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Attendant Console

Attendant Console is an optional extension application to Nimbus that allows you to handle incoming calls like a front desk operator. The main goal is to attend to Nimbus caller needs more directly and personally, e.g. in a Call Transfer scenario, forwarding them to a target of your choice. 

PRECONDITIONS

  1. Attendant Console is a separately licensed Nimbus Feature and can be enabled per user via User Administration. After the license is enabled for your user account, an "Attendant Console" entry becomes available in your main menu.   
  2. You need to be part of at least one Nimbus service in order for Attendant Console to show as an option.

✅ User Permissions: Attendant Console will check and ask for consent to Required User Permissions on your behalf. These permissions allow Attendant Console to read calendar details, IM presence as well as your user directory for searching. Permissions are managed in your User Preferences (Portal).

 

Overview

On first startup Attendant Console will not show a lot of content to you, so we'll demonstrate some features on this example screenshot. Refer to the chapters below for further infos.

Attendant Console Overview - Please note that this is an example screenshot. Your version of Attendant Console may differ slightly.

Call Queue & Service selection

The queue lists incoming customer calls of all your services. You can directly impact your queue via the "On/Off" Active toggle for the respective service.

  • The service toggle functionality has the same effect as toggling the status in the "My Overview" or "My Services" Nimbus tabs respectively. Your team owners can also set this toggle for you, with immediate effect.
  • Note that you can only take calls when your Attendant State (See below) widget is shown as "Active" (green). 
  • When being part of - and active (green) for - multiple services, the Queue items are accumulated or removed in real-time, always sorted by "longest waiting" callers. 

Caller Context

The Queue has a call-context feature that ties into the Microsoft Power Automate Connector of Nimbus to retrieve additional caller information. The amount and content of fields shown varies depending on which data (e.g. CRM System, Active Directory) is available to Nimbus.

Mouse over the info icon to get caller context information

Information Widgets

The top row of Attendant Console consists of a set of status widgets to help inform you about the most important metrics on your current call.

Widget Title
Description / Purpose

In Queue

Numerical representation of callers in Queue.

💡 Entries in the queue are directly impacted by your "enabled" toggle in the team selection.
Longest Waiting Shows the highest waiting time entry in the Incoming Call Queue at a glance.

Service Info

Shows Service Line info depending on your call state:

  • During a call: Displays the service you're currently taking the call as (in perspective of the customer).
  • When Idle: Shows "No Data" when no call is handled.

🔍 Their use and status changes are explained during Call Handling.
Conversation   
State

Displays Info during an active call. Changes states to either:

  • Conversation Incoming
  • Conversation Active 
  • Conversation Park(ed)

When Idle: displays "No Conversation / No Data"

💡 As there can be two ongoing simultaneous calls (e.g. Call-park scenario) this widget will focus on the call with the external customer.

Attendant State

Shows if you are in a "Selectable" User State for calls. Works like "Green / Red" signal.

✅ Preconditions for a green status are as follows:

  • Being enabled for any available service - either by yourself or by a team owner.
  • Online and available in MS Teams client.
  • Not already taking / making a call either from a Nimbusservice or directly.
  • Not Set busy / away via your calendar. This behavior can be individually changed in Distribution Service Settings so you may still be available to receive calls even during a meeting or while working abroad.
Services

Allows you to "enable" yourself for call selection in one or several teams.    
→ Disabling yourself in a team will remove you from the list of team members available for the call selection algorithm. The incoming call queue will be updated accordingly.

💡 This has the same effect as enabling yourself within other areas of Nimbus, e.g. "My Overview " or " My Services" respectively. The state can also be toggled by your team owner.
Contact Search
  • This list updates based on the call you are currently handling or when you search for users.
  • You can define pinned favorite entries and contact groups via your personal Attendant Settings .
  • The last transfer targets are listed at the bottom (if available)

🔍 More details on this UI element can be found below.

Conversation Hub

The conversation hub is the central area to handle your calls. The hub is split in 3 sections to display your current incoming caller state: 

  • Incoming - to signal any incoming tasks distributed to you (automatically) by Nimbus Workflows. 💡 Incoming calls will ring alongside in your MS Teams Client.
  • Active - your current task or conversation. You can use call controls to handle your active callers → See below.
  • Park - a spot to park calls. In most scenarios this is used to park a calling customer while you consult someone from the contact search. You can use call controls to handle your parked callers → See below.   
      
    An example task being handled in the conversation hub

Each area in the hub has individual, context-sensitive call controls which show depending on your call situation:

Controls
Description
Swap Switches the caller positions between "Active" to the "On Hold" area
Merge Merges the Call into a conference between all participants. 
Terminate Ends the call or any active task.

Park

 Puts the caller from the "Active" to the "Park" area.

Accept / Decline

External Task Instant Message (Private Preview) 

Allows to accept or decline an incoming External Task and Chat handling requests. 

💡 A declined task will be redistributed to the queue. If no other service user (team member) is in an available User State, the task may be redistributed to you.

GOOD TO KNOW

  • Certain controls such as merge or switch may appear in both the "Active" as well as "Park" section of the conversation hub. Both have the same function of merging or switching the Active/Park entries respectively.
  • Note that not all call controls are visible at all times. Some become enabled or visible in context, e.g. when you handle a parked caller, search for a contact or only if the target supports the according modality (online, available, uses phone or teams, etc.).
  • Some actions within the conversation hub can be controlled via drag & drop as an alternative method to clicking the controls.
 

Contact Search

The contact search lists and stores your call targets during ongoing conversations . By default the contact search and list is empty and shows entries as you start typing.

PRECONDITIONS

  • Search features heavily rely on your Required User Permission consent. 💡t Console will automatically check and ask for these permissions if not granted already.
  • The Search also relies on your internal O365 directory fields and Nimbus-managed Address Books which are kept in the Administration backend . If you discover missing or false user details in the search, contact your service or tenant administrator.
 

The search features the following UI elements:

Element Description
Contacts (Live Search)   



 

Searching for Users

By default you can search by Name and Job Title as displayed in the result columns below the search field. The list of entries narrows down as you type.

Search by name starts as you enter more than 3 characters

Applying Fields to filter search results

You can also apply filters to narrow down huge lists by clicking "Select Fields" . 🔍 Also see " Source" column description in the table below to see which fields are supported.

☝ Note that you need need to apply filters at the end of your search. 

Example: “John Doe JobTitle:(Scientist)”

 

 

Field search rely on the fields provided by your user directories attached to Nimbus.

Searching for PSTN Numbers

You can use the search field also to call unknown numbers or by entering a valid SIP-address. However, in such cases the call actions may be limited.

Search via PSTN number

Searching for Services

You can search for Nimbus services and list up to 8 available team members of that service. Works for both MS-Teams-based or standalone Skill-based services.

✅ Precondition: Services only show team members when the " Team Visibility in Attendant Console" in the Tenant Administration is set accordingly. Otherwise you may not see any team details or only those of your own services. 

Up to 8 available team members are listed on top, sorted alphabetically. 

 
Click on "Show All" to get a full list with a filter applied to the Contact Search
Settings

🔍 Visit Attendant Settings to learn more about each option.

Attendant can be customized to your needs by accessing the settings, right next to the search field.

💡 Settings are stored for your currently logged-in user and will not affect other Attendant Console users.

Search Result Columns

The contact search lists the following table columns:

Column

Description

Source

Displays the source directory / team / service behind the corresponding contact in form of an icon:

  • Azure / Office 365 Accounts
  • Outlook / Exchange (for standalone mailbox entries)
  • Any Luware solution (e.g. Stratus Team/Agent, Nimbus)
  • Configured Address Books if made available within your Organization Unit. 💡 Note that these address books can have custom icons which appear in the "Source" column.

NOTES

Note that not all fields are supported by each source.

 

Show fields supported by Nimbus user search

Fields covered by Nimbus user search

🔍

Searchable Fields and Filters Nimbus Address Book O365Tenant Directory Exchange (User Address Book) Notes
Display Name ✅ 🔍 ✅  ✅ 🔍

KNOWN LIMITATION The search covers the predefined Nimbus Address Books fields, but no custom-fields can currently be searched. We are working to gradually alleviate this situation and make the search experience more consistent.

✅ Fields are supported by search.

🔍 Fields additionally support "CONTAINS" as search operator.

Example: Searching for 'cha' will not only find 'Chadwick' but also 'Michael' 

➕ These fields support Filter capabilities which can be used to narrow down a contact search in Attendant Console.

(warning) User.Read.All permissions must be granted to use this feature. 💡 As a Tenant Admin, head to the Nimbus Portal > User Preferences > Permissions "Tab" > Advanced Search and manage consent for your entire tenant.

 
Given Name   ✅   
First Name ✅ 🔍    
Last Name ✅ 🔍    
Initials ✅ 🔍    
Surname   ✅   
Mail ✅ 🔍 ✅  ✅
User Principal Name ✅ 🔍 ✅   
Job Title ✅ 🔍 ➕  ✅ ➕ ☝ ✅ 🔍 ➕ ☝
Business Phones ✅ 🔍     
Home Phones ✅ 🔍    
Mobile Phones ✅ 🔍    
IM Address ✅ 🔍    
Street ✅ 🔍    
City ✅ 🔍 ➕ ✅ ➕ ☝  
Company ✅ 🔍 ➕   ✅ ➕ ☝
Country ✅ 🔍 ➕ ✅ ➕ ☝  
Department ✅ 🔍 ➕ ✅ ➕ ☝ ✅ ➕ ☝
State ✅ 🔍 ➕ ✅ ➕ ☝  
Postal Code ✅ 🔍    

 

 
 
Name   
(and Presence State Icon)

💡 For single Contacts:

You canmouse-hover over a contact avatar to get more information. Clicking on the avatar shows the organizational structure with manager and peers.

User name and IM presence state according to the Microsoft Teams client of the involved contact

 

Notes:

  • The search view orders users alphabetically (A-Z) by default
  • When displaying an organizational structure, entries are ordered by availability first, then by displayname alphabetically (A-Z)
Clicking on an avatar shows the organizational structure related to that user (Manager and Peers)

 

💡 For Services:

Mouse over a service to get information. Click on the service avatar to see service team members and their status.

For Nimbus service teams the presence state color reflects overall team availability.

  • Green = Available. Users in this service are online and able to immediately receive calls.
  • Yellow = No One Available. Users in this service are online, but set to away and unable to receive calls.
  • Red = In Time Available. Users in this service are online, but currently everyone involved is busy with other calls and tasks.
  • Grey = Offline. All users in this service are offline. ☝ Calls can get lost if not forwarded via the service's respective Workflows.

🔍 Available team members (non-grey status) are listed on top, then alphabetically (A-Z)

🤔 No state / availability shown at all? When the presence state cannot be resolved - or does not apply for that type of source - no icon will be shown. For external contacts this may be blocked by IT policies or firewalls. For internal contacts this can be caused by users (or your Tenant Administrator) not having granted Required User Permissions to Nimbus. 
Clicking on a Service shows the available team members on top

 
Name Resolved clear user or service name for the identified contact.
Context Displays additional fields such as Email, IM, Department if provided via the user directory.
Job Title Provides a job title field, if provided via your tenant user directory.
Note Allows you to take notes. See → Contact Notes chapter below.
Most popular transfer targets

Not always shown. Changes automatically based on "Incoming" calls in the conversation hub. 

💡 If no targets are shown, the caller hasn't been registered before

Contact Actions

Actions relate in context of your currently "Active" call in the conversation hub e.g. an action "transfers" the current caller to the selected contact in your search or sends a Message with call details.

💡 If an action cannot be used by the corresponding contact - or is not applicable for the current call situation - controls are disabled for that entry.

 

 Safe Transfer  to this contact.   
→ Your current caller will remain in call with you until connected.

🤔 Why are certain Contact Actions disabled? If no "Busines phone" or "Mobile phone" numbers are registered for the contact in Azure AD, the transfer to phone actions are disabled. Nimbus can only detect numbers registered via Azure AD, not Teams-internally assigned Line URIs.

☝ This is the default state for Teams Auto Attendants and Call Queues. If you require these to be reachable via Blind Transfer, then you will need to add at least one number to their Azure AD account. Also refer to the known limitations below.

☝ To avoid lost calls in any transfer scenario, please carefully consider known limitations as well.

✅ License requirements

  • If the target contact does have a MS Teams license but no voice (PSTN) license, the transfer to UPN is disabled. Chat is possible.
  • If the target contact does not have a MS Teams license, the account is shown, but transfer to UPN and Chat buttons are disabled.

Any of the following licenses apply: 

  •  

STANDARDPACK

  • ENTERPRISEPACK
  • ENTERPRISEPREMIUM
  • ENTERPRISEPREMIUM_NOPSTNCONF
  • TEAMS_EXPLORATORY

 

Blind Transfer to this contact.   
→ Your current caller will be directly transferrred. The contact is removed from your conversation hub and you're free to take the next call.

☝ A blind transfer may be lost and not returned to you. This is also the case if the contact is not responding or taking the call to voicemail.

 

 Consultation Call to this contact. You can swap between clients and merge the conference session.   
→ In the meantime, your original Caller is put into "Park" position, listening to waiting music. 

 

 Call To this contact. Unlike a Consultation Call this does not create a conference.   
→ You can only speak to either the Caller (Customer) or your Contact from the search.

 

Send IM / Connect via MS Teams.

  • Opens a separate Teams chat window.
  • During a call a language template can be selected.

💡 The template selection (during a call) determines what language will be used to prefill a Mail or IM message for your contact. 

Example: IM template language selection

 

Example Mail template with caller details

 

Send  Email to the contact.

  • Opens your default mail client and a new (blank) email
  • During a call a language template can be selected.

 

 Calendar of the contact to inspect.    
🔍 Only shown when an exchange calendar was found.

If the contact does not have an Exchange license the calendar functionality is disabled.

✅ Exchange license and user permission requirements

To inspect a contact's calendar the following requirements must be met:

  • Permission granted to your user via your AD in order to access that particular contacts calendar on your behalf. → This must be done by your tenant administrator.
  • Both you and the contact need any any of the following Exchange Online plans:
    • EXCHANGE_S_STANDARD
    • EXCHANGE_S_ENTERPRISE

 

 Add to Favorite Contacts. Contact entries of your choice are "pinned" in the "Favorites" group future calls.

Adding a contact to favorites group

🔍 Good to Know: You can also use the Attendant Settings to define further contact groups to sort and display user in.

Read the Attendant - Safe Transfer scenario to see an everyday use example of these features.

 

Contact Notes

Within the Contact Search you are able to take notes on individual contacts.

Notes on contacts

  • You are able to pick between 3 different types of Notes: Standard, 🔍 Info and ☝ Warning.   
    💡 This choice is cosmetic and merely impacts the look and feel of the note when being clicked upon.
  • The note "title" field will be shown in the "Note" column first. When "title" is not defined, the contents are shown instead.
  • Clicking on any existing note allows you inspect detail contents and edit / delete the note.   
  • Tip: You can also search for note contents by selecting the field / filter in the Contact Search:    

BE ADVISED

  • Notes are publicly shared with other Attendant Console users on your tenant. → Keep in mind that potentially private information could be exposed in this way.
  • Deleted notes cannot be restored. → A confirmation dialog is shown prior to note deletion. Removing a note will remove that information for all other Attendant Console users as well.
  • Every Attendant Console user has the same rights to read and edit notes. → Changes on notes are immediately visible with no history-record, authentication or undo-function. We advise to keep sensitive customer or contact information outside of notes.
 

Known Limitations

KNOWN ATTENDANT CONSOLE LIMITATIONS

  • Audio Video Calls from Interact taken via Attendant Console will not support blind transfer.
  • Audio Video Calls from Interact taken via Attendant Console will not support pickup.
  • Audio Video Calls from Interact taken via Attendant Console will not support transfer to voicemail.
 

TRANSFER TO PSTN LIMITATION

Out-of-the-box, Nimbus and affiliated addons can only perform PSTN transfers according to Microsoft's licensing and constraints.

Which PSTN license do I need to acquire?

✅ As a tenant administrator you need to acquire the following licenses and assign them to the application instance of the respective Nimbus SOURCE service (team) that will act as PSTN transferor:

Your Setup Required License
Direct Routing "Microsoft Teams Phone Resource Account"
Calling Plan "Microsoft Teams Phone Resource Account" 
+ "Microsoft Teams Domestic Calling Plan" or "Microsoft Teams Domestic and International Calling Plan" or "Microsoft Teams Calling Plan pay-as-you-go"+ "Communication Credits" (if these aren't already included as part of your plan)
Operator Connect "Microsoft Teams Phone Resource Account"

☝ As of 2023 "Microsoft Teams Phone Standard" licences are no longer supported by Microsoft. Previously those licenses were viable for Nimbus. → Regardless if you are using Direct Routing, Calling Plans, Operator Connect - the "Microsoft Teams Phone Resource Account" license is now always required. 

☝ Please note that Luware staff cannot make 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.

🔍 Also see: https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/microsoftteams/teams-add-on-licensing/virtual-user
 
 

How does PSTN licensing affect Service and Call Transfers?

Assuming that Service A has a PSTN license assigned - but further Services don't - the following scenario may unfold:
  • Scenario A - Service A workflow is configured to transfer the caller to Service B. The license of Service A is used, the PSTN transfer occurs. The PSTN license is re-used throughout further transfers to Services C..D...x.
  • Scenario B - Service B is called directly instead. Now the workflow of Service B attempts a redirect to either service A or transfer to C. The PSTN transfer fails due to a missing license on Service B.

LEARNINGS

  • For one first-level-response Service: If you handle first-response calls always via the same Service you need a PSTN license for that particular first-level Service.
  • For multiple first-level-response Services: If you handle first-response calls always via multiple Services you need a PSTN license for all those first-level Services .
  • Nimbus will attempt to use the PSTN license of the first service that responded to a call, regardless of how many further internal service transfers are performed thereafter.
  • If no PSTN license is found on a service that requires it for a transfer, the transfer task will be considered as failed and be treated as such by the system (e.g. workflow exit announcement, reporting "transfer failed" outcome).
 

☝ Note that handling and tracking of running cost for PSTN licenses is outside of Luware support scope. 
If you require assistance in extending and/or configuring your Nimbus services for PSTN our support will gladly assist you:

🔍 Refer to the external reference: Microsoft Teams PSTN connectivity options and Microsoft Teams add-on licenses.

 
 

TRANSFER TO TEAMS-NATIVE AUTO ATTENDANTS AND CALL QUEUES

Nimbus does currently not support direct transfers via Blind transfer, Safe transfer, or Consultation Call to either UPN or PSTN numbers of Teams-native Auto Attendants and Call Queues. Any such transfer or consultation attempt will lead to the call being aborted.

Causes and Workarounds

Causes and Workarounds 

This is caused by Microsoft Teams limitations with regards to what voice applications (such as Call Queues, Auto Attendants, and Nimbus) are allowed to do, and cannot be circumvented by Nimbus.

💡 A possible workaround would be to force the call over your Direct Routing SBC by using an internal dummy number that isn't otherwise associated with any other Teams user or service already. This call would then be routed to your SBC, which can then re-direct it towards the actual number of the Call Queue / Auto Attendant on the Teams side again. As this workaround is dependent on voice infrastructure components outside of Luware's control and support scope, please reach out to your SBC provider or skilled personnel for its implementation.

💡 The above-mentioned workaround is not technically feasible if you are using Microsoft Calling Plans or Operator Connect to provision numbers directly through Teams. Forcing an external reroute as a workaround is not possible with these number

 
 

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