An account representative works with the customer to determine the optimal configuration of software and hardware to meet present needs and future plans.
Planning the integration of Message Manager with the messaging software can involve the customer's PC/LAN system administrator. Another important planning consideration is understanding that customers are responsible for installing Message Manager. Customers are responsible whether the installation is on a PC or on a server for access by subscribers over a LAN. The application can be installed from diskettes, from a CD, or from a LAN file server.
The following sections highlight some of the major considerations customers must be aware of to take full advantage of a multimedia messaging system, such as Message Manager.
There is a difference between Message Manager and an email system, however Message Manager can be used to send messages to subscribers on the same messaging system or to networked and administered remote messaging systems. A supported email system, however, can be used to send messages to systems external to the messaging server, for example, the Internet or other email systems. Message Manager also supports this if Internet Messaging is enabled. See Overview of Message Manager Administration for a complete overview of the Message Manager.
In many situations, a customer site may have a voice mail system and a separate email messaging system. To retrieve all messages, subscribers must access each system individually. Messaging alleviates this problem with an optional feature known as Internet Messaging. This optional feature provides a gateway through which the messaging software can send and receive messages across an email network.
As with Message Manager, subscribers can choose messages in any order and, by selecting icons using a mouse, perform all messaging tasks everything that can be done with the telephone keypad. See Internet Messaging Concepts and Planning for a complete overview of the Internet Messaging feature.
A multimedia message that is created through Message Manager can have a significant impact on the space allocated for subscriber mailboxes. A mailbox can have up to 32767 seconds of recorded voice messages, which is approximately 262.1 MB. Files that are attached through Message Manager could fill up a mailbox very quickly.
The messaging system is viewed as a server on a LAN. The PC/LAN system administrator at a customer's site should handle LAN installation, administration, and troubleshooting.
Use the information in the table for Impact of Message Manager on LAN Traffic to calculate how much of the LAN traffic on a system is expected to be comprised of Message Manager messages (including messages with attached components) based on the number of messages that a typical subscriber generates during a busy hour.
Message Manager is a Windows-based graphical user interface (GUI) that allows Communication Manager Messaging messages to be viewed on a PC screen through a local area network (LAN) or dial-up connection. Subscribers with Message Manager can create, send, and receive messages that contain multiple media types: voice, text, or file attachments (attached software files).
The visual aspects of Message Manager distinguishes it from other voice messaging products. Message Manager allows you to view the name of the person who sent the message, a brief subject that describes the message, the time and date that the message was received, and the type of message that was received. This information helps subscribers prioritize how they access messages and develop mailing lists more easily.
Message Manager is available in seven languages: English, French, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, German, Dutch, and Italian. Additional languages are being considered for future releases.