Can you disable VM in flash and just use ACD?

[pelicanparts]

Hi all again. I have a Flash 2.0 unit with VM and ACD running concurrently. For reasons that are very detailed, I would like to disable the Flash VM and run just the ACD. I know that they sell units with just the ACD on it, so it should be possible.

I'm thinking of trying to run a NAM 8 with my system, using the Flash to handle the ACD. We've outgrown our current 4-port VM system and need eight ports minimum (also looking carefully at Call Pilot w/ACD).

Thanks,

Wayne

 

[curlycord]

ACD units are big and expensive I believe.
You turn off VMAIL in programming if you dont want Vmail.
Dont look too long at Call pilot, just get it!
Call pilot is the best thing since sliced bread lol.
How many mailboxes do you have/need on the phone system? how many agents? average time agent is on a call(ACD agents)? this will be the factor between NAM or pilot.
I do not recommend running both systems if it even can be done, I know you can have a VMAIL and a third party VMAIL or ACD but not so sure about 2 Nortel vmails on the same system.

http://www.spoctel.com

 

[pelicanparts]

Okay, the main problem is not with the ACD system right now, it's with the four port limitation. The AA is not picking up if there are two calls coming in and two people are checking their VM. The third call comes in and rolls over to the backup phone, and then is either picked up manually or lost. This must be happening a lot, because I work from home often, and it happens sometimes to me when I call in, and the phones are very busy.

We're just butting up against that 10 agent limit - mostly because we have people who are logged in, but don't necessarily answer calls regularly - they are there for backup. So I have about 5-6 regular sales guys, and 4 backup guys. When the guys go to lunch, they don't log out - just place themselves on MAKE BUSY - it's much easier to do that then to log in and out.

I want to make sure that the CP150 can be expanded significantly beyond the 10 agents, and perhaps beyond the 8 ports. Cintech now requires Prelude and Cinphony to run on a separate NAM, so it looks like I would have to buy a new NAM anyways, if I wanted to upgrade after that if/when I outgrow the CP150.

I only need a few mailboxes (10-15 or so) on the system, so the 150 is more than enough (40 to start, right?). Anyone know the maximum capacity of this too?

I have a few options in front of me:

- New NAM8 with Prelude installed co-resident with VoiceMail for $6K. Would require purchase of additional NAM if we outgrew the 15 agents. Has detailed reports, but the ACD software is not as easy to use as the Flash.

- New Call Pilot 150 with eight ports. This would solve our immediate problem of not having enough ports, but I need to make sure that this unit is easily and affordably expandable beyond the 10 agents / 2 queues that it comes configured with. So far, the lowest price I've seen on this is about $2200 (seems very affordable to me).

- New NAM8 with Cinphony for about $8000. This would be a system that we would take a long time to out-grow, and would probably last us 5-8 years at our current growth rate. However, this is not a co-resident system, and we would need a VM option. We could use the flash, but then I'm back to square one because I really need eight ports to answer our lines. Too bad the MICS doesn't have a built-in attendant like the CICS we just replaced.

- Running a NAM8 with the Flash ACD. This would work too, but would require the Flash and the NAM to work together. No one has ever done this as far as I can tell. I can perhaps change the feature codes for the NAM, but I am probably inviting many potential conflicts.

- Running a NAM8 with Minuet. Minuet is horrible when compared to the Flash ACD, and is actually a downgrade. Problems with Minuet are:

- The ability for the system to place users on 'Make Busy' when they don't answer their phone. Prelude/Cinphony automatically logs them out of the system, which is going to be a huge pain.

- The method for routing calls is substandard as compared to the flash unit. The flash unit allowed me to assign a priority level to users. Minuet forces me to create a top-down table, which means that one guy will be getting all the calls, unless I use the longest-idle function, which I did not want to use (and did not use on the Flash unit).

- No slow / flashing button to indicate callers in queue for more than 2 minutes (feature in flash)

- No names / passwords for agents (not really a negative).

- Expensive - requires upgrade to NAM

- Limited upgrade path - beyond 15 agents, you need to upgrade to a new NAM with Cinphony ($8400).

- Old technology (OS2), with limited feature set.

- No automatic switching of routing tables.

If I can confirm the upgradability options of the Call Pilot, it certainly seems to be the way to go!

-Wayne