: ⮑ The consultant will automatically be connected to customer, ⮑ All call controls are available to the consultant.
You hang up on the consultant and customer while the customer is on hold: ⮑ The consultant will automatically be connected to customer ⮑ All call controls are available to the consultant.
Consultation Conference
💡This scenario applies to either user or service consultation. Note that the conference option is not available at all times. ✅ At this point, we assume that you want to combine the previous conversation between yourself, the consultant, and the caller into a conference. You start while in a call with either party (customer / consultant), while the other participant is currently “On Hold”:
Click the Conference button.
The conversation is now conferenced between all 3 participants: Consultation conference in Assistant.At this point you can:
Talk to both participants simultaneously.
Leave the conference. 💡 The conference will persist as long as at least any two participants remain present.
After the call (any scenario)
✅If a call was successfully transferred to a contact target OR after you've left a consultation / conference: ⮑ After-Call Work (ACW) starts if configured for your user. ⮑ Otherwise you're free to take the next call.
Known Limitations
Transfers
INC Transfer Limitation List
💡In the following we list all known transfer limitations, either by design or external circumstances.
Transfer to PSTN: Licensing and Limitations
INC Transfer to PSTN Limitation
☝Nimbus and related addons can only perform PSTN transfers according to Microsoft's licensing and constraints. ✅ As Administrator you need to acquire Microsoft Teams phone licenses
☝Please note that Luware staff cannot give recommendations on which license plan is best suited for your needs. Depending on your scenario, additional Teams App licenses may be required. Exact details are to be discussed with your Microsoft contacts.
🤔How does PSTN licensing affect Service and call transfers?
Assuming that the initially called Service has (no) PSTN license assigned - the following scenarios may unfold:
Scenario A - Service A has a PSTN license. Transfers to other Services occur.
⮑The PSTN license carries over throughout transfers to other Nimbus Services B and C. ⮑ As the license carries over, a PSTN transfer to an external target is possible from either Service.
Scenario B - Service B has no PSTN license. A Transfer to Service C occurs which has a PSTN license.
⮑ The customer skips over Service A and manages to reach Service B instead. ⮑The PSTN license is missing on Service B, so nothing is carried over to Service C. ⮑ Even if Service C has its own PSTN license, a PSTN transfer to an external target is not possible.
🌟Learnings:
Nimbus will use the PSTN license – and create a (transfer) Session – from the FIRST Service responding to a call.
Regardless of how many internal Service transfers are performed thereafter, the FIRST Service PSTN license remains in effect.
If a PSTN license is missing, the transfer task will fail and be treated accordingly by the System.1
Even if a Service being transferred towards has a PSTN license, it cannot be added in post, as the Call Session is already ongoing from the first-responding Service.
✅ For your licensing needs this means: If you require PSTN transfer functionality, you'll need to ensure that this Service is handling all your incoming calls.
For ONE first-level / Front Desk Service, you'll need a PSTN license for this particular Service.
For MULTIPLE first-level Services scenario, you'll need PSTN licenses for all first-level Services.
1🔎 Assumption: Workflow takes the normal “Exit” Announcement route and Service Session will conclude with a “Transfer failed” outcome. For more details on analyzing your Reporting results, refer to Nimbus Reporting and Static Dimensions > "Service Session Outcomes"
☝Note that handling and tracking of running cost for PSTN licenses is outside of the Luware support scope. If you however require assistance in extending and/or configuring your Nimbus Services for PSTN, our support will gladly assist you:
In MS Teams technically you can use conference invite and transfer features, but Nimbus cannot control the session anymore, nor create status reports on the results. This will not be a controlled or safe transfer, thus Nimbus will consider your user free to take on other tasks.
In Nimbus, therefore transfer buttons will be disabled while you are in a conference created by Nimbus functionality – e.g. when you…
✅ Call Data + Customer.Custom Fields and System Data.
⬜/✅ Custom Context Parametersonly if enabled in respective Extensions Service Settings > “Conversation Context”.
✅All Call Data + Custom Fields,
System Data and Custom Context Parameter …get transferred.
… User, during ongoing Consultation
❌ No Context gets transferred.2
✅All Call Data + Custom Fields,
System Data and Custom Context Parameter …get transferred.
… Service via Workflow “Transfer" activity.
❌ No Context gets transferred.1,2
✅All Call Data + Custom Fields,
System Data and Custom Context Parameter …get transferred.
CONTEXT TRANSFER LIMITATIONS
The following Context Transfer limitations are known. We are actively working to improve this in a future update.
1 Context Handover via ”Transfer" Workflow Activity": A Custom Context Handover from within a Service workflow to any target will not work.
2 Context Handover via UI buttons to Users during consultation calls is currently not supported, partially due to MS Teams conference limitations. → If you require Context to be transferred, use Blind Transfer or Safe Transfer scenarios respectively.
When the target User is already is in RONA state. ⮑ A message will be shown after a transfer attempt is made: “Transfer cannot be started to a User, who is in a Nimbus Task”. ⮑ There will be no extra User Session for Nimbus Reporting created.2
When the target User ignores / doesn't answer the transfer (e.g. Timeout), Nimbus will not flag users with RONA state1. ⮑ User Session in Nimbus Reporting marked “Cancelled”2
When the target User actively declines a transfer will also not flag users with RONA state. ⮑ User Session in Nimbus Reporting marked as “Declined”.2
1🤔 Why is RONA not applied in this case? When a User is a direct transfer target, they were not selected by the Nimbus Task Queue and Distribution system. In order to keep that user available to other Nimbus Services – e.g. after previous transfer / timeout – no persistent RONA state is applied. 2 Depending on the Attendant Consoletransfer scenario (safe/blind), the call will return to the initial User or be lost. This is not related to RONA behavior.
Transfers and Nimbus Reporting Outcomes
INC Transfers and Nimbus Reporting Outcomes
🔎Rule: Last Outcome
Rule for Nimbus Reporting > Outcomes & Sessions List Task Results: The overall Service Session outcome in a “Transferred-by-user Scenario” is set according to the outcome of the last User Session.
Transfer Scenario
User A - Session 1 Outcome
User B - Session 2 Outcome
Expected Service Session Reporting Outcome1
User A blind3 / safe transfers to Internal Destination B, which accepts
Transferred Internally
Accepted
User Internal Transfer Successful
User A blind3 transfers to Internal Destination B, which does not respond (ignore)
Internal Transfer Failed
Cancelled
User Internal Transfer Failed
User A safe4 transfers to Internal Destination B, which rejects, Customer terminates afterwards.
Accepted
Declined
User Accepted
User A transfers to Destination B Voicemail 2,5 directly
Transferred Internally
None, as no User Session is created for user B.2
User Internal Transfer Successful
User A starts a Consultation Call to a Nimbus Service
Transferred Internally
Accepted
User Internal Transfer Successful
User A starts a Consultation Call to a PSTN (non Nimbus) number
Transferred Externally
None, as no User is tracked as long as they are not part of Nimbus.
2Voicemail and Reporting: Any direct "Transfer to Voicemail" Actions via Attendant Console are not creating a new User Session or any related User State checks for the Nimbus Reporting Model.
3 Blind Transfer behavior: When the destination doesn't accept – and has Voicemail or any other forwarding activity enabled – the transfer will not reach Voicemail nor the forwarding target. This is expected Contact center behavior and avoids the loss of calls.
4 Safe Transfer / Voicemail behavior: When the destination doesn't accept - and has Voicemail enabled - the transfer will NOT reach the Voicemail. This is expected Contact Center behavior to avoid a potential call loss.
5Disabled Voicemail: Nimbus cannot check ahead if voicemail is enabled for a user, but the “Transfer to Voicemail” UI element is always shown. Also refer to the “Transfer to disabled Voicemail” limitations.
Transfer to MS Teams Auto Attendant / Call Queues
INC Transfer to Teams Auto Attendant and Call Queues Limitation
☝Out of box, transfers towards the UPNs of Teams-native Auto Attendants (AA) or Call Queues (CQ) Resource Accounts will fail. Preconditions and Workarounds apply.
Nimbus transfer to…
... using …
Result
Auto Attendant
Attendant Console
Only works using Blind Transfer or with workaround → 🛠 see below
Teams Client
Works for all options, but as a workaround with limitations → 🔀 see below.
Workflow
Works as detailed by the table below.
Call Queue
Attendant Console
Only works using Blind Transfer or with workaround → 🛠 see below
Teams Client
Works for all options, but as a workaround with limitations → 🔀 see below.
Workflow
Works as detailed by the table below.
Transfer scenarios
Connectivity plan dependencies
Based on the PSTN connectivity option used, transfers towards the Resource Accounts' assigned phone numbers will work as summarized in the table below.
🛠 Only works with reverse number lookup workaround, described below. 🔀Requires a UI flow workaround, described below. ✅Works with selected plan. ❌Does not work with selected plan.
🛠 Workaround: Reverse Number Lookup (RNL)
For any of the above mentioned transfer types to work together with the chosen connectivity plan, Reverse Number Lookup (RNL) has to be disabled in the Resource Account's phone number assignment. RNL can be disabled by executing the following PowerShell command:
Set-CsPhoneNumberAssignment -PhoneNumber <phone number assigned to the CQ/AA resource account> -ReverseNumberLookup SkipInternalVoip
💡Effects:
⮑ After disabling RNL for a Phone Number Assignment, Teams will automatically forward the call to the Direct Routing SBC, which then needs to redirect it toward the Resource Account of the Call Queue or Auto Attendant.
🔀Workaround: Consultation Call then transfer
🔎Analysis: Transfer scenarios for existing call conferences is limited – specifically for voice applications such as Call Queues, Auto Attendants and Nimbus. These limitations are imposed by Microsoft Teams and cannot be circumvented by Nimbus.
🔀Workaround: A consultation transfer can be completed using the teams call window instead of Nimbus, an example of the call flow is provided below.
In the MS Teams call window, click on the Transfer button.
Select "Consult then transfer".
Under Choose a person or resource account (AA or CQ) to consult, start typing the name of the person you want to transfer the call to.
Select the person from the list.
Choose to Chat or Call them to consult.
After confirming they’re ready to take the call, click Transfer to complete the process. ⮑ 💡Note: The original caller will be placed on hold during the consultation.
☝Limitations Note: This workaround involves circumvention of the Nimbus UI in favor of MS Teams functionality, which is generally not recommended when you want to have detailed Nimbus Reporting with accurate session outcomes
💡Effects: ⮑ When the transfer is completed via MS Teams “consult then transfer” functionality instead of the Nimbus UI transfer options, the Nimbus session report will not show anything about the transfer. Instead, the Nimbus session result will be shown as User Accepted in the Nimbus Reporting Model. ⮑ As the call will be handled outside of Nimbus at this point, further User Sessions will not be reflected in the Sessions List.
Connectivity plan dependencies and possible workaround requirements
Transfers to Voicemail
INC Voicemail Limitations
☝No Voicemail feature lookahead possible: Currently, there is no way to check ahead if a transfer target (MS Teams User) has Voicemail features enabled. This is a design limitation by Microsoft which Nimbus currently cannot circumvent.
Voicemail Redirect Setting in MS Teams
☝Voicemail feature IT policies: Additionally, the Voicemail feature may also be deactivated as part of a tenant-wide IT policy by your administrator. There are also known cases where Microsoft accepts transfers to Voicemail but the recipient has no means to check (e.g. due to MS Teams Client / License restrictions). → We highly recommend using “Transfer to voicemail” related Nimbus features only in case Voicemail is generally enabled for the Microsoft Teams user.
☝Unsupported Scenario - PSTN call forward to Voicemail within own Tenant: When inviting an internal user via PSTN (e.g. in a Attendant - Consultation Call scenario) with Voicemail forwarding enabled: ⮑ The call will be redirected, but the receiving user will not hear anything. ⮑ In Nimbus the call will fail.
🔎Analysis: This scenario is unsupported because MS Teams will auto-resolve the PSTN Number and generate a federated call. The Nimbus bot will run into a timeout and the receiving user will only get an empty Voicemail.
Consultation Call
INC Consultation Call Limitations
KNOWN CONSULTATION LIMITATIONS
☝Consultation Call to Service:
Because of how MS Teams handles certain call scenarios in a conference scenario, support for Workflow Activities is currently limited. We are actively working on improvements to the currently unsupported workflow activities.
✅ Supported Workflow Activities
🔜 Unsupported Workflow Activities
Announcement (works without parameters, known issue)
Disconnect
Input Customer (Advanced) → Will work only when “Voice Recognition” is enabled
Mark as Handled
Play Music
Transfer
To Service
Check Activities
Check Parameter
Wait for Parameter
Get Queue Position
Get available users
Queue Activities
Queue
Queue task
Check task
Cancel task
Save to Parameter
Web Request
Transfer
To User
To External
❌ Out of scope (by design)
Voice Message
Collect Information (DTMF)1
Input Customer (DTMF)1
Standby Duty
1 Rationale for DTMF: As soon as the call is escalated to a group call, MS Teams is not forwarding DTMF tone events anymore. This is a technical limitation that cannot be circumvented by Nimbus.
Nimbus Power BI Template - Currently the InitialCaller KPIs on Unified Sessions are not yet reflected in the BI template. This will be improved in a future update.
Currently swapping and talking to the customer while waiting in Queue / IVR is not possible. → We generally recommend using the “Origin Routing”Workflow Activity to circumvent parts of workflows only meant for outside customer, e.g. pointing directly into the queue, using Task Priority and skipping inputs.
Supervision is not possible during consultation to service.
You cannot consult to the PSTN of a service → Instead use the UPN (Name) of the service.
☝Consultation Call to User:
When consulting with any users in your O365 directory (both Nimbus and not), the reporting is not as detailed as when using a Consultation Call to Service.
